From That To This – Shane Byrne

Introduction

3 times British Superbike champion Shane Byrne came second in 2013 and is the favourite to win the championship in 2014.  The photograph was taken at Brands Hatch during free practice 2, the day before the first race of the season.

1/500th; f/8; ISO 400

Lightroom

1. Crop the image to remove the advertising hoarding (top left), rumble strip (bottom) and the patch of green (right).
   
   
2. With the Basic panel adjust make the following adjustments:
   
   Exposure (+0.20), Contrast (+10)
   
   Highlights (-100), Shadows (+75), Whites (+36), Blacks (-10)
   
   Clarity (+30), Vibrance (+20), Saturation (-5)
   
   
3. With the Detail panel adjust the Sharpening and Noise Reduction:
   
   

   Sharpening	Noise Reduction
   Amount: 70	Luminance: 40
   Masking: 74	Contrast: 10

   
   
4. Add a vignette using the Effects panel:
   
   Amount (-15), Midpoint (45)
   
   
5. Using the Spot Removal (Heal) brush remove any spots or marks:
   
   
   The “before” image highlights the marks that will be removed.
   
   
6. Finally using the Adjustment Brush, with the Exposure set to +0.50, brush over the bike and it’s direction of travel.  This will help concentrate the eye on the bike and assist in emphasising the movement:
   
   

Final Image

From That To This – Josh Brookes

Introduction

Josh Brookes, having moved from Tyco Suzuki to Milwaukee Yamaha, is one of the main contenders for 2014 British Superbikes championship.

The photograph was taken at Brands Hatch during free practice 2, the day before the first race of the season.  As we can see it is rather over exposed with a far bit of clipping.

1/320th; f/8; ISO 400

Lightroom

1. Although there is plenty of motion, it can be emphasised even more with a bit of cropping and angle adjustment:
   
   
2. With the Basic panel adjust the exposure and colour.
   
   First set the white balance.  Using the White Balance Selector click on a grey part of the track.
   
   Next drop the Exposure to –0.70 to reduce the clipping yet not make the photo to dark.  Increase the Contrast to +10.
   
   Decrease the Higlights to –100 and increase the Shadows to +100.  This helps reduce the clipping even further but bring out detail from the shadow areas.
   
   WARNING!  Opening the Shadows right up can make whites look false, so you might need to drop them back down a bit (i.e. +75).
   
   Adjust the Clarity (+41), Vibrance (+21) and Saturation (+5) to taste.
   
   Now adjust the Whites (+14) and Blacks (-12) to values just as clipping starts.  The best way to do this is to press the Alt key whilst adjusting the slider.  The photo will masked as a solid colour (i.e. black whilst adjusting the Whites) and clippings will appear as the opposite colour (i.e. white).
   
   
3. At the bottom left-hand corner of the photo is some white.  This can be removed using the Spot Removal tool.
4. With the Detail panel adjust the Sharpening and Noise Reduction:
   
   

   Sharpening	Noise Reduction
   Amount: 70	Luminance: 30
   Masking: 60	Contrast: 5

   
   
5. Finally, using the Effects panel add a Post-Crop Vignette:
   
   

   Amount: -14

   Midpoint: 45

Final Image

2013 Season

This weekend the 2013 bike season kicked off with the WSBK (World Superbike) round 1 at Phillip Island, Australia.  Race 1 saw Sylvain Guintoli beat teammate Eugene Laverty, with Michel Fabrizio coming 3rd.  For race 2 the positions were reversed with Eugene in front of Sylvain, and Marco Melandri taking the final podium position.  This means that the Aprilia Racing Team have come away with maximum points are leading the manufacturers championship.

Sylvain Guintoli WSBK 2012 (Silverstone)

Eugene Laverty WSBK 2012 (Silverstone)

The British riders had a reasonable day even though none of them made the podium.

Race 1		Race 2
4th	Chaz Davies	5th	Tom Sykes
5th	Tom Sykes	8th	Jonathan Rea
7th	Leon Haslam	9th	Leon Camier
8th	Jonathan Rea	10th	Leon Haslam
9th	Leon Camier	17th	Chaz Davies

My schedule for the 2013 season is now taking shape.

