I have taken inspiration from Rob Dolecki, a well known BMX photographer, towards my close to home project. I like the way Dolecki uses black and white images as well as a combination of photographic techniques like sub framing and panning to add movement and interest into the frame.
The first image of Dolecki's that really caught my attention was a long exposure image of a BMXer going around a berm, the image was shot with an aperture of around F4/5.6 and using a wide angle lens and flash to freeze the moment. I really like the effect this creates in the overall image but especially in the trees above the rider, I like that it shows movement well and adds an element of intensity to the image similar to how the rider may be feeling. As a result of the flash the image is extremely contrasty with lots of pure black and white, I like the look this gives the image as it becomes punchy and striking, and jumps off the page. The image was taken from low down looking up into the berm as the rider comes around it, this allows the viewer to see the side of the bike and clearly shows that he isn't level, it also makes the rider a lot larger in the frame which ensures your eye goes straight to him despite the motion blur. I like that although the background is just a blur light and dark you can still make out that they are in a forest and that it doesn't take any of the context away.
The next image that I looked at of Dolecki's is an image taken with a standard lens at larger aperture of around f/4, the image was taken using harsh natural light coming through the trees. He has framed the image with the bottom of the handrail coming in from the left and taking up 3/4 of the page, the handrail acts as a frame that goes around the subject doing a nose manual along a wall. On the right of the frame you see another handrail and the stairs the BMXer is about to jump down. I really the technique of sub framing that Dolecki has used in this image, I think it nicely brings your attention to the rider and take up a lot of the mess that would've been visible without it. The image has been exposed for the shadows, blowing out the highlights in the background, however I like the effect this has given due to the dappled light on the building. I think that including the other rail in the background helped build a story in my head by showing what he was shooting through tells you that there's two or more of these stair sets and makes me think he could've done more in this line.
The last image that I liked was an image taken in bright sunlight, on a wide angle lens with the lens wide open, it is a silhouette so was exposed for the highlight turning the shadows completely black. The rider is framed on the left third of the image, and the camera is looking at him, you see strange shaped wall/ obstacle he's riding on. Dolecki has included the leaves of the trees above in the top of the frame which fills in a lot of that empty negative space. I have been liking silhouettes/ images with lots of contrast in them and will possibly use this technique in my project, I like that it shows the body position in a clean and clear way. There isn't much background detail however you see that you are close/ in a city from a few high rise building in the bottom left corner, this adds in a bit of context for the image.
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