benjo

I don't think you can compare newspaper shots with action surf shots meant for surfers to see. Magazines and specialized publications of action sports look for different types of pictures than newspapers or any conventional sport photographers do. Pick up a skateboarding magazine, then look at any newspaper photo of skateboarders and you'll see that they are completely different. Apples and oranges when comparing classic sports with action sports.

As a skater/surfer/snowboarder, I know exactly where the surfer is going (in the photo) and I get a great sense of atmosphere and environment and I could almost feel like I'm there. As a photographer, I think this pic is awesome; both technically and compositionally. Good shot Glen...keep it up.

Very nice photo, Samir. I'm afraid the photo.net community doesn't really grasp skate photography as much as one should. Go to www.wheelsandwax.com , which is a skate/snow/wake photography forum that will help you out tremendously.

As per the photo, good job balancing ambient with flash. Your subject could be a little brighter, and timing for me may be tad early. The trees make the photo kind of busy and distract from the skater, but unless youz gotz a chainsaw and some money to pay vandalism charges, nothing you can really do from this angle. I'm lovin the sunsuet reflecting off the tranny.

-Benjamin

My only complaints are that the rider looks like he's going to fall off the box, his goggles are falling off, and you can't see the landing. Good timing and nice angle, but composition could be stronger.

-Ben

Show the landing and the jump!!! There is no reference to show how high or how far he's jumping and difficult the terrain is. Colors look good, timing and whatnot, but I'm not really liking the composition. Pick up a snowboard mag and flip through. I think you're capable of producing more "eye-pleasing" shots.

-Benjamin

I think this shot would be better telephoto from the right. The fisheye doesn't do justice to the bank and the water drops. Also, the top of the bank is chopped off in the middle.

Dude, check out Wheelsandwax.com

Seriously, check it out. It has some awesome skate photography forums.

Such a sick shot!!!

I'm assuming 150mm on a Hassy? I wish that light wasn't making a star up his butt, but I like how you can see the Capitol in the BG. Good work.

Ohh MAN!!!

You could do so much with this shot!!!

First of all, I would show the landing. Are there more stairs? Show the landing so we know and so we can see where he's going. You could also really work that arcitecure into the shot. Maybe shoot a tad looser and don't crop so tight. I think it'd really sick with some fill flash to balance out the ambient ands the last thing would be to get rid of the lurker. He takes away from the shot.

Awesome shot. It'd SUPER sweet with a little adjustments. Keep it up!

"I used three flashes"

Fill flash is a wonderful thing.

Yeah guys. I'm pretty sure that he spent hours faking the whole thing by getting a fake backdrop and finding the perfect sequence of a rider to fit that exact background, just so he could impress the people on photo.net. GENIUS.

The rider's shadow can be edited out by just not including them when you put so many frames together into one sequence.

Anyway, nice shots. I'd almost rather see just a single frame, but that's personal preference. I'd like to see some more shots backcountry and out of the park.

Oh, and Piotr Myrlak, it's called a fisheye.

I never EVER use the autofocus for skating. I alway pre-focus on where the skater is going to be when I snap the photo. That way, when I press the shutter release, I am positive that the photo will take when I want it to, and the autofocus won't focus on what I don't want it to.

I like the dramatic lighting, and your timing is bang on.

Get your flash out of the photo. It is way too distracting and it takes away from your subject. A little more fill on the stairs would be nice. I can't really see if the last one in the frame is the bottom of the set or if it's another stair.

And it looks like a half-cab flip (fakie 180 kickflip).

Good work. I really like the style of this shot. Keep shooting.

3 things you could improve upon:

1- Don't center the subject. Google the rule of thirds and work on that.

2- I have no idea what he is ollie-ing over. I can see from the ledge that it may or may not be a table, but how high is he? How big is it? Where is he going? Be sure to include a context with action sports. Skateboard photography is much different than any other sport, and there are different rules.

3-On camera flash is usually a no-no. Get a sync cord and get the flash off camera for more dramatic lighting, and you'll also get rid of the dark halo shadow.

Your timing is PERFECT for this trick.

Look through a skate magazine and see what the photogs are doing and try to imitate them. Then you can work on gettin your own style.

Don't get discouraged, keep shooting, and your shots will get soooo much better.