Seb Rogers: mountain bike photography

Where's Seb?

... he's developing in the darkroom. Hurhurhurhur... snigger...

That was the running joke at high school after I'd dusted the cobwebs off the school darkroom, coaxed the enlarger back to life and spent many a happy lunch hour filling my nostrils with the acrid smell of fixer. Hilarious, huh?

These days, of course, I don't need to disappear into a darkened room for hours at a time to make a few prints. On a recent photo course I found myself with a spare five minutes, so I ran off some close-cropped shots of bits of bike and spray as Mike splashed through a Quantock stream crossing for the x hundredth time. And then it occurred to me that they might work rather well in mono. So I processed and toned them in Bibble (Tri-X in T-Max for 9 minutes at 75F and 'printed' on Agfa Multicontrast Premium grade 0, in case anyone's interested), and here they are:

Nikon D3, 80-200mm f/2.8, 1/2000sec f/3.2 @ ISO2000

Nikon D3, 80-200mm f/2.8, 1/2500sec f/2.8 @ ISO1600

Funnily enough we'd been talking about shooting mono, and whether it's better to shoot with the end result - black and white or colour - in mind, or just convert later. I tend to subscribe to the view that the best mono images are 'seen' at the capture stage, but that doesn't rule out a succesful conversion later.

I kinda miss that smell, though.

Hurhurhur...

Cover: What Mountain Bike July '08

Nikon D300, 14-24mm f/2.8, 1/320sec f/10 @ ISO200, two radio slaves

My eighth cover of 2008, and one of the best cover shoot days I've had recently saw me submit no less than four (count 'em!) location choices to What Mountain Bike's art ed. Yep, I was feeling pretty pleased with myself. We'd found a fantastic, barely-used section of singletrack and notched up some decent cover choices.

Ironically, this is the very last shot of a long day - and one of just a handful grabbed at this location (I had an appointment in the evening and we were running out of time to beat the traffic). Tsk. Now if I'd had a time machine and knew that was going to happen, I could've spent the day riding sunny, dusty trails and got the job done with just five shots...

Building a better mousetrap

Regular visitors here will know by now that I have a somewhat, erm, bullish attitude to earning a living from photography. I mentioned it in passing to one of my students on a recent photo course, wondering aloud if anyone was interested in my occasionally ill-tempered rants on the state of the photo industry.

'Oh no, don't stop', he said. 'They're funnny!'

Well, at least I know I'm entertaining someone...

Comedy value aside, the third most common question I'm asked (after technique and gear recommendations) is 'how can I earn money with my camera?' The march of broadband access, Flickr and affordable dSLRs continues to create an early 21st century gold rush, with potentially similar returns for the less well-prepared. As I've alluded to before, the democratisation of photography has created a buyers' market in spite of the apparent proliferation of new outlets for imagery. Supply is comfortably outstripping demand - and that's not a comfortable position to be in if you're on the supply side (that's you and me, in case you were wondering. Pay attention, Bueller...)

I forget the actual figures, but in the UK something like three quarters of all start-up catering businesses (yes, I know I've switched industries... but bear with me) fail within the first three years. Why is that relevant to photography? Because catering start-ups tend to share many attributes with wannabe pro photographers: run by enthusiasts, often set up on the back of endorsement and support by friends and relatives with no experience in the industry, run with minimal startup capital, often with inadequate planning and/or inappropriate publicity... you get the idea.

Look at it this way: I can cook a mean risotto. But that doesn't mean I could run a restaurant.

So how's an aspiring pro to find her (/his) way? Well, you could do worse than follow a few simple rules:

1. It's all about the money
Very few people get rich from taking photographs, it's true. But in a highly competitive market where free is the new cheap, the only way to survive is to think like a red-blooded capitalist. Remember, you're selling both a product (your images) and a service (the way in which you provide those images, and to whom). And 'selling' is the operative word.

