Essentially, I take you, the reader, along with me on a number of shoots and let you look over my shoulder as I scout the location, gauge the light, choose my equipment, come up with an approach and execute the final image. I even show you a number of outtakes so that you can see how the final shot eventually came about.
Behind the Action is the closest thing you’ll ever get to actually being there on a shoot with me and watching how I get my imagery. It’s a great way to learn, and right now, you can get this book for a very special price.
For each of the 12 photographs in the book, in include the following details:
Concept: My creative ideas behind the shoot. What I was hoping to achieve in the photo.
Gear: A list of all equipment that I took to the shoot and the specific gear that was used.
Light: My assessment of the light and the challenges that each situation presented.
Approach: My own ideas for how to tackle the overall shoot.
Execution: What ACTUALLY happened.
Final Thoughts: Reflections on what worked, what didn’t and how I adpated.
Post Processing: How I adjusted the RAW file in Lightroom.
Quick Tips: Advice on how you can get these kinds of results in your own photography.
The really cool thing about this book is that I’m sharing with you the exact techniques that I use when shooting stock or assignments for pro clients. These are the exact same methods that have gotten me where I am today.
I consider Behind The Action to be a step-by-step how-to manual for adventure and outdoor photography. It’s not designed to make you shoot exactly like me, but it shows you a number of great techniques and methods that you can use to create your own dynamic imagery, no matter what subject matter appeals to you.
Normal full price on this title is $24.95, but I really want you to have this ebook, because I know it can help you make better images, so I’ll offer it to you for a special price of only $16.95, which is over 30% off! This is a limited time deal, so don’t wait.
One of my favorite technique for shooting landscapes, or any subjects for that matter, is to create diagonal lines in my compositions. Diagonal lines add drama and make for much more dramatic imagery, because they have a feeling of instability and motion. They suggest action and movement. They leave you teetering on the edge, holding on for dear life, lest you slip and tumble to dire consequences.
You could liken the idea to a playground. What’s more fun, standing on the flat, safe ground, or going down the slide? Wheeeeee!!!
Compare this photo with the one below. It’s the same ridge, just shot from a slightly different vantage point. See how much more dynamic the first one feels? The second shot feels static and calm. It doesn’t want to go anywhere. Too much order is never a good thing in a photograph.
You can incorporate diagonal lines in a variety of ways into your compositions. They can be natural or manmade elements in the landscape, like mountain ridges, trails, pathways, snow drifts, or ski tracks, or they can be implied using the movement or viewpoint of your main subject. Shadows work exceptionally well for making lines in your photos, especially during morning and evening when the low sun stretches them out to drastic lengths.
You can also create the notion of diagonal lines by simply shooting your main subject from a slight angle. With wide angle lenses, shooting with your camera tilted up or down will cause parallax error, which essentially “leans” your subjects either towards or away from the middle of the frame. While too much parallax distortion doesn’t look great in photographs, a minor shift in angle can add a cool quality to your shot.
Diagonal lines can be used with great effectiveness in both horizontal and vertical images. They’re especially effective when shooting from above and looking straight down on your subject. Experiment with your own subject matter and shooting techniques.
I guarantee that if you start using more diagonal lines in your photography, you’ll start making more dramatic photos.
Cameras are cool, but it’s the glass that really counts. After all, lenses are main reason you buy into any camera system. As much as you love your current DSLR or mirrorless body, in a few years, you’ll no doubt be using the upgraded model, but you’ll probably still be shooting with some or all of the same lenses that you started with.
Sure, over the years, you may add some new glass and modify your kit, but in general, most photographers don’t upgrade lenses nearly as often as they do cameras. I’ve got a few Nikon lenses that have been through seven generations of SLR and DLSR upgrades.
During the past few years, I’ve transitioned to using Fuji gear. I’m using the X-T2 as my main camera for everything now. Having experimented with a variety of the different XF lenses on a wide variety of subject matter, I’ve come to realize that Fuji is as serious about their lenses as they are about their cameras and they were about their film back in the day.
Although mirrorless gear sometimes has the stigma that it’s not quite as “serious” as DSLR gear, make no mistake: this is downright serious quality glass here, and the awesome XF 50-140mm f/2.8 fast weather sealed tele zoom proves that Fuji has come to the table with some big and very serious guns. These are truly great lenses, and after trying out a number of their models, I’ve narrowed down which of the four Fuji XF lenses I like the best for my style of photography. Ok, five.
