Track Two

This would be the BMX track redux as opposed to the horse racing track, where I return next week with the Brandon-Riverview Photography Meetup Group. Today we met to shoot bicycle races. I had shot some at this track last week, staying longer didn't seem to give me more success.



Now some in vertical orientation:

Seen While Golfing

I went golfing today and, as has become custom, I toted my DSLR camera along with its 70-300mm zoom lens. As has also become the norm, I had more good shots with my camera than with my golf clubs. In fact, I got a couple of close-ups (300mm zoom, remember?) of an alligator before we played the first hole.

Spring also means the first sightings of sandhill crane hatchlings. If you get too close, mama or papa will attack.

More Bike Photos

This time human-powered "engines" instead of horse-powered ones. I shot a few frames at a BMX racing track in Riverview. The photo group I shoot with is scheduled to go back out next week and the track's organizers say he'll outfit us with passes that let us go into the infield where we can get a greater variety of shots.

The riders can catch a lot of air on the clay moguls but do it mostly in practice rather than the races. I saw riders as young as five and as old as 17. The track is looking for more kids to participate so if you have somehow stumbled across this and you or your children live in southeastern Hillsborough County, the link above will take you to the organization's web site.



Here are some in portrait orientation:

No Birdies But a Gator and a Puppy

When I play golf, often the only good shots I make are with my camera. I've made it a habit to bring it with me when I play. Warmer weather brought out the alligators that decorate the course's ponds.



A 300mm lens let me get that close. I got within about six feet of it.

More temperate temperatures also brought one of the residents of the housing development that surrounds the course out with his two-month old puppy. The sun was behind the pup and the shutter noise startled it and, short on time before we had to go play the next hole, I didn't take the time to compensate for the lighting issue properly. But I think the cuteness comes through.





A little post production to brighten up the area around her eyes would help. That thing was the cutest little puppy dog maybe ever.

See more of my photography at photoquist.com

Dirt Bike Photographs from Croom Motorcycle Park

Saturday I shot horsepower that did not involve horses. The organizer of the photo group I often shoot with also rides dirt bikes at Croom Motorcycle Park in Hernando County. He'll be on bike #43 in the photo montage below. Despite excellent weather, there weren't many riders. Our guess was that a bike week and a big race at Daytona siphoned off many of the usual Croom crowd.

I shot more than 800 frames of the same five shots. A lot of burst mode! I did capture two kids crashing but the soft sand that can make turns difficult also cushions riders who go down. Both kids were OK, though getting out from beneath the bikes took more exertion than riding them.

The soft sand also made the bikes look like surfboards cutting through waves in some shots. In others the bikes kicked up "rooster tails" behind them that helped illustrate their power. All in all, it was a cool thing to shoot and looking at the photos gives me a better idea of which things to focus on if I go back.