2. Start as you mean to go on
There are plenty of people who will tell you that the best way to get started is to offer to work for free, or for greatly reduced rates. Oddly enough, I've never heard this advice from an established pro. I wonder why? Many businesses sell at reduced rates from time to time in order to gain market share or increase revenue, but to do so from the outset risks undervaluing both your product and the service you provide with no identifiable gain and no means of subsequently raising rates without losing the clients you already have. Price realistically, and do it from the start: your work is worth it.

3. Know your market
Let's say you've got a killer portfolio of 50 landscape images that you reckon might give the likes of Charlie Waite sleepless nights. Congratulations! Now, how are you going to sell these images (and keep producing more of the same) in a market that's already crowded with technically flawless and aesthetically stunning images? Until you can answer that question (and no, I don't know the answer!) you're going nowhere, financially. You need to find an under-represented niche (and fill it), out-price the competition (not realistic - see 'free is the new cheap'), or find some other means of getting a toe in the door.

4. Define your USP
Why should someone buy your images, rather than someone else's? (anyone who answered, 'because mine are cheaper', go to the back of the class). Here's a hint: remember that you're selling both a product and a service. Are your images significantly better (technically or aesthetically) than the existing competition? Are you able to deliver them in a way that's more convenient for your clients? Do you have experience, skills or contacts that your competition doesn't? These - and other ideas - are all valid ways of differentiating yourself from your competitors.

5. Be professional
... in everything that you do, right from the start. Set up a separate bank account. Buy a backup body. Take out third party liability insurance. Make sure your equipment insurance covers professional use. Backup all your images, twice. Pay your bills on time. Replace your Flickr gallery (/home-built site) with a professionally-designed website. Register with the tax authorities (if you don't, they will catch up with you)...

6. Do the math
... because most photographers don't. Work out your expenses for a year (remembering to include depreciation on your dSLRs and computers). Decide how much you want, or need, to earn as a salary (remembering that you'll also need to cover tax and pension payments). Add on a buffer to account for sticky cashflow and capital outlay (which needs to be covered from taxable income). Sling all those figures together... that's how much you need to earn. Now divide by the number of days in the year that you intend to be working, and that's how much revenue you need to generate per day. Figure look too high? You can either strip out costs, earn less money, or find a way to earn more from your images...

7. Understand intellectual property, copyright law and licensing
Good photographers - by which I mean financially successful ones - don't sell pictures, they sell the rights to use pictures. Understanding how intellectual property works is fundamental to surviving in the photography world. It ain't rocket science, but you need to read up on it... or risk losing out to small print written up by your clients' lawyers (who most certainly will understand copyright law).

Still here? You might have noticed that I've barely mentioned gear or technique. That's not because neither of these matter - it's just that, if you want to earn a living from your images, the gear and technique needs to be second nature. The question isn't, 'how do I take a good picture?'. It's 'how do I sell this good picture?'. And the answer has nothing to do with the whether or not there's a red (/gold) ring around the front of your lenses, or whether a white balance of 5000K or 'sunlight' is best for average shooting conditions. In fact, the answer is unique to you - and only you can find out what it is. OK, I know that sounds like a throwaway platitude that belongs in a self-help book... but it's also true.

As a Fleet Street pro (I think it was Vic Blackman, but I could be wrong) wrote back in the '80s, 'if you have to ask how to make it as a pro, you're probably not going to make it'. Harsh, but there's more than a grain of truth in that statement.

New camera, new rules

When I bought my D3 a couple of months ago, I knew that the high ISO performance had the potential to change the way I shoot. The thing is, after years of shooting film (followed by dSLRs that pretty much mimicked film in terms of ISO performance - OK up to ISO400, a bit marginal beyond), it's taking me a little while to get used to the fact that I can rip up the rule book and start over. But boy, am I having fun in the process.

Here's a comped shot of a hipped ladder drop that I simply couldn't have got before (I know I've written that a couple of times before, but this is the furthest I've pushed the D3 so far... and it's still blowing me away):

Nikon D3, 16mm f/2.8, 1/200sec f/5 @ ISO3200, two radio slaves

Here's a 100% crop:

I processed the RAW files in Bibble with just a shade of noise reduction. What makes the result even more remarkable is that I also lightened the shadows and midtones a little - something that would normally cause a high ISO image to fall apart. But although there are some demosaicing artefacts and traces of noise in the crop, the level of detail and shadow gradations are both amazingly good.

