Using flash at a mountain bike trail event

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razor777

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Mark
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Hello,

I've been asked by a friend to help cover a mountain bike trail event and I'm a great fan of using flashes (especially off camera) for different types of events and in my opinion this one is no different.

However, my friend has expressed a concern that this may interfere with the concentration of the event participants and may even cause them to crash.

In your opinion do you think there is any substance in this or shall I just put it down to the fact he's never used a flash before at an event like this so is jsut being overly cautious? I think some of the riders may be part of the junior class so they may not be experienced but would this be enough to cause an upset?

Any advice or help much appreciated, thanks!

Mark
 
Dense woodland with the tree canopy causing the track to be very dark is an issue when using flash. Riders can lose vision and potentially hit a tree. In open areas with plenty of daylight the issue virtually disappears . As mentioned above, it's best to check with the event organisers.
 
Cheers for the advice, event organisers it is then. :)

As always I'll be trying light foilage areas to maximise the scene.
 
Every mountain bike event I have been too, the majority of photographers there will use flashes. What event is it?
 
I did the Kielder Avalanche mountain bike event last year - there were photographers using flashes and it wasn't really much of a distraction.
 
Fire away! They probably won't even notice.
 
Every time I've been racing my MTB i've had such blurred vision from the 180bpm heart rate that I wouldn't have noticed a lightning strike 3 yards away, never mind a couple of strobes popping :lol:
 
TheBigYin said:
Every time I've been racing my MTB i've had such blurred vision from the 180bpm heart rate that I wouldn't have noticed a lightning strike 3 yards away, never mind a couple of strobes popping :lol:
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wonder how they time the strobe flashes with the shutter openning :shrug:
 
Thanks for all the advice much appreciated!

However as it turns out I've completely got the wrong end of the stick. It's a motorbike trails (or trials) event - some form of obstance course apparently. In this instance I'm not even sure a flash will be needed unless there is some strong back lighting. I'll take them along anyway just to be on the safe side.
 
If it is motorbike trials you will probably need to use a flash as well, a fair few of theses events tend to be in wooded areas.
 
In my experience (over 40 MTB events), the only times there have been problems with flash is when it's been late in the day and it's getting very dark in the more dense sections of the forest. The race commissaires have insisted that photographers stop using flash, and in my opinion this has been fully justified. The trigger for this is when riders basically begin to complain to officials at the end of their runs. (at least in downhill anyway)

You'll always get the odd rider that will complain in even the best conditions though... we call them Flash Warriors :nuts:
 
If the riders are distracted by your flash they're not concentrating on where they are going. I've been on both sides of the camera many times....it's no real problem, just don't fire it full power in the rider's face ;)
 
I have been to a few downhill events and always see people using flashes. When i was doing photos for the one i tried to use natural light, but i didn't have a external flash.

Think you should be ok as long as it isn't straight on and in their face.
 
daft_biker said:
If the riders are distracted by your flash they're not concentrating on where they are going.
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I would agree apart from in the situation described above.

On an Autumn evening for example, it's 4pm, there's moisture in the air, and it's getting very dark in the woods (and I mean VERY dark), then when a flash fires in your direction, basically what you get, is a complete white out as the air in front of you're eyeballs is lit up. As a rider, you then have to continue on your run, trying to pick out the mud covered roots which are hidden in the the, er... mud. All in the dark, while your eyes try to re-adjust.

Hardly fair, when other racers in your category had there run an hour earlier and had none of these issues... because it was light. If, as a photographer, you found yourself in this situation, you'd simply move on to a different section of the forest, where it was lighter. Unless the commissaire comes over the marshall's radio and asked all photographer to stop using flash, in which situation you would stop using flash, and call it a day.

I'm all for the use of flash, but there are simply times when it shouldn't be used, and thankfully these times are very rare.
 
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