Period. Any serious Fuji shooter who came from DSLRs and who used to rely on a Nikon or Canon 70-200 f/2.8 zoom should get this lens. It’s a truly amazing piece of glass. You can read my full review of the Fuji 50-140 lens here.
I’ve been having tons of fun with this one all summer. It’s a pretty cool lens.
Now onto my favorite X Series lenses.
XF 14mm f/2.8
I’m a wide angle guy. Always have been. Ever since I first picked up a used Nikon 28mm lens back in the summer of 1990, I’ve been hooked on shooting the wide views. For years, my SLR lens of choice was the Nikon 24mm f/2.8.
I love the Fujifilm XF 14mm f/2.8 ultra wide angle lens. It reminds me very much of my beloved Nikon 24 in size, weight and feel, but with the added benefit of being 3 degrees wider in effective view. (Since the Fuji is an APS-C sized sensor with a 1.5x crop, the 14mm effectively acts as a 21mm f/2.8.)
This is by far my favorite of the Fuji XF lenses, and if I had to narrow my kit down to just one lens, this would be the one I’d fight to keep. As much as I’d miss the telephotos, I just don’t think I could live without a wide lens in my kit.
With it’s fast maximum aperture and very little distortion out at the edges of the frame, I find the XF 14mm f/2.8 useful for just about every type of subject. It excels for shooting landscapes, but it also works great for shooting action and adventure, environmental portraiture, locations, and interiors.
It’s light, compact and extremely sharp. It also has a manual focus option and it’s one of the XF lenses that has a traditional aperture ring with engraved f/stop numbers. It also comes with a good lens hood. With regards to overall performance, versatility and the fact that a 21mm angle of view just hits a focal length sweet spot, the XF 14mm f/2.8 is truly an outstanding lens. Here’s my full review.
I’ve also got a thing for fast short telephoto primes. My Nikon 85 f/1.8 saw heavy use over the years, and before that, my manual focus 105 f/2.5 was one of my heavy hitters. I’ve actually owed three of them in twenty years. Two of them were stolen; one from my car, one from my house. Both break-ins. It sucked.
I also love fast big tele zooms, like my old Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8. These days, the Fuji XF 50-140mm f/2.8 fast weather sealed tele zoom is my big gun of choice. However, big tele zooms are… well… big, and sometimes that’s a problem.
The new Fuji XF90mm f/2 WR lens offers the best of both worlds. To me, it’s the perfect compromise between a fast short tele and a longer zoom. With an equivalent view of the classic 135mm f/2, which has long been the standard lens for photographing people and distant scenes, the Fuji 90 is truly a special piece of glass.
This is another very well built lens that also comes with an old school aperture ring and a solid lens hood, but those things are just the icing. The real ingredient of this lens is the superbly crisp detail that this lens renders in front of a totally dreamy background of super delicious bokeh. We’re talking bokeh that’s worth fantasizing about. The kind that some people pine endlessly about on photography forums. Boken that sets the definition of the word.
This is an excellent lens for portrait and travel work, but I also like it for action, because it’s super fast and it lets me isolate my subject from the background and create narrative that don’t just show, subject/background relationships, they indicate, suggest, hint, abbreviate, insinuate, and imply. In creative photography, those words carry power. That’s what you go for.
And it’s so much smaller and lighter than carrying a big f/2.8 tele zoom. While that tele zoom comes in handy for a lot of photography styles, when you’re traveling or adventuring, this is a very worth tradeoff. You lose the zoom, but you gain a single sweet angle of view, an extra stop and a much smaller, lighter piece of glass.
XF90mm f/2 WR lens is so freaking sharp, and it has blazingly fast Quad Linear autofocus motor, so it’s pretty much awesome for any kind of photography. Since it’s so fast and relatively compact, it’s great for travel. You could shoot the inside of a dimly lit tomb with this lens hand held.
If you’re a dedicated portrait or wedding shooter and don’t need super fast AF, you probably want to check out the Fuji XF 56mm f/1.2. This is also a truly amazing piece of glass, and it’s even faster by over two stops. Think of this one as Fuji’s version of the classic 85mm portrait lens.
Fuji’s first weather sealed lens, this is the true companion lens for the X-T1. However, despite the fact that it has 20 points of weather sealing on the barrel and special ventilation system that keeps dust out of the lens, that wasn’t what surprised everyone when it came out earlier this year.
