Moto Photography Equipment

[Goofy Footer 539]

I stumbled on this thread and have a question for you photoG peeps. Bowers??? Anybody? (just not that 'posts his photos sideways slut')..

I'd like to step up my photo game / ride report game.

-What kind of camera do you think would suffice for such pictures?

-Do you think it's worth it to carry a nicer camera (opposed to cell phones?) for higher quality ride pics [memories]?

-Would you be worried about damaging your camera with dust? Crashes?

-How much effort are we talking to get some "better" pics?

-Clearly there is some editing done post "the moment" and that might get tedious.

Some examples:

These guys https://instagram.com/wolfpackendurox/ have some pretty killer ride photos (and staged shots but that's okay too).

LostRider on ADVrider has some good shots: http://lostrider.smugmug.com/

This thread on ADVrider has epic shots! http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/the-chronicles-of-gnarnia-washington-cascades.812890/

[Bp619 105]

Ive been wondering too wolfpackenduro stuff is awesome. Goffy you talking about something small enough like a compact camera to carry around like this size

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-W800-Digital-Camera-Black/dp/B00I8BIBCW/ref=sr_1_2?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1445486088&sr=1-2&keywords=compact+camera

Ive been wondering if something around this size can get decent enough photos.

Otherwise i would have to steal my wifes dslr for rides and dont think that will go over well

Or something like this would be next step up i would assume decent zoom nice size

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Wireless-Mirrorless-Digital-20-50mm/dp/B00K88XP9C/ref=sr_1_1?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1445486216&sr=1-1&keywords=compact+camera

[paulmbowers 236]

I had a look at the links you've provided for examples, and here's the thing:

These guys know what they're doing. They understand the two most important things about photography: Lighting and composition. You could give any of them a cheap-ass camera and cell phone and their images would still be excellent.

Does a good camera help? Sure, by about 10-20% (maybe), but just like Bikeslut (who posts images sideways!) can kick my ass on a battered DRZ every day of the week, it's all about the rider.

Have another look at the links mentioned here- many of them follow my first rule of improving photography: Get up earlier, shoot later, forget the middle of the day.

Second rule: Shoot more. And then more. Practice.
Which, just like wanting to be a better rider, ride more, and then ride even more. Practice.

And in photography, just like riding, there will be people (myself included) who will never rise above a certain level of expertise. We simply don't have the coordination, the timing, the drive, the natural ability that others have.

Photographers see things that other people don't. They understand how a particular scene will render based on lighting, camera angle, confidence with equipment and experience. They can "see" opportunities where other people cannot, and they see scenes that others think are spectacular (and are!) but won't work well as a photograph.

And yes, many (all?) of the images you linked have some degree of post-production applied. Some of it is excellent, other is a popular technique called HDR, which produce colors and contrast rations akin to clown vomit.

Now- about equipment (again, only 20% of a good photograph).

For recreational use, most of my images are shot on my phone. In my studio/garage, I have a wall of prints of the images I enjoy most, and probably 75% are iphone based. That's because I hate to carry "real" cameras- I don't like the space they take in my bag, and I don't like to get them out to take pictures. Yes, because I'm lazy.

I recently bought a Sony a6000 with two lenses- a 10-18 VERY wide angle and a 55 mild telephoto. The Sony fills a gap the iPhone cannot- wide angles. In both recreational and pro work I like my short (wide) lenses because of the way I can distort reality, and until the 10-22 came out, compact form-factor cameras could only go to about 35mm (equiv) wide.

This Sony is an incredible camera, and I'm quite fond of it. I've since used it on a couple more commercial-level jobs and it's done very well.

For years, I shot compact cameras way back form the film days with an Olympus XA, but with digital I always loved (and still do) the Canon G series- RiggerDan shoots one of these very well. Images rival those of a DSLR.

Fabless hauls a Canon 6D DSLR with a 24-105mm zoom and understands the importance of getting off the bike and shooting ALL THE TIME. He's not lazy, and he's really good with it.

Post-production- yes. Photoshop or Lightroom or both. The trick is to avoid the post produced "look" like those selective color images where black/white and color is mixed? Blech. BLECH. Overly-saturated and overly sharpened images- blech. I've seen people set their cameras to produce these effects, thereby ruining otherwise well-composed images. Blech.

Ok, there was a rant...hope that helps.

[Goofy Footer 539]

I agree wholeheartedly that User Skill is the #1 factor to success (not that bikeslut has any riding skill).

