Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/141020
M 8- '" Q. , ., . . ............:.- N .... Cl Ltl N c. o Anoth er pit scen e. This guy obviously grew his own crew. plast ic baggy away . Wrap yo ur camera in the baggy, leavin g a hole fo r the len s, and kee p it tight with rubber ba nds. Use a lA filt er and a len sho od to protect it. You can even pu t the wh ole ca mera and lens in th e baggy. Just lea ve an o pe ning fo r th e lens and film advance. It will be a hass le but yo ur preci ous cam era will survive with flyin g col ors. Being a h uman b eing is not always easy. Being a photo grap her stand ing in an ant bed as the sun beat s do wn o n yo ur bare head in a howling san d st orm hop ing the line to th e joh n thin s before th e sta rt of th e nex t mo ro can be o ne hell of an existence. Soooooo ...plan yo ur day b efo re you st art . Think of everyth ing you can to ma ke life easier. First o ff, wear comfortable clothes, preferably with several pockets. Wh y ? Because in those po ckets you can carr y film , filter s, lens caps, etc. You should also carry a few self-preservation items such as asp irin, salt tab let s, a little sun tan lot ion maybe and so me anti-bug spray or o intment. PHOTO PHASION Anot her go od ide a is a hat. I wear a Cy cle News Hot Hat b ecau se (a) it 's what all th e uptown hotsho es wear and I want to b e " in" , and (b) th ey sent me o ne . Seriously, it protects th e top o f yo ur noggin and if you wear it backwards the bill will give some protection to your neck. Of course, every one will point th eir finger at you and you will feel like the village idiot: such is the lot of wise man among fools . I :-'fear tall lace-up b oots with my pan t legs t ucked in becau se I have th is thin g abo ut rattlesnakes. Bar bequed rattlesnake s is terr ific but not much fun the other way aro und. In some places carry ing a snake bite kit isn't such a bad idea. Now , if you are really serio us yo u will hop o n down to your local Arm y surplus sto re and get two M-I rifle ammo belts and string them together. Carr y your film in them. . You ma y lo ok like a bo mb -throwi ng revo lutionary b ut you will be able to kee p track of yo ur ex posed and unexposed film be tter and will also have some prote ction from the rain and sand . You will also avoid fu mbling in your pockets for loo se roll s of film. While yo u are at th e surp lus sto re pick up a canteen and hook it to th e ammo belt. Now yo u have a wa t er supply for whe n yo u are out in th e midd le of nowhere with out a cent to bu y a Coke. If it 's going to be a sco rcher yo u might even grind u p two salt tablets and pu t th em in wat er. It could come in handy . You also might tr y to find a ca nvas ba g with a strap abo ut th e size o f a sho ebo x. I think th ey were used to carry 50 calib re am mo. An yw ay, they are grea t fo r carrying extra cameras, lenses , yo ur lunch, a goo d book to read in case th e race turns into a parade , or great reams of impressive press crede ntials so you can get in free at th e gate . ยท T wo o the r Army surplus it em s you should co nsider, espec ially in th e rainier climes: a wet-wea ther men's parka with a hood . It com es with two enormous butt on pocke ts and either zips up the front or is so lid with crossover laces. Com es in the traditional 00 co lor. Do n't get the plastic poncho. Besides being unstylish it doesn't have any pockets and will make yo u sweat lik e a st uck pig. Last but not least , the classic Army field jacket so much loved by young men who wouldn't think of be ing in the Army . It has fo ur roomy pockets an d can be had wit h a remo vabl e line r wh ich is warm, to say th e least . And if yo u get t he o nes wit h the str aps on t he sho ulder yo u ca n co unt yourself lucky on two points: th e little str aps will keep th e camera st ra ps from falling o ff yo ur shoulder and the older ones fit better , an yway . moderate grain . Th ere ' are o ther films. Kod ak Panatomic-X has an ASA of 32 , which mean s o n a clear, sunny day you should ex pose at 1/3 0 seco nd at f/16 (a hot-shot rule of th umb , b y t he way; if yo u are st uc k without a meter set yo ur shu tte r at about th e ASA rating - ASA 400 Tri-X, 1/5 00 second, see? al"!d set th e aperture at f / 16 an d you sho uld be migh ty close). Anyway, Pan-X has beautiful con trast and no grain so yo u can use it fo r immaculate still shots or surrealistic act ion sho ts. Plus-X (ASA 125 ) has little grain and is ver y suita ble fo r actio n at wid e apertures, Best bet is to try every film yo u possibl y can an d see wh at you like best. Yo u'll prob ably end up stic king with Tri -X, t ho ugh . Everyone doe s. Pro blems with shooting blac k-and-white film is that pro cessin g costs about as much as color an ym ore since just abo ut anybody who shoots B&W develops t heir own . Th e scads of tourists with Instamati cs or ex pe nsive cameras use nothing but co lor an ymore. Learn how to de velop your own. You 'll blow your mind wh en yo u find o ut ho w cheap and easy it is and yo u' ll be well on your wa y to b ecom ing a Big-Time Rich Pro , like me. Shoo ting co lor is a gas, naturall y, alt hough it is a more ex pensive pro positio n. Just bu y all kinds of differe nt film to find out the one yo u like be st. FILM You can bu y 35mm film eit her already packed in cassette s or, if you like to roll your o wn, in 100-foot ro lls. For some , b ulk loadj ng is th e chea po wa y to go because it cu ts film co sts at least in half. If yo u don't mind the hassle, bu y a Watson bulk film loa de r and 100 feet of Tri -X and have at it. If you are like most and prefer to bu y yo ur film all nice and neat in a box, wh ich co ntains th e instruction s wh ich is wrapped aro und the weath erp roo f enclosure wh ich contains a. cardb oard t ube which co ntains th e actual cassette, on ly buy it in ro lls of 36. Twe nty-exposure ro lls are a waste o f t ime and money , the antithesis of t he 35mm ph ilosoph y. Alwa ys bu y ro lls of 36 and if you have any frame s left o ver, ex periment. Film is che ap. If you were insistent an d bou ght a 2~, watch your cam era dea ler for super bargains in ro ll film from Europ e. T he film is abo ut as goo d as film can get at a frac tion of t he cost . Nearly all pictures take n anywhe re are sho t with Kodak Tri -X. Tr i-X is fairl y fast , very forgiving, with LIGHT Yes, light. Th at's what makes your pict ures so you'll hav e to know how to use it . If you have t he sun to your back yo u will have excellent detail in th e sha do ws and grea t frontal ligh ting. Frontal lighting is very importa nt ; it assures good contrast between the subject an d the backgro und. Noth ing is mor e irritating than a photograph that looks like a silhouette. T here are exceptions , of course , but generally I won't photograph a corner or jump that doesn't have frontal lighting. It just isn't worth it. T he nex t best ~ ing to frontal lighting - and it even is preferred sometime s - is a light stea dy o vercast . The light isn 't scattered and there are no harsh shadowss, You might lose one f- st o p bu t don 't worry. The onl y problem with overcast is that th e sky will be a massive white blank et in yo ur print s. In th is case, add a medium yellow, o r K2, filter to your lens for B&W film. It will give more detail to th e sky . Well, th at 's it. Ho pe I've been o f some help .