By all counts, the Fuji XF 18-135mm is another medium speed, no-so-fast, wide angle to telephoto range zoom. There are a ton of these kinds of lenses out there, but very few of them are this sharp. Apparently someone forgot to tell the Fuji engineers that mid priced, slow zooms are supposed to be fuzzy at the edges, because this one is not.
The XF 18-135mm is pretty darn sharp, even at the edges, and at all apertures and through the entire focal length range. I’ve done quite a bit of testing on this lens and I can’t believe how much detail is preserved across the entire range, especially for a “kit-style” lens. In addition, it’s one of the fastest autofocusing lenses in the entire Fuji lineup.
Combined with an an effective view of 27-206mm, the XF 18-135mm is an extremely versatile tool. If this was the only lens you had on your interchangeable X camera body, you wouldn’t be an unhappy camper, because this lens can do just about anything. Sure, it’s not super fast, but it does have a very capable OIS image stabilization system that makes it possible to hand hold this lens at very low shutter speeds.
Remember what I said about the 14mm lens above? Well, ever since I got this lens, I’ve actually used it more than my XF 14mm f/2.8. Why? Because I can leave the house with just one lens and be covered with a very wide range of focal lengths. Sure, it’s bigger than the 14mm, but it’s not bigger than carrying two or three prime lenses, which is what I’d have to do to achieve the same range.
I’ve never been a huge fan of the mid range zoom until now, and only because this one performs so well. Is it perfect for everything? No. Does it outperform my primes? Is it better than a big tele zoom like the XF 50-140mm f/2.8? For most things, no, but for its range and usability, it’s pretty compact and definitely sharp enough for pro work. In my mind, you couldn’t ask for a more capable “go anywhere and do everything” lens.
The new 35mm f/2 WR is my favorite, small “walk around” and all purpose lens. Why? Because it’s tiny, relatively fast and quite sexy.
In full frame terms, it’s just like having a weather sealed 50mm f/2 lens that looks more like a Leica Summicron lens than a Nikon or Canon lens. Seriously, stick this on the front of your X Series body and you’ve just added ten points to the “Classic Factor” of your Fuji.
Although I’m not usually a huge fan of that whole “middle focal length range,” sometimes that “standard look” offers just the right angle of view and the perfect, shallow depth of field.
I find it great for all around photography, but it’s no slouch. I’ve used it for a variety of subjects and it does well with just about everything. With VERY fast AF, the 35mm f/2 is really a hot little lens, and it’s pretty darn tiny. Slap the 35 f/2 on my X-T1 body and I hardly feel like I’m carrying anything at all. Sometimes that trumps everything.
This is the lens I take with me when I want to go totally minimal. Think family trips, street, ultra lightweight situations and situations were I want a camera, but I know that I’ll have little time to shoot “really cool stuff.” This gives me a good, single lens setup that easily fits in a day pack, even a large pocket, and it still gives me creative options.
“
@Danbaileyphoto @FujifilmX_US Couldn't agree more! This has been my favorite lens pretty much ever since I first attached it to my XT1!
Kyle Wurtz
When it comes to quality, the XF 35mm f/2 WR gets the job done in a big way. You get that traditional look, which works for a wide variety of subjects, and it gives a nice shallow depth of field up close, so it’s really nice for portraits. When it comes to shooting action and landscapes with this focal length, you have to work a little harder to get exciting compositions, (you usually have to be closer) but if you nail it, you’ll get great results. Read my full review of this lens here.
A tripod is a tripod is a tripod, right? After all, how much can you vary the design of a simple 3 legged thing like the tripod. I saw quite a few of them last week at PhotoPlus Expo, but one brand really jumped out at me.
3 Legged Thing is a clever new company out of Stagsden, England who makes some awesome and innovative tripods. Their first offering, Brian, has won over product design award, and since then, they’ve expanded their line with a variety of sizes and configurations. They’re all extremely functional, built with premium quality and very stylish dark gray, blue and copper colored designs, they’re relatively lightweight and many of them are compact and highly suitable for travel and outdoor photography.
Most of their products are named after rock and roll legends, with models called Keith, Eric, Eddie and Dave. The tripods that I saw last week were Rick and Vyv, from their new Punks line.
Named after characters in the hilarious British comedy series The Young Ones that used to play late at night on Sundays on MTV in the early 80s, The 3 Legged Thing Punks tripods are designed as lightweight, slightly more affordable models, but they still offer most of the same features as the rest of the line.
