The jump
Had a fantastic day at the Motocross trying out my new Lens. Weighs 1700 grams but was able to shoot for the day (though I did use a monopod towards the end).Read more
Had a fantastic day at the Motocross trying out my new Lens. Weighs 1700 grams but was able to shoot for the day (though I did use a monopod towards the end).
This was shot handheld with OS switch on.
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This was shot handheld with OS switch on.
Read less
Feb, 2016Views
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Discover more photos See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This was taken at Woodville near Palmerston North in New Zealand at the Motorcross champs. It is in a very picturesque part of the Manawatu with lovely green hills for miles around and you drive through a beautiful gorge to get there.Time
This was taken mid morning from memory.Lighting
It was a grey overcast day which is my preferred light for shooting this sort of event. When you don't have to worry about what the sun is doing, it is one less thing to think about (also, the New Zealand sun is harsh and it is easy to get sunburned in the spots that you miss with the sunscreen!).Equipment
Canon 5d mkIII and Sigma 120-400mm. This was my first outing with this lens and I really enjoyed the extra reach over my 70-200mm.Inspiration
I knew I wanted to get a shot that really focused on the riders concentration and thought a panned shot through the air would be the way to go to capture a sense of action and movement. Took me a while till I found a location where there was a jump that I would be side on to. Most of the jumps were too close or too far away but I found this one on the most distant end of the track (so there weren't as many spectators there either).Editing
A bit of sharpening in Adobe Lightroom 5 using masking so that I didn't sharpen the background - just the bike and rider. Added a slight bit of warmth too.In my camera bag
For Motorsport I generally take my 5d mkIII and 120-400. If I know I will be close enough to the action and know that it is going to be very wet, I will pack the Canon 70-200 f4 instead. I find the weight of the 120-400 is not too bad for a day of shooting and it helps having a Black Rapid RS-7 to sling over my shoulder. I try to shoot with the highest speed CF cards as possible as it is frustrating having to deal with buffering if I am shooting bursts.Feedback
Move your whole body when you are panning. Experiment with different shutter speeds. This shot was taken at 1/100th. Expect to get a lot of dud shots while you are honing the panning technique. Burst mode can help - when you are taking 3 photos while panning, there is more of a chance that one will be sharp. Think of other spectators that are around you when panning with a long lens - be respectful that not everyone is there to take photos and it may be a bit annoying if you are shoulder deep with other folk when you are moving everytime a rider comes past!
