Most Photogenic Discipline?

JAW · Most Photogenic Discipline?

Which do you think is the best discipline of riding for photography?

Personally it's freeride; there's so much scope for different shots and shore is amazing to snap.

Roo

Definately XC; because of scenery. A 6 inch travel bike riding along a flat desert road with an amazing sunset would look a bit odd, but an xc bike would look spot on, just about any scenery works with XC but it doesn't with freeride. DH is limited because it needs a hill, dirt jump is limited because it needs dirt jumps, and trials/street is limited becuse it's odd in the first place Razz

JAW

Hamish

I'm with Roo. Here's the proof:

Gingerflash

North Shore, Utah etc might be photogenic for freeriding (and XC too obviously) but then most UK freeriders don't ride there very often. In the UK, the freeride/shore scene is not photogenic at all. UK XC riding is.

XC photography combines landscape and sports photography like nothing else. Riding along planks in the woods aint so pretty. Smile

"Think of the Les Gets bike park at the top of the mountains. Think of the slopstyle park at Saalbach."

...and think of all the gnarly rocky singletrack in the real mountains round about. There's nothing photogenic about riding off a small wooden shed.

Hamish

Gingerflash

Hamish - you've shown just how crap it does look. It's not that big; horribly artificial; and just a bit of a mess in an otherwise nice landscape. Nice blue sky though. Smile

Gingerflash

I guess what I'm getting at is that, in that shot, it's the background, the countryside, that's photogenic. The artificial stuff needed for this kind of freeriding looks pants and really spoils it. Given the same backdrop, a "natural" piece of singletrack looks a lot better than ramps, planks, dirt mounds etc.

I've been to that hillside and it's a bloody eyesore.

Hamish

GF - I agree. I was just playing devil's advocate. I'm not sure what JAW is really meaning by "photogenic". Surely Le Tour has lots of scenes just as photogenic as mountain biking.

It seems to me that a lot of freeriders must care more about stuff like the size of jump/coolness of move when it comes to photos. It's a very different audience to the old guys on STW who like their landscape photos with bikes in it. Or, even worse, purist photographers who look at things like proper exposure and focus before judging anything else! Wink

JAW

BenAtBedgebury

Once again I think freeride is being taken as a too broad setup. You could submit a dull XC shot and say it doesn't cut it. Freeride doesn't have to be wooden obstacles. I think you'll find that freeride is a better setup because more often than not the line the rider is using is part of the extreme scenery and not next to it as is often the case in XC.

Hamish

To tell you the truth I don't really understand the difference between a lot of what constitutes FR and XC. Obviously there are extreme ends of each, such as someone in lycra riding up a really steep fireroad on an 80mm HT with a steep head angle, or someone riding a 3" wide hamster wheel on a 7" travel full susser wearing jeans and a full face helmet...

But where do you draw the line? There's a lot of overlap. We have plenty of shore on a lot of our "XC" trails in Scotland where you'll see folk on HTs with SPDs or freeride rigs riding the same sections. You can also ride DH trails on an XC bike - it's just easier on a DH rig. I've even heard of someone doing the log drop at Chicksands on a cyclecross bike. And I use a 6" travel bike with a 40mm stem and flat pedals for all my trail riding at present, including natural singletrack/man made and DH.

So where does one discipline end and another begin?

But I still don't get the bit where somebody has to be doing an inverted no handed can can 720 off a big jump (where you can see exactly how big it is and nothing is left up to the imagination) before a photo can be called good. Laughing

Hamish

Roo

The scenery in that Berrecloth shot would be just the same for XC, but the photo might mean even more, it would be riding we could relate to rather than a drop most wouldn't hit.

RedThunder

I find XC/General Trail Riding photography is almost impossible to capture the essence. Downhill Free ride will always appeal to a wider audience IMO as it appears more dramatic.

I've never seen a XC picture of Video that says to me that's what it feels like when riding down sweet singletrack. Perhaps it can never be captured and that's the beauty or appeal of constantly trying to capture it.

"Just keep snapping"

Gingerflash

I think the fundamental problem here is that we clearly disagree about what makes a good photo. I agree with Hamish that there's nothing special about either of those shots posted. But then it's a type of riding that does absolutely nothing for me and I certainly don't want to see pics of people riding ramps they've built for themselves in their local woods.

"Using xc landscapes can be lazy. "Oh look there's a nice view, now if you just ride along that path in the corner of the frame then it'll be an amazing photo". Not much imagination there. "

You're confusing a good photo with an ordinary picture of a good trick. You're confusing the skill and imagination of the phtographer with simply sapturuing the skill and imagination of the rider, which is very different and much eaiser. Lots of pro photogs seems to make a living doing that. Going to the best events, walking 100 yards form their car and and taking very ordinary photos of the best riders doing their thing. Whereas going off riding into the hills and being there in the right light etc is lazy. LOL.

nolan

I think you're all being a little blinkered personally. Remember its all bike riding. If I work my bollox off getting up early to catch the mist in a really nice spot in the woods I don't think about it as one particular discipline, its just creating an image. Capturing the moment. Same as capturing Jedi hitting mousetrap or doing a no handed track stand 7' up on a wooden skinny. Its no different. Its all bike riding, to say one is more photogenic is to miss the point. Surely the question should be which is most commercially viable.

"To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms that give that event its proper expression."
Cartier Bresson

Its almost the same as listening to dudes say, oh that shots no good as its been photoshopped its not pure. Then they go out and shoot digital. But then thats a whole different can of worms.

jedi

a good pic is a good pic. xc ,fr,shore,shops,canals all good biking to me

JAW

I think you're right jedi & nolan. I could go on for ever and ever making points, but people would simply dissect what i said and turn it against me.

At the end of the day it's all biking photography. The only reason i started this thread was that i thought it would be interesting to see different people's opinions on the photography of different disciplines.

jedi

yeah and a good thread it is.

Hamish

There's nowt wrong with a bit of a debate. It brings out some interesting opinions. It's a mountain bike forum so there should be a bit of variety.

I personally like Nolan's take on things. We should all live in harmony together. But I have just one question - why do we allow all those gay BMX shots? Shouldn't they really be on another forum beside in-line skaters? Wink

jedi

i think shots with lycra should be linked to the marks and spencer site.all their under wear has lycra in it.it belongs there :O>

Hamish

What about biking photos of fit women in lycra? Surely that should be encouraged.

jedi

without saying dude!

JAW

Hamish

JAW

Sorry! Now that's not the first time i've misread a post is it!? Embarassed

rad2themax

Haha cheers guys. I used to take alot more mtb shots but my trails riding days are kinda over so i dont chill with the mtbers there and stuff as much Sad

I personally think theres no such thing as a more photogenic discipline. XC for example is among the most beautiful scenery, but the surroundings of street riding can still be more interesting. Is it to say that a beautiful empty beach on a sunny day makes a 'more photogenic' photo then an ugly old mans wrinkled face? Im not too sure.

I also like the way in a city you can be among completely different architecture and there be a completely different feel to the place in just a 2 minute ride whereas in XC it could take miles and miles of riding to not be looking at the same view.

JAW