The Last Hurrah!! - A Pashnit Motorcycle Ride through California's Central Coast

[pashnit]

Photo Tip: In this photo, I'm trying to get a good balance of what your eyes see. What makes the photo work of shooting a pic of the riders conversing is balancing out the riders + bikes + the sky. Setting the riders against the blue sky emphasizes them in the pic. Having them evenly spaced out also helps. Putting the bikes down low sets the scene & tone of the pic. The camera is about level with the front fenders and actually looking up at the riders.

Again, note the position of the sun. A bright mid-day sun can be a difficult thing to work with. So I'll try to make it work for me instead. In this photo, it's behind Tim & Patrick, so their faces are slightly darker, which in turn de-emphasizes them. On the other hand, Frank, who is talking, is lit up by the sun. So as a result, I can make you, the viewer, focus your attention on Frank by those subtle little things such as lighting & working with the angle of the sun.

[pashnit]

Photo Tip: This time with these two photos I'm fiddling with the position of the camera. The first highlights the R1, using the FJR as a dark background. The second one pulls back and bit, and juxtaposes the two bike against one another.

[pashnit]

The 'Two-Bike Shot' is something I really enjoy taking. You can do this from almost any angle, just shoot the bikes as they lie, and see what happens.



Same pic - different camera position

[pashnit]

Ayumi



That sexy exhaust on the new GSXR

[pashnit]

View from the top



Tim says enough pics, let's ride!



Tim headed down the hill on the FJR. Tim can really move on that thing, and has done trackdays on the FJR where he's dragging his knee.



Here's Tim draggin' knee on his FJR at the track

[pashnit]

Patrick on the 954



Photo Tip: Panning takes a bit of practice to do. With this shot I'm finally getting it right as the bikes shoot on by, evenly spaced out. I'm holding the shutter half way down until the camera takes a reading, and focusing on the hillside in front of me as my background. I then rotate right, and pan with Frank as he approaches. As he shoots by from right to left, I press the shutter (the rest of the way down) as soon as he gets directly in front of me (where I had originally taken my light reading). The background is blurry, but Frank & the R1 are crisp. Also note that in choosing where to take these pics, I'll use the super-bright mid-day sun to capture the shadows on the bike and use that to my advantage.

[pashnit]

One thing that fascinated me was this type of plant (I have to admit I've no idea what the name of it is) that provided an excellent backdrop for the riders!



Tim & the riders in tow



Frank shooting by

[pashnit]

A break in the heavy fog... Unfortunately, our glimpse of the coast like this was very limited, and we made our way south in a shroud of chilly coastal fog.



Of course, if you're traveling along Highway 1 and you're near San Simeon you have to check out the seals. Pretty cool. They always look like they're smiling.



Ayumi shot this of her bike along Highway 1's straight sections

[pashnit]

A quick detour up Hwy 46 to overlook the coast. At far left is Morro Bay underneath all the fog. A scene like this is pretty common along the coastal mountains on the Pacific.

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[pashnit]

Whale Rock Reservior along Old Creek Rd near Cambria has a certain sheen at sunset. It overlooks the small ocean community of Cayucos. The panoramic is actually two photos - can you see the seam? I'm using the same technique described a few posts back.