I need to increase my skills - practice practice practice

Thankfully, I've never been afraid to lay down in the dirt to get a good angle on a moto jump, to stand in the middle of the creek to get the river shot or to climb some rocks to get more perspective. Still, I need practice. A lot of it.

On a recent dusk ride in the mountains, my stock iPhone 4s struggle mightily with capturing the colors of the fading sunset. ie too dark or too light depending on exposure and/or shutter speed. Dawn/dusk have some great colors. I just with I could take better photos in these sometimes low light situations.

I've seen some great photos taken from the iPhone platform. Are they (or you) using specific Apps? Techniques?

[paulmbowers 236]

First, yes- you've hit one of the limitations of the phone platform- exposure adjustment in wildly differing scenes- something backlit, etc.

Assuming you understand how to use refocusing- tapping on the screen to set the focus on a specific point? When you do so, the phone also takes its exposure information from that spot. Tap on a dark area, the exposure will compensate by making to overall scene brighter. Obviously, this has limitations- suppose you want the exposure set for one area, but the focus in another?

If that's the case, I just get back on the bike and ride- forget photography.

There are apps that MIGHT help in a situation like that, but most apps are for minor tweaking- or, if overused, making an image appear ugly and contrived.

Also- phones are pretty useless when shooting action. Video, maybe.

[paulmbowers 236]

OH- in the latest versions of the iOS, you may also set focus as described by tapping, but you're offered a little sun icon adjacent to the focus box. One may slide that sun up or down to adjust the exposure a bit.

However- if one is struggling that hard with the shot, it's likely the scene was not selected correctly- some scenes simply don't lend themselves to photographs.

[Covered in Dust 163]

I usually carry 2 cameras on every ride, not counting my phone. One on my vest and one in the tank bag. The camera on my vest gets most of the use because I can grap it any time even when riding. I'm not a great photographer but I've taken some great shots because I take lots of pics. If you take hundreds of pics your sure to get a few really good ones.

CiD

[wildwood 11]

I've started using a Nikon CoolPix S4000 for the trail. Compact, Zoom, 3" LCD screen. It takes very good pictures for what it is. Not a bad choice, and they have many different options in their line of cameras.

[paulmbowers 236]

I'm not a great photographer but I've taken some great shots because I take lots of pics. If you take hundreds of pics your sure to get a few really good ones.

CiD

And yet...

That's much of the work right there. Shoot more, and more often. One's eye develops (like CiD's and Bagster's) as one practices more.

It's also one of the reasons I have few high-level motorcycle images- I'm too lazy to get off the bike and take more pictures.

[Wierdrider 189]

Like Paul said, early ( before 10 ish ) or later ( after 3 ish). Let the light and shadows show the form of your subject.

See the mountain behind the pooches. This was shot with iPhone later in the day. At high noon it would not have any shadows to show the form of the mountain.

[Goofy Footer 539]

Also- phones are pretty useless when shooting action. Video, maybe.

Any recommendations?

I do have access to a Canon Rebel XTi with two lenses (one normal size lens and one 18mm-270mm Tamron lens) and then a fish eye screw on mini-lens thingy

[Goofy Footer 539]

This is the frustration I'm talking about. We were chasing a killer sunset on a recent ride and the colors were astounding. My iPhone no matter how I tried to focus, could not convey the beauty.

Too light

Too dark

[Goofy Footer 539]

These were all taken in the morning or late afternoon. (With the exception of the first pic which was taken at high noon)

iPhone 4 (The background / desert colors make the shot here. I purposely rode up the hill so I could get some perspective)

iPhone 4s (Hard to take a bad photograph in Anza Borrego against the big mud walls. I think I was laying in the dirt to take this picture).

iPhone 4s. I did a number of jumps and kept bugging my riding partners to take another pic so I could "get it right" - they did an awesome job. I really like the image and more importantly the moment it captures. I think the quality of the picture (taken off my iPhone 4s) is decent but could be better. Maybe that is a post-processing thing?

iPhone 4s (Bowers you may recognize a neighbor of yours in this pic). I took this picture a few times from different angles. We were putting / exploring as were near camp and I found this spot.

Canon Powershot D10. This may be my best moto image yet. The only trick here was stopping at the right time (and getting lucky as I had ridden 275 miles that day to get to this point). It was taken with a point and shoot waterproof (and more importantly dustproof) Canon Powershot D10 that was later lost in Anza Borrego.. Even the $300 Powershot D10 struggled with clearly capturing action shots.

edit: I may have edited some of these pics possibly. Honestly not sure. These were all taken at least 6 months ago with the exception of the first one which I took quite recently.

