Category: Motorcyles

Self Portrait with the Devilhog

Posted on by Nick Roberts

This self portrait was taken a couple of years ago at the entrance to the Bonneville Salt Flats International Speedway. I used Topaz Adjust bring out the details and colors in the scene.

I’m still feeling my way through this startup of the Speeddemon2 blog and trying to wrap my head around the WordPress analytics that show how many visitors the blog gets each day. There have been days where over 200 people viewed the blog and there have been days when as few as 30 people have stopped by. I’m trying to correlate those numbers with the posts from those days to better understand how I can deliver photos and information that will lead people to return each day or each week. I truly want to be a resource for photographers and ordinary folks to learn more about the work I produce and to find help, or inspiration, to further their artistic vision.

I would really appreciate hearing from you, the visitors, about what worked over the past few weeks and what didn’t. I studied fine art in a school that valued critiques as a way to grow and expand an artist’s thinking and inform his or her work. I’m asking anyone who has something constructive to say to post it in the comment section. I’m sitting here writing these word though and I’m wondering how I’ll deal with the possibility that no one will say anything. Oh well I can’t control the universe so I’ll take my chances with this post.

A Storm Was Brewing on the Horizon

Posted on by Nick Roberts

When the destination for my ride requires me to be on a tight schedule the Interstate Highway System is my only choice. While I prefer to use the older US Highway system to travel across the country, the pace is different and I don’t mind slowing down as I pass through small towns, I sometimes need to cover a lot of distance in a day.

I often hear from people that the Interstate Highways are boring roads but I don’t always find them that boring. For one thing these highways often pass through beautiful country and since the right of way is so wide there are sections where the only sign of man’s hand is the highway itself.

This is a photo of one such stretch of interstate. I don’t recall where I was when I took this photo but I do remember vividly how quickly the rain moved in my direction! I saw this storm on the horizon and pulled to the side of the road to put on my rain gear. Before donning my rain gear I grabbed my camera from my saddlebag and took a few shots of the approaching rain storm. I love seeing the rain falling as a storm moves in the distance and the way the rain makes patterns uniting the clouds and the earth. In a matter of minutes the storm was on top of me and I stashed my camera back in the saddlebag.

I grabbed my rain gear and was just getting it unrolled when the wind and rain were upon me; the wind was blowing full force and the rain drops were as big as grapes. I was standing there in the middle of nowhere trying to put on my rain jacket as the wind was doing it’s best to tun it into a sail! I had only managed to get one arm in the jacket when the storm got to me. As I stood there in the pouring rain, battling the wind and trying to get the rain pants and jacket fastened I was drenched with rain. Once I finished I was almost as wet as I would have been had I simply left the rain gear in the saddlebag.

I climbed back on the bike and headed into the storm fully expecting to ride the rest of the afternoon in rain but less that five miles down the road the storm was gone and the sky was clear again. I was still wet and cold but I had another great experience to remember and savor for years to come. These types of things are among the reasons I love motorcycling and exploring America by motorcycle; if I had been in a car that afternoon I wouldn’t have tasted and felt the the forces of nature that form our world.

As for the composition, once again the highway leads the viewer’s eye into the scene, dominates the foreground and reinforces the rule of thirds as it moves into the frame.  The colors and textures of the clouds add interest to the upper part of the image while the horizon gives a sense of depth. I used Topaz Adjust on this image which accounts for the enhanced contrast of the road surface and the saturation of the colors.

 

The Road Goes On Forever

Posted on by Nick Roberts

For me riding a motorcycle and taking photographs is really about the journey not the destination. I want to experience the vistas that unfold around the next bend in the road; I want to feel and smell the country I’m travelling through; then, hopefully, I’ll be able to convey the essence of those sensory experiences in my photos. I’m constantly struck by the beauty of the highway as it ribbons across the landscape and try to share that vision in my images. When I am riding out in the west I often pull over to the side of the road and photograph the scene that the highway has just revealed to me.

I find that by using the roads I’m travelling as compositional elements I can create very evocative images that show the allure of motorcycling and the grandeur of the terrain.  This photo of Devils Tower in Wyoming shows how using the highway as a key element can really direct the viewer’s eye into the frame. Many people, when they are going to see a monument such as Devil’s Tower, let images slip by that would give a better sense of the place in their quest to get to and photograph the land form or feature that they seek.

