Posts Tagged ‘racing’

Hare Scramble Racing

©TimeLine Media - VCHSS race - 2013 Cross Trails at Ruckersville

This was my first attempt at photographing motorcycle racing of any kind. Hare Scramble racing is a specific type of racing where the riders make multiple laps on a course that has terrain/elevation changes. At this time the course was a naturally rugged course through a farm in Ruckersville, VA. The race on this occasion was part of the Virginia Championship Hare Scramble Series. Being unfamiliar with the sport, the venue, and how things are run, I went in thinking I would try my best, but did not expect to get much from my first time out.

Ruckersville, Virginia

©TimeLine Media - VCHSS race - 2013 Cross Trails at Ruckersville
©TimeLine Media – VCHSS race – 2013 Cross Trails at Ruckersville

Before getting there, I looked online for some photo ideas. There are a myriad of place online where amazing photographers showcase their work. I go to 500px.com first – I think they have some of the best images online. It can be intimidating to post there as there are so many excellent images there! I decided that I wanted to get some photos of bikes up close to convey the speed and conditions that the racers face in competition.

©TimeLine Media - VCHSS race - 2013 Cross Trails at Ruckersville
©TimeLine Media – VCHSS race – 2013 Cross Trails at Ruckersville

Luckily, I had no problem with access. The 6.4 mile course had lots of good places to view racing, and you were on your own to monitor the trails to see if any racers were approaching. With the race being in the middle of the bright day, the open fields would be tough for getting light to the helmets without harsh shadows. Plus, I thought the dust might be bad for my lungs and gear!

©TimeLine Media - VCHSS race - 2013 Cross Trails at Ruckersville
©TimeLine Media – VCHSS race – 2013 Cross Trails at Ruckersville

In the woods, the sun was a lot more subdued. I could adjust more settings from the camera to get what I wanted. Like in ballroom dancing, there was a lot of colors on the bikes and the protective clothing of the riders making auto focus easier when tracking the bikes. I am still going through the photos, but I’ll post more about how I made these images in a future post.

©TimeLine Media - VCHSS race - 2013 Cross Trails at Ruckersville
©TimeLine Media – VCHSS race – 2013 Cross Trails at Ruckersville

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703-864-8208

Baltimore – iPhone 5

©TimeLine Media - Graphic design on side of car hauler

I felt bad about the comparison I made last week comparing the iPhone 5 images to a Nikon D4, a full-frame DSLR. Although, I was testing the limits of the smart phone camera that early in the morning without much help from any natural light. So today I will post some photos from bright, sunny conditions. This will show what it can do in very bright light. Comparatively, this should even the competition. This is not the “best” light for photos. Most of these are in the middle of the day without many clouds in the sky. Addtionally the sun is almost directly overhead. Portraits would not look very good in this light. However buildings, structures and other non-faces can be done. Additionally, with some post-processing they can look decent even from the iPhone.

iPhone Comparison

©TimeLine Media - Baltimore Transamerica Tower with iPhone
©TimeLine Media – Baltimore Transamerica Tower with iPhone
©TimeLine Media - Bank of America Building & William Donald Schaefer Building with iPhone
©TimeLine Media – Bank of America Building & William Donald Schaefer Building with iPhone

Baltimore, MD has the tallest buildings in the state of Maryland. Just a few blocks off the Inner Harbor, and you are in the canyons of streets lined with these buildings. Having plenty of overhead sun and no clouds in the sky are emphatically perfect conditions for a point and shoot or smartphone camera to perform it’s best. The smaller sensor in these devices require much more light than larger cameras, so these images are almost as good as what they can produce.

Indycar Paddock

©TimeLine Media - Graphic design on side of car hauler
©TimeLine Media – Graphic design on side of car hauler

With just a touch of clarity and contrast, the graphics painted onto the side of this truck are and the sharpness of the text in the license plate are indistinguishable from images taken with any other camera. The bright light in the area means that there is no camera shake from slow shutter speeds. Especially when taking photos of dark subjects, the smartphone camera will compensate for the lack of light by increasing the shutter speed which is very difficult to hold still without introducing shake. These cameras were not designed to be mounted on a tripod, and are hard to hold steady for very long. Give a scene lots of light, though, and that problem goes away.

With the low ISO settings in the bright light, vivid colors can be reproduced. In this last photo, the bright red paint on this hauler is faithfully reproduced. Adding more Clarity in Lightroom is the only adjustment needed to finish this image. If only the iPhone were able to write the RAW data from the sensor, it could be a viable replacement in the right situations!

©TimeLine Media - detail of racing hauler
©TimeLine Media – detail of racing hauler

TimeLine Mediawww.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

Race Cars – Summit Point, WV

©TimeLine Media - racing at Summit Point Raceway

I have a date with the dental chair today, so I cannot stay long online. There were some orders that I needed to place, and this event was just adjacent to them, so here you go! Some race cars on the track at Summit Point Raceway. Periodically, I take photos when at the track to see family or friends racing. The assignment is similar to ballroom dancing – lots of skill, action, and color – perfect for dynamic photos!

Porsche during a race at Summit Point Raceway ©TimeLine Media
Porsche during a race at Summit Point Raceway ©TimeLine Media

Photo Technique

On this occasion, I practice the technique for panning the camera. At this time, the sun was very bright at the track. So I could have used the fastest shutter speed to capture the cars on the track. However, this would result in photos that would just look like cars parked on the track. For example, if you take a photo with a very fast shutter speed, the tires and the background would be completed sharp. If you lower the shutter speed, and pan the camera as the cars go by, you can add some sense of motion to the photos. Let me know what you think about these -enjoy!

©TimeLine Media - racing at Summit Point Raceway
©TimeLine Media – racing at Summit Point Raceway
©TimeLine Media - racing at Summit Point Raceway
Racing at Summit Point Raceway ©TimeLine Media

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

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