[REV5 0]

Goofy that camera will be fine. Just take it out and shoot. The quality of glass in the lens is very important too. and if you are shooting in lower light the speed of the lens will make a big difference too. (Tripod vs. no tripod) fast lens=$$$. Like PB said get out and shoot shoot shoot. Not just riding. Bring the camera with you everywhere you go. It will help you train your eye. Happy you are interested in shooting.

[Goofy Footer 539]

Like Paul said, early ( before 10 ish ) or later ( after 3 ish). Let the light and shadows show the form of your subject.

See the mountain behind the pooches. This was shot with iPhone later in the day. At high noon it would not have any shadows to show the form of the mountain.

Nice photo and thanks for sharing. Do you have any other pics to share? Possibly an iPhone action shot?

I'm just trying to see what others have done / estimate where I should set my expectations.

[paulmbowers 236]

little love.

[paulmbowers 236]

little more love. This is very subjective stuff, and while I might prefer these, you might not.

[Wierdrider 189]

This is the frustration I'm talking about. We were chasing a killer sunset on a recent ride and the colors were astounding. My iPhone no matter how I tried to focus, could not convey the beauty.

Too light

IMG_4234.JPG

Too dark

IMG_4235.JPG

The only way you'll get good exposure in one image is either light the bikes with a flash, or combine the two. Too much contrast for the camera to handle.

[Wierdrider 189]

This is the frustration I'm talking about. We were chasing a killer sunset on a recent ride and the colors were astounding. My iPhone no matter how I tried to focus, could not convey the beauty.

Too light

IMG_4234.JPG

Too dark

IMG_4235.JPG

The only way you'll get good exposure in one image is either light the bikes with a flash, or combine the two. Too much contrast for the camera to handle.

Like Paul said, early ( before 10 ish ) or later ( after 3 ish). Let the light and shadows show the form of your subject.

See the mountain behind the pooches. This was shot with iPhone later in the day. At high noon it would not have any shadows to show the form of the mountain.

Nice photo and thanks for sharing. Do you have any other pics to share? Possibly an iPhone action shot?

I'm just trying to see what others have done / estimate where I should set my expectations.

No iPhone action shots, but the trick on point and shoot cameras is to pre focus on an area first. If you hold the shutter button down and hold it till you take the picture you should get better results. Point and shoot cameras take a long time to focus. The XTi will have a continuous focus mode that in theory will focus on the moving subject as long as you hold the shutter button down.

This shot would have been better if the sun was lower and more in front of you. I opened up the shadows and cropped it a little through my iPhone.

This photo I increased contrast and saturation.

[paulmbowers 236]

Rough translation.

Truth is, this is not a problem with the camera- it's a problem with the scene. The world's bestest camera would have a hard time with this- it's severely backlit, and cannot render the highlights (sky) with the shadows (bikes).

[Bagstr 288]

May I suggest; Put the Sun over your shoulder, Zoom in and out to frame the scene, think Foreground and Background. Riding alone will increase your output x4, but then why are out there. Riding with your eyes open looking for that magic that reflects why you are there. Look at what Kkug is doing these days. He started shooting in a state of mystification but keeps shooting and looking for inspiration. He uses an old Panasonic/Lumix I believe and getting good production.

If I had found the horizon, this would have been nice. Lighting from the side, people in foreground, well exposed distance component.

Bagstr

[Goofy Footer 539]

With a little editing applied.

Jacket shadows are gone. More attention to detail on the rider.

Overall scene is brighter with better clarity of the bike and rider.

Slightly better sunset tinge (a better representation of what it truly looked like). Less shadows on left side of bike.

[Wierdrider 189]

We should make a photo directed ride sometime. If I make Suspenders ride on 11-11 at 212 land I will bring my camera.

[Goofy Footer 539]

After some minor touch-ups, I can see the benefit of "tweaking" of a picture on the computer. I'm using a Mac and find it's easy enough to change Saturation, Shadows, Highlights, Exposure, Sharpness etc through "Preview"

This leads to my next question:

When editing a photo, what setting/variable mentioned above do you typically start with? Or, is it image dependent?

[CVRick 42]

Like Paul said, early ( before 10 ish ) or later ( after 3 ish). Let the light and shadows show the form of your subject.

See the mountain behind the pooches. This was shot with iPhone later in the day. At high noon it would not have any shadows to show the form of the mountain.

I like that photo. the trail in back looks familar.