Craig Litten’s Daytona Bike week images..

19 Comments

1. Hello Craig,
   I really love your pier serie, and this is the reason why I write now. I don’t really like these pictures – and this is basically not your fault. These motorcyclest are as much interesting for me as the unmoving human statues in tourist areas. These people in this situation don’t show anything from themselves, they act as tough guys and tough girls, but there is really nothing personal, nothing human. This ocassion is a feast of a false manhood and a good photographer could take nice compositions, use the light well – but taking good photos is much harder. For me the only valid expression of this ocassion would be a deeper one, when somebody could show the true little boys behind these motorrider masks, the story, why these people have choosen this life or hobby.

2. Great stuff! Good choice…

   • Thanks for looking Steven!

3. Great set. Bikers have lots of character, and the choice of going B&W with these is the right one. Much enjoyed. Just wondering was this the in camera B&W, or RAW / JPG conversion in post?

   • Please disregard the question, I just read in a previous post you shoot RAW exclusively.

     • I do shoot in RAW+JPEG though. And, the V1 JPEG B&W files are pretty nice actually.
       Thanks!

4. The V1 is aging well. The controls are sometimes awkward, but mostly it works best if I let it make some of the decisions. It has good instincts, with consistently accurate metering, white balance, and autofocus (except in low light.) That makes it perfect for street shooting. You just point and squeeze off a shot, or a quick burst, without having to coddle it. When I try to set too much by myself I get annoyed at the controls, but if I leave it in aperture priority and auto ISO it rarely fails me. As you can see here it’s especially nice in monochrome because the noise has a very fine grain. The Nikon Picture Controls let you easily choose digital color filters and film simulations. I’m no videographer, but the video quality is also very nice, without the rolling shutter jello effects of most competitors. It even lets you take ordinary full resolution stills without interrupting the video at all. Very clever.

   What’s especially nice, and little publicized, is the expanding lens selection. Nikon has been bringing out several lenses every year, and they’ve been consistently well made and fairly priced. The 6.7-13mm wide angle zoom (like an 18-35mm in full frame) is especially good. I’ve been able to build a nice little lens collection for not much, probably 75% what I would have paid for Micro 4/3 lenses that wouldn’t necessarily have been so nicely made. Unlike Olympus the hoods are either included or at least cheap. The only expensive accessory is the flash, unfortunately necessary since none is included (with the V1). The 30-110mm (81-297mm equivalent) is also a terrific lens, and ridiculously cheap when bought as part of the two zoom kit. They all focus quickly enough I barely notice it happening (except when it can’t because I’m too close), and it’s outstanding at tracking moving objects. This is one seriously quick camera. I can even shoot silently with the electronic shutter, which works great. It’s a peek at how all cameras will work in a few years. I mostly use the mechanical shutter because the silence seems weird.

   • The camera is amazing really, and still ahead of all other mirrorless in some respects. But it’s a tool, and you are allowed to have more than one tool in your toolbox, like the used X Pro1 I just purchased for other work 😉 (LOVE it btw)

     Thanks!

5. Dig the Series!
   Dig the camera, always one with me !

   You of course make the camera rock!

   • Thanks Benjamin! It’s not too hard with a camera that already rocks. I just wish Nikon would not have changed the V2 so much. The deal-killer to me was the change in the battery. Bad Nikon 😉

6. Great pics. Interesting and fun. For me, IQ wise, these pictures are more pleasing than many MM’s.

   • Thanks very much! The V1 RAW files are very robust for such a small sensor. I’ve been able to get detail in highlights and shadows not matter what or where I shoot. And a lot of what I shoot here in Florida is very contrasty sun. I shoot midday a lot because that’s when the people are out 😉

7. Images 1,2,3,7,9,10,12 should be my TOP5… I Know they are seven ;)) – very rock & roll and I like it….

   • Awesome reference to the Stones 😉

     Thanks!

8. I was in Daytona during bike week, and these are fantastic images! Really enjoyed looking at them 🙂

9. Great pictures! Love the one with the little kid and the guy going up the stairs. Looks like a very capable system, Nikon V1.

   • Thanks Hans, a bunch of photographers were shooting the shot of the little kid too, and once I saw that I stopped shooting him thinking that the shot was to cliche´. But I’m glad I shot it because it turned out to be one of my favorites also. I love the satisfied, almost proud, look of the mother and her friend on the other side of the fence. As well as the woman’s face in the poster on the fence. It all worked together so well, and there is so much happening in the photo. The mother was a beast of a wrestler and the 7-time coleslaw wrestling champ. She had no wrestling skills to speak of, but she was incredibly strong and very athletic and just slammed everyone she came against. Then she would then casually go back to her chair by the fence, away from the other wrestlers and wait for the next match. She KNEW she would beat them all. If you come to the workshop in October, she’ll probably be there 😉

     The other shot, of the guy climbing the stairs to the world famous Daytona Beach pier, reminds me of the movie poster for “Apocalypto.” http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472043/ I believe we really do retain images we see then sub-consciencely mimic them. That’s why I tell my students to look at GOOD photographs and GOOD photographers. Don’t fill your minds eye with junk.

     Thanks!

10. These are the coolest pictures! the concept is kickass, and the fact that they are all black and white just gives it and effect that color could not have.
    Nice work

    • Thanks very much John!
      I shoot exclusively in Monochrome/ RAW+JPEG mode so that I see the images in B&W in the viewfinder, and the JPEGS are in B&W too, but when I import them into Lightroom I can then see the color version (RAW) also. This way I have a choice once I import the photograph for a color version as well. Sometimes I’ll be surprised at the amazing color and realize that the color is what attracted me to the shot in the first place.

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