Tag Archives: sports photography

Comparing Last Year’s Favorite Photo With This Year’s Version

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As a spastic, high energy cyclist and action photographer, I practically live for cyclocross season. I find it to be an incredibly fun way to spend a few hours on a Saturday morning in the fall, as I cheer on friends and race my own bike through the mud and whatever other obstacles and challenging terrain get thrown into the course.

I also find it to be one of the best ways to practice my photography chops and test out the fast action and autofocus capabilities of my camera gear. In fact, during the past few years, I’ve pretty much used cyclocross as my benchmark to test out just how well the Fuji cameras and lenses perform when shooting very fast subject matter. 

And as with any subject that I’m passionate about, I’m always trying to better my skills and vary my approach, in the hopes that I can come up with something really incredible. Sometimes I get really good images, and sometimes… occasionally, on rare occasion, I get a truly great image.

This photo above is from last year’s race at Mirror Lake near Anchorage, which featured a 30-foot long creek crossing. Just one of the 698 frames that I shot while standing by the creek during last year’s race, it’s a photo of my good friend Amber, who always seems to look great in action photos.

It was captured with my Fujifilm X-T3 and the XF14mm f/2.8 wide angle lens, at ISO 1600 with an exposure setting of 1/210 sec and f/5.6, using the Mechanical Shutter at 11fps in Aperture Priority Mode, using the super cool PRE-SHOT ES setting.

With the X-T3 set to ACROS Film Simulation, I also added a warm tint in the WARM/COOL BW ADJ settings menu.

I was blown away when I saw it, and in fact, I deemed it to be the coolest action photo that I’d ever shot in my 22 years was a pro action photographer. Here it is again.

Fast Forward to This Year’s Race

The minute I saw that the Mirror Lake course would be included in this season’s cyclocross race schedule, I got all giddy inside, because I knew I’d get to relive the magic from last year. The cheering… the splashing… the chance for another killer action photo.

Of course, I had set a pretty high bar for myself. Having made my coolest action photo ever, at least up to that point, I knew that the pressure would be on for me to come up with another awesome image.

That’s the great thing about photography, you always have room to improve. Even if you were to shoot the best, most amazing image of your entire life today, you can potentially shoot an even better one tomorrow. That’s a really cool thing to think about, and it’s what drives us, right?

All week, leading up to the race, I’d been playing it over in my mind. I’d been thinking about how I might approach the race this time, and wondering if I could indeed come up with something at least as cool as last year’s image, if not better. That said, when we’re talking photography, maybe “better” is not necessarily the right term. Let’s go with “equally cool, but different.”

Come race day, I drove out to Mirror Lake, scurried down to the creek, warmed up by shooting the intermediate men’s race, and waited for the pro women to start. Call it nostalgia, call it favoritism, I was really waiting for Amber. As I said, she always looks awesome in photos and I love capturing hero shots of my friends.

In my quest to come up with a different approach, I shifted my vantage point and moved to the other side of the creek. Shooting again with the XF14mm f/2.8 lens, I set the X-T3 to PRE-SHOT ES with 11fps bursts, this time using the Electronic Shutter.

I also set the camera to the ACROS film sim, since I love shooting cyclocross in black and white, and once again, I used the WARM/COOL BW ADJ setting, but with a slightly cooler tint than what I’d used for last year’s image.

Standing on the on the edge of the creek, and reached out as far as I could, holding the X-T3 horizontally out over the water, using the Vertical Battery Grip for a more ergonomic purchase. I set the focus to ZONE AF, adjusted the location of the zone to a medium sized box at the right side of the frame and kept my finger on the Grip’s shutter button as I waited…

During the first lap, I grabbed some shots of Laura, Jessie, Andrea and Kate.

During the second lap, I could see Amber through the trees as she came flying down the tail opposite the creek and made the turn. When she hit the water, I did a front-to-back horizontal pan and shot an 11fps burst at ISO 800, 1/140 sec at f/4, with a +.7 adjustment on my EV+/- dial.

She was true to form, looking awesome with her determined expression as she splashed through the creek. This shot was the fourth in a seven-frame burst and I’m blown away by just how sharp she is, despite the amount of camera movement there was in the shot. Let’s just say that I’ve had a lot of practice with this panning thing. Still it doesn’t always come out that sharp.