Month	Series	Location
Mar	BSB (test)	Brands Hatch
Apr	BSB	Brands Hatch
Jul	BSB	Brands Hatch
Sep	MotoGP	Silverstone
Oct	BSB	Brands Hatch

I am still undecided as to whether I will be doing the BSB round at Silverstone, and there are now question marks over WSBK as during the weekend there were strong rumours that the Silverstone round will be dropped leaving only Donington in May.

Photography

I thought I should post an entry as I haven't done so for quite a while.  The reason for this is that I have been concentrating on my photography and thus have been posting primarily to flickr.  I also decided to create my own website to showcase some of my photos.

If anyone is interested my website, 500px and flickr sites are as follows:

http://iamphotos.weebly.com/
http://500px.com/iaMacey
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianmcy/

St. Mary’s Church Eastwell & Lake

 

 

MotoGP

2 weeks ago we went on our annual pilgrimage to the British round of the MotoGP.  The weather was good for the Friday and Saturday, resulting in over 800 photos being taken.  On Sunday the weather was bad but the racing was good.  Still can’t believe how they managed to race bikes at 150mph+ in the pouring rain.  Although Cal Crutchlow was injured and couldn’t race, we still had somebody to cheer for.  Bradley Smith, a rookie in the Moto2 class, started at the back the grid and managed throughout the race to move through the pack, ending up 2nd.

Valentino Rossi (f/10.0 1/200 300mm ISO 200)

Alvaro Bautista (f/8.0 1/250 300mm ISO 200)

Toni Elias (f/11.0 1/125 300mm ISO 200)

Jorge Lorenzo (f/10.0 1/250 300mm ISO 200)

Bradley Smith (f/7.1 1/250 300mm ISO 200)

Photographers Day Out – Part 2

Here are some further shots taken at the Masters Historic Festival.

  Ford Mustang (f/16.0 1/80 300mm ISO 200)

AC Cobra (f/9.0 1/200 300mm ISO 200)

BMW 3.5 CSL (f/13.0 1/100 95mm ISO 200)

Photographers Day Out

Yesterday I went to the Masters Historic Festival at Brands Hatch and met up with a number of local photographers.  This was organised by Glyn Bareham and Paul Dunmall in response to a similar meet-up they organised last year.

“This is aimed at being a fun day in the company of fellow enthusiasts but as last year if anyone requires help with the intricacies of Motor Sport Photography, Panning, places to get the best angles / views etc. this will again be available as we will have at least two & hopefully more photographers on hand well versed in such matters.”

It was a good day, being both enjoyable and informative.  Plus the weather was good, not raining until after the last race had finished.

Aston Martin DB4 (f/7.1 1/250 300mm ISO 200)

Ford GT40 Mk1 (f/8.0 1/250 300mm ISO 200)

Taydec Mk3, Chevron B16, Chevron B16 (C) (f/8.0 1/320 190mm ISO 1600)

 

Aston Martin DB4 (f/14.0 1/80 95mm ISO 200)

Underwater Technology

Yesterday I spent the afternoon in Canterbury and whilst walking along side one of the small rivers that flows through the city I came across this piece of underwater technology.  A Compaq laptop.

Josh Brookes

Yesterday Laguna Performance Centre had an open day and Josh Brookes (BSB rider for Relentless Suzuki) was there signing autographs.  So I went along and managed to get him to sign one of the photographs I had taken of him at the recent British Superbike round at Brands Hatch.  The shot is of Josh exiting Druids but to make it more interesting I adjusted the angle of the image to give the rider and bike a more upright look.

Josh Brookes @ BSB Round 1 Brands Hatch (f/8.0 1/640 300mm ISO 400)

Update

Well it is over a year since my last entry, so I thought that I should pull my finger out and provide an update.

I have always been interested in photography and in June last year (as a reward to myself for graduating) I purchased my first non “point & shoot” camera, a Canon EOS 450D.  At this point I was a total noobie, so things like aperture, exposure and depth of field were all alien to me.  Now after reading numerous articles, both on and off line and having joined 2 local photography clubs I am starting to get to grips with my new hobby and gaining a better understanding of it’s technical side.  One book that has certainly helped is “The Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi/450D Companion”, it covers all the bells and whistles of the camera, giving good and helpful explanations as to when, why and how to use the different settings.  Although still very much a novice I am growing in confidence and in March of this year signed up for the OU’s short-course  “T189 - Digital photography: creating and sharing better images”.  T189 is a 10 week course with the first week starting on the 1st May.

