2017 Project 52 - 1st Quarter by Mal Schulstad

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Originally Posted by skitterbug

Mal ~ I was looking at the EXIF data and I enjoyed your caption! "One of those rare times when just for a few seconds the light hits a certain spot just perfectly - Hitman Horton hitting the drop on the Comm Games Jump Track"
I am guessing that "Hitman" is his nickname? :D

Also, the data indicates you used manual exposure! I doubt that I'd be quick enough to get things in focus. Do you set up and get things pretty much dialed in so you don't have to do much adjusting when the picture happens?

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Yes, Tim 'Hitman' Horton is indeed his nickname, just like mine is 'DZ' (Danger Zone), although probably not for the reasons you think.

So yes, I do use manual exposure but I cheat a little bit. Firstly, I have a user setting on my camera that allows me to pre-program settings on my camera - as long as the dial is set to "U2" my camera will start on f/4 (used to be f2.8), 1/800 (used to be 1/500), EV - 0 (I used to have this on +3 but recently changed it), Matrix Meter mode for lighting, and auto ISO. I've talked a lot about how I've been experimenting with settings and so I've recently changed them to what I commonly use.

From there, it's mostly about tweaking the shutter speed, sometimes the aperture - but mostly due to available light rather than depth of field, and exposure depending on what the sun is like in the background. I usually have at least 20 seconds before the group has caught up to my spot - plenty of time to dump the bike, grab the camera out of the bag, tweak the settings, and if I'm lucky fire off a test shot... :D

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Originally Posted by joebranko

That is so funny. I can almost see it!

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It happened again yesterday - scares the hell out of them when they realise I'm there.

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Originally Posted by Goldcoastgolfer

And so I got lucky...

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A couple of weeks ago I made reference to golfer Gary Player's comment, "The more I practice, the luckier I get."

This example of luck is called skill, knowledge and experience.

Week 10 Photo 2a
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/733/33...b160310f_o.jpg_DZ10315 by Mal Schulstad, on Flickr

This is in the same place and time as the Week 10 Photo 1 shot. I thought you'd like to see the whole jumping sequence. Actually, it's more of a drop than a jump.
Week 10 Photo 2b
https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3696/3...25795eb5_o.jpg_DZ10316 by Mal Schulstad, on Flickr

Almost got the sun shining out of his....

Week 10 Photo 2c
https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2810/3...bc26b200_o.jpg_DZ10317 by Mal Schulstad, on Flickr

This particular bike is a mid-range trail bike in terms of its suspension. Even with the travel that this bike has, you can see how much pressure it puts on the tire in the landing.

Week 10 Photo 3
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/779/32...3571a470_o.jpg_DZ10321 by Mal Schulstad, on Flickr

So not 30 seconds after the first group passed by the group that I was actually riding with shot through. In that 30 seconds the sun changed position and I lost the star burst effect. I did also increase the exposure so I'm not sure if that had anything to do with the change of lighting conditions.

Week 10 Photo 4
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/696/33...b3d546c1_o.jpg_DZ10333 by Mal Schulstad, on Flickr

A darker part of the forest this shot pushed my ISO up to 6400. I liked the lines and the position of the rider in this shot so I did what I normally do when I struggle with a photo - finished it in sepia and left some noise in (B&W sometimes works too).

Week 10 Photo 5
https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3924/3...2778cda3_o.jpg_DZ10355 by Mal Schulstad, on Flickr

Close to where I shot Week 10 Photo 4 but I opened the shutter up because the rider was much closer to me for this one. ISO was still high but noise not as bad because of the proximity of focus.

But I posted this one because of this rider's facial expression. People do funny things with their tongues when they hit a jump.

Week 10 Photo 6
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/701/32...a5f1888d_o.jpg_DZ10366 by Mal Schulstad, on Flickr

A place with better lighting makes all the difference. And tongues are still wagging here.

Week 10 Photo 7
https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2900/3...15d6f296_o.jpg_DZ10383 by Mal Schulstad, on Flickr

So I put this one up as an example of what happens if you don't check your settings before you start taking photos. I'd pulled the camera out of my bag and not checked my dials. Sometimes the bag catches the control setting dial and moves if off where it's supposed to be - in this case it shifted it to some other weird setting. I caught it a the last second however my camera user settings were still to 1/500 for shutter speed, way too slow for this shot.

Always check your settings before you start shooting action shots. You might miss the first person, but you might be able to save the next shot instead of ruining the entire sequence.

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Sometimes the bag catches the control setting dial and moves if off where it's supposed to be....... Always check your settings before you start shooting action shots. You might miss the first person, but you might be able to save the next shot instead of ruining the entire sequence.

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I have this problem from time to time (messed up settings). It is hard to remember to check the settings especially in a family gathering situation where everything is going on at once. Pictures I take during one of those situations aren't even close to studio quality but they do work nicely for a memory album. So your caution to watch this is a perfect reminder to me. I like the idea of saved settings and I think my camera does offer that ability so I plan on checking that feature out. Thank you for that suggestion!

I enjoyed your selection of pics of your recent outing!. Your capture of what goes on is well done. :)