low shutter speed, fast moving subject

[chrispilling]

i took this about augest last summer and i cant get past it, its such an interesting shot to me and i belive its my personal best so far. i havent had much feedback on it so tear it apart.

info:
shutter: 1/250 (VERY slow for action sports)
aperature: 5.3
iso: 800

[RichardTaylor]

Welcome to the forum.
I would crop out all that timber on the bottom 1/3 of the pic as it doesn't add anything and the out of focus area is a distraction.

I don't know if you can do anything about the blown sky except possibly shooting from a different direction.

I feel that if you could see the riders face it would add greatly to the photograph.

[inlina]

I disagree with Richard.

In my opionion it is a great pic. Given the timber is part of the 'North Shore' obstacle that the rider is using, it helps tell the story. Given it is out of focus through good use of the depth of field, it is not really disctracting for my eye.

Some people may suggest that not seeing the riders face is a no-no, but it depends on what you are going for.

As for the shutter speed, I shoot BMX racing as low as 1/200 and sometime lower if I am looking for a motion blur, but I throw in flash a lot of the time.

CG

[chrispilling]

thanks! thats what i was going for. i wanted the viewer to follow the shore to the point of action.

[Jim Bryant]

I would have shot it from the other direction to see riders face and probably at a low angle, sitting on my butt or laying on my stomach, to get rid of some of the busy foreground.

Originally Posted by chrispilling

info:
shutter: 1/250 (VERY slow for action sports)
aperature: 5.3

It all depends on what kind of sports you are shooting.

Motorsports for example looks really BAD at fast shutter speeds. Looks really good at longer speeds.

*NBC Chimes*

The more you know.

[dhparsons]

Too much in this shot.. I can see the foreground has a purpose in your composition but the overall background dilutes the visual impact of the rider. The sky is obviously blown out and unforunately thats where the riders helmet is in the photo.

I

[RVT1000]

I really like that the rider is caught in the middle of a trick but I do not like the fact that his back is to the viewer, I think that the shot would have been much more interesting if we could see the expression on the rider's face. I agree with another poster and really do not like the foreground. I think that the obstacles would have been displayed better if the shot would have been taken from the opposing tree line that is visible in the shot.