I've printed it at A3 and, at that size, it's easily the equal of the D2X at ISO400 (which is to say, pretty darn good). You have to look very closely to find hints that it was shot at high ISO.

Let's backtrack a moment to the situation I found myself in the woods. It was a bright day, with sunlight filtering through the tree canopy, but - as usual in these situations - the light down at ground level was flat, minimal and nowhere near enough to capture a single shot, let alone a sequence. A couple of remote flashes provided the fill I needed to bring the foreground illumination closer to the level of the tree canopy, but I was still looking at a slow shutter speed and wide aperture to get the shot at normal ISOs (say, below ISO800).

But hold on a moment... this is a D3. Normal rules don't apply.

So I cranked the ISO up to 3200, took a couple of test exposures and realised that I could shoot at f/5 and 1/200sec without blocking up the shadows. Better yet, the high ISO meant I could run the flashguns at less than 1/4 power, which allowed me to get a seven shot sequence at 6fps.

With my D2X cranked to its maximum usable ISO of 800 I'd have been looking at 1/160sec at f/2.8. Too slow to freeze the bike's movement, too wide for edge-to-edge sharpness (though I would've been shooting on the 10.5mm fisheye, which does seem to be a bit better than the 16mm at the edges), the shadows would've been lost in mush... and, to be honest, I just wouldn't have bothered even attempting the shot.

This is, as far as I can see, the first time that a digital SLR has offered functionality that significantly exceeds what was possible with film. And now that Nikon has raised the bar, you can bet that Canon won't be far behind.

Keepin' it local

The image library that represents me doesn't divulge full details of its clients in its sales reports, so I often have to hazard an educated guess as to where my images are going to turn up. Or, as is often the case, simply watch the money trickle into my bank account and remain happily oblivious.

But there are patterns that I can spot. So when, a couple of months back, a shot that I'd taken in my Mendip back yard showed up on the sales report, I raised half a metaphorical eyebrow. Sure enough, a few weeks later Ordnance Survey introduced a new map of the area, with my image on the cover. It replaces the previous version, which showed a caver (the area's riddled with caves and potholes) and brings my map cover tally to, er, five. Or six. I can't quite remember...

And strangely enough, the trail where I took this shot is currently bone dry, hardpacked, dusty and deliriously fast.

Don't try this at home

One of the fascinations of life is the extent to which people vary. We may all come from the same mould, but it's a truism that no two of us are alike.

F'rinstance, many people are understandably wary of attempting to clean their dSLR sensor themselves. On the other hand, there are, it seems, people out there who are quite happy to take the sensor to bits... and then put it back together again.

Cripes.

Photo course 2008: part 2

The second course of 2008 has been and gone. Local beer was drunk, a great deal of cake was eaten, bikes were ridden, white balance was discussed and one front mech (that'll be mine) was broken. The sun even shone. Oh, and one or two photos were taken. Enough, in fact, to all but fill up the remaining space on my hard drive. Oops.

Canon EOS 1DIII, 24-105mm f/4, 1/250sec f/4 @ ISO800

None of this would have been possible without the invaluable guiding, riding and good humour of Bikemagic's Mike Davis. Mary's legendary breakfasts and cakes provided the fuel we needed to keep pedalling and shooting. And, of course, there simply wouldn't have been a course in the first place without Alex, Louise, Kev, Steve, David and Julian. Thanks to everyone for a great weekend - here's to the next one in October!

Nikon D40X, 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5, 1/60 sec f/11 @ ISO200

Licking the sticky edge

If you've been dropping by here for a while, you'll know that I generally advocate a hands-on, switch-to-manual approach to photographic technique. Manual exposure, manual white balance, manual focus... it all takes practice, but it works, and works consistently.

