Mike Hoff Photo

I hit my first major milestone in my project 365. I have now been taking one picture every day for 100 days, with day 100 being this past Saturday. I always knew that I could make it this far but it is still great to look back and see what I have done over the past few months. Taking a picture a day may seem easy, and it can be, but if you want to take good pictures that you can be proud of it makes it a lot harder. Being creative, or trying to be, every day is challenging. I’m glad that I made it this far, but I still have a long way to go. Below are some images from the past few days.

99/365

100/365

101/365 Also taken for my Photo 100 assignment

102/365

This past friday the local Legion baseball team had an alumni game as a fundraiser. They had around 35 people sign up, more than enough to fill the roster for two teams. My father was one of these players who decided to come back. At 52 he was easily the oldest guy on either team, even older than the coaches. He was able to catch for three innings and got to bat twice. He got on first thanks to a fielding error during his first at bat. Not bad for an old guy.

I was there to take pictures of my Dad and a few other players I knew on the team. There was a hired photographer there so I didn’t want to interfere. As it got darker out and they turned the lights on I had to push my 40D to the limit to get anything good. Onto the pics.

So far I have only photographed two bike races, one mountain and one road, but I have still picked up a few tricks during that short time. Hopefully these will help you get better pictures next time you are out taking pictures of cyclists doing their thing.

1. Pan

No not Peter Pan, pan your shots. Cyclists are in motion, panning helps portray this motion. Keep your subject in the same place inside the frame and move the camera as they move. Using full manual mode works best for this. Most of my panning shots when racers are moving fast are taken at 1/125. It is also a good idea to use burst mode for these types of shots.

2. Monopod

Using a monopod helps a lot when doing panning shots, it allows you to keep the camera steady and smoothly and easily pan along with your subject. Monopods are also good because holding your camera all day in 90 degree heat can get tiring.

3. Group shots

Cycling is a team sport, believe it or not, so take more than individual rider shots. A good group show will show the tightness and organized chaos of the the peloton. Also try group shots from different angles, not just from the side.

4. Pick a subject

If you want to get a shot of one rider in a group, pick them out early. It is hard to stay on a subject as a group of 150 riders goes past you at 25mph. Pick them out early and track them before taking your shots.

5. Lenses

To do a bike race properly you need at least a 70-200mm lens. This lens will allow you to get in close for good individual racer shots, as well as far enough out so you can get group shots. A decent wide angle lens would also help for when you are right on the edge of the street and the riders are just a few feet from you.

6. Faces

Cyclists get tired and it shows on their face. If you want to capture this you need to get riders faces intoyour shots. To get good intensity shots try shooting where the riders will be coming down a hill, for exhausted/struggling shots try being on a climb.

7. Victory

Always try to get a podium shot. This is the reason the riders do what they do, be sure to get it.

8. Terrain

Getting the terrain into a shot can really bring another element to an image. This especially applies to mountain bike racing where the terrain is as much of a participant in the race as the cyclists. Also incorporate things like splashing mud or broken logs and so on.

Hopefully these tips help you next time you are at a bike race. There are many more tips and tricks, most of which I have yet to lear, but this is a start.

Pictures from the races that I have shot so far can be seen HERE and HERE.

Spring is almost in full bloom, just a few more weeks. But there are some flowers already blooming. I took these at Millersville University near the campus pond.