Meet Rick
Rick, the pompous would-be anarchist, is a compact carbon fiber tripod built from 75% pure carbon fiber and magnesium alloy. He only weighs 2.7 lbs, including his ARCA compatible ball head. (Rick’s legs alone are only 2 lbs.)
Ultra compact with legs that fold back on itself, Rick closes down to only 12.5″, and yet extends to 53″.
HIs 5 leg sections can open up to 3 different angles, and they’ll splay out to allow you to shoot from a vantage point from only 4.5″ above the ground.
Also you can remove Rick’s center column and bolt the head directly onto his legs, and you can even remove one of his legs to make a fully functional monopod.
Load capacity is 22 lbs, but Rick’s head is pretty small, so it seems like you wouldn’t want to pile him up with super heavy gear. I fiddled around with Rick for awhile at the 3 Legged Thing booth, (it wasn’t nearly as dirty as it sounds) and from my impressions, he looks to be an ideal set of legs for mirrorless gear and lightweight DSLR cameras and lenses.
Rick costs $299, which is a very good value, considering the quality and functionality that he offers. He’s an ultra lightweight and compact tripod that’s perfect for backpacking and travel, although I can’t impinge the original, rather uppity Rick on the series braving the rugged outdoors. Nonetheless, he does comes with his own nylon carrying case.
Meet Vyv
The other Punk I saw was Vyv, (short for Vyvian, the violent, spiky haired punk of the bunch). Vyv is the non carbon copy of Rick. Every design detail is the same, but he’s made from aircraft grade magnesium alloy instead of carbon.
Still incredibly light, (2.8 lbs including head) and very compact (12.5″ when closed), Vyv wears second hand clothes and so he costs $100 less than Rick. With a price of only $199, Vyv offers the same all around versatility and functionality for photographers who are on a tighter budget.
I really like the Punks, and not just because I was a HUGE fan of The Young Ones. I’m impressed with their high quality craftsmanship, their clever designs, and of course, their even more clever names. There’s high competition in the tripod market, but 3 Legged Thing definitely stands out.
Support this site: If you’d like to meet Rick or Vyv, or any of their friends, please consider shopping through these links. It won’t cost you anything extra, you’ll still get the lowest prices available and it will help me out. It’s your way of saying “thanks” for the time and effort it takes me to compile reviews like this.
Earlier this year I shot an assignment for my Moscow based client, Sportmaster Ltd., who is the leading sporting goods retailer client in Russia and eastern Europe. Sportmaster is official dealer of a number of outdoor brands, including Merrell, who was one of the brands that we shot during this job.
The images we made during the Merrell winter brand shoot were designed to portray the kinds of extreme conditions and mountaineering activities that Merrell outerwear is designed for. They’ll primarily be used for the website and in-store displays.
This was a large scale production that was run through Assassin’s Creative, a Los Angeles Ad Agency, and it was just one of the locations and brands that the entire job entailed covering.
From a photography standpoint, I felt that it was the quintessential job for me, as it required a high degree of technical, action adventure photography skills and equipment that would withstand extreme conditions, as well as the outdoor skills and gear to comfortably move around in this kind of mountain environment.
For most of these scenes, I used a Nikon DSLR and the 24mm f/2.8D wide angle lens. I’ve always loved the 24mm for shooting adventure subjects, because it’s wide enough to show environment, but not too wide that it blows out perspective too much, and it doesn’t distort very much at the edges.
It’s a camera combo that I’m highly familiar with and comfortable using in any kind of setting, and I figured for a large scale ad agency production, I’d go with with what I know best. I also brought along my Fujifilm X-T1, which I had just started using, and it also saw heavy use during the course of this assignment.
I’m very excited about the way these images came out. To me, they accurately represent the kind of environment and extreme look the client was going for. When I compare them to the initial comps that the art directors showed me during the preproduction phase, I feel that we nailed it.
Of course, one of the coolest aspects to the shoot was the helicopter ride to the location! Anytime you’re getting paid to ride in a chopper, you’re having a very good day.
A few months ago, Mike invited me to be on the show, so yesterday we spent about an hour and a chatting about outdoor and action photography, cameras, lenses, Alaska, bears, bush planes, shooting in winter and a few other things.
I really like their approach, because Mike and co-host Tim Kemperle are just regular guys who love photography, and they’ve created a fun and informative outlet that they share with other photo enthusiasts. With over 125 shows under their belt, they’ve featured a diverse selection of guests on the show and have apparently become the #1 photography podcast on iHeartRadio. Keep up the good work, guys!
