Tour Down Under II

[Ricco]

After having an initial go at cycling photography here (Tour Down Under), I thought I'd head out to the final stage for a 2nd go.

This was the breakaway group - predictably led for most of the race but got pegged back in the last few laps


Orica Green Edge - the Australian team of eventual winner Simon Gerrans


And one more for good luck!


In terms of sharing, here are some of the lessons I learnt having never photographed this type of activity before:
* Shutter speed - 1/1250 is probably the lower limit to get sharp photos. Probably err on the quicker if you can
* Focus - from my previous thread, I had a lot of trouble trying to get the front rider in focus. Probably a good 70-90% of my first batch had the second rider in good focus but the front rider was soft. Even in my 2nd try this probably dropped to about 50%. Need to be quick between the focus and pressing the shutter (I used centre point with AI servo focusing on the camera)
* Composition - again a suggestion from my previous thread, need to get the full frame composition right. Because it is quick moving, the inclination is to just snap away. One of the things I tried to focus on in my 2nd try was to get the full bike (including wheels) into the frame.

Hope you enjoy!

[Shadowman]

Nice, thanks for the additional information.

[FootLoose]

You have definitely nailed the focus on the lead rider in these shots, Peter. I just wonder, though, if it would be possible to get a little motion blur in the wheels / feet / pedals? I'm just thinking of the way photos of planes in flight look better with a blurred propeller.

[NorthernFocus]

Nice set. The second shot is really nice. I see you positioned yourself to catch them coming out of a curve so you weren't having to shoot straight down the road. You're definitely a quick study. One thing that keeps photography interesting is that every different subject comes with new technique to learn.

Not sure what camera body you are shooting but it may not have the functionality to anticipate the movement coming towards you. I forget what Nikon calls it. Maybe focus tracking? It is a function that calculates the subject movement and makes a tiny jump in focal point when you press the shutter to accommodate the delay before the shutter actually fires. Have no idea what Canon calls it. It makes a big difference with fast moving targets coming toward the camera. I've only owned one body that didn't have it (D7000) and it caused me to relegate that body to landscape only. One too many bird photos with the head OOF

[Ricco]

Dan - I use a canon 60D (so obviously not the higher end body). I had a look at the manual and there wasn't anything about that function. Be interested to hear from other guys out there on this......

Greg - I'm not sure how I'd be able to do that. I'm only thinking out loud here, but I think with planes and helicopters, the propellor is moving faster relative to the actual object. So the photo can keep the main subject sharp while the propellor has the movement. In the case of the riders, the wheels are moving relatively the same speed as the subject and so you would end up blurring both. I have seen other photos where the entire subject is blurred so I might try that next time I get the opportunity.

Thanks for the comments