This shot was enhanced in an older version of Topaz Adjust 3, the current version is version 5, and at that time the presets were pretty heavy handed. The later versions of Topaz Adjust are much more finessed in their effects and do a better job of enhancing photos than the earlier ones. I learned a lot from using those early versions and I am still a huge fan of presets as a way to get inspired by an image and the potential ways that I can process it to express my vision for the final product.

Bonneville Wrap Up

Posted on by Nick Roberts

Today I’m going to try and wrap up my posts from the BUB International Motorcycle Speed Trials. I want to move on to doing more HDR posts but the response to these photos shows that there are many people who have enjoyed the Land Speed Racing images.

This opening image is another photo that was edited in Topaz Adjust. The skies at Bonneville can be pretty amazing and this image showcases another one. Using Topaz allowed me to accent the sky while bringing up the colors in the racers and motorcycle. The noise issue isn’t as intense either which really helps this image hold together.

The composition works because the diagonal lines and triangles formed by the people concentrate on the fellow telling his story. I like the way the truck and the woman on the right side of the frame direct your eye into the negative space that leads to the horizon.

This image is another of those photos I like that show the people and machines of BUB. The camaraderie of the racers and their support crews is one of the great things about Land Speed Racing; these people genuinely care about one another and will assist anyone that needs help even if they are a direct competitor.

The image has been through Topaz Adjust which accented the colors and brought out the patterns in the sky. This is another image where the inherent noise of the Spicify preset hasn’t overwhelmed the scene.

Compositionally  I placed the front wheel of the bike on the right at the edge of the frame because I like the way it appears ready to leap out of the picture. The triangle formed by the negative space between the bikes leads the eye into the scene where the racer’s conversations are taking place. When you look at this image you find triangles formed by the bikes, by the people and by the combination of people and machines. I really like the single spectator ambling along on the left side who, while obviously not a part of the group, is still connected to them by his stance and the way he is studying the scene before his eyes.

I shot this closeup of the engine because it is so rich in detail and texture. From the sock protecting the velocity stack to the sheen of the valve cover there is so much  contrast of materials. The mechanic’s arm and hand are interesting as the viewer wonders what adjustment is being made. Topaz once again enhanced the contrast and vibrancy of the image while still retaining the detail. While there is some noise in the sky I don’t think it detracts from the overall impact of the scene.

Compositionally the engine at the right hand foreground of the frame is balanced by the fellow standing on the left in the background giving depth to the image as well as another point for the eye to land on.

This image was taken just as the rider left the starting gate to go to the start line. I love the energy that is conveyed by the wheel’s slight blur in contrast to to the crisp detail of the engine and the rider’s shin. The composition is strong because of the triangle formed by the front fork and the rider’s torso and the way it fits into the rule of thirds meme.

Here is one of those images where Topaz has added a great deal of noise in the sky while still managing to enhance the color and detail of the subject.

This image evokes an atmosphere of curiosity as if these two men are meeting for the first time in an alien landscape. The man on the left seems to be trying to understand what this contraption is while the one on the right is sitting there waiting for a question perhaps?

Another Topaz image where noise is very pronounced yet in the context of the image I don’t find it out of place. The noise in the sky reflects the texture of the salt and adds an otherworldly aura of mystery to the image.

As is often the case in motorsports; there are times where, for whatever reason, the action stops. This woman was waiting to make her land speed record attempt at the start gate when the course had to be closed due to an engine failure on the course. When that type of event occurs it is often necessary to have the course inspected to be sure there is no debris let on it that could endanger the next racer to run down the course. At those times the racers are simply waiting and as this woman shows it was a good time to stretch out and relax.

Topaz added lots of noise which for me is symbolic of the texture of the salt and therefor I saw no reason to soften it. On this image I added a vignette to direct the eye into the scene and reinforce the composition’s reliance on the rule of thirds and diagonal lines.

Vintage Indian Racer

Posted on by Nick Roberts

I really like the way this image turned out. The bike is a work of art and has been lovingly restored. The young man riding it is probably half the bike’s age. I really like the juxtaposition of the vintage bike with the modern leathers and helmet. The reflection of the other participants in the face shield and the golden glow on it are part of why I chose this image.

As in yesterday’s post this image went through processing in Aperture 3 and Topaz Adjust. The noise in the image works for me; much as the film grain in Kodak Tri-X did when I shot B&W film years ago.

The motorcycle and rider fill the foreground in the composition yet they still allow the viewer’s eye to move on into the scene through the negative space of the salt flat into the distant mountains. The shadows on the left hint at unseen spectators that are waiting in anticipation of seeing him speed off down the race course in pursuit of a world record.