Mountain Biking Photography

This week I had the opportunity to shoot the Bristol Bikefest event at Ashton Court.  The format is a 12hr race completing laps around the 9.5km course either as part of a team or as an epic solo effort.

This was a great chance to really get to grips with shooting some fast action and put the off camera flash (OCF) to the test. I thought i'd provide a bit of 'how-to' behind these images though it's a bit more of 'how I do' rather than trying to advise on the right and wrongs of mountain bike photography.

The course has some great single track sections so after a bit of hiking around i found some good berms that i could set up for a shot.

The good thing about shooting an event as opposed to a few mates is that you have a steady stream of riders flying past. This provides plenty of opportunity to tweak settings, adjust angles etc to get the shots just right. It also provides a range of characters some of which relish the site of a photographer at the next bend and do their best to pose for the shot!

I used off camera flash (OCF) for 90% of the shots. Off camera means literally that, the flash is mounted on a tripod in a separate position from the camera providing a better angle between the camera and light source. Using flash rather than just the ambient light means you can control the intensity of the light on the rider and make them 'pop' from the background. It also enables you to freeze the action using the flash rather than the shutter speed. Combined with some panning of the camera it creates the blurred background and a reasonably crisp rider.

The trick is getting the right balance between the ambient light, the flash and the amount of movement (both rider and camera panning). To do this I always work in the manual setting. Shutter speed I dial in between 1/10th and 1/120th second. This allows a bit of ambient light and is slow enough to blur the background. The aperture is set between f4 and f8. The balance here is between allowing enough of the flash light in (setting the flash to a lower power requires a larger aperture) and getting depth of field to help ensure the rider is in focus.

To use the OCF I have a basic wireless trigger. You can spend a few hundred pounds on the flash trigger benchmark, the Pocketwizzard, however for the moment my basic ones work fine. Being a basic trigger there is no transmission of TTL metering info so the flash needs to be set to manual. You have to play around a bit with the flash power and the aperture to get the exposure right but in essence having a lower power is better purely for the recharge time. I typically set mine to 1/2 or 1/4 power. 

When shooting action a common approach is to set the camera shutter to the highest frame rate per second  then hold down the shutter button ensuring that every fraction of a second action is captured. When using OCF that approach doesn't work as the flash will trigger on the first frame and the subsequent frames will be dark. Therefore you need to plan when you want to capture the moment as you only get one chance at it. This is when having a constant stream of riders helps!

Aside from settings the other consideration is lens choice, composition and viewpoint. For most of these shots i used a 17mm lens (on full frame). The wide angle distortion adds to the dramatic effect and makes it easier to capture the complete scene. Using such a wide angle lens does mean you have to get very close to the action, scarily close at times! If you are getting this close take care not to get in the way of the riders and make sure they can see you are there. No rider will appreciate you popping out from behind a tree while they are flying down a single track! 

A different lens option is to go for a telephoto, this keeps you at a safer distance if nothing else! Using OCF you can still set this up next to the action then take the photo from 100 yards away to achieve the same benefit from the flash.

The view point also makes a big difference and can really make a shot stand out against others. Shooting in a wood provides plenty of opportunity to climb trees to get above the action. This was slightly precarious at times but shooting from above does help to get a different perspective.

Its also worth mentioning that i rarely look through the view finder when shooting with a wide angle lens, preferring instead to shoot at arms length. Trying to keep the camera close to your head significantly restricts the camera position. You certainly wouldn't want your head as close the action as my camera was at times! It takes a few shots to experiment with the composition but generally works well.

The Bikefest event was fantastic with a great setup and atmosphere. Mountain bikers are a laid back bunch even when in full race mode so make for great subjects. I have stacks of images from the event so if anyone racing is reading this let me know your race number and i'll see if i've got a photo of you in action. 

As i mentioned this is just my take on mountain bike photography, i'd love to hear any other tips tricks or comments.

Lowepro Photo Sport 200 Review

Camera bags are the source of constant debate and deliberation amongst photographers. The reason? Because there is no such thing as the perfect, one size fits all bag. So to add further conjecture to the search for a sack here's a review of my latest addition, the Lowepro Photo Sport 200.

Let's start with why i bought it. Most of my photography is out on the hill. Either walking and taking landscapes or more adventurous climbing or mountaineering. The key for me is always keeping the camera handy. This is no mean feat especially in climbing or mountaineering situations where you are carrying a lot of other critical gear and it is definitely not safe or convenient to have a camera swinging from your neck. Equally when the camera is in your rucksack you can guarantee it will never see the light of day apart from when you stop at a convenient, safe (undramatic) spot for lunch.

So this is where i thought this bag would come in. Enough space to allow me to carry some day trip essentials whilst still providing easy and quick access to the camera. The side pouch allows you to swing the bag off one shoulder and access the camera from the side meaning you don't have to take the bag off or put  it down to take a photo.

So what do i squeeze in to the camera pouch? I usually carry my 5dmk2 plus a 70-300L. This is snug but fits well. If I am carrying any other lenses these go in a separate lens case in the main section of the bag. You do have to wriggle the camera a little to get it in and out but having it snug is probably no bad thing. It is also worth noting if the main section of the bag is tightly packed with jackets etc it does further compress the camera pouch.

Out on the hill - I thought I would go on to review how the bag stands up in various scenarios rather than just say it is generally good or bad. This way you can hopefully judge whether it will work for you.