Still, technology does provide some useful extra tools in the box for those occasions when it's just not possible to react quickly enough. I'm enjoying exploring the new possibilities that the D3 opens up for me - (much) better high ISO speed, very accurate and flexible autofocus and higher frame rates amongst them. Here's an example of a shot that I would have struggled to get with my D2X:

Nikon D3, 80-200mm f/2.8, 1/1600sec f/2.8 @ ISO 1250

It's usually best to squeeze off a single, carefully-timed shot at the peak of the action, but a lot of dirt jump tricks work better as a sequence. This is the first of a multi-frame sequence of a tailwhip, shot in overcast conditions under tree cover. Previously I would have run into multiple problems in this situation: 5 frames per second isn't enough to shoot a whip, really; low light and low contrast can cause problems with autofocus; the D2X was unusable at these kinds of ISOs, period.

The D3 handled the situation easily, delivering 5 out of 6 pin-sharp frames at 9 frames per second. Even more impressive, as far as I'm concerned, is the image quality in these less-than-ideal conditions. Here's a 100% crop (click to open it in a new window and see it full size):

This is straight out of camera with no noise reduction. What you can't see here are other big bonuses to the D3's output that I'm still discovering, including impressive highlight headroom and an almost unbelievably clean, artifact-free quality that means the files sharpen and resize beautifully.

Which is nice. But it's really the functional changes that are exciting me most. The low light ability - in terms of both clean files and usable AF - should open up possibilities that just weren't there before. For 90% of my work - which tends to be outdoors in reasonable light - it won't make much difference. But the remaining 10% will involve situations that would previously have been difficult or impossible to capture, and that's what's really exciting.

Don't just look. See.

There's some good stuff in the current issue of Digital Camera mag (see post below), including pages of down-to-earth action shooting advice from the likes of top sports photographers Bob Martin and Tom Jenkins. These guys are at the top of their game; it's worth paying attention to what they've got to say.

Here's a gem from Bob that caught my eye:

"Twenty years ago, if you got a shot of Linford Christie winning the 100 metres with his feet off the ground you were pretty good. Now with the autofocus the likes of Nikon and Canon have got, almost anyone can do that.

For example, I can sit down with one of my teenage sons and give them a half-hour lesson and they'll be taking action pictures.

So it's not good enough to turn up to an event and think I'm just here to get them flying through the air. Your shot needs to be more of a photographer's picture. The artistry is crucial - the fact that you shoot action is a secondary thing. A lot of sports photographers haven't caught onto that yet."

Bob Martin, in Digital Camera June 2008

He's right, you know...

Mountain bike photo course: £3.99

Well, almost...

Nikon D300, 14-24mm f/2.8, 1/320sec f/8 @ ISO200

Digital Camera magazine asked me to help out on their regular 'instant expert' slot recently, for a reader who wanted to improve his mountain bike shots. Turns out the reader in question was Gary Lambe, who's also booked on my October photo course.

Anyhoo, I roped in team Giant rider Chris Smith to help out, and we all pitched up for a day of bikes 'n cameras at Cwmcarn. Cramming the equivalent of a long weekend's worth of instruction into a single day didn't prove to be easy, either for me or for Gary. But he coped with my barrage of instructions very well, turning in some impressive images that run over more than 6 pages in the current issue of the mag.

So... if you want a crash course in improving your bike images, it's all there in the June issue of Digital Camera. Props to Gary, and thanks to Chris for riding every trail 'just one more time'...

Happy 20th birthday, MBUK

Mountain Biking UK, Britain's best-selling bike mag, is 20 years old this month. Happy birthday, MBUK!

If you're not a UK-based rider, it's hard to appreciate just how large the mag looms in the consciousness of just about anyone who's ever taken an interest in riding off-road on this small island of ours. Despite its consistent sales success, it's attracted its fair share of criticism over the years. Giving over page space to minority niches like trials, deliberately supporting young talent and cheerfully going out of its way to challenge preconceptions, MBUK has often been derided as a 'comic', 'for kids', and generally unsuitable for 'serious' riders.

To which I've always replied, well, it's aimed at kids of all ages (cos bikes are great, and allow all of us to relive a little bit of our childhoods every time we ride). And it's also, as far as I know, the only mag anywhere to cover cross-country, downhill, freeride, trials, dirt jumping, street and every variation in between. For all its faults, I think MBUK's great.

