Motorcycle Photography, show us your best.

[klaviator]

Show us your best motorcycle photography, those pictures that really show what motorcycling is all about or that just turned out exceptionally well.  Tell us about your picture as well,  how and why you took it.  What makes it special to you?  What kind of camera did you use?  Did you do any editing or enhancing after you took it? 

Feel free to ask any questions as well.  The purpose of this thread is not just to show off those great pics but also to hopefully inspire others to get out and take more great pictures and help show them how to do it.

Questions and discussion of the pics posted are encouraged.

[klaviator]

I'll kick things off.  I took a trip out west this year and took a lot of pics.  There were a few that I think really stand out.  This is one of my favorites:



Hwy 12 near Escalante UT is IMO one of the most scenic roads on the planet.  I really wanted to capture what the road was like.  For this pic I got to a spot that I really liked and had my buddy ride back down the road and turn around.  I used a Sony DSC-hx300 camera and a lot of zoom to take this pic.  I did not edit this picture at all.

[springer]

 A road that I shall not mention. :)   Nikon D70s, Nikon SB-800 flash



Same road, same flash somewhat different subject;



Same camera and flash, taken at Alabama drag strip;



Same camera, same place;

[klaviator]

A road that I shall not mention. :)   Nikon D70s, Nikon SB-800 flash

You're supposed to say: "closed course, professional riders, don't try this at home."   8)

I often have trouble with action shots like this.  I tend to get a blurry rider.

[SlowRoad]

This is one of my favorites.   Taken with a Samsung Galaxy S3 camera phone.  The pumps in Decatur.   Simply the right place at the right time.



Sent from my QMV7B using Tapatalk

[springer]

A road that I shall not mention. :)   Nikon D70s, Nikon SB-800 flash

You're supposed to say: "closed course, professional riders, don't try this at home."   8)

I often have trouble with action shots like this.  I tend to get a blurry rider.

A camera with rear curtain sync helps a boat load. Most flash's work on front curtain sync, so you get a sort of sharp subject running into a blur. With rear curtain you a sharp subject with the blur behind them.

[LawnmowerRG]

Tim that has to be one of my favorites also.  ;)

[klaviator]

Sometimes motorcycle pictures are about the motorcycle and sometimes they are about the setting or scenery.  I took this next pic with an old 4MPX Casio point and shoot camera.  It's not about the camera, it was just such a cool setting that even I couldn't mess up the picture. 

[Nice Goat]

I've got one similar to that:

[klaviator]

I've got one similar to that:

That is a really cool pic.  It captures one of the things I like about riding off the pavement.  You can get to some really remote, peaceful and scenic spots.  Perhaps that spot isn't really all that remote but it sure looks like it and there are no signs of civilization in that picture.  I think that fall is probably the  best time to get pics like that.

[klaviator]

A camera with rear curtain sync helps a boat load. Most flash's work on front curtain sync, so you get a sort of sharp subject running into a blur. With rear curtain you a sharp subject with the blur behind them.

You might as well be talking Swahili to me.  I'm lucky if I can figure out how to turn my flash on and off. ;D 

Actually, I appreciate the advice.  How to properly use a flash is something I don't know much about and really should learn.  I seldom use my flash.

[yamahamer]

[Nice Goat]

You might as well be talking Swahili to me.

When your subject is in motion, you need a fast shutter speed to avoid blur.  In strong sunlight, you want a shutter of about 1/500th of a second to stop the action.

It is harder at night, because a fast shutter speed also means less light gets into the camera.  You can try to compensate for the low light by using a higher ISO sensitivity, by using a larger aperture setting, and/or by using a flash.  Chances are, however, that you will not be able to keep that 1/500th shutter speed.  Not enough light, even with a flash, unless you are really close.  If you are close enough, you'll see your subject and nothing else --- the whole background will be dark/underexposed.  What you want is a slower shutter speed to allow more exposure for the background, and then a flash at the end to "freeze" your subject.  That's what Harvey is referring to.

Imagine using a 1/10th second shutter speed, but your flash duration is 1/1000th of a second.  Effectively, your shutter is open for 100x the amount of time that the flash is lit.  Do you want that flash at the beginning of the shot, or at the end?






Most cameras come out of the box set up for front (or first) curtain sync, also called "fill flash", meaning that the flash fires at the beginning of photo capture.  Higher end cameras allow you to change to rear curtain sync, also called slow sync flash, which fires the flash just as the curtain begins to close.  Compare the two images below.  Notice that you have some blurring in the action shots, but the the flash freezes the subject.  Front sync looks unnatural, like the subject is going backwards.  With rear sync, the blur looks more natural.

Front curtain sync (a.k.a. "fill flash"):



Rear curtain sync (a.k.a. "slow sync"):

[Al Goodwin]

[Al Goodwin]