Bike test East Fortune

[wull]

Got up to East Fortune today to watch my nephew test the ZX10 Got a shot of my new 100-300f4 lens. Not sure of the results c&c welcome

#1 Alex


#2


#3


#4


#5


#6


#7 Hold on tight

[bmetzler]

Very nice - I like them all.

[SmartWombat]

They're looking good.
You've got the focus and panning right.
Just #5 is a little dark.
Is the rear tyre running low pressure, or is the track sloped away in #7 ?

[brmill26]

Agreed; these are excellent Wull! First and fourth are my favorites. Gotta love those clear shield days, too. Tire pressures look low in all the shots, but as I recall, that is the trend now to try to get traction for those big beastly bikes.

But the last shot is for a different reason. The suspension is loaded at both ends and the rider is out of the seat. Obviously it's hard to tell from a picture, but normally that means only one thing in my book, and that's a high side. The only other thing I could think of is if he was in the process of beginning a standing wheelie, where he's stood up and has just compressed the suspension, about to lift the front wheel on the suspension rebound.

[wull]

Thanks for the comments :thumbsup:

#5 i used a polorizer filter that i got. Was trying out to see what it did. Think it will be staying in its box from now on.

No stand up wheelie im afraid. That is out of the first corner where there are no kerbs, just a drop of about 3 inches on to the gravel. It was a combination of alex returning to the track on the power. Holding on for all he is worth Says the bike is a bit of an animal. They do run the tyres a bit soft around 28 psi. Road bikes usually run about 40

Stuck a camera on the bike for one of his sessions and stuck it on the tube. Worth a wee look

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dulTBD1BNGQ

[brmill26]

Polarizers can actually be very helpful for reducing reflections and glare off the bike. I shoot all of my autocross races with a polarizer now and the photos are much cleaner (less nasty reflections, clear windshields). The polarizer lets in less light, so you have to adjust for that, otherwise the photo will look dark, as in #5. But I just checked your EXIF and you were in Tv mode, so that shouldn't be the cause. I'm guessing the bright white banner in the background threw off the meter, just as #3 is a touch hot because of the dark background. Give it a shot again, especially on a sunny day.

Hmm, well I had the physics right, I just didn't get to the correct cause! So, good save then!

I watched the video, great stuff. He looks very quick and very smooth. That track surface looks a bit dodgy; sort of cobbled together from a lot of different surfaces. I can't imagine that was too easy to ride.

[wull]

Thanks Brad

Yes the surface is a bit dodgy. Runs over an old airfield which they cant replace. There was also a lot of oil spilled in one of the early sessions as you can see with the cement dust almost all the way round the track

What metering mode would you recommed. I am using matrix at the moment. Is that correct.

Will give the polorizer another go on a sunny day if we get any. It was pretty dull for most of the day on sunday

[brmill26]

What metering mode would you recommed. I am using matrix at the moment. Is that correct.

The metering mode isn't the problem. There are certain conditions that will fool any meter, and that's why we still have manual mode and exposure compensation. You found one of those such conditions, where there's a large white area in frame the camera will usually under expose the shot b/c it's fooled into thinking the scene is very bright. Likewise, if there's a large black area in frame, the camera will usually over expose, thinking the scene is too dark.

Your job is to identify these situations. For example, the large white banner that caused your shot to be under exposed. Then you either dial in enough exposure compensation to fix it, or you switch to manual mode and properly expose for the ambient.

I had that same problem this past weekend, shooting Indy cars. Some of the cars have large white areas on top (that were even brighter on this sunny weekend) and the camera was under exposing about 1/2 stop b/c of it. And Danica Patrick's car is all black, and shots of her car were constantly over exposed. Since the cars themselves were causing the problem (and not the background), I shot in RAW and fixed it in post, b/c I couldn't possibly switch exposure compensations to suit individual cars as they lap. Alternatively, I could have shot in manual mode, but I didn't do that thanks to occasional clouds changing the ambient levels.

Whatever you're shooting, you have to be aware of those special conditions. For example, shooting a person wearing all black on a sunny day will usually blow out their faces b/c the camera thinks the scene is darker than it is. That's the problem with reflected light metering (as is in all cameras). The classic beach shot is a good example, b/c a camera will tend to over expose the sand b/c of the dark ocean water. Again, you just have to recognize those situations and correct for it.

[Lori11]

Amazing photos! He and you look great

[tufcat]

Great action shots. Excellent color and clarity too. Good job.