Motorcycle photos with Alexx on Mission Inn Ave bridge

Black against mostly black. Alexx with her helmet on.

It’s actually ok to fail miserably on occasion.

Your concept or idea may be sound but sometimes it just takes more than one attempt before you can taste success.

I had always wanted to photograph a pretty girl on a motorcycle ever since I was a photography student in college.

It never materialized back then.

Working 18 hours a week while going to school fulltime doesn’t allow much time for networking or socializing.

Alexx with her Yamaha motorcycle--Trying to register a trail of car lights so that the cars themselves don't become so much a distraction was my objective. — Alexx with her Yamaha motorcycle–Trying to register a trail of car lights so that the cars themselves don’t become so much a distraction was my objective. 1/10 sec f8 ISO 50100mm lens. I was hoping the street lights would come on sooner but they didn’t until 6:30 pm. It would have made this picture better.

It wasn’t until recently that I met Alex through her mum Kat who owns a Peruvian Paso, that I got a chance to try attempt this photo.

I had to enlist the help of 3 people for this photo shoot and when you see where I was shooting you will see why.

Safety

Working with Alexx on the narrow bridge which overlooks Mission Inn Ave. 2 Speedlites inside my Octodome, 1 on the right of the camera aimed downwards just outside of the frame and 3rd Speedlite on the ground . 1/125sec@ f5.6 50mm lens

Behind-the-scenes on the shoot. Thanks to Tim Sivils, Spencer Kalnin and Javier Mercado for their wonderful assistance.

We were on a narrow bridge overlooking a busy street, Mission Inn Ave.

There wasn’t a lot of traffic on the bridge itself but it was narrow, only wide enough for 2 cars.

I had to post 2 persons for traffic control to watch for oncoming traffic.

The 3rd person, I asked to shoot behind-the-scene pictures when I was working.

Equipment

Alexx facing backwards on her bike--I have a lot to learn about posing a model with a motorcycle. — Alexx facing backwards on her bike–I have a lot to learn about posing a model with a motorcycle. 2 Canon 600-EX-RT inside in Octodome main light on left and 1 Yongnuo YN-600-EX-RT on lightstand on the right. ISO 50 1/90 sec @ f4 50 mm lens.

Thank you to Spencer Kalnin for this behind-the-scenes picture.

On most location shoots especially when I anticipate disruptions from traffic, I try to keep my gear to something manageable.

Looking the other way on this narrow bridge. Javier Mercado keeps an eye out for my safety as I work with Alexx.

I used 2 Speedlites inside my softbox and 1 WL studio strobe.

Next Time

Alexx with her Yamaha motorcycle — ISO 50 1/180 sec@f4 Canon 5DMark2 with 50 mm lens.

Behind-the-scenes. Thanks Spencer Kalnin for grabbing these pictures on my Canon Powershot G11

When I attempt this again, I would probably choose a different spot near this location.

The bridge is in the shadow of Mt.Rubidoux quite early and it becomes troublesome to manage the contrast and lighting on the tree line in the background.

Behind-the-scenes showing the opposite end of the bridge for perspective. Tim Sivils in the picture was keeping me safe while Javier Mercado watched the other.

Since I was trying for an exposure time of at least 10 seconds to get trails of car lights, focusing becomes problematic for my old eyes without bringing in some continuous light source.

Photography is problem solving as I’ve heard it described many times over.

With any luck, I will get another crack at this. If you live in my area and you know any attractive who rides a motorcycle, tell them to get a hold of me.