92 DIGITAL CAMERA^ DECEMBER 2019
longside the tuck-no-
hander, Finley had
plenty more tricks to
show us, and they were
all photogenic. For the
next shot, though, we decided to try
something that the riders actually
suggested: one would crouch with
their bike between two jumps while the
other vaulted overhead. While it would
have been easy to say, “Here’s one to
definitely not try at home,” Kate had
complete trust in Finley’s abilities,
despite them not having met before.
Compared to his tuck-no-hander
and audacious backflip (see page 91),
this trick was pretty routine for Finley:
he just had to successfully negotiate
the jump without contacting Kate with
his back wheel. For lighting, one flash
head was placed to the left and behind
Kate, with the other exactly opposite.Expert opinionThis composition needed headroom
to establish the closeness of the
two riders so Matt crouched down
extra-low and used his camera’s
tilting rear screen to compose his
frame. Knowing that Finley would
enter the scene on the same focal
plane, Matt pre-focused on Kate’s
helmet and fired a short burst. And
the result again shows that he timed
it to perfection. For some added
drama, Finley could have been
looking at Kate rather than straight
ahead, but let’s not be picky...A
Low light? Push the ISO
In better conditions, when shooting
without flash, Matt would have been
able to keep his ISO at around 400 to
facilitate the higher shutter speeds for
capturing the action. At Chicksands,
though, we had to push our ISOs higher,
dialling in up to ISO 800, then using
negative flash exposure compensation
if the lighting effect was too hot.Challenge 3Freeze a rider
in mid-air while
they are making
a jump
Camera Sony Alpha 7R III
Lens Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 GM
Exposure 1/125 sec at f/7.1, ISO 640