I’ve always said that just because I earn my living with photography, that doesn’t mean I love it any more than people do it as a hobby. Passion is passion whether you make money at it or not.
Mike and Tim and the rest of their writers do this all for free, but you can show your support their efforts by using their Amazon link and their Topaz Labs link if you’re shopping for new gear. This helps them cover the costs of hosting and producing their podcast.
You can also subscribe to the jpeg2RAW podcast here. In the meantime, enjoy the feature interview with me below and feel free to comment or contact me if you have any questions!
However, there’s something to be said for going fast and light with minimal gear. You can move more much more quickly and grab moments that you’d otherwise miss if you had to worry about trying to set up your equipment, do test shots, and fiddle the buttons on your flash.
The reality is that we often find ourselves out in the world with only a camera around our necks and no flash gear. It’s important to know how to create compelling portraits using natural light so that you don’t have to rely on a flash in order to get great shots of people. Here are three very simple tips that you can try the next time you’re out.
1. Shoot at Sunset
This is an easy one. Nothing is going to make your portraits look more compelling than if you shoot in great light. As viewers, we’re so drawn to the magical warm glow of sunset light. Of course, you can get great shots at sunrise too, but you may have a harder time getting you models to meet you at 6:00 AM than at 6:00 PM.
Also, vary the angle at which the sun lights up your subject. At the very least, it should be hitting them from side, but experiment and try to move it further around to the back, until it’s creating a halo effect. In this case, it becomes more accent than direct illumination, and depending on your ambient light, you may be able to get by without any fill on your model’s face. If it’s not working, then rotate your subject just enough to bring it back.
2. Shoot in Overcast Light
Normally, midday is a terrible time for trying to create good portraits. If the sun is directly overhead, you’ll be faced with strong shadows and unflattering light. However, if you’ve got full cloud cover, you don’t have all those shadows do deal with, and you won’t be fighting squinting models, hot spots and blown out highlights on foreheads and noses.
Overcast light is soft and dreamy and it’s perfect for shooting close up. A couple things to keep in mind, though. Heavy clouds can make the ambient light considerably darker, so you’ll probably want to break out your fast glass. I shot this photo at 1/1,000 @ f/1.8 with my Fuji XF 56mm f/1.2 lens which is has an ideal focal length for shooting portraits with delicious out of focus backgrounds. The full frame equivalent for a lens like this would be an 85mm, although I also love the 100-105mm range.
Also, remember that overcast light has a blue cast, so you’ll want to adjust the white balance a little bit in post to warm up any shots you capture under the clouds.
3. Search Out Dramatic Light
As photographers, we’re always searching for the most dramatic light. That’s pretty much our job, right? Often times, we find it at Magic Hour, but that’s not the only place it lives. If you look hard enough, you can find dramatic light in the most unexpected places, like inside a dark roadside bar next to a window, like in this shot above.
Of course, you may not always know where to look, so that’s why you should always have a camera with you. That’s when compact cameras are great. They’re easy to carry, and they offer way more features than your mobile phone. I shot this with my Fuji X10, which I had slung around my neck in case an opportunity like this presented itself.
4. Don’t Be Afraid to Add Some Style
Sometimes it helps to add a little bit of style. If I’ve got a good subject but I don’t have great light, I’ll shoot in one of the film simulation modes like black and white, or even set up one of the other creative modes like miniature, toy camera or sepia. I don’t see this as cheating, I see it as using some of the tools that the camera gives you in order to pull off a compelling shot.
Remember, photographs are art, and you can make your art look any way you want to. Nobody says it has to be a certain way, or that you have to follow specific rules, and if they do tell you that, you probably shouldn’t listen to them. You don’t even have to listen to me.
In the end, do what makes you happy with your photography and make images that excite YOU the most. If that means using fun modes, then no one has any business judging you. If you’ve got any tips for shooting better portraits, feel free to share them in the comment section.
This camera survived 3 months of rain, snow and hail… and a bear attack!
One of my readers just shared an amazing story with me that I had to pass along. Back in early July, Claire was hiking in Colorado and lost her Fuji X20 somewhere on the trail. She didn’t elaborate on how this happened, but being someone who occasionally sets things down, gets distracted and then forgets them, I can relate. I lost a Nikon 50mm lens this way one time.