Walking/Trekking
When out for a day in the hills you will almost certainly have some kit with you other than the camera gear. Most other camera rucksacks i have come across have been pretty dedicated to carrying camera gear without much thought for other items. This is the real strong point of this bag. It has enough space for all the daily essentials but still leaving enough room for the camera. That said it is not huge so don't expect to use it for a multi day hike!
The other plus point for outdoor activities is the bag is very comfortable to carry. It has a well padded back and wide well designed straps. In addition the waist belt helps to effectively distribute the load and also has a couple of handy pockets in it.
When it comes to taking a photo it is easy to swing the bag off one shoulder to access the camera from the side pouch. This saves having to take the bag off, put it in the mud etc.
For day walks this bag works perfectly.

Typical kit for day on the hill

Mountaineering
This is a tricky one. On a proper day out mountaineering the typical kit list would far exceed the capacity of this bag. In theory if it wasn't for the capacity issues it would work quite well as the camera is well out of the way when climbing but can be accessed relatively easily even in precarious positions. I'm yet to work out a system that works for easy access to the camera when mountaineering but still allows space for all the other gear and doesn't get in the way. For some excellent advice on mountaineering photography, check out Alexandre Buisse and his book Remote Exposure http://www.alexandrebuisse.org/books/remote-exposure
For true mountaineering this bag is not the one.

Climbing
You may have seen the advert for this bag with Cory Rich using it on a climbing photo shoot? Well it kind of works. For a day out climbing with your mates when you want your camera along this bag is great. You can just about squeeze the gear in if there is a walk in, though you might need to get someone else to carry the rope (another plus point!). When you are climbing it is compact and out of the way yet easy to get the camera when needed.
However, when i'm dangling from a rope specifically for photographing a climber i tend to use my shoulder bag as it allows me to dip in and out of it and do lens changes in the bag. A proper shoulder bag is also more secure than this one is when it is slug from one shoulder.
Out climbing for the day this works great, for a specific climbing shoot not so great.

Travelling
I have probably use this bag now more than any other mainly because it makes a great travel bag. It works great as a hand luggage bag when flying as you can fit quite a bit of camera gear in plus your laptop (in my case a 15" MBP) as well as various other bits you want to have with you. If you are travelling with a lot of camera gear obviously you will not fit it all in but it is a very good compromise. On a recent trip to Nicaragua i did curse on arrival when the airline told me they had lost my hold luggage complete with telephoto lens that i had taken out of hand luggage to make space for a book! As I said you can't fit everything in but just decide carefully what is important not to lose!
The other great aspect of this bag for general travelling is it doesn't look like a camera bag. To the untrained eye this looks very much like any other small day sack. I always feel incredibly self conscious when wondering around with a big shoulder bag emblazoned with LOWEPRO. this bag certainly helps to alleviate that.
Great bag for travelling and good compromise on hand luggage.

Travel - Hand Luggage

Skiing
My skiing abilities are somewhat lacking so the last thing i want is to carry a huge weighty rucksack throwing me off balance at every opportunity. This bag was just right for carrying the daily essentials plus camera gear without being to cumbersome. It is compact enough to allow you to keep it on when on a chairlift, I don't tend to follow the advice to remove bags as I have seen many people drop them when doing this!
If you're skiing with friends rather than on a location shoot, you need to get the to the camera quickly. If you are always stopping to get setup, your friends will very quickly become annoyed and leave you behind. Pulling up mid piste you can swing the bag off and get some shots without needing to remove poles, take gloves off etc. The other secret to keeping your friends as loyal, posing models is getting some great shots of them and impressing everyone in the bar, posting on Facebook and generally massaging their egos. Once they've seen the results they are usually more accommodating!
For skiing this is a fantastic bag.

A quick shot mid piste

The bad points..
The plastic buckles they use are shit. That's pretty much it. However this is disappointing as there are so many great features they have let it down by trying to be clever with the buckle design which doesn't work and broke on the second outing.

In Summary

• Great for days out in the hills
• Enough space to carry daily essentials plus gear
• Confortable even with a load
• Pouch a bit snug for 5dmk2 (but still works fine)
• Belt clips crap, i'm going on ebay later to try and find some 'normal' ones
• Doesn't look like a camera bag, great for travelling

Hope you found this useful, interested to know your thoughts if you have one. Remember you can follow the blog by entering your email address on the side or check out my media pages at Facebook www.facebook.com/fstopimages1 and twitter @f_stopimages. My main site is at www.f-stopimages.co.uk

Cheers,

Ben

Travel Photography (Part 1)

If you've checked out my website (f-stopimages.co.uk) you may have noticed some of my images are from obviously far flung corners of the globe. i thought i'd post a brief summary of some of my travel highlights here over the next few days to give some insight into the trips behind the images. 

So first on the cards..... Ethiopia.

In 2005 i completed the first descent of the Belchillo River using inflatable rafts in the Ethiopian highlands. This very remote river flows into the Blue Nile which we went on to descend all the way to the border of Sudan. The trip was organised by the infamous explorer John Blashford-Snell, a true character and inspiration for many adventures i've had since. In the typical style of Blashford-Snells' expeditions there was adventure, drama and excitement at every turn. While we were there we were taken hostage by bandits, people fell ill with malaria and we descended some truly terrifying rapids. To add to this the country fell into political chaos when the government arrested the entire opposition party and the military took over control of the capital. 

This was my first trip that i had gone on with the intention of documenting. i had bought a new digital SLR and had high hopes for getting my travel photography off the ground. However... day 3 i dropped my new camera which unsurprisingly stopped working. 

Travel photography lesson 1: Carry a backup even if it is a compact.

Fortunately i was able to borrow another guys Canon 20D so managed to get plenty of pictures..... until i lost the memory card. 

Travel photography lesson 2: Always backup you images!

All in all quite the adventure, too much to write about here but until i get round to putting the book together, here are a few photos from the trip.

Next stop will be Mongolia... check back in few days for the next instalment. You can also sign up to the blog to be notified when I've posted an update.