After she came though, I checked the frame on my camera and was quite exited. It was good. Very good, and certainly different than last year.

My Favorite Shot from This Year’s Race

Then it happened. Amber’s daughter Cadence hit the creek forty nine seconds after I grabbed the shot above. She’s racing really strong this year, finishing 3rd place in the last two races, and she’s every bit as photogenic. I’d shot a few photos of her during the first race two weeks ago, and I was really psyched by the results.

I was ready, having shot the two other women who were spaced in between. Using the same panning technique, I angled the camera down just a tiny bit to give the shot a slight more dynamic feel. Honestly, I don’t remember if I did that on purpose, or if it just happened in with all the excitement.

This was the seventh frame out of the eight I grabbed as she flew by and raced her way to another 3rd place finish. For some reason, the shutter speed had switched to 1/300 sec, so this frame is definitely darker than the other photo, but I think it looks pretty cool. It has a lot of definition and a nice contrast between sharp and blur.

There’s something a little bit different about this photo than the other frames I shot at the creek this year, it just has a little bit more energy, more water and a more exciting feel.

Comparing it to my favorite shot from last year, I think it holds up well. It definitely shows off the action capabilities of the X-T3, and from a creative standpoint, it satisfies my itch to continually push my own boundaries as a photographer and walk away from every scene with an original image that truly excites me.

With that in mind, I wonder how things will play out next season…

Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you’re having fun pushing your own creative boundaries as well this fall.

My 5 Favorite Cyclocross Photos from This Past Weekend

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The cyclocross season continues, with our second Anchorage race of the series taking place this past Saturday, which, of course, meant another great opportunity for some action photography.

As always, I spent a good two hours running around with my camera like a spaz, looking for cool vantage points and experimenting with different lenses and looks as I photographed the racers with my Fujifilm X-T3.

Since I shoot this sport regularly almost every fall, I try to come at it with a slightly different approach each time. I’ll play around with different film simulations and color palettes, I’ll use a variety of lenses, or maybe I’ll shoot a race with just one lens, and sometimes I’ll even use different cameras, formats and aspect ratios. 

For this week’s race, I brought four lenses with me: the XF14mm f/2.8, which is my favorite Fuji wide angle, the darling little XF35mm f/2 WR, which I find to be incredibly versatile, the XF50mm f/2 WR, which I absolutely love, and the supremely sharp XF90mm f/2 WR, which, by all counts, is truly a special piece of glass.

To make things interesting, I switched to a new lens for each lap. This kept things fresh and it reminded me of the compositional strengths that each focal length offers. It also gave me a chance to brush up on my skills, because nothing hones your chops like regular practice.

I shot about 1,200 frames during Saturday’s race, often using the awesome PRE-SHOT ES feature on the X-T3. Here are my five favorites, with a little bit of behind-the-scenes explanation for each one.

1. Jumping The Barriers

Early in the race, I grabbed a shot of my friend Pat Crabbe as he jumped the barriers under the waterpower. Pat is one of those “upper 50s and fit as hell” guys that I aspire to be like when I grow up. I’ve raced with him in the mountain bike series and he smokes me every time.

For this shot, I used a low vantage point with the XF35mm f/2, which gave me the classic “hero shot” look. Shooting low, especially with normal to wide lenses can often add a lot of drama to your people images. The 35 worked well, because it kept the scene tight, and the subject sharp, while creating enough separation between him and the background.

I used the ACROS film simulation on my X-T3 and a little bit of the warm toning effect, which is found on the X-T3 and X-T30. This is one of my favorite creative settings on the X-T3, and I make heavy use of it on a regular basis. I’ve even put this setting at the top of my “My Menu” folder, so I can access it with just one click.

2. The Run-Up

The run-up in Saturday’s race was particularly grueling, especially after about five or six laps. (I did eight total). Here’s my friend James Frederick chasing Pat and another racer on about the 3rd lap.

The XF50mm f/2 WR short telephoto gave me a nice tight view and a very shallow field of focus. In fact, the only thing that’s sharp in this frame is the tiny patch of leaves by James’s foot in the lower right corner.

Shot as part of a series at 11 frames per second, this ended up being my favorite, even though it’s mostly out of focus. Call it a happy accident.

For whatever reason, the camera’s AF system decided to grab something other than the center of the frame for this brief moment. Maybe my own highly erratic movement in trying to capture this highly energetic, fast moving scene caused me to blow it. Maybe it’s because the vertical orientation AF (Store AF Mode by Orientation setting) had the zone positioned in the lower right part of the frame.

