Saturday, August 26, 2006

Aug. 26 Photos are Up

Ross the Boss on his R6
Photos I took today on Skyline Boulevard and Woodside Road are now in the store, which you can reach by clicking the list to the right. I will post some highlights of today's shooting tomorrow night. I won't be shooting on the Skyline Sunday, Aug. 27 or on the Labor Day Weekend. Got some riding to do on those days. I may be back on post Sept. 9 and 10. Check back for an update.

Robert Jones aka SkooterShooter.com

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Shooting on Saturday Aug. 26 -Maybe Sunday

First off, thanks to everyone who ordered photos last week. If you haven't already received them, they should arrive any time now.

I'll be on Skyline Boulevard, in the Windy Hill area about three miles south of Alice's Restaurant on Saturday. I plan to get there about 9:30 a.m. to take advantage of the lighting there. From there I'll probably move to Woodside Road just east of Skyline about about 11 a.m.

Why do I do all this shuffling around? Lighting. Some people have asked why I don't shoot at particular locations, such as the twisties on La Honda road. I'd love to, but the lighting is bad. Our clear blue Calif. skies are wonderful to look at, but they create serious contrast problems for photography. Slightly overcast or hazy days are a lot more forgiving for shooting fast-moving bikes.

Shooting in the shade in the Santa Cruz Mountains is like working at night. Contrast is the shadows is almost non-existent, leading to flat photos. One solution, flash photography, is out of the question for safety reasons. Many of the curvy areas are either in the dark or in areas where the sun and shade create a mottled effect that just doesn't look good in a photo. Bright sun isn't much better. Here you have too much contrast, which creates a lot of shadows on the bike and the biker's face. Here again, a powerful flash would fill the bill, but it's a no-no distraction as far as I'm concerned. I would only use flash for a set-up shot where the rider was expecting it. As you can tell, none of my shots are set up. It's much more exciting to take pictures of bikers and their skooters doing it naturally.

Light angle is also an issue. It's always better to have light coming from the side to illuminate the rider's face and bike details. That usually rules out shots in the middle of the day. But that's when most bikers are out riding in the mountains. So you pick your spots carefully and do what you can with the contrast issues, which usually means some post-shooting work on the computer.

Sunday is a toss up. I may be up on a poker run in Sonoma and Napa that day. If not, I'll post here tomorrow or Saturday night whether I'll make it up on the Skyline.

Hope to see out on your ride.

Robert Jones aka SkooterShooter.com

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Indian Summer

The Indians were out on Skyline Sunday. Several vintage bikes like these two flatheads, as well as some new models were sporting about at Alice's.














The old And the new. Hope the new Indian Co. keeps rolling.

Update for Aug. 20, 2006


I shot on Skyline Boulevard exclusively. The fog was blowing across Windy Hill and it made for a nice backdrop until it burned off about 11 a.m.


All was not well, however. I was using a new lens that features vibration reduction and it turned out that I wasn't happy with many of the shots. They simply weren't sharp, which is a disappointment since that was the main purpose for buying the lens. I'm assuming at this point that it's operator error and that I did something wrong. I also forgot my reading specs today so I didn't notice the problem in the previews on my camera. Anyway, I discarded a good quarter of the shots I took because of blur. I apologize if yours was one of the victims. Take a look to see if you made the cut at the store by clicking on the "SkooterShooter Biker Photos" button at the upper right.
Arley on his Harley -- Hope I spelled your name right
Blondes on bikes have more fun
All it needs is wings -- Awesome BMW sidecar racer
A Beemer for all occasions
Raging Triumph
Vintage BSA Thumper
Sophisticated
Think I'll get off and walk

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Update for Aug 19 and 20


After being out of town for a couple of weeks I got back up to the Santa Cruz Mountains today. One week in Texas, where the weather was miserably hot, makes you really appreciate the Peninsula. I only got out for about three hours today. Check the photo store link to the right to see the shots I took. I plan to be back up there tomorrow beginning around 10 a.m., probably on Woodside east of Skyline, but if lighting permits, La Honda Road or Skyline Boulevard south of the Four Corners.
Classy
Nice Triumph - '69?, '70?
Vintage Norton
Hot Husky Motard
Flying the Harley Colors

Sunday, August 13, 2006

Update for Aug. 12-13

No shooting this weekend. Too much to do to get ready to hit the road for work next week. I'll have a new lens by Aug. 19-20 I'm eager to try out so I'll probably be on Woodside Road Sat. and Sun. The lens is a Nikon zoom that stabilizes the image similar to what comes on video cameras. It should give me sharper pictures.

Check back on Fri. and I'll have an update.

Robert Jones aka SkooterShooter

Sunday, August 06, 2006

Update for Aug 6, 2006

I didn't get up to the Skyline this weekend. Too many things going on. Next weekend may be the same, but I'm planning on spending some time shooting some photos either Sat or Sun. Check back for my schedule late Friday.

Robert Jones aka SkooterShooter