Ballet on dirt

A prized shot of motocross is a bike blasting through a corner, “riding the berm” or kicking up roost. Watch the riders and you will see a corner that they all seem to like to take wide and throw up a rooster tail (the aforementioned roost) of dirt and rocks. As spectacular as it looks, it is hard... Sign in to see full entry.

The story begins at the start or more correctly the starting line. After all the preparations, practice and a last trip to the bathroom, the rider finally lines up on the starting line. The riders wait until the last minute to put their goggles on to keep them from fogging up. Notice the man with... Sign in to see full entry.

Now the start is imminent, the starter has his hand on the bar that will drop the gates. The riders have the engines revved and the clutches are held at the point where the bike wants to creep forward. Their eyes are on the gates, ready to go at the first movement. Notice the overlapping elbows... Sign in to see full entry.

This shot requires timing and having seen many starts to anticipate the gate drop. By keeping both eyes open, I was able to see the starter pull the handle so I knew when the gates would drop. In this shot I was lucky enough to catch dirt and rubber coming off the rear tires, one wheelie and how... Sign in to see full entry.

The following shot required permission from the track workers to be alongside the track. It captures the fury of the start with all the roost coming off the rear tires and all the riders still pretty much lined up. For us, it was a revelation to see just how much a slow reaction time puts one behind... Sign in to see full entry.

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When capturing action, not every picture will be picture perfect. This photo has the feel of a race since everything is slightly blurry. Most likely caused by camera movement (panning motion not following the bike), incorrect focus or both. But on race day, a lot of things are slightly blurry as we... Sign in to see full entry.

A photo essay on my favorite sport. These are some of my favorite dirt-bike pictures from the past few years. These photos of my son and a few other riders will be featured in this blog during the off-season. Some of the riders are his friends and local competitors and there are a few from our trips... Sign in to see full entry.

The two Canadian World GP rounds are already in the history books with Chad Reed taking the win in Toronto and James Steward earns a fine and is on parole for the rest of the season. Two incidents proved James’ undoing. First, a tangle with Ivan Tedesco resulted in a broken hand for Tedesco, then a... Sign in to see full entry.

Ricky Carmichael had already wrapped up the AMA outdoor national series, all he had to do was finish the race at Glen Helen. In the first moto he and James Stewart were dicing for the lead, swapping back and forth, nothing except pride on the line. Pride that they were both headed to England to... Sign in to see full entry.