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#53 Gets Some Air
We spoke for the better part of 30 minutes. I learned some great tips, one of which blew me out of one of my last comfort zones: manually setting the white balance using “Kelvin Temperature” in lieu of the automatic white balance settings (I’ve been doing it his way ever since then). I left that night invigorated and having a better idea of how I was going to attack the challenge the next time.
My first trip to Dade City MX last month was nothing short of disastrous. I got there late, the light was already fading. The first thing that struck me was just how FAST these bikes were going, and just how HIGH they were launching off the jumps on the course. I hadn’t brought my low-light lens (Canon EF50mm f1.8 II, AKA “Plastic Fantastic”) and couldn’t get a clear shot to save my life, even with my EF 24-105 1:4L IS USM lens. This was entirely frustrating, I’ve never been skunked like that before. I’m pretty “obsessive” though, so I continued to try every trick I knew for the next hour with no results I was satisfied with.
I was getting ready to pack it all in when a man came up and asked me if I was getting anything good. I was embarrased, but I honestly told him I really wasn’t getting what I was looking for. We started talking and it was apparent he knew his stuff. During our conversation I told him I was trying to get the same type of results I had seen on the website. Much to my surprise he told me not only was he the photographer that took all of the shots, but also the owner of the track. He introduced himself as Randy Yoho. You can see his work not only on the Dade City MX website, but also on his Smugmug page. Be prepared to be impressed.
I only intended to be up there for an hour or so but that didn’t work out. I shot virtually everything with my $90 “Plastic Fantastic” lens…without flash using only the overhead lights. Shooting completely on manual settings (including white balance, thanks Randy) I was able to push farther than I had on my last trip but I was still missing the mark when it came to the close shots I had seen of Randy’s.
I ran into Randy when I was about to leave for the night. I showed him a couple of examples of what I had gotten. We did some more talking and he ended up taking me to the edge of the track and showing me exactly what he was doing. Working within the limitations of my $90 lens (he shoots with a $2000 “L Series” lens which has a much faster focusing speed) he was able to show me first hand what he was doing for the close up, high speed shots. He literally forced my camera to comply…using techniques I had never even considered but made perfect sense the way he explained them. Using the “TV” or “Shutter Priority” mode at 640 (to slightly blur the background) and a high ISO (3200), he showed me how to compensate for my slower focusing lens by tracking my target and only firing the shot when they had come to a pre-selected spot on the track. Keep in mind these shots are still being fired in very low light without the use of flash.
I know many photographers, and have run into many more while out and about. It’s rare to find a photographer who is so kind and patient to take time to help a fellow photographer on such a complicated subject. Now that I have a good base knowledge I’m sure I’ll be back up there shooting. The people are great, the competition is furious, and the photo ops are endless…it’s a great place to spend a Thursday or Saturday evening and I highly recommend it!