For a number of years my other interest has been motorsport, primarily motorbike racing, and am now combining this with the photography.  Last year I went to a number of meetings (MotoGP, WSBK & BSB) and each time my technique has got better.  Its a slow process and requires a lot of practice, but I do feel that I am improving.  If you would like to see my efforts so far, take a look at me Flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianmcy/.

Luke Helm @ BSB Round 1 Brands Hatch (f/5.6 1/320 300mm ISO 250)

Facebook users be aware

Our companies e-mail monitoring system captured an e-mail today pertaining to have come from Facebook Customer Support.

Subject:  Facebook Password Reset Confirmation! Customer Support

Body: 

Dear user of facebook,
Because of the measures taken to provide safety to our clients, your password has been changed.
You can find your new password in attached document.
Thanks,
Your Facebook.

Attachment:  Facebook_password_239.zip (containing Facebook_password_239.exe)

Threat:  Mal/FakeAV-BW

Suzi’s replacement

After all the new bikes and liveries, plus line-up changes, the last question all fans have been asking themselves about the 2010 MotoGP season can finally be answered - who will be presenting the BBC's MotoGP coverage?

Suzi Perry, the face of MotoGP for more than a decade, decided in the close season to step down and concentrate on other work.

Now, her replacement can be revealed - Jennie Gow.

More >>

Web Leopard

After taking the BBC (Lab UK) “Web Behaviour Test” I am apparently  a “Web Leopard”.

Fast-moving - Web Leopards like you are adept at getting information from the internet very quickly. Your speed is a trait you share with real-world leopards, which are among the fastest land animals.

Solitary - Leopards live alone, fending for themselves in isolated home ranges. Similarly, the Web Leopard likes to go it alone when looking for information, rather than rely on social networks, or other sites where the users create the content.

Specialised - Web Leopards are best suited to performing one task at a time rather than multitasking. The real-world leopard is similarly specialised, being perfectly adapted to silently tracking its prey before pouncing.

Go take the test at: Discover your inner animal

Open University curbs Tesco 'clubcard degree' scheme

The Open University is scaling back a scheme which allows students to pay for courses with Tesco clubcard points.

Since February 2007, OU students have been able to use reward points earned from shopping to pay fees for their undergraduate degrees.

But now the university says it has had to "re-evaluate its budget" and restrict the deal to students in their first years, under a phased programme…

ref:  BBC News

SourceForge Block Syria, Sudan, Iran, N. Korea & Cuba

Is Open Source Still Open?

…SourceForge.net the world’s largest open source software development web site blocked users from downloading free open source software from “banned locations” meaning users and developers form Syria, Sudan, Iran, N Korea and Cuba are banned…

ref: ArabCrunch En

What next?

A number of people have been asking what I will do next, and to be honest I am not to sure at present.

Some students and tutors have suggested teaching.  Although this is something I have looked at in the past I am have decided not to go down this avenue because from what I have seen secondary schools at present do not teach computing, they just teach pupils how to use computers / software.

Several other tutors having suggested tutoring for the OU and this is something I might well look at doing.

Or I could continue studying by doing an Msc.  Having taken a brief look at the OU website I have estimated it would take 5-6 years at a cost of about £9,000.

What every I end up doing I am taking a year off.  Even though I have a few jobs to do around the house, a year of no TMA’s, revision or exams will be so relaxing.

Thank you

Having completed my degree I would like to extend a big thank you to the following:

• The “Open University” for giving people the opportunity to better themselves;
• The tutors who have helped me through my courses;
• My fellow students whose messages of help and congratulations have been a great motivator.

Degree Confirmed

The OU, via my “student home page”, has confirmed this morning that I have my degree.  It is a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Computing, Upper Second-class Honours (2.1).

M366: Result!

The final results for M366 have been released (3 days earlier than stated) and I got a Grade 3 (OCAS 92 & OES 54).  I felt that the exam didn’t go well for me and I have been worrying since then that I had failed the exam (thus the course) and would have to do a re-sit.  So I am mightily pleased.

This means that I have got my degree and if my calculations are correct it is a 2:1.