Who knows. Either way, I love how it looks. Sometimes you can get away this kind of thing. Here, we know exactly what’s going on, and even if the racers aren’t sharp, the message of this scene comes across loud and clear.

In fact, that section of sharp leaves in the lower right corner does pull your eye, and with James’s foot being right there, it sets up a nice pathway for your eyes to track up his long diagonal leg. The combination of focus, softness, angle and prominent subject matter create a lot of motion in the image.

3. Pavement Sprint

Although the average cyclocross race takes place in the dirt, mud and grass, traditionally cyclocross races feature at least some pavement. During Saturday’s race, there was a long, 500-meter straightaway on the pavement to after a long singletrack section in the woods.

This was a nice way to break up from the sketchy gravel, the relentless roots, the soul-sucking run-up and the wipe-out potential of the tight forest trail. Of course, it also provided a key place to pass and be passed, so it’s not like you could really let up much on this “rest section.”

Here, I positioned myself at the edge of the road with the XF14mm f/2.8 lens and used the Classic Chrome film simulation with a shutter speed of 1/27 second, panning forwards to back in line with the racers. It’s pretty blurry, but the message of speed definitely comes through.

4. In The Woods

Who doesn’t love a good panning shot, especially when you nail it? They key to getting a successful pan is having a good mix of sharp and blur, and this one has just the right contrast in the places where it counts.

As you can see, the rider’s upper body is pretty sharp, and his expression is clearly visible. At the same time, there’s a lot of separation between him and the background. The leaves add nice contrast and the motion of the pan itself is quite pleasing. And, that patch of white at the top right acts like a spotlight to highlight his face. That part was just luck.

This was also shot with the XF14mm f/2.8 lens, using that low-angle “hero shot” technique. It’a a classic illustration why wide angles make for great action lenses.

5. Katrina in the Woods

Yet another picture made with the XF14mm f/2.8 lens. This time, I’m using it to get really close, so I can feature the rider prominently in the frame, and and still show off the environment of the scene.

My friend Katrina has worked really hard at her cycling skills during the past couple of years, so it’s really exciting for me to grab a shot like this and make her look like such a badass. I love making my friends look like heroes, and since I’m photographing many of my friends during these weekly races, that actually drives a lot of my motivation.

I was pretty psyched to find this exposed downhill corner. I knew that people would have very focused expressions as they whipped around the bend. There wasn’t much room on the trail, and I had stuffed myself right at the edge, which was another reason the wide lens worked so well here.

I also love the timeless feel that the warm-toned black and white imparts on this picture. I used a few more clicks towards the warm side than what was used on the first “barrier” picture above. I think the pronounced warm tone works really well with all of the foliage and it adds a lot of drama to the photo.

There you have it, my five favorite shots from Saturday’s cyclocross race, all shot with the Fujifilm X-T3, all made with small, compact Fuji primes and all made with a maximum excitement and passion, knowing that after that it would be my turn to race.

If you want to see more cyclocross shots, click here to see the photos from last week’s race.

Photographing Cyclocross with the Fujifilm X-T3

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The 2019 cyclocross season is finally here!!! I can’t tell you how happy that makes me. Ever since I shot my first race back in 2011, and did my first race the next year, cyclocross has been in my blood.

Racing skinny tire road-style bikes on a short track, obstacle-laden course that encompasses a variety of challenging terrain, including dirt, mud, wet grass, off-camber hills, steep run-ups, shin-high barriers and maybe a tiny bit of pavement, ‘cross is a full-on burst of all-out energy and classic Type 2 fun. In other words, Cross is Boss.

I love the challenges that cyclocross offers, and I often use it as my benchmark to test new camera bodies, lenses and specific settings. I also find it to be a perfect opportunity to push my creativity and practice shooting new styles and techniques.

With very fast action and often times difficult light, shooting ‘cross has made me a better action photographer, and it’s helped me become even more proficient with my cameras.

Every single year, I try out different approaches and I always get photos that I absolutely love. During a race last year, I got what I felt was the best, most exciting action photo I’ve ever shot, and so with a new season upon us, my goal is to continue to push myself and play around with new ideas as I run around the course and look for cool vantage points.