Hours of searching failed to locate the camera, and so she sadly wrote it off as gone forever. You can imagine what a bummer this would be.
Well, this past weekend, Claire found herself on the trail again and, low and behold, there it was! It definitely looked a little beat up; it had animal bite marks on it (probably bear) and it had endured rain, hail, and even snow over 3 months it was near the trail.
And guess what? It still works! The LCD screen was fogged, and the battery was dead, but it recharged and everything on the camera works just fine. Bringing the camera inside and leaving the SD card door open for awhile made the fog go away.
I’ve used my X20 in a variety of extreme conditions, and although it’s not touted as being weather sealed, it’s a tough little camera indeed. I’ve gotten mine pretty wet and I’ve certainly banged it around enough, but that’s kids play compared to leaving it outside in the elements for an entire season…
…Or having it chewed on by a bear! Here’s the story in her own words.
“I found the x20 close to the tree pictured in the two trail cam photos. This trail is a bear superhighway, with at least 30 bears passing the spot where the camera was lying over the course of the summer (and maybe 3 people all summer long).”
“I suspect that the bite marks happened when a bear tried to carry it. Bears are fascinated with anything that has human scent. In one of the trail cam photos, the bear is just about to give the trail camera a very close inspection, including licking and sniffing. My best guess is that the x20 got similar bear treatment.”
“The 2nd bear photo is of a bear marking the tree that my trail camera is aimed at. That tree is the reason for all the bear traffic in the area. It was the tail end of bear mating season when that poor tree gets marked a couple of times per day.”
In my mind, this is an amazing testament to just how well the Fuji X cameras are built. I’ve long thought that the X10/20/30 series are the best all around compact cameras, especially for the price. If you’ve ever worried that they’re not tough enough for use in the outdoors, let this dispel any such notion. Clearly they’re quite weatherproof. Thanks so much for sharing, Claire!!
The Fuij X30 has now replaced the X20, but it’s built on a very similar chassis and has all the features of the X20, plus a few more. The optical viewfinder has been replaced with a newly designed EVF, battery life has been improved, it has a tilt screen and WiFi that enables you to remotely shoot and share images from your smartphone or tablet.
I’m starting to put together my Alaska Photo Treks photography workshop schedule for 2015 and wanted to get your input. There are so many amazing things to photograph up here, and I figure if you’re going to consider coming all the way up to Alaska to learn photography from me, it only makes sense to build workshops around the subjects YOU want to shoot.
With this in mind, I’ve created a poll so that you can let me know what kind of instructional photo experience you feel would be ideal. I want you to tell me what kind of workshop or photo tour would interest you the most- Brown bears? Landscapes and glaciers? Aerial photography? Action/Adventure? In-depth in one location or a mix of settings over the course of a few days?
If an Alaska photo workshop or photo tour with me is something you’d seriously consider for next year, then please take the time to answer this poll, keeping in mind the realities of your budget and your time frame. I want this to be an accurate poll, not just a wish list, so give me honest answers. You can choose more than one option if there are areas of multiple interest, but again, think about the type of trip that would MOST likely get you up here. In essence, what are your dream Alaska shots? What do you REALLY want to learn from me?
I’ve already got some awesome ideas for remote locations and awe inspiring subject matter for next year’s trips, but I’ll definitely use this info so that I can dial them to your preferences. I’d love to see you join me on one of them, so thanks in advance for your input.
[poll id=”4″]
Also, if you sign up for my newsletter over there on the top of the sidebar, you’ll be the first to know when my workshop schedule is finalized, and you’ll have first crack at signing up before the schedule goes public.
Of all the action subjects that I tackle, cylcocross racing is one of my favorite sports to shoot. In some ways it’s easy. Being a circuit course with roughly an hour of laps, I can camp out at great spot and shoot lots of racers, which gives me plenty of opportunity to practice different creative approaches, try out different lenses and dial in my settings. Plus, it’s not just riding. With all the technical sections, there are some great expressions and compositions to be had.
In addition, shooting this kind of sport really tests your gear. Having shot extensively with the Fuji X-T1 all year, I’ve been looking forward to using it during cyclocross season. After all, Fuji designed the X-T1 to be a full-on action camera, and what better way to put it to the pro test by shooting stuff like this?
Of course, you can use any cameras to shoot sports and action, it just takes practice and familiarity with your gear. If you don’t use Fuji gear, you can follow along and apply what I say to your own setup. Remember, the best camera for shooting action is the one you have around your neck that day.
