Geoff Faulkner Photography

I had the opportunity to photograph the motocross races at the...

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:44:00 -0700

I had the opportunity to photograph the motocross races at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds last weekend. I had never been to the races so I wasn’t sure what to expect.

What I found was a great group of people who seem to love off-road motocross racing! Everyone I met was friendly, even giving suggestions for positioning so I can get some great photos. I was worried I might have to setup behind a fence somewhere far from the action. I ended up on the track itself, and was able to move around to capture the action in a few different turns.

The races started soon after I arrived and didn’t stop all day. Riders get a break between races, but there is little time for a break during the event. The only real break came when someone was injured on the track. :( Luckily, I had brought everything I needed with me and was able to shoot most of the day without stopping.

I tried two different ways to shoot this event. The first was with a wide-open aperture. In full sun, this gave me a high shutter speed to freeze the action. I love the way the dirt and rocks are frozen as they are shooting out from under a tire.

Shooting like this can give the photograph a rather “static” look—like the bikes are frozen in time and not moving. These bikes are moving pretty quick, so I would occassionally switch to a high aperture to slow down the shutter speed. With this motion I had to pan with the riders to keep them sharp while showing the effect of the motion.

I had a great time out in the field, even if my camera and I were filthy by the end of the day! I hope to get out and shoot motocross again!

All photos are online at http://www.geofffaulkner.com/event/Motocross-Racing

Geoff

Adrina's 8th Birthday Party

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 22:38:55 -0700

Adrina's 8th Birthday Party: Adrina’s 8th Birthday Party

Pate Wedding Reception

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 22:04:59 -0800

Heather and Brian flew off to Maui to get married on 11/11/11. They had me photograph their...

Pate Wedding Reception

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 21:41:00 -0800

Pate Wedding Reception: Heather and Brian flew off to Maui to get married on 11/11/11. They had me...

Fall Colors in Yosemite

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 21:08:00 -0800

Yosemite in the fall is quite spectacular. Not only are the crowds down from summer, but the light...

Trip to Yosemite I recently took a family trip to Yosemite to...

Sun, 01 May 2011 22:38:31 -0700

Trip to Yosemite

I recently took a family trip to Yosemite to see the sights, expose the kids to a little nature, and have a great time. We spent the morning riding the train at Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad. The train ride was fun! We sat on the uncovered car and got to see all the sights, smells, and sounds of a working steam locomotive. I especially enjoyed seeing the engine pistons pushing the train through the scenic country. There was still some snow on the ground, but it seemed to be melting quickly.

After leaving the railroad we drove into Yosemite through the South gate. There is a long tunnel that you have to drive through to get into the valley. The tunnel makes you feel like you’ve entered a magical land—as soon as you exit you are presented with a gorgeous view of the Yosemite valley, with Half Dome, Bridal Veil Falls, and many other sights below.

We hiked up to two of the falls during our visit. The first was Bridal Veil. The base of the falls is saturated with water—water in the air, water pouring over the walking path and stairs, and water raging in the river leaving the falls. I rarely took out my camera as I’d rather not soak it down, even with the water seal that the body and lenses provide. The base of the waterfall is surrounded by heavy tree cover. Sunlight was peeking through the trees which made capturing pictures difficult—the difference between full sun and deep shadow in the same scene was impossible to capture.

The second waterfall we visited was the lower Yosemite Falls. Again there was a mist of water pouring off the waterfall, soaking everything in its path. By the time we had made it to this waterfall it was in shadow. This made the waterfall a little easier to photograph, but people kept jumping in front of my camera and climbing all over the hills leading up to the waterfall. I had to be patient and wait, while trying to protect my camera from the water.

Visiting a tourist-type place with my camera and tripod seems to be an open invitation. I scream “I take pictures” apparently, because people kept asking me to take theirs. I don’t mind too much, as long as I am able to get my picture. One couple was very courteous and waited a few minutes for me to get my pictures before asking. I obliged happily, because they were waiting to step in front of my scene. Other people were less aware and would just walk in front. I’ve been that “less aware” person before, and walked in plenty of scenes that other photographers arranged, so I just have to be patient and wait. :)

Yosemite is a great place! I would love to go back to visit during the early morning and sunset hours. I may just have to spend the somewhere close by, with sunrise very early and Yosemite about 3 1/2 hours from my home. We left the park a little before sunset but didn’t get back home until almost 11:00 at night.

I love getting new toys! I picked up a new Canon 580EX II...

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 21:24:43 -0700

I love getting new toys!

I picked up a new Canon 580EX II speedlight on Saturday. While my existing Canon flash was pretty good, I could use a flash with a little more power.

