Velodrome

Images from the Illinois state championships on Saturday at the velodrome in Northbrook, IL. We were there for time trials, pursuit and sprints. It was mid-day with overhead (and very hot) sun.

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Wow, that looks brutal. I bet it's so hot down on the track!
Nice photos, thanks for sharing!

Psyched to see you shooting some bike racing, Terry! The photos look good, too. As for the midday sun? Seems like bike races are always at noon so figuring out how to make that work is part of the deal. I think you did a good job. Looks like you got a lot of reflected light from the track doing some fill for you. That's always a bonus :)

The third photo looks out of focus. Did you have problems focusing or is that one a fluke? For Velodrome racing I would almost certainly use continuous AF. This is one of those situations where I think it make a huge difference. Is that how you shot these?

Had you ever watched Velodrome racing before? What did you think? I love the strategy :)

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Originally Posted by Photo-John

Psyched to see you shooting some bike racing, Terry! The photos look good, too. As for the midday sun? Seems like bike races are always at noon so figuring out how to make that work is part of the deal. I think you did a good job. Looks like you got a lot of reflected light from the track doing some fill for you. That's always a bonus :)

The third photo looks out of focus. Did you have problems focusing or is that one a fluke? For Velodrome racing I would almost certainly use continuous AF. This is one of those situations where I think it make a huge difference. Is that how you shot these?

Had you ever watched Velodrome racing before? What did you think? I love the strategy :)

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Thanks John. The track's not far (actually, there are two of them within an hour drive), but I never seem to get there to shoot. I raced track a few years ago - made it to Cat4 before I gave up. The racing on Saturday (state champs) was the Kilo, 500 meters, Sprints and Pursuit which we only see during special events. The normal Thursday night racing is pack racing.

I tried a lot of different things for exposure, but my best was using Manual. Most were set at f/8, ISO=320, 1/800 sec. I used continuous focus with the center spot or zone. I did have trouble keeping on target while trying to think composition at the same time.

With the sun nearly directly overhead and the helmets, the faces were in shadow from any position. I tried several PP methods on the faces. Nos. 1 and 4 are actually single shot HDR. I think it worked well on #1. #4 is a little over done. Just lightening the faces, whether with selection/exposure or just the using the dodging tool, gave blotchy skin and over white teeth.

Here is a little cat & mouse during the sprints.

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And a wider view with more cat & mouse. (16mm on FF body)

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And this was my track bike when I raced. Better to look good than be good, right? :cool:

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Terry

Very nice Terry
There is a Velodrome track not far from my house I checked out the schedule and it look like they race almost every weekend.
Looks like it will be a fun and challenging shoot.

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Originally Posted by dl4449

Very nice Terry
There is a Velodrome track not far from my house I checked out the schedule and it look like they race almost every weekend.
Looks like it will be a fun and challenging shoot.

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The San Jose velodrome is great! They used to race on Friday nights and it was a great way to spend an evening. I'm not sure if they do the Friday night thing anymore because I think some tweakers stole the copper wire from the lights :(

Very nice stuff Terry. I love the first shot.

Great job, love the theme

Nice shots Terry. I really like shots 1,4,5. We have the Major Taylor Velodrome here in indy and about 15 min. from me. Back in the day I used to do sprint and pursuit races at this track. While shooting the Indy Crit a few weeks ago a friend asked if I ever shoot at Major Taylor and I told him I have not. Now you post these pics and I am now thinking I am being given a sign that I need to get out there for fast Fridays and shoot. Hope I can come up with some nice shots like you have here. And btw I dig your old Bianchi track bike. Nothing says Bianchi like Celeste Green.

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Originally Posted by agaduc996

btw I dig your old Bianchi track bike. Nothing says Bianchi like Celeste Green.

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I concur! Love me a green Biancheeee :)

I've been meaning to get back to this thread to talk about focus. I think shooting bikes is really tricky because there's not a whole hell of a lot to focus on, and they're usually going very fast. My first recommendation is to not worry too much about composition. Don't ignore it but don't let it get in the way of focus - because if you don't have focus, you don't have anything. I generally shoot a bit loose and then crop for the best composition in post. I use continuous AF with a single point (usually the center, but maybe not - as long as it's a cross-type sensor). For these photos I'd try to keep the focus point on the rider's faces or the headtube. The headtube would be tough but if you're careful and stay focused, you can do it.

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Originally Posted by Photo-John

I concur! Love me a green Biancheeee :)

I've been meaning to get back to this thread to talk about focus. I think shooting bikes is really tricky because there's not a whole hell of a lot to focus on, and they're usually going very fast. My first recommendation is to not worry too much about composition. Don't ignore it but don't let it get in the way of focus - because if you don't have focus, you don't have anything. I generally shoot a bit loose and then crop for the best composition in post. I use continuous AF with a single point (usually the center, but maybe not - as long as it's a cross-type sensor). For these photos I'd try to keep the focus point on the rider's faces or the headtube. The headtube would be tough but if you're careful and stay focused, you can do it.

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Thanks for the FP.

I tried again Thursday night. Cloudy day and then under the lights. Will be posting a few soon.

Terry

Nice set of photos. I agree with PJ's last comments. I also crank my ISO when possible to get the fastest shutter speeds and a good DOF. #3 looks like maybe it needed a faster shutter speed as to me it looks more like incomplete motion stop as opposed to missed focus. Usually missed focus still give you a portion of the image which is sharp. Tough to call really. I generally use the face and eyes when possible or opt for the chest and count on my DOF to catch the rest.

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Originally Posted by agaduc996

Nice shots Terry. I really like shots 1,4,5. We have the Major Taylor Velodrome here in indy and about 15 min. from me. Back in the day I used to do sprint and pursuit races at this track. While shooting the Indy Crit a few weeks ago a friend asked if I ever shoot at Major Taylor and I told him I have not. Now you post these pics and I am now thinking I am being given a sign that I need to get out there for fast Fridays and shoot. Hope I can come up with some nice shots like you have here. And btw I dig your old Bianchi track bike. Nothing says Bianchi like Celeste Green.

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Masters Nationals are at Major Taylor this week. - Terry

Terry my plan is to be out there saturday and sunday. Do you plan on coming down for this. Would love to hook up and meet a fellow PR shooter in person.

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Originally Posted by agaduc996

Terry my plan is to be out there saturday and sunday. Do you plan on coming down for this. Would love to hook up and meet a fellow PR shooter in person.

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No, I won't be going. The Northbrook track had 'Junior night' Thurs. since a lot of the Masters were at Major Taylor. I'm going to try to get down to the Tour of Elk Grove Village this weekend. - Terry