Took these pics at mountain bike race. It was point and click. SHould
i have used zoom? I had to crop a lot of scenery out to even see the
racers. Used canon a510 powershot. 3.2 megapixel. anything else i
should do to avoid blurry pics when subject moving?
Some are nice family pictures to have as a memento from a Sunday afternoon
excursion for a dime a dozen but nothing more.
I wouldn't put them in a gallery or try sell them as art. Heck, if I had to
pay a photographer to get a copy I probably wouldn't even if I were one of
the bikers. They lack expression, dynamic, and excitement as you would
expect from a race. And there are WAAAAYYY to many of them. It looks like
you couldn't decide which on to publish for critics, so you just slabbed
them all on a web site.
> It was point and click. SHould i have used zoom?
For some photos I'd say definitely yes. Or just get closer. On a fixed trail
like that you have that option. Use it.
> I had to crop a lot of scenery out to even see the
> racers. Used canon a510 powershot. 3.2 megapixel. anything else i
> should do to avoid blurry pics when subject moving?
Well, a P&S has limitations. But there is still a lot you _can_ do. First
and foremost I would look into composition. Those photos (I really didn't
check all 561 of them, that number is insane) are, well, point the camera
somewhere and hit the shutter. I suggest you try to find an interesting spot
in the trail and then pre-design the shot. Maybe it is a sharp turn where
the bikers have to lean in with the dirt flying from their wheels. Maybe it
is the end of a steep drop where you can capture the relief on their faces
when they made it successfully. Experiment with unusual perspectives. E.g.
what about shooting those bikers from below the bridge while they were
crossing it? Maybe it's something totally different. That would certainly
add a lot of ecxitement to the pictures.
If you want to capture motion then pan with the object, such that the
background becomes stretched. That is something you can do even with a P&S.
If on the contrary you do want to freeze motion then preset the camera to
the fastest shutter speed compatible with light conditions, taking full
advantage of large apperture and ISO. This is where SLRs shine because you
can simply use a faster lens, too.
Another proven method is to pre-focus the camera to a specific spot on the
trail and then release the shutter the moment a biker hits that spot. It
helps to use a tripod and a remote release and you can even mark the spot on
the trail with e.g. a leaf or a pine cone or something like that. Again,
this is something easier to do with an SLR because for P&S the shutter lag
forces you to anticipate the movement.
On May 4, 7:31 pm, "Jürgen Exner" <jurge...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> taxthis2...@yahoo.com wrote:
> >http://profile.imageshack.us/user/sr2007/
>
> > Took these pics at mountain bike race.
>
> Some are nice family pictures to have as a memento from a Sunday afternoon
> excursion for a dime a dozen but nothing more.
> I wouldn't put them in a gallery or try sell them as art. Heck, if I had to
> pay a photographer to get a copy I probably wouldn't even if I were one of
> the bikers. They lack expression, dynamic, and excitement as you would
> expect from a race. And there are WAAAAYYY to many of them. It looks like
> you couldn't decide which on to publish for critics, so you just slabbed
> them all on a web site.
>
> > It was point and click. SHould i have used zoom?
>
> For some photos I'd say definitely yes. Or just get closer. On a fixed trail
> like that you have that option. Use it.
>
> > I had to crop a lot of scenery out to even see the
> > racers. Used canon a510 powershot. 3.2 megapixel. anything else i
> > should do to avoid blurry pics when subject moving?
>
> Well, a P&S has limitations. But there is still a lot you _can_ do. First
> and foremost I would look into composition. Those photos (I really didn't
> check all 561 of them, that number is insane) are, well, point the camera
> somewhere and hit the shutter. I suggest you try to find an interesting spot
> in the trail and then pre-design the shot. Maybe it is a sharp turn where
> the bikers have to lean in with the dirt flying from their wheels. Maybe it
> is the end of a steep drop where you can capture the relief on their faces
> when they made it successfully. Experiment with unusual perspectives. E.g.
> what about shooting those bikers from below the bridge while they were
> crossing it? Maybe it's something totally different. That would certainly
> add a lot of ecxitement to the pictures.
>
> If you want to capture motion then pan with the object, such that the
> background becomes stretched. That is something you can do even with a P&S.
>
> If on the contrary you do want to freeze motion then preset the camera to
> the fastest shutter speed compatible with light conditions, taking full
> advantage of large apperture and ISO. This is where SLRs shine because you
> can simply use a faster lens, too.
>
> Another proven method is to pre-focus the camera to a specific spot on the
> trail and then release the shutter the moment a biker hits that spot. It
> helps to use a tripod and a remote release and you can even mark the spot on
> the trail with e.g. a leaf or a pine cone or something like that. Again,
> this is something easier to do with an SLR because for P&S the shutter lag
> forces you to anticipate the movement.
>
> jue
Thanks for the insightful answer. I feel guilty because they were all
smiling and trusting that I knew what I was doing. Hate to say it but
taking pics is more fun than racing.
Critic some of my photos 
Linear Mode
