This was my first attempt at shooting a hare scramble. This is a motorcycle race that took place on a course through a farm changing from open fields to woods. Because it was a bright day, there was no problem finding light to photograph racers. It was plentiful out in the open which made the technique easy – auto mode would have probably worked out there! But the dust and heat was just too much to stay for the entire race. So we moved to the woods to track the racers as they followed the windy course through the trees. This made the photos much more challenging, but the results were more interesting to view!
Ruckersville, Virginia
The action was very fast and close! The course was marked out through the trees, but it was possible for spectators to get right next to the trails as the riders went by. With this opportunity, I went with the wider zoom – 24-70mm lens and found a spot as close to the trail that I could safely stay. As with all racing, panning the camera is a good idea. This means tracking with the racers with your camera and body as they go passed.
Put the camera into a continuous shooting mode so that multiple images are made as you hold down the shutter button. As you follow a moving target as is goes across you, at least a couple of the photos will keep the subject in focus while blurring the background. This does two things – it conveys the motion of the fast racing action, and it also cleans up the background by blurring any details back there.
Action Flash Photos
The other added element in the photos is the addition of flash. I zoomed out the flash head to 200mm which is the farthest that it will go. This creates a tight beam of light right out of the flash. The light was aimed right at the riders since the flash was attached to the camera. All the light falls on the riders and their colorful gear, then falls off, and becomes darker everywhere else because of the zoomed head. The flash also freezes some of the dirt coming off the tires, and usually will freeze the faces of the riders while the panning will blur much of the background. Here is a closeup of the above image:
I really like how these turned out. Not everything is in focus, and viewers can get an idea of the speed that the racers take through these courses. It takes a lot of work especially on these warm days just to finish one of these long races. I am impressed with the effort to be competitive and pass others while trying to keep upright and away from the trees!
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