Midnight Motorcycle

I was visiting in Logan, UT a few weeks ago when my friend Bob called and asked for some tips for shooting a motorcycle. He was at the Fairgrounds, and I was nearby so I headed over to see if I could help. Bob's classmate was visiting from Chicago and had ridden this gem across country, including a stop in Oregon (which I missed). 

Well, here's what we ended up with. Not bad for the fairgrounds at midnight. One of my favorite things was our bucket brigade from the canal to get the street nice and shiny.

Nikon D600, 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens @85mm, f/8, 1/90s, ISO 800. 

We used one SB-700 speedlight in a 24" softbox and moved it around the bike making pictures with the light on various parts of the bike. Then we combined them together right there in the fairgrounds using this method I wrote about for Photofocus.com. We ended up using seventeen pictures to make this image.

Track Track Track Track...

I have a friend, J. (you've seen him before) who is a bit of a nut about riding his motorcycle at the track. See, Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele invites amateur racers to use the track once each month during the summer months. I always know when it's getting close because J. starts posting on Facebook: "TRACKTRACKTRACKTRACKTRACK" and he starts inviting friends to barbecue during the day, and starts ordering new tires, etc. He's a bit of freak.

Which is why we're friends. I'm a passionate person when it come's to photography, and I love to work with other passionates because they put as much into their craft as I do. We relate to each other. I might exclaim, "You paid how much for tires you'll burn through in one day?!?!?!?!" and Jeremy might respond with, "You paid how much a camera strap?!?!?!?!?!" So, we're even.

Last week was the first open track day of the season, and I joined a few others from the Cache Valley Photographers to make some pictures of the event. 

Here's J. in his disco suit.

Guys and gals come from all around to ride. this is L., and he came from Colorado for the day.

Then I met up with L. later for a quick portrait.

L.'s brother C. also came out to ride that day.

One more of J. to wrap us up.

Ducati Man

I posted a version of this image a few weeks ago, but I got to thinking and learned some new stuff, and really much prefer this one. How many times can I use an ultra wide angle lens with a flash and sweeping skies before I get bored with it? Millions of times, I assure you.

Nikon D700, 14-24mm f/2.8 lens @ 14mm, f/8, 1/200s, ISO 200, SB-800.

J. and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Nikon D700, 85mm f/1.8 lens, f/2.8, 1/200s, ISO 200.

J. likes to ride. I often pass him on the highway--going the other direction, of course, or there'd be no way. You may see him on a bike that looks like something Mel Gibson should be riding, circa 1981.  But at the track, he'll be found riding a rich blue Ninja--and wearing TRON suit.

Nikon D700,  14-24mm f/2.8 lens @ 15mm, f/8.0, 1/1250s, ISO 200.

Can't wait to see what he wears when he and his wife come for portraits next week.

Out of Place

Nikon D700, 14-24mm f/2.8 lens @ 14mm, f/8, 1/200s, ISO 200.

This dude obviously belongs on a motorcycle; it's just a surprise to see him on a Ducati and not a Harley.

The CVP's and I enjoyed some time at Miller Motorsports park on Tuesday. Pretty fun to watch and shoot. However, I, too, was out of place. We were unable to locate the guy with our press passes, so we were stuck on the sidelines, which is remarkably close to the action, but it's not close enough to make different perspectives interesting. After about fifteen minutes of shooting we had seen lots of guys and girls coming around turns, dipped low, and they all became a blur. Still very fun.