This is pretty good but it could definitely be better. I don't like the tape in the foreground. Tape is always a problem in race photos. You can't ignore it and it's hard to avoid. The best thing to do is acknowledge it and try to work it into the image as a compositional element. That's not easy. But it's something to try, anyway.
The shot is a little tight, too. I don't know if you cropped it. But with race photos it's a good idea to shoot a little wide so you can crop for the best composition, later.
The shadow on the rider's face is a problem. It could definitely be worse, though. A bit of flash would have opened it up more. Or, better yet, shooting at another angle might have avoided it altogether. If this was the 21st hour, then the photo was taken at about 9 AM? That's not too bad, but getting a little late for the best light. What are you gonna do, though? You've got to keep shooting, right?
Hope my comments are useful. I think the crop is the biggest issue. The other comments are just things that I always notice. I watch for them but they aren't always avoidable. You do the best you can.
Photo-John
Thanks for the comments. I take them in the spirit in which they are offered. I consider it a compliment for it to be critiqued seriously (if that makes sense).
It was only cropped at the top. I was as far back as the surrounding shrubbery would allow and still be kind of low. It is a litle tight (on the right especially). The spots on the trail that were favorably looked upon by the sun were hard to come by.
I was actually trying to work the tape in, but as it is facing the other way as well as the tape obscuring the place where the tires meet the ground, now that you mention it, it is a problem the way it came out.
I was using a 580EX flash set on high speed sync(should have incuded that in the original post), but now that I check the EXIF I was shooting at 1/5000 sec, f/3.2, 200ISO. DOH! Kind of tough for the flash to do it's job at that speed I am guessing.
Excellent comments, they are appreciated.
Regards,
Jeff
PS: I did post my first MTB pic on 10/1/05 if you care to check it out.
Cycling and photography are my two hobbies (although I earn some money at the latter), so naturally, photos of cycling are something I look forward to.
Actually, I didn't have a problem with the shadow on the face because it tends to highlight the exposed nature of the course and the brutality of the sun. If you wanted the capture the rider's facial intensity you'd have done it from a different angle, in which case you might have needed the fill flash, but not here.
The tape was an issue but a minor one IMHO.
I would have given a "9" but for one choice--shutter speed. I like to see some blur in the spokes and tires, even on climbs. It looks like this fellow is frozen in a diagonal position on the trail.
However, yours is a legitimate choice, because the high shutter speed helped make this shot as razor-sharp as it is. A slower shutter speed would have changed the whole story of the frame, so perhaps my critique is too subjective to take seriously.
Erik-
Thanks for posting your detailed critiques. I think I've changed my mind about the tape on this one. What can I say? It happens :-)
There's enough light on the face for me. 1/5000th of a second is probably way too fast for high-speed synch. You need to check the flash info LCD to see what kind of reach you're getting. With that shutter speed I expect you were getting about 3 feet. But it looks like a little light made it under the rider's visor.
In the end the only real problem with this image is the tight framing on the right. I don't think it would be a masterpiece with better framing. But it would be better. A masterpiece would require a more intense expression on the rider's face or some heightened action. But this is a solid illustration. Nothing wrong with that. I've got tons of them :-)
Photo-John