As with last year, I’m shooting with the Fujifilm X-T3, which is, by far, the best, most capable action camera I’ve ever used. With the increased performance and new features they added when the upgraded from the X-T2, I feel as if the Fuji engineers designed this camera specifically for me.

With the ultra fast electronic shutter that will fire at up to 30 fps, and the highly improved autofocus system that will track at those speeds, and the new creative features they added, I find that shooting with the X-T3 gives me an incredible amount of creative flexibility and total hot-shot performance.

One of the features I love the most is the new Warm and Cool Black and White adjustment settings, which I wrote about in a previous post. (You can watch my YouTube video tutorial about this setting here.) This setting is also found on the X-T30.

This setting expands on your creative options when shooting in black and white and it allows you to get some really cool looks. I’ll often go back and forth between shooting “warm” for some shots and “cool” for others, sometimes one right after another. (I’ve put this setting in my My Menu, so I can bring it up with one click.)

This is similar to my approach with the film simulations, where I might vary my looks numerous times throughout a race, sometimes shooting two or three different looks for a single fast breaking scene. It’s all about trying things out and seeing what works, and if you’re proficient with your camera, you can change up your settings to match new ideas that pop into your head at a moment’s notice.

I also like to play around with my Q Menu setting and adjust the Highlight/Shadow Tones and the Color control, in order to vary my looks even more. This shot above is CLASSIC CHROME with the Shadow Tone bumped all the way up. I think it makes for a really gritty, hard look, which makes for an exciting shot in the right moment.

The other setting I find essential for shooting this kind of action, is PRE-SHOT ES, which you can read about in this post.

PRE-SHOT ES works when you’re shooting in Continuous High and using the Electronic Shutter. When you enable this setting, the camera not only starts tracking your subject as soon as you do a “half-press” on the shutter button, it actually starts writing images into the buffer as it’s tracking.

Then, when you press the shutter all the way, the camera will save those “half-press frames” and write them onto your memory card. It’s a highly useful tool for shooting fast moving subjects, because it makes up for the lag time between when you start tracking and when you actually slam that index finger down all the way.

In effect, it lets you capture frames that you would normally miss because your finger is slow than your brain. Pretty cool, huh?

Of all the sports I’ve shot, there’s something about cyclocross that holds a special place in my heart. Maybe it’s because it perfectly matches my own one-thing-to-the-next, spastic energy style. Maybe it’s the camaraderie and because I love seeing my friends suffer out there on the course, knowing that I’ll have my turn next.

Maybe it’s just because cyclocross is just so damn cool. There’s a unique style to this kind of bike racing, and anyone who’s every seen or done a ‘cross race knows what I’m talking about.

Now that it’s fall, ‘cross is here, and wherever you live, there’s good chance that there’s a race series near you. Even if you’re not a bike racer yourself, it’s an exciting sport to watch, and a fun, challenging sport to photograph.

I would encourage you to check the listings in your area and go watch at least one race, just to check it out. And don’t forget to take your camera.

To see my own photography evolution with shooting cyclocross over the years, you can check out my archive of cyclocross-related blog posts here. 

Stay tuned for more ‘cross photos next week.

How to Use the PRE-SHOT ES Setting on the Fujifilm X-T3

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One of the coolest features found on the Fujifilm X-T3 is a setting called PRE-SHOT ES. Found in the SHOOTING SETTINGS Menu, this powerful setting is included specifically for photographing fast action and subjects that move very quickly. (EDIT: The new … Continue reading →

5 Tips For Photographing Sports and Fast Action in Low Light

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Shooting action is a blast. Except when it’s not. There’s nothing more exciting than trying to freeze an exhilarating moment when your subject is whizzing by; trying to capture the feeling of speed and physical exertion in a single frame, … Continue reading →

The Coolest Action Photo I’ve Ever Shot

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This is the coolest action photo I’ve ever shot. I made it with the new Fujifilm X-T3 during last Saturday’s cyclocross race. I realize that’s a tough claim to make, considering that I’ve been shooting photos for 28.5 years, and I’ve been … Continue reading →

Breaking Down a Cyclocross Shot: Shooting A Shaded Subject Against the Light

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Cyclocross season is here again!!! If you’ve followed my work for awhile, then you know that cyclocross is one of my favorite sports to participate in and photograph. I love the mix of fast action combined with the chaos and … Continue reading →