Shots from the Joe Martin Stage Race Criterium held in downtown Fayetteville, Arkansas, Sunday May 11th. K10D + DA 50-200. These guys were really moving; a lot of fun to watch, and a challenge to photograph! If you would like to see more, point your browser to: http://photobucket.com/JoeMartin2008













Hope you liked them....comments are always appreciated.

[roentarre]

You got some nice images. Great head on captures with momentum

[cputeq]

NIce shots. I like 5 the best -- You have a curve of bikers going from left 1/3 to top 1/3 of the image, just shy of hitting a corner (a good thing), and it shows the mood of the race very well

Question - Did you try any pano shots? I've been interested in trying some on bikers, but I can't find any races here!

[SCGushue]

Nice images. #5 stands out as the best. A lot of movement and force in that image.

Stephen

[sajmmiller]

You got some nice images. Great head on captures with momentum

Thank you for the comment Roentarre. The head-on shots were the scariest to capture. I used a tree for cover in just in case they tangled while coming at me.

NIce shots. I like 5 the best -- You have a curve of bikers going from left 1/3 to top 1/3 of the image, just shy of hitting a corner (a good thing), and it shows the mood of the race very well

Question - Did you try any pano shots? I've been interested in trying some on bikers, but I can't find any races here!

I assume you mean panning as opposed to panoramic? I was only 15-50 feet away from these guys, and they were moving very fast, so I was panning on all of the shots at various speeds, depending upon the angle. The panning is not obvious looking at the photos; the shutter speeds were so fast that the background didn't blur as much as I would have liked.

Thanks for commenting!

Nice images. #5 stands out as the best. A lot of movement and force in that image.

Stephen

That's one of my favorites too. There's a few more very similar to #5 on the Photobucket link above. I appreciate your taking the time to comment Stephen!

[cputeq]

YEs, sorry, Panning, not panoramic

I must have had a brain/keyboard malfunction!

[Rener]

Am I missing something here Scott? your shots are wonderful, well executed and tack sharp. The reason I say this is because there are some who says Pentax AF is toooo sloooow!!! and cannot even track a crawling baby let alone some bike racing. Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,

Rene

[khardur]

nice shots! My only real comment would be regarding the last picture - would love to see a slightly slower shutter speed to blur the background and show more of a sense of speed.

#5 is my favorite of the bunch.

[Clicker]

The first photo, he was concentrating on you...did he crash afterwards?

Nice set.

[sajmmiller]

Am I missing something here Scott? your shots are wonderful, well executed and tack sharp. The reason I say this is because there are some who says Pentax AF is toooo sloooow!!! and cannot even track a crawling baby let alone some bike racing. Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,

Rene

Well, I'm sorry to say that AF-C was problematic. After much experimentation and frustration, I ultimately ended up setting up the majority of shots by manually focusing on a point in the street, waiting for the riders, panning with them to the focus point, and then tripping the shutter.

Thanks for your kind words Rene. Glad you liked them.

nice shots! My only real comment would be regarding the last picture - would love to see a slightly slower shutter speed to blur the background and show more of a sense of speed.

#5 is my favorite of the bunch.

Agreed...I wish I'd have tried some of the fast panning shots like #6 with a lower shutter speed....next time. I'm in the process of ordering a circular polarizer which would have dropped the shutter speeds while keeping the aperture in the sweet spot and reducing the bright reflections.

Thanks for the comment Dan.

The first photo, he was concentrating on you...did he crash afterwards?

Nice set.

He didn't crash, but a couple of pack pileups did occur. Thanks for commenting.