Motorcycle Racing

[kbradley88]

I had my ISO maxed out at 1600, so I had to use slow shutter speed in order to properly expose the picture. Is there any way I could get this shot better without buying a new camera? I think I may be at the limit of my camera for this type of photography.

I welcome any comments or suggestions. Thanks.

See the whole set at my website in my signature. I would call the outing a failure.

[castman]

Did you use a trypod? That may help.

[Digidave]

Let me start out by saying, it would be nice to see your EXIF info. It would help us understand the situation better.

Having said that, I would guess that you haven't reached the limitations of your camera at all. What you have done though, is reached the limitations of your lens. This is why I requested the EXIF info. What f/stop were you using? Was the lens wide open? Which lens?

Two things would help you get a better shot. Practice you panning technique & a better(more expensive) lens.

[ericw]

What's the exif for your image? It sounds like your saying the slow shutter speed was a negative but it looks like you were trying to pan with him... so why didn't you just decrease your iso? I guess I'm not really understanding that part of your statement.
If you wanted a slow shutter speed for panning just make your aperture smaller/iso lower, if you wanted a high shutter speed to stop the motion listen to digidave or why not use your speedlight?

There are always ways to improve pictures without buying a new camera - noone's technique is ever perfect.

One area is composition:
There are a ton of distracting elements in your photo: the cars, those people, the black things directly behind the rider. Try a more creative framing - the rider is directly in the center of the frame, both vertically and horizontally. Try putting him on the right side. I know, I know he'll be riding out of the picture, but you'll still show that (weak little) rooster tail he's throwing up and it might be more interesting. Find another spot to take the picture where there's more action, like coming out of a turn (see some of your other shots) or something. Get lower and shoot from the inside if you can (so he'll be looking at the camera).

If you want to pan practice your panning.

Basically, the whole idea of this shot could be improved a lot without worrying about the features of your camera. It looks extremely - "hey theres a guy on a motorcycle.." *click*. I think you could've put a lot more thought into the composition of all the photos in your set.

[kbradley88]

Originally Posted by ericw

What's the exif for your image? It sounds like your saying the slow shutter speed was a negative but it looks like you were trying to pan with him... so why didn't you just decrease your iso? I guess I'm not really understanding that part of your statement.
If you wanted a slow shutter speed for panning just make your aperture smaller/iso lower, if you wanted a high shutter speed to stop the motion listen to digidave or why not use your speedlight?

There are always ways to improve pictures without buying a new camera - noone's technique is ever perfect.

One area is composition:
There are a ton of distracting elements in your photo: the cars, those people, the black things directly behind the rider. Try a more creative framing - the rider is directly in the center of the frame, both vertically and horizontally. Try putting him on the right side. I know, I know he'll be riding out of the picture, but you'll still show that (weak little) rooster tail he's throwing up and it might be more interesting. Find another spot to take the picture where there's more action, like coming out of a turn (see some of your other shots) or something. Get lower and shoot from the inside if you can (so he'll be looking at the camera).

If you want to pan practice your panning.

Basically, the whole idea of this shot could be improved a lot without worrying about the features of your camera. It looks extremely - "hey theres a guy on a motorcycle.." *click*. I think you could've put a lot more thought into the composition of all the photos in your set.

You're right about the spur of the moment thing, as the story at my site suggests.. I have never done panning before, and this was my first attempt at shooting anything that was moving..

Thanks for the points.

[kbradley88]

I guess the exif would help, huh....

I was using my Tamron 55-200 f/4-5.6 lens.

Focal length: 55mm
Shutter Speed: 1/100th
f/6.3

I was shooting in Shutter Priority mode..


Am I right in thinking that if I went to Manual I could have forced my aperture higher (lower number) and shot with a faster shutter speed?

Also, I don't know about using a flash when they're coming around a corner toward you.. Nobody was flashing that night, so I didn't out of respect for the riders. At that distance the flash would have likely been using full power, and that's pretty bright.

[ericw]

Yeah, since you were at 55mm, manual mode could've gotten you down to f/4 which would've given you a little more than double the shutter speed. Shoot you could've thrown the fifty on and had all kinds of options. When using a zoom it's easy to switch from shot to shot quickly. Sometimes being more methodical saying "I want this shot..." setting up for it (changing lenses etc), taking it, and then moving on to something else will improve your shots.

[tjphoto]

Im gonna say that I think it was partly time of day that mucked you up. Where you using a flash?I find that my flash helps. looks like the lens an the camera were struggling to capture the moment with all that movement.I think you had some other great shots on your web,I quite like the look of this shot it gives you a sense of being there and how fast it was.Although if your getting rid of your Nikon good choice,Go for a real camera buy a CANON!HA HA.

[flomaster]

Originally Posted by tjphoto

I.Although if your getting rid of your Nikon good choice,Go for a real camera buy a CANON!HA HA.

D50 is a starter camera if anything should replace with a D90 or D300

and to the OP what type of shot were you trying to achieve?
a slow pan shot or a fast shutter stop motion every thing is in focus shot?

-=Jason=-

[tjphoto]

Originally Posted by flomaster

D50 is a starter camera if anything should replace with a D90 or D300

and to the OP what type of shot were you trying to achieve?
a slow pan shot or a fast shutter stop motion every thing is in focus shot?

-=Jason=-

Said well, by a NIKON user.
I would still go for a better camera like a CANON!!!