Cycling in a cave

[Ivanovitch]

I was recently working with some cyclists and took some photos whilst they were training. Lighting was very tricky as it was all underground and I didn’t have my flash with me, only the camera’s built in unit. Normally when trying to take action shots of these guys I‘ll take bursts and typical sport style shots but due to the unique location I’ve gone for a different style. A lot of the cropping is very vertical as they were shared on social media, I appreciate that from a pure aesthetic standpoint they could be cropped better, but I’d appreciate any feedback. Thanks. View attachment 329889View attachment 329890View attachment 329891

 

[wookie6262]

Here is my take
1. Best of the set with nice shape and silhouette works well. I'd lose a chunk off the bottom and get the bike on the thirds
2 Very harsh lighting and the cyclist is facing away from us but good timing, slightly cropped the front wheel too
3 Composition is very nice and I like the scale the shot gives. This could have been a killer shot with remote flashes to highlight the rider. Doesn't look sharp though
4 Doesn't do much for me, sorry
5 Like the idea but the splash of light on the right distracts as does the corner on the bottom left. Lose the bit on the bottom left and you will improve the shot
6 Like the claustrophobic feel but bike not fully in again. Shoot wider for these types of shots imo, better to lose a few pixels than to be missing a wheel
7 Close between this and number 1 for me. Rider stands out, shape is good and environment really interesting. Id lose the splash of light on the right edge
8 Missed opportunity for me. The word mental with a single cyclist going over would have worked better. So difficult given the light and conditions though. Second rider doesn't add to the shot and the composition doesn't work because of them. Rider a bit lost in the gloom too

I think you have found a brilliant place to take images and some great subjects to go in that space. Give it another go and for me if you can't light it look for silhouettes. If you can then use the light to highlight the rider and have the environment low key. Great effort though considering the dark conditions and going for action shots. Try a few more static shots where you can work more on composure and light

 

[sirch]

That's a mine, not a cave and it looks like you had some natural light but still a tough place to shoot without additional flash. I think you have done OK with what you had, definitely worth going back with a couple of flashes and triggers for a bit of back lighting.

This is a cave

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LU1OZhkPAg

 

[Ivanovitch]

Thanks guys. I agree that it was a missed opportunity, I’m the team medic so didn’t go set up to shoot, just grabbed my camera when I saw the location. If we ever go there again I’ll take a faster lens and a proper flash. Having said that, I do like the silhouettes.
As I said some of the shots were cropped 9:16 for Instagram stories, I’ll have another go at processing them to get some better framing.