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Delightfully Psychotic Cyclists
Delightfully Psychotic Cyclists
Melethia


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: DPC Cinema (Advanced Editing IV)
Collection: Challenges 2006
Camera: Canon EOS-300D Rebel
Lens: Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
Location: Tree of Life church parking lot
Date: May 4, 2006
Aperture: f/6.3
ISO: 400
Shutter: 1/2000
Galleries: Sports
Date Uploaded: May 6, 2006

 A movie about the average guy (or gal) who goes a little crazy and races bikes for fun....

I came up with the title then set out to shoot it. One of my goals is to try something new for each challenge, if possible. The "new" here was trying to shoot rapidly moving targets with a telephoto lens. Ain't easy! I don't think I ended up with anything useful when I used aperture priority or manual. This was shot with the "sports" mode on the Rebel. While it limits you to shooting in jpeg versus raw, it does a much better job of focusing on the target as it moves by. I'll keep trying, though. The local cyclists have crits (criterium races) every other Thursday within riding distance of my house. Kinda fun to watch, too!

Post processing - when reviewing the history, I apparently tried a whole lot of different crops. (I should remember to delete all but the last crop from the history file.) The only other post processing I did was autolevels. Then I cloned. There was a blown reflection on the cyclist whose tongue is sticking out, and the base of a pole behind the head of the cyclist with the retro sunglasses. Did a bit of USM then resized. In fact, I had to resize a couple of times to get to the 150K limit.

Oh, and be grateful I got a shot I could use - the backup title was Deb's Psycho Cats.

Statistics
Place: 101 out of 207
Avg (all users): 5.5419
Avg (commenters): 6.1429
Avg (participants): 5.2062
Avg (non-participants): 5.8491
Views since voting: 872
Views during voting: 290
Votes: 203
Comments: 17
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
 05/21/2006 09:15:44 AM
I have to admit it was a very hard challenge. Like many entries, yours is very strong on many photographic levels, but lacks a bit on the "movie" side - there's very few entries where the title really sounds like a film I might go and see.

In relation to the challenge, a bit of a stretch
In relation to the photo in its own right, you've caught a good moment with clear faces visible, each bringing their own character with those comical expressions. The tight composition with square composition works well, making it very action-packed. Colours are strong, shame the focus is a lttle soft. A lot of potential - you should definitely go out again til you've perfected the art :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/18/2006 03:38:05 AM
[[trading post]]

nice image, would do better in sports challenge though.
the focus is a bit off, to soft and I think it's cropped too tight.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/18/2006 01:35:04 AM
I like this photo, especially the three cyclists in a row. The title was fine with me (virtually all titles in this challenge are a stretch for movie titles). Good angle and capture. It's not easy to time action shots, even with rapid fire capabilities. I thought the focus was not too crisp, though. Maybe a different f-stop and a bit slower speed would have worked better (1/500?). In the sunlight was ISO400 necessary? I don't actually know, because I haven't made any sports shots myself.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/17/2006 06:04:52 AM
A great image, well captured. It's a little soft, though, especially for an action/sports picture like this. I gave it a five for these reasons, and because it doesn't scream "movie poster" to me (sometimes I need to be yelled at). ;) Overall, a nice image, with vibrant colour and a fantastic crop.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/16/2006 07:48:19 PM
hello again,

my main problem was that they did not look pshycho. they looked like racers. sorry.

the focus was sharpish given they were racing. had this been tack sharp it would have done even better. the shot is a good one. everything works great ceptin maybe for the psycho bit.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/15/2006 09:46:25 AM
Well. ..I think this is incredibly underrated!!! 5.5? No way! The angle and composition. . .the subject. I just love it!

  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/15/2006 09:38:18 AM
Trading Post -

A shame that the focus isnt sharper on this one. The angle/lean is good and the colors are nice. Cloning out the cyclist in the very back would have given you a clean sharp line with the other 3 cyclists. But the big issue is focus. Keep working with your lens and I know you will be doing better soon.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/15/2006 04:31:49 AM
Trading post...
This is a great action shot. The guy with the tongue out is hilarious. The guy with all the teeth showing is pretty funny too. I know there probably wasn't much you could do about it, but the leg and rear end of the guy in the corner is very dominate and takes away from the picture.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/14/2006 09:02:44 PM
--Trading Post--
Great sports capture, but I think that its stretching it a bit with the title. I like your composition here, and the DOF is nice. I think that this one would have done very well in a different type of challenge.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
05/14/2006 12:16:24 AM
Not a bad shot (although the focus is a little soft), but the title just doesn't seem credible as a movie title.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/13/2006 11:19:51 PM
Nice capture... Well done!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/11/2006 05:50:52 PM
This works so well, re the title.....
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/09/2006 12:00:08 PM
the image doesn't quite live up to the title, even with the tongue hanging out. looks just like a sports shot cropped a little close and with a little extra tongue.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/09/2006 02:16:48 AM
Nice capture.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/08/2006 11:04:34 PM
Good action shot
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/08/2006 10:46:09 AM
Very nice composition with the riders heading into the turn. Not sure about the inclusion of the hip though, distracts some. Good color and some pretty good expression on their faces.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/08/2006 06:32:07 AM
This is an awesome photo! I love the angle of the cyclists. It makes the composition so interesting. aMAZING focus for such a fast moving subject! One of my favorites here!!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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