Solo rides with photos vs. Serious rides with others and fewer photos

[DaleC]

One of the real dilemmas I have as a serious and avid motorcycle rider is getting a good number of photos of both the roads and the views when I ride with others. All too often when I ride with many of my friends on some great rides and trips, I end up with just a few photos at the “regular type stopping spots”, but none of what I consider the great turns or magical sites that we passed as we were speeding along our route. Only when I return to those roads, alone, can I get a sufficient number of photos or double back on something that may have caught my interest to take a photo for my files. Therefore, it’s often a conflict I find I run into: giving up doing any serious photo taking and enjoying the ride with friends, or going off by myself on a ride and making the best of both a good ride (or longer trip) and satisfying my desire to get some great photos too of anything that I might want to look at later.

Regrettably, although I thoroughly enjoy my rides with others and we stop for the occasional photo, they tend to be more serious rides and minimal photography so the great scenes and views are more than often memories etched in my mind. Only when I revised that ride again alone do I find I can go to the efforts I want to catch a good number of those magical spots on a great road or double back and snap a few photos of some great view I want to capture. Unfortunately, some of the trips and roads I have traveled with riding with some I've never had the opportunity to revisit so consequently I have a pretty good list of roads that are still on my revisit list to photograph.

Now don't get me wrong, I thoroughly want to enjoy the thrill and spirit of a great road too plus enjoy the company of my friends and others, and that isn't always possible to do when you are stopping frequently. Fortunately I've managed to revisit a lot of roads many many times to both enjoy the ride and also take a lot of photographs, but some sites have been lost forever.

The question I have is how some of you other motorcyclists do it. If you also like to get the photos too, do you find you ride alone on those photo days and when you ride with others stop for only the occasional photo? Of course, some of my friends will say to just let them know (via a CB usually) if I want to stop for some photos, but I know that invitation would be taken away if I used it too many times.

Is it just me, or have some of you figured out you can get a good amount of photos while riding with others? (At some point I’m going to consider a camera mount and also add a good video cam to my bike so I can do some justice for revisiting some rides while I'm sitting by my computer or sharing them with others).....

DaleC

[DeaconJones]

Same thing here. I've found if you want to combine your interests in photography and M/c's, ride alone. You will be able to compose much better. Otherwise, just enjoy the ride with friends and be happy with what pictures you can get.

[Backmarker]

I completely understand! The trip was starting to pass by too quickly without any photo memories, so I told my boyfriend one day that I was just going to stop when I saw fit. He has to wait for me a lot anyway, so what's a few more minutes here and there. I've already warned him that this year, I'm gonna be stopping a lot more often. And he can just deal with it!

As for riding with others in a group, I don't even bother. I just go back on my own. It's easier that way.

[deaconblues]

I find that if I want photos of a road I have to go PHOTOGRAPH it. When I'm riding, and I see a really sweet set of twists, the last thing on my mind is stopping to take a picture.

So I tend to take photos at rest stops, scenic overlooks, etc.

I think that's another reason why I put the camera mounts on the bike. I can actually get footage without having to take my mind off of the road. Plus, I'm not as consummate a photog as Tim (We're not worthy! We're not worthy!) and don't spend as much time behind the camera as behind the handlebars anyway.

[Scarman]

I don't do much group riding, but it always seems if I go for a ride with the intent of hunting for some pics it just doesn't work out. If I take off to enjoy a good ride, then the camera is sitting at home and I miss some good pics. It seems rare for me to have it all come together.

I guess that's what makes those times when it all come together all the better.

[Warrior]

I'm one of those serious riders that likes to put a lot of twisty miles on the bike. Just like you I have a dozen pictures of a scenic overlook, each with a different riding buddy. Even when I ride by myself, if my agenda is to hit the roads then I don't stop for pics. While riding I'm thinking to myself, "This would be a great picture....", but I press on a hit the next curve. So now I start rides with the intentions of photographing a particular stretch of road, and I keep the mileage low, no 500mi. loops on these rides. When I come back from these photo safari's I'm usually just as satisfied from when I hit twisties non-stop.

[Orson]

I usually ride alone since, it's hard to find anyone who has the same vacation time as I do so, I can stop anytime I want.

My problem, like Deaconblues is that, I'm loathe to stop and break the rythm when I'm flowing thru a nice set of twisties.

However, since the advent of the internet and being able to share photos with the rest of the world, I've found that I make a concious effort to throw on the brakes when a particularly eye catching bit of scenery comes along.

[DeaconJones]

Originally Posted by Orson

However, since the advent of the internet and being able to share photos with the rest of the world, I've found that I make a concious effort to throw on the brakes when a particularly eye catching bit of scenery comes along.

That allows us to vicariously join in on those rides when jobs, weather, circumstances, etc, have us constrained.

[pashnit]

I suppose I should speak up here and reveal all my secrets. Doing the whole photographs along the ride was a real progressive thing. Back in the day, long before the pashnit.com site came along, I still always carried a camera where ever I went. But mainly because I was trying to get that awesome photo of my bike. It wasn't until years later that I became somewhat fascinated by the road itself.

These were all solo rides of course, and so it was easy to shoot a lot of pics. Say a roll of film for every 30 mile section of road, a lot of starting and stopping. Ride for awhile, spot a great pic, pull a u-turn and double back to get to the right spot. After about 10+ years of this, it's become a real science, and I now typically shoot 50-100 shots for every 3 hours of ride time. Since the point of the ride is to bring back the shots, always looking for the one great shot of the road. Some are rather inadvertant, not until I get back and start playing with the photo editing program do I think- hmmm, great shot! Many of the roads I'm heading out to ride, I'm shooting for the 2nd or 3rd time.

Jesus Maria Rd in Calaveras County


I've noticed that when leading the guided tours, it's pretty hard to take pictures of the road, when you're supposed to be leading the pack. But have still managed to take 300-500 photos in a 3-day weekend.

The solution was finally to skip the break we take every 50-80 miles, and keep riding ahead. This gives me a time window to shoot some photography of the road, and even the group when they come on by.

Another simple solution was simply to tell the group, I'll meet them all at the next meeting point, and I'll be 10-15 minutes behind them. Only flaw in this was I had to learn to watch the time, otherwise I get a little too carried away shooting pics, which can be time consuming, especially since am so intent on getting that right shot. Then I ride to catch up with the group, and we resume riding the next leg of the journey.



Charleston Rd near Volcano, CA

[DaleC]

Charleston Rd near Volcano, CA

Great photo, really like that one!!

DaleC

P.S. If you were using that much film in the early days you are loving digital these days, especially when you're looking for just that right photo.