At the End

Taken March of '05 Please Critique, Anything Helps

I'm afraid the cyclist is lost in the trees. Perhaps if you colour the jumper in red... (just a thought)...

Justin,

 

You might take a look at my presentation: 'Photographers:

Watch Your Background' and study it, to understand how to avoid problems in getting your cyclist lost in the trees here.

 

This might have been a great photo, if a different camera position were chosen, or a different season (green or other color leaves, etc.)

 

 

Please look at the presentation and see if it lights some bulbs in your 'thought balloon' -- the one cartoonists draw above a person's head to indicate an idea has been thought through.

 

E-mail me or call on me if you ever need a critique.

 

John (Crosley)

Ok, the background problem is already mentioned. I notice you have a zoom up to 300 mm so why so open composition and in this case why horizontal format? You can't see the face. Go closer and find more dramatic angles. Use your legs, find a good view, be courageous and not just stand there shy. This is really a snapshot. You can do better once you put some serious thought and realize that good photos aren't about fiddling with a camera (that's routine) but finding the view and the light.

Sports photography and photojournalism in general requires unbelievably much courage. You climb to a weird place and you know people are watsching you. You just got to forget that and concentrate on the job. Good luck!

The above criticism also is good -- I think if you glanced at my Presentation, you probably would have figured that out, also.

 

In this case, presented with a 'busy' background which would confuse the viewer, you might have tried to get in front of the cyclist and tried to get a clear background, even ground and sky behind him, not cropping out the relationship between the two, probably to keep the idea that he's flying high above the ground (as he clearly is here).

 

This might have been an excellent capture, as his position in relationship to the ground here is well-established, which is one purpose of a photo, but the 'busy' background is very detrimental, as is the not very sightly broken ground of the mounded earth - just not very aesthetic, though necessary to establish his height.

 

'Coloring' him a different color is in effect gimmickry, and if you had only this photo and a publication to put it into to illustrate a championship jump, you might be forced into that kind of gimmickry -- otherwise best to avoid it.

 

Respectfully,

 

John (Crosley)

 

 

Thanks for all the critiques.

This was a kind of turn and snap shot I was walking to a different place and just turned around to get a few shots of this guy.

And every shot of the front at these jumps are blacked out and I don't have a external flash system to fix that, but sun to the back is the best when riding so I would rather have to deal with that then be blinded everytime I ride there.

Also, Please don't think I am a lazy photographer check out my portfolio, especially my rock climbing folder.

 

close in on the action with a tele , also this image would have been better recorded from a front angle /

 

keep shooting , the ideas right

 

si