a mountain biking shot

[ryan_foley74]

hey there i have a photo that i would like to know your opinions on. it is of my brother doing a drop on his bike in the forrest.

what you would you change/do differently?

i like the broken light in the background and the colors, although his arms are a bit to red which is something that i will correct later.

oh and i realize that it doesn't look very good with the flash in the middle of the frame but it isn't very powerful and that is the only way i was able to make the photo work.

please comment and critisise i really want to know what you think and dont worry about being harsh i can take it, im a big boy. i am thinking of blowing it up to poster size and giving it to my brother as a (probably late) Christmas present so just wanted opinions from unbiased eyes

thanks in advanced
Ryan



Camera: Canon EOS 400D Digital
Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 24 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire

a bigger version can be found here

[trt]

Firstly, that is an awesome looking drop, well constructed and everything.
I also get into a bit of the mountain bike photography when I get the chance (only about 80% of my photos involve bikes..)

That said, I personally think this is a great pic. I agree with you about the lighting in the photo, it looks great, and I don't think your brother's arm is too red, I can hardly notice it. The external flash isn't really imposing too much on the photo either.

I can't really offer any constructive criticism on the photo though, in my eyes it looks great, but I'll be checking back to see what some of the better photographers say.

Your bro will love it!

[Jim Bryant]

Not bad, but should have gotten another angle of view where the light stand wasn't so much in the photo. I would have moved down to the right more and used that bush to block the view of the light stand. Would have gotten a better angle of the biker.

[oldwolf]

great shot. love the capture. if anything i would've tried to catch it earlier in the jump but that can be tough. i'd also clone out the flash. i gave it a go but won't post it unless you ask me to.

his arm isn't too red and the flash perfectly lights him up so he's the focus of the picture.

[ryan_foley74]

Originally Posted by Jim Bryant

Not bad, but should have gotten another angle of view where the light stand wasn't so much in the photo. I would have moved down to the right more and used that bush to block the view of the light stand. Would have gotten a better angle of the biker.

yeah good call i didn't think of that. moving to the right would also make the drop look longer and bigger whilst at the same time concealing the light stand a bit better behind the bush. ill try that the next time that i am out there. thanks

oldwolf if you could post your version with the cloned out light stand that would be great. i was thinking of trying it myself but was wondering about the quality of it when i blow it up and get it printed, i was hoping to get it about A2. besides my brother doesn't really look at the kinda technical aspects of the photo so i doubt he would even notice. saying that i still want it to be the very best that it can be.

cheers for the comments guys and keep the feedback comming that would be great.

cheers
Ryan

[Dirt_Bike_Ryda]

the photo is unavilable for me. have u editied the photo at all on flickr?

[oldwolf]

here you go dude.

click on it so you can d/l the big picture.

From DPS

[ryan_foley74]

hey old wolf that looks great i might have a go doing it myself thanks for that

[jdepould]

The composition just isn't doing anything for me. All I'm seeing is his back, and he's pretty small in the frame. Get in closer, use a longer lens. As a bonus, you can reduce or eliminate the light-in-the-frame problem by tightening it up.

[ryan_foley74]

Yeah i see what yo mean about only seeing his back. i took a few from the front but they made the jump end up looking like it was really small.

i shot it wide and with him small in the frame so you could see the take off and landing and it puts the size of the jump in perspective.

Thanks for the comments jdepould it is always intereting to see what another photographer would have done, thanks

cheers
Ryan