Stump Farm Mountain Bike Races 10-30-2022

This past month on a warm and dry October weekend day, I made my way out to the Brown County Reforestation Camp.  Some locals kindly refer to it as the Stump Farm.  It’s also the location of the NEW Zoo and most recently the new Brown County Reforestation Camp Campground.

This day’s event that drew me to out to the Stump Farm was the Stump Farm Mountain Bike Races.  The Stump Farm has many miles of mountain bike trails and has been attracting riders around Wisconsin for years.  And the Stump Farm 20-mile race today drew many racers both on mountain bikes and fat tire bikes.  And was sponsored by local bike shops that included Pete’s Garage, Stadium Bike, and Broken Spoke.

What drew this photographer to this race was the opportunity to create stop-action/motion-blur photographs of the riders passing me on the trails.  Armed with my Nikon D750 camera and 16-35mm wide-angle zoom and a powerful quantum flash with three batteries, I positioned myself on the trail where riders would pass by 3-4 times during the race.  Fortunately, this day was overcast and I didn’t have to deal with any harsh sunlight and shadow.

Using slow shutter speeds, (1/15, 1/20, 1/25), and the flash, I would pan my subject as they rode by creating the blur.  The flash would fire during the exposure which would freeze the subject.  The trick is to match the strength of the flash with the ambient light.  Each image is distinctly different as a result.  Plus the rider’s colored attire and colored bike also added dramatic color to each photograph.

For this photo nerd, this was more fun than I should be allowed.  Enjoy!

Do you have an unusual photography need?  Contact me and I can help.  (920) 246-7800

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