If action is your photographic passion, you have to try motocross.  Dirt flying, bars banging, engines screaming!  It’s hard to keep your cool and concentrate on photography when there is so much action ——- really F A S T action ——– all around you.  Fortunately, my professional background includes loads of motorcycle racing.  That experience was enough to convince the editors of a major magazine that I would be an asset at the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship Presented by FMF on June 7 and 8 at the Freestone County Raceway in Wortham, Texas.  I had a blast.  Currently there are a few of my pictures from that event scrolling across the home page of this site.

This motocross action was the highest level of motocross in the world, including the FIM World Championship in Europe.  Names like James Stewart, Ryan Villopoto, Mike and Jeff Alessi, Tim Ferry, Davi Millsaps, Andrew Short, Austin Stroupe, Ryan Dungey.  They are all at the top of their profession and very well paid for what they do.  I am so fortunate to have been allowed such up close and personal access.  It did make taking these pictures much easier … but.  Motocross is a sport that allows its audience to get very close to the action.  It is a weekend event.  For the price of a ticket, usually about $40, you will enjoy an entire weekend of unrivaled action, within reach of a short zoom lens.  It is hard to express how much fun you can have at a motocross race.

But, it is hot and dusty.  During the Sunday afternoon races, the temperature was well over 100 degrees.  You have to be prepared and you have to stay hydrated.  Many of the riders were affected by the heat.  Of the 40 riders who started the last moto, only 24 finished the race.  Each heat , or moto, is thirty minutes plus two laps.  Motocross is often said to require the most endurance of any sport in the world.  I believe it.  It can also be exhaustive for a photographer. 

I won’t go into camping and heat preparations.  I’m sure you know how to prepare for a day in the sun.  What I will suggest is ways to get the best action shots of a motocross race.  If you are a fan of motocross then you probably know what you are looking for.  Jumping seems to be the action of choice.  There are numerous jumps around a mile to two mile motocross track.  Unlike Supercross, however, motocross is more about navigating natural terrain obstacles than hamming it up over the man-made doubles and triples of a stadium-restricted supercross track.  I’m not so sure that jumps convey action.  The resulting image is simply a stop-action of a bike in the air.  I much prefer the action indicators of dirt clods flying as a rider brakes hard into a turn, drags the bars through a turn, or accelerates out of the turn.  Bike and body position are everything. 

Short (29), Ferry (15), Tedesco (9)

 Take a look at the image of Andrew Short (29), Tim Ferry (15) and Ivan Tedesco (9) throwing “roost” as they exit a turn a go full-throttle into a straight away.  Their body positions and the spray of dirt scream ACTION!!!

Body position is the indicator in the picture of Davi Millsaps (118) and James Stewart (7) racing through a wide sweeper.  They are in an aggressive position, leading with their heads out over the handlebars.  Also, the front wheel is off the ground, indicating acceleration.  They were riding very fast.  The shot may have been better had I slowed the shutter speed for a panning action.  Maybe next time. 

I like panning but it is more difficult to do than one might think.  If there is no sharp focal point, the image will be nothing more than a blurred picture.  A successful pan will have a point of very sharp focus.  That is why it is so important to take a firm position and rotate your camera at exactly the same speed of the rider.  The panned image of Andrew Short (29) is an example of what I mean.  The bike and rider are easily identifiable and the front number plate is quite sharp.  It is obvious that this is Andrew Short on a Honda.

As with all photography, the axiom “if your pictures are not good, get closer” is always appropriate.  Try to fill your viewfinder with exactly what you want in your picture.  I’ve found that an 80~200 zoom lens works in most situations.  The tight shot of Andrew Short, however, was shot with my 300mm f4.  I was able to stand right next to the track in a turn to make that picture.  He was hard on the brakes and going very slow at that point.  Getting this close is where press credentials are a godsend.  But, you can come very close to that if you find just the right place around the track or have the resolution to crop intensely.

The shot of Austin Stroupe (51) from the back and jumping into the tree was taken with my 80~200 zoom lens.  I had it wide open and was pretty close to the rider.  Again, that advantage of having press credentials and unhampered access.  Body position is interesting here as well.  You can see that motocross riders move around a lot on their motorcycles.  Knowing where to be on the bike and when to get there is some of what separates the best riders from good riders — that and the incredible condition their bodies are in.

Another point to make is about photographing an event vs photographing a rider.  An editor, and mentor, once told me, “One bike is riding, two bikes is racing, three bikes is a race.”  He was more of an auto racing enthusiast but the advice has always stuck with me.  The more riders included in a photograph the more action you will convey.  Photographing a friend is fine but, if you want to picture excitement, include more than one rider.  Also, you are much more likely to sell an image with multiple riders.

That brings us to what is probably the most photographed happening on a motocross track.  The Start!!!  I can’t think of anything more exciting than the start of a motocross race.  There are many “almost” great pictures of the start of a motocross race.  You have to plan your shot and there is no way to be sure of what will happen.  It is so fast, so loud, so intense that it is very difficult to choose just what to capture and when to click that shutter release.  I suggest either a high point or a very low point.  You can compress the action with a long telephoto or get most of the cluster of riders with something shorter.  The start that focuses on Ryan Sipes (57) is from all the way down at the second turn with a 300mm.  I caught that very well.  Thank God for autofocus. 

The shot of Number One with the red plate is from atop a jump looking down on the first turn.  It is with my 18~135 zoom.  I prefer the dirt-flying action of the Ryan Sipes photo but the slight panning blur of this one is interesting.  The number one red plate, by the way, belongs to last year’s champion, Ryan Villopoto.

I think I have rambled enough.  I can hardly wait until the next chance to photograph an AMA Motocross National.  Until then, I will continue to sharpen my skill by attending a few local amateur events.  I’d suggest you check out some motocross racing in your area.  You may be surprised at how close you can get.  And, how welcome photographers are at these events.

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