Day 153 - Cyclists

I was scoping out a good place to do some cycling and skating photography for our next photo club meetup.  And for that I had to try out some shots myself.  This was my first time doing it and I realize that it's not such an easy thing to do.

One is that you have to be really good at panning.  You also have to be able to make spot decisions on whether you want a motion blur, or would you rather keep the cyclist in sharp focus and this I think depends on the speed at which the cyclist is coming.  A faster cyclist would be helpful in getting a good blurred background if you're able to pan properly.

Background plays a big role.  I didn't find a place with a really great background to start with, because I had positioned myself at curves which were next to parked cars, or fences.  The place I had originally thought of as great, might not be as great after all.

But the most important lesson from all of this was that a photog has to forget being self-conscious.  I was, and I was paranoid that I might be told off by someone because this wasn't a public event of any sort.  So, I had to be somewhat candid with the camera.

Here are a few shots from the evening.

I had a nice low angle in this one

Low angle, but not low enough

Standing full height while panning

As above

The last one was by far the best shot I got because this gentleman was zipping by, so I could get a good blurred background.  But the green post got in the way of this one! :(  (I have to look out for this next time)  Since the other cyclists were much slower at the turn, so the panning wasn't as effective.