I shot girls fast-pitch softball tonight. I normally don’t use a flash with this type of event, but the shadows get pretty deep late in the day. I love to shoot at F2.8 to blur out the background and focus on the players, and it helps me to get a pretty fast shutter speed to stop the motion too. With the high-speed sync option on the 580 I was able to add a little fill light to the girls to brighten up the deep shadows.

I am starting to go through the images now, but so far I like what I see!

Congratulations to my brother and his new wife Leanne! They...

Sun, 27 Mar 2011 03:08:08 -0700

Congratulations to my brother and his new wife Leanne! They threw quite a party at the Discovery Bay Country Club!

Sue Lomolino from The Other Cheek face painting invited me to...

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 16:53:43 -0700

Sue Lomolino from The Other Cheek face painting invited me to photograph her latest masterpiece this last weekend. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but was blown away with the incredible job she did with the model Ffjorren. I’m sure there were some hours involved with getting her painted like this, but the results were well worth the effort!

Thank you very much Sue and Ffjorren!

2010-09-15 Wedding Photography--Grace Vineyards

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 00:12:00 -0700

I was fortunate enough to be able to photograph the wedding of Rainey and Brent in the fantastic...

Quinceañera Photos I had a portrait session in Stockton today...

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 00:23:30 -0700

Quinceañera Photos

I had a portrait session in Stockton today with a girl celebrating her quinciañera. We met in the morning at the University of the Pacific. I had never been to the university, but the location was perfect. The sun was hiding behind clouds every once in a while which provided some really great light.

End of the softball season

Sun, 23 May 2010 00:58:00 -0700

Tracy Express softball has come to a close and championship games were played today. I hope you have...

Softball Games I have covered quite a few games already and the...

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 19:38:23 -0700

Softball Games

I have covered quite a few games already and the season is just getting started! My youngest had a game Friday night, and both of my girls had games on Saturday—3 games in two days! I took a large number of photos and I am still editing. I hope to have pictures from the last game online by tonight.

Pinkalicious / Cherry Bombs game Last night was the t-ball game...

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 11:35:00 -0700

Pinkalicious / Cherry Bombs game

Last night was the t-ball game between team Pinkalicous and Cherry Bombs. I took photos of both teams, as we had friends on both teams. The sun was setting so I had great afternoon light on the players.

Tracy Express Opening Day Today was opening day for Tracy...

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 19:47:27 -0700

Tracy Express Opening Day

Today was opening day for Tracy Express softball! All the girls came out and showed their spirit parading with their team.

Debbie Nelson from All American Sports Academy gave a great motivational speech and after her speech she had the kids get on their belly and get dirty! She said they were ready to play once they got dirty.

Then she threw out the first pitch to end the ceremony.

Happy Valentine’s Day from Geoff Faulkner Photography!

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 10:18:58 -0800

Happy Valentine’s Day from Geoff Faulkner Photography!

The Tracy Camera Club had our annual awards dinner tonight. This...

Sat, 16 Jan 2010 23:09:00 -0800

The Tracy Camera Club had our annual awards dinner tonight. This year we had a lot of great images in all the different categories. The end-of-the-year competition is a judged competition where our members submit the “best of the best” to take category for the year.

I submitted eight images for the competition and took the “Best of the Year” award for three of my images. We had a great dinner tonight, and great conversations with a fun bunch of photographers. I am looking forward to the new year of photography!

Have a great week,
Geoff

I was flipping through the San Joaquin Valley Magazine today and...

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:47:00 -0800

I was flipping through the San Joaquin Valley Magazine today and found one of the images that I had taken for Valley Chiropractic’s advertisement. The image looked good in print, and their graphic artists did a great job on the ad.

You can view the magazine online where you’ll find the advertisement in the bottom left corner of page 12.

Congratulations on the advertisement and I hope it does well for you!

Geoff

It’s basketball season in Tracy and my daughter has joined...

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 07:31:07 -0800

It’s basketball season in Tracy and my daughter has joined the team “The Golden Shooters”. The girls had a good first game (even though they lost) and held the score close.

This gallery is password protected, so contact me if you would like the gallery password. I am available to shoot your team photographs—send me a note with the date and time of your game that you would like me to photograph.

Have a great week.

Christmas is almost here! The kids at Monticello School’s...

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 09:40:00 -0800

Christmas is almost here! The kids at Monticello School’s Holiday program were very cute. Each grade level sang some really great Christmas songs to get everyone in the holiday mood.

At the end of the performance, the kindergarteners got a visit from Santa Claus himself!

We had a great time at the performance! I hope you have a great holiday season with your family and friends!

Geoff