How do you take good interesting pixs?

[Chocoholic]

I have been riding and many times I promise myself that I will take lots and lots of pics. I ended up with only few pixs or no pics. I find it hard to stop in certain places since there is no safe parking, traffic is pretty jammed and I am afraid to stop, I enjoy the ride too much and don't want to stop, it's too hot.

Any suggestion? I see Papa Ken, Demeshea, Tim the Guy took lots of nice pixs. Guys...help?

[VFR Pilot]

Fenny

Don't worry sometimes I'll do 2 or 3 rides and never stop and take a picture then there's times I want to stop every couple of miles. A lot of it has to do with the road your on and what your head is focused on. As for stopping to take a shot I sometimes ride pass what I think is a good shot and turn around and come back for it, and remember safety first. If you have to stop up or down the road a bit and walk back to get that the pic becuase it's the only safe place so be it.








Just keep at it and you'll end up suprised at what you get.

[pashnit]

Fenny - I suppose I will answer this for you also since I've sort of built an empire on a style of photography that turns road photography into an art form. There are a couple threads on how to take really terrific pics here too: This thread is now approaching 8000 views- some really good info how to shoot road/bike photography so read this over when you have some time.
http://www.pashnit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=600

But first off, my intention when I leave my house on a solo ride is probably a bit different than yours.

Nowadays, if I am headed to a specfic road, I'm not so much there for the ride, as I am there to actually do a photo session of the road. For example, a bit ago, I planned a little 500 mile ride to get to a lil stretch of pavement called Hwy 36, and then Platina Rd. I needed some updated pics, so the whole point of my ride is to go out and shoot photgraphy of the road, and the intention is to capture some magazine quality pics. So in a 20-30 mile long road, I can easily shoot 20-50 pics, and my pace is about that of the bicyclists. So in part, that's a piece of the inside story.

Fen, if you specificlly are trying to shoot pics of the road, or road-plus-bike, when I'm out riding, the way I get these shots is I'm specificlly looking for a particular shape is probably the best way to describe what it is I'm doing.

The road in front of me will curve in a certain way that will fill the imaginary rectangular picture frame in front of me. As I round a corner, I may spy it, and have to turn around to get back into position. (lot of u-turns in building the CA Moto Roads site)



If I want to interject the bike into the pic, there's a lot of technique-talk in the above mentioned thread to come up with a juicy pic like this.



Did you notice it was the same spot? But subtle differences in how the two pics are set up to give a different feel to each one.

[FishWitch]

I have found DELETE to be a most handy tool. Get yourself a good photo program too. That will help with editing. Tims thread mentioned before covers it all. My biggest problem is finding a safe place to stop. I'm still not all that comfy just pulling off into the dirt. Always remember SAFETY FIRST.

[pashnit]

Originally Posted by FishWitch

My biggest problem is finding a safe place to stop. I'm still not all that comfy just pulling off into the dirt.

Originally Posted by nonixayu

I find it hard to stop in certain places since there is no safe parking, traffic is pretty jammed and I am afraid to stop

As for pulling off the road - take a look at the busa pic. I have taken hundreds and hundreds of pics like this of the bike on the side of the road. Partly, I'll be sure and position the bike in a safe places where I am very visible. Behind the bike, people can see me very well, and the direction the bike above is pointing is actually at the very late apex of the corner, so always leaving the headlight on pointing down the straight. Also keep in mind I have a blinking headlight, so you can see me a long way off.

Other thing is speed. My camera is typically ready to go, I actually wear it around my neck for these photo sessions with it resting on the tank bag while loping along looking for the next shot, and in this case, I actually want the bike on the road itself, so I roll to a stop right on the white line, hop off the bike and quickly get the shot. Nevert shut the bike off, I may be parked there for less than 60 seconds.

Also keep in mind this is the middle of nowhere.

[Steve1962]

One thing to mention ,
When I started taking photos , I rode out early in the morning when traffic was light - this makes parking easier and safer , and gives you a feel for the things to look out for [ safe places to park etc ] - I now find that I think of these things automtically .......plus , and it's a big plus ...you cantake the time to put the bike where you want it to take good photos .

Once you get the hang of it , it becomes second nature .

Steve

[JPM]

And if you are not riding alone, tell your riding buddies you want to stop. When you went will Bill and I, we really did not stop much. The scenery where we were is very familiar to me so I don't seem to take many pics, but I would be more that happy to stop if someone asked to.

[Chocoholic]

Thanks Tim for the advise. I will check out that thread.
You are right, I went out riding for a different purspose. I still love the adrenaline kick for the twisties.
BTW, if you did not tell me those pixs were taken at the same spot, I won't know.

Originally Posted by JPM

And if you are not riding alone, tell your riding buddies you want to stop. When you went will Bill and I, we really did not stop much. The scenery where we were is very familiar to me so I don't seem to take many pics, but I would be more that happy to stop if someone asked to.

Hi John,
at least I took few pixs from the dam and us. It's just too hot to take pixs that day. I was melting inside my gear hahha....

Brad....great pixs of Yosemite.

[SklyWag]

Ok Photo People Critique this photo & tell me how it could have been better.

It was not meant to ba an action photo, just a clean shot of Mike, the road & the mountains.

[the mad otter]

Originally Posted by sklywag

Ok Photo People Critique this photo & tell me how it could have been better.

It was not meant to ba an action photo, just a clean shot of Mike, the road & the mountains.

Attachment 29136

having mike centered on the lane line takes away the sense of dimension...try having him offset to the left, then move in closer to lose that asphalt crack running horizontally across the road, you could also try getting down lower to give the mountains more vertical...think in thirds....anybody else have an idea?