Damien Tries a Tabletop Look Down #1
THE SUBJECT:
Everything was perfect for this shot. There was no surfing action off the breakwater and I was on my way back to the car when I saw young Damien here and his mate practicing some BMX moves.
I sauntered over and made a few tentative shots when Damien came over and asked if I would make shots of the moves so he could see how he was going. So with a more than co-operative subject I set myself up for a good afternoon session with these two dudes.
THE LOCATION:
At the ramp at Town Beach, Port Macquarie , NSW, Australia.
THE MAKING of ‘Damien Tries a Tabletop Look Down #1’:
It was back in the days of my old workhorse the Fuji S5500 and I was using 3x Multi-shot high resolution .jpg. I had also left the camera set to Hard Sharpen which is NOT a good thing to do when shooting .jpg unless you are shooting architecture or such. No sharpening was applied to this at all during processing and I actually had to soften the edges slightly with a 5% Lens Blur to help get rid of the white halo artefacts. A 20% Lens Blur was used on the background behind the spectator.
I pre-focussed on an area of grass at the same distance as Damien would when up in the air then with the shutter release still half way down I framed the ramp and waited for the action.
Believe it or not NO flash was used here! The natural light from the lowering winter sun was absolutely spot on for the session.
While the colour version is quite good I much prefer this B&W version as it allows the viewer to concentrate more on Damien.
Fuji S5500: 1/1000sec @ f/3.1, ISO100, Hand held.
Lightroom 1.1 & Photoshop CS3.
Visit the Sport & Leisure collection in my BubbleSite Gallery for more cycling action.
UPDATE: 8-9-09
Young Damien was awarded a Merit in the Port Macquarie Panthers Camera Club’s August 2009 Competition in the Open Large Monochrome Print Section:
Enjoy!
BMX
(Click the links!)
Damien Tries a Tabletop Look Down #1
Damien Tries a Tabletop Look Down #1 belongs to the following groups:
Former DPF Members and Sports Photography Available for sale asGreeting Cards, Matted Prints, Laminated Prints, Mounted Prints, Canvas Prints and Framed Prints
Marilyn Harris
Wonderful action shot Dennis!! These guys sure look like they’re having fun!! Love the B&W!!!
Dennis Gay replied
G’day Blossom,
Good to see you at the ramp watching the local heros and that you are the first Bubbler to spot young Damien in action.
Many thanks for your most encouraging “Wonderful action…” wrap for my mid-air mono efforts.
Thank you too for the honour of adding this work to your favourites.
GB
Dennis
Aurora Pintore
great picture, love it !!!!!
Dennis Gay replied
G’day Aurora,
Good to see you at the ramp watching the local heros and that you are have spotted young Damien in action.
Many thanks for your most encouraging “,,,love it!!!!!” wrap for my mid-air mono efforts.
Thank you too for the honour of adding this work to your favourites.
GB
Dennis
Jason Connolly
One word Dennis Fabulous
Dennis Gay replied
G’day Jason,
Good to see you at the ramp watching the local heros and that you are have spotted young Damien in action.
Many thanks for your most encouraging “,,,Fabulous” wrap for my mid-air mono efforts.
Thank you too for the honour of adding this work to your favourites.
GB
Dennis
Marvin Collins
Excellent stop action shot Dennis!!
Dennis Gay replied
G’day Marvin,
Good to see you at the ramp watching the local heros and that you are have spotted young Damien in action.
Many thanks for your most encouraging “Excellent…” wrap for my mid-air mono efforts.
GB
Dennis
Mugsy
Well captured!
Dennis Gay replied
G’day Mugsy,
Good to see you at the ramp watching the local heros and that you are have spotted young Damien in action.
Many thanks for your most encouraging “Well captured!” wrap for my mid-air mono efforts.
GB
Dennis
Maximus
Super duper Dennis, both the shot and the lesson. :)
Dennis Gay replied
G’day Max,
Good to see you at the ramp watching the local heros and that you are have spotted young Damien in action.
Many thanks for your most encouraging “Super duper…” wrap for my mid-air mono efforts.
GB
Dennis
debsphotos
Excellent once again Dennis…..whether its flowers or surf or now bike stunts!!!! *-)
Dennis Gay replied
G’day Deb,
Good to see you at the ramp watching the local heros and that you are have spotted young Damien in action.
Many thanks for your most encouraging “Excellent…” wrap for my mid-air mono efforts.
Deb, there is NO WAY I could ever stick to just one genre of photography. There is just far too much out there to shoot. Besides, I take on every subject under every possible condition as a challenge. Oh and I empty my virtual rubbish bin about four times a day! 8-)
GB
Dennis
GailD
Well caught Dennis. I trust Damien was more than pleased with the shots.
Dennis Gay replied
G’day Gail,
Good to see you at the ramp watching the local heros and that you are have spotted young Damien in action.
Many thanks for your most encouraging “Well caught…” wrap for my mid-air mono efforts.
Oh yeah! Damien was stoked that he could get such a quick feedback on his stunts so he could correct his mistakes. He was also very appreciative of the shots I emailed him as well. 8-)
GB
Dennis
James Godber
This is a great work!
Dennis Gay replied
G’day James,
So happy to see you at the ramp watching the local heros and that you are have spotted young Damien in action.
Thank you heaps for your encouraging “…great work!” wrap for my mid-air mono efforts.
GB
Dennis
Dennis Gay
UPDATE: 8-9-09
Young Damien was awarded a Merit in the Port Macquarie Panthers Camera Club’s August 2009 Competition in the Open Large Monochrome Print Section:
My utmost thanks to all the Bubblers who have supported this work. Without such encouragement and support it could well be buried deep in my head drive never to see the light of competition.
Enjoy!
GB
Dennis