Camera Labs

The Tour of California is a multi-stage bicycle race, the prologue was held in Palo Alto.

This was my first attempt at sports photography and it was challenging! I tried many different settings and techniques, the hardest part was to get sharp focus of a cyclist riding by.

Here's a few shots

1) I don't know which rider this is



2) "Super" Mario Cipollini


3) George Hincapie


4) levi and a fan


see the rest of the set here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23919211@N ... 944523683/

many of the rest of the set are not sharp, framed poorly or just generally not good. I've included them in the set because the cycling fans I've sent the link to don't care about that stuff, they just wanna see the pics!

Equipment: Nikon D80 + 18-200VR + circular polarizer

Post proessing:
resize for upload to flikr. No other modifications

I'm not good at post processing, I could certainly use some tips in that area. I generally just take the JPG from the camera, I rarely crop, adjust exposure or anything else.

EDIT: I don't know why the images don't show up
EDITEDIT: photos fixed. Thanks Thomas!

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Nikon D80 + Nikkor 18-200VR + Nikkor 50mm f1.8

Synic: Take the URL that's shown in the last line of flickr, when you go to "all sizes" then "medium".
The line that start with "2. Grab the photo's URL:"!

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Hi synic, great shots - but don't be afraid to blur action photos, as this can often give a better impression of speed - see this workshop:

http://www.dslrtips.com/workshops/How_t ... hoto.shtml

thanks for the tips gordon!

I wish I would have read that link before I went out there. I tried to get a little motion blur, but since I didn't know what I was doing, I only went to 1/125 and didn't see much blur so I gave up.

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Nikon D80 + Nikkor 18-200VR + Nikkor 50mm f1.8

Good pics ! (I did't know Cippo was back!). You had a good spot , which is about 50% of what taking photos is all about.

I think some of the shots would have benefited from portrait orientation (e.g. the Cippo one) and fill the frame with the cyclist / moto.

Other than that, they are good !

cheers

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Capturing light...

when taking pics of bicycles, wouldn't be better to take the integrity of the wheels? i figure its the main part of the object (other than the rider himself of course). Plus if your panning then it could give a bigger impression of speed...

Quentin

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Quentin

Hey, I told you I was going to get my pro account someday!

My blog (in French!)

Wow! How's his sprinting form? I'd love to see him back in one of the major tours but I guess at this stage in his career that's an impossible dream.

Bob.

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OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

I head he got a 3rd in a group sprint finish but still need to check the results...

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Canon EOS 400D, Canon EOS 30V, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, EF 50mm f/1.4 USM, EF 70-200mm f/4L USM, Speedlite 430EX, Kenko & Cokin filters