Shooting Action Photos

I am not a sports or action Photographer, normally, but this weekend there was a conference and exhibition of Eco-tourism and Extreme Sports Tourism by my friends at FEDEX TURS.

To get images that I would be happy with required thinking, planning and preparation.  There would be no time to make adjustments once the action started.

First up was white water rafting.

For this shot, I thought about what the line of the raft would be through the water, where the sun was and what might make a good back ground.  I wanted a view that showed the action from a low level…which meant getting down to the river.  Then I waited for the raft.  One chance.I used a high shutter speed, medium depth of field and auto focus.

Next up was bike jumping.

For this I wanted a no cluttered background, sharp focus and a full frame.

I set-up so that I was shooting up ( I was sitting on the ground) I knew that, because of the speed the subject would be moving, that auto focus would not work effectively and I would miss shots.  What I did was pre set my focus, which allowed me to concentrate on the framing of the shot.

So what do you think?  Did create good images?
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