It's also been a blast to work for. Although the mag's been around now for longer than I've been riding (I got my first bike muddy in 1990), I'm slightly amazed at the realisation that I've been a contributor for 12 years. Cue this unashamedly nostalgic random trawl through some of my early MBUK images:

Jo Burt, Devils Dyke, South Downs

This picture was actually never published in MBUK, but it was shot for a 'last ride of summer' feature. Jo and I headed out for a blustery trundle over the downs under a sky that was changing every few minutes. We'd stopped here for a rest, and I spotted the shaft of sunlight from behind this cloud. Jo climbed the hill, I snapped off a couple of frames... and the light was gone (the signpost has long since, disappeared, too, replaced by a far less aesthetically pleasing fingerpost).

Brett Tippie, Kamloops, BC

Richie Schley and Brett Tippie, Pemberton, BC

In 1998 the bike media was just beginning to pay attention to the burgeoning freeride scene in British Columbia, but there was scant interest in the UK. So I packed my bags, headed over to Vancouver for a couple of weeks and spent a total of three days shooting with Rocky Mountain's 'Froride team of Richie Schley, Brett Tippie and Wade Simmons. MBUK ran the resulting pics in three separate features, and the 'Froriders went on to become international stars (though the two facts aren't, I suspect, related).

Jo Burt, Shoreham airport

MBUK's cartoonist-in-residence, Jo Burt, needed a new set of suspension forks from Yorkshire-based manufacturer Pace. He also knew someone who knew someone who had access to a small twin-engined plane based at nearby Shoreham airport on the south coast. A couple of phone calls and a slightly singed credit card later, and we were both crammed - with Jo's bike - into a tiny aircraft, on a mission. Less than 9 hours later we were home with a shiny new set of forks...

Solar eclipse, Dartmoor

How d'you shoot a total solar eclipse for a mountain bike mag? Perch a bunch of riders equipped with lights on the edge of a big rock on Dartmoor, ignore the new-age chanting from the neighbouring rock and watch in subdued amazement as daylight turns to dusk in a matter of a couple of minutes. There's no trickery in this shot - it really was this dark. Very strange - shame we couldn't actually see the sun (the camera was pointed in exactly the right direction, but there wasn't much I could do about the thick cloud cover).

MBUK Olympics, private pool, Somerset

The 2000 Olympics gave the mag all the excuse it needed to invent its own version... with added bikes. Cue much classic MBUK silliness and a mad day of shooting. Somehow - I'm still not sure exactly how - we'd managed to persuade the owners of a high-end private health spa to let us use their outdoor pool for a couple of hours. Paying guests looked on in polite bemusement as we held impromptu high-dive and synchronised swimming competitions. Portholes in the pool wall gave me this underwater view - which was just as well, because I hadn't thought to rent a housing for my F5.

Jeff Lenosky and twin towers, NYC

As far as I know, the iconic World Trade Center twin towers have only ever appeared in MBUK once - in this image. Which, in a classically ironic piece of unfortunate timing, hit the newsstands on 12th September 2001. Events beyond our control, and all that...

Josh Bender, Utah

Josh Bender was the maverick rider who, almost out of nowhere, shook up freeride by attempting drops that no-one thought possible. Whilst he received huge publicity and some notoriety as a result, he also attracted an almost unprecedented level of hostility. I was heading out to Vegas in early 2002 anyway, so I gave him a call and asked if I could go for a ride. I found a friendly, surprisingly self-deprecating rider whose smooth, fluid style on his local Utah trails would probably have silenced many of his critics. The resulting pics ran in a interview-style feature in MBUK.

Oli Beckingsale, Cwm Carn

This is still one of my favourite cross-country pics, shot on a section of trail that's since been clear-cut. I remember this shot because I was running out of light, shooting at 1/125sec and f/2.8 on Fuji Provia 100 pushed a stop to ISO 200... and with a single remote flash hidden away behind a tree. Yep, I was shooting remote flash waaaaay before digital.

Thanks for the memories, MBUK. Here's to plenty more...