My latest project

[Sean Setters]

LOL....keep in mind, fellas, he hasn't confirmed a thing. I could be way off. ;-)


I was basing it all on the reflections on the top of the helmet. The lighted surrounding looked to light to be actual pavement, but on second thought I don't think the "carpet" would be so splotchy (which would again point to actual pavement). I'm thinking the shadow area at the front and left/front of the helmet indicate subtractive boards, but it could very well be a building face (although, if it were a building in front, I would think there would be at least some detail in the shadows...although with his exposure, I could be wrong).


Freelance, shed some light on your setup...I'm very interested to hear how you did it.

[freelanceshots]

OK here is the setup. Camera mounted to the ceiling fired remotely with my two Alien bees with wireless triggers front and rear with 60 inch umbrellas with black covers on. Motorcycle on stand with me sitting on the bike and firing the remote on a short delay. The reflections on the side where from reflectors for subtle side fill where at the time I was not aware that they would show up in the helmets glossy paint. They were very low and angled slightly up. I did not remove their reflections because then the helmet would have lost a lot of its depth where the reflections kind of help give the impression that is round. An all black helmet would have gotten lost in all the black. I shot this at night to avoid any additional light. On the concrete floor was a black plastic tarp where I did layers, blending and different blurring to achieve to effect I was looking for.


It was so hot that I could only stay out for a few minutes each time where I could not easily preview the images unless I dismounted from the bike and climbed a latter. Shot this image using the 5DII and the 16-35mm II lens. On a side note In the few second that I would shut my visor to take the shot it would fog up and sweat would start rolling down my face. One thing I could have done differently would have been to start the bike and have the dash lite up but since I was pretty much boiling in my jacket and had such a short delay between pushing the button and the camera firing and that there was just barley enough time to get my hands on the bars and set up right. I only got a couple of pics to make sure focus was right then I just shot it like it was because I was in a big hurry to finish, shut everything down and get inside.The humidity alone this night was awful.


I did modify the RPM's in the final pic if you look closely where its at approx 12,000 rpm. In later images I've added subtle head light beams and done some more work but overall very close to the one I posted here.


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[Richard Lane]

Had to change my cloths twice because it was so hot outside even at night.

Awesome shot Bryan!


I'm no expert but I'm gonna' guess that he took this outside and it was very hot out, in his leather and helmet!


I see panning (could of been added after), I'm not sure because it looks like the speedometer or tach needle is moving, and he has his right hand on the brake. It also looks like there is a car behind his helmet.


The photo also looks very centered and very well balanced with no lean into the bike, so it looks stationary. Something is throwing me with the right hand brake. I see him holding the brake with his fingers, but then I don't see the reflection of his fingers in the right side mirror, so this must be a composite of a few shots!


Ok.., I give up!





Rich

[freelanceshots]

My brake lever is set up close to the grip and angled down where there is not a lot of pull needed to put the front binder on. I've got steel braided lines front and rear where they are set up correctly so just a little goes a long way. Mirror has the image right, you just can't see my hand/glove because it's black and behind the brake lever. You can see a hint of the reflection in the full res image. One option would be to just black the mirrors out. Also my right hand in this shot has my RC-6 remote in it as it was very tricky to get the camera to fire unless I raised my head and pointed the remote directly at the camera remote sensor. Did not want to risk tossing the remote in my lap after the camera was tripped in this last shot and possibly having it fall to the ground. With this basic Canon remote there are only two firing options instant and a 2 second delay and the 2 seconds happens very very quickly. If I had an assistant things would have gone very differently but I also like to work alone. I was up very late where at the time when I finished I was worn out. I will continue to fine tune the image for days but I wanted to post it because it was fun to try. I like views from different angles so this is something I wanted to try success or fail.


I may go in and photoshop the glove and grip issue where the viewer would never know otherwise but for now I'm OK with how it turned out. If this would have been a paying gig for a mag or something then I would have had to of hired some help and rented a bigger studio with a tall ceiling and air conditioning. Since it was just for me no harm no foul on the little hiccups.

[Richard Lane]

Ok, so that's the remote in your right hand.


I think you're on to something here. I'm sure Yamaha would love to have a shot like this on their website.


Really great shot!!


Rich

[William]

I was wondering about the brake too but noticed in the second shot that he has this adjusted close the the handgrip which just makes it look like he's braking.


Bryan the dash lights can be masked in later if it bothers you - pretty simple fix. I agree that the softbox reflections should stay, they could be shop windows or anything. I also like the texture in the jacket, it's just a great image.


Hot! you're a sucker for punishment. First the mosquitoes now this, what next?


Too true about Yamaha wanting this shot!


(Edit: ok, I was too slow hitting the post button, I see you addressed the brake lever).

[Sean Setters]

A concrete floor...nowthe splotchy, light colored reflections makesense.Great shot.

[freelanceshots]

Here is the setup. I know my rig in the ceiling looks a little on the shady side but I used simple resources that I had access to plus I had a little added security with the soft rope attached to the ceiling and a big prayer to the Lord. I work with wood often so I used glue and screws to secure my joints and sheet metal strips, silicon tubing for padding and screws to secure tripod center column with ball head. With the weight of the 5D2, 16-35mm lens and the ball head there was considerable weight added to the rig so there was some flex but in the end I new it would hold.[]


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[Sean Setters]

I love it. A picture

[Steve U]

Yes excellent work. Thanks for the explanation and the final product is definitely worth the effort you went to.