My benchmark for shooting this kind of action has been my Nikon gear; that’s what I’ve mostly used in the past. Nikon autofocus is top rate and their pro quality glass is fast and tack sharp. I’ve always loved using the Nikon stuff, but the weight savings that mirrorless gear offers is hard to ignore. At the same time, it’s a moot point if the gear doesn’t perform. That’s the bottom line for any camera. Does it let you do what you want or does it hold you back?
Since I have a good reference point from which to judge a camera’s performance with this kind of subject, I know exactly what the X-T1 is going to have to do in order to stand up to my DSLR equipment.
Essentially, it has to acquire and track very fast moving riders, the lenses have to give me sharp photos with little noise, and the EVF has to allow me the creativity to compose my images with uninhibited clarity, just as if I was using a pentaprism viewfinder.
When it comes to AF, I’ve found is that the X-T1 does an amazing job, even with something as quick as this. Some lenses are better than others, but overall, the X-T1’s autofocus system works just as they promised it would.
Using single shot and continuous slow modes, you can compose around any one of the 49 AF points in the viewfinder, which offers incredible creative options. I like to place my subjects in different areas around the frame. Using continuous high mode, the camera uses the 9 points near the center, although from my experience, I’ve found that it will track all the way through the frame, even if the subject leaves this central area.
The zoom range on the XF 18-135mm gives you a decent and very usable of focal lengths from relatively wide angle to telephoto. On the long, it’s as long as I’d usually need for a sport like this, especially considering that cyclocross is largely run under the shady canopy of forest trails.
In low light conditions, it’s a little bit limiting. I shot last weekend’s race at ISO 2000 in order to ensure that I got tack sharp imagery. There’s definitely some grain, but it’s not so bad that it detracts from the overall feel of the photo. With f/2.8 glass, I could have dropped the ISO down to around 1000 or below, which would make a difference, but of course, I’d sacrifice weight. f/2.8 lenses are quite a big bigger.
Also, I shot some of these using Fuji’s Velviafilm simulation, which is pretty contrasty. Some of the noise is due to my brightening them up in post. In these kinds of conditions, Velvia isn’t the best choice, so halfway through the race, I switched to Pro Neg Std., which I LOVE. It makes beautiful looking images with great colors, and lower, softer contrast. Although super bright colors can look great, sometimes going a little bit muted can give you some very nice results. Not everything has to have tons of contrast.
I also love using the built-in BW film sims and even some of the Advanced shooting modes that Fuji includes on all their X cameras, like Miniature. Between all of the options, there have plenty of tools to stretch your creativity. I like making those kinds of on-the-spot decisions, I just pick one and go. Sure, the flexibility and control of shooting in RAW can be advantageous, but sometimes it’s just nice to go with a look and let it be.
Still, I love going wide, so for this week’s race, I also brought along the XF 14mm f/2.8 ultra wide angle lens. This is an absolutely killer piece of glass, it’s sharp, fast, it has solid construction and a wonderfully wide view without going overboard. I feel that it portrays subjects with confident authority, and it lets you get in just a little bit more environment to help flesh out the story of your scene. (Read my full review of the Fuji 14mm lens here.)
I was excited about the creative variation that this week’s race offered me. For some scenes, I was able to hone in tightly on a rider and get the in-your-face feel of action and expression; for others, I backed off and tried to show some of the greater scene.
One thing I like to do is vary my focus point. Although you usually want to show the main subject as the sharp element, but sometimes you can change things up and lock in on a different element of the frame and let your viewer’s eye wander. They’ll start at the point of sharp focus, but then work their way towards the subject. This makes your viewer work that much harder, which isn’t a bad thing.
Add to that, things like panning, slow shutter speeds, changing up your vantage point, and you have a comprehensive bag of tricks that you can use for shooting any kinds of sports and fast breaking subject matter. More than anything, though, it just requires quick, decisive action on your part. Hesitate and you’ll lose the shot. More than anything, what matters is moment. Nail it and you’ve done your job.
Of course, the real fun part of shooting cyclocross is that when I’m done photographing the first heat, I get to race myself! All in all, it’s a complete workout: an hour of creative practice and work, followed by an hour of total, all out, heart pounding, lung busting, leg burning exertion.
Last year, I released my eBook Behind The Action – Creating Adventure Imagery, Step By Step. It’s a hands-on how-to manual that lays out the exacts step and gear I used to create 12 specific adventure and outdoor type images.
