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Knowing how to take a good photograph is something that I take for granted. But if I look back at the early days of my career it was a hard steep learning curve. Photography is actually very easy.. if you know how. I have decided to run a couple of two day courses to teach people how to shoot great photographs, the courses will be a mixture of theory and practical and will encompass all aspects from learning the controls of your camera to having the confidence to shoot on full manual mode. If you feel that you might like to join me on any of the courses that I am running click here for more info… check out the course dates here or just e-mail me and I will send you more details.

Early Starters

Today I saw more bike brands than you could shake a stick at… and we’re only half way through the expo. Eurobike is something that every bike enthusiast should go to and least once in their life.

I shot some images with my 24mm F1.2 L lens… I has a super shallow depth of field but it a super fast and sharp lens for low light photography. Here are some pics..

Here are some pics of the Demo Day at Eurobike 2009. I don’t have time to write some deep story of why it’s so awesome etc… Just look at the pics and decide for yourself if you wish you were here as well…

It’s crazy how the world has got their knickers in a knot about swine flu… I am sitting in Dubai Airbort at the moment and there are so many people wearing face masks. This pic of the couple next to me battled through thier Burger King meal trying to eat it and not expose thier face…It’s too wierd.

I just got a new set of Alien Bees lights and took them for a little test at a cycling time trial this morning. Nedless to say… I am super stoked with the result. In hindsight I should have got the more powerfull lights but the 400w lights were still great.

For these images I used the Sun to light from the one side of the rider while my trust wife did the light work from the opposite side. I shot it with a slow shutter speed (1/60) and let the flash do the work.

To see more of the images my gallery go to craigdutton.com

Here are some of the shots we got..

I was recentely contracted by Getty to shoot the BMX Supercross World Cup in Pietermaritzburg. It was nothing short of incredible… Riders from all corners of the globe converged on sleepy hollow, made a huge noise and shook the town alive.

Here are some pics from the event…

Aerial view of the track.. I was half hanging out of the heli to get this shot but I think it was worth it.

The Ozzies were out in full force…

Sam Willoughby dominated every heat right through to the finals.

Sifiso Nhlapo was out still nursing a serious neck injury from earlier in the year.

The current world champion Donny Robinson in lane  1 (closest)

Sam Willoughby leads in the second last burm in the final.

I was going through some archives and found a few images that I shot 4 years ago at the SA Mountain Bike Champs in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. As a photographer you sometimes learn new skills and older skills just get shelved and occasionally brought out. It’s a good idea to look at your old stuff and learn from old mistakes or pick up forgotten techniques.

These images were shot by panning with the subject and a very slow shutter speed and using second sync flash to freeze the rider. I’m glad I found these and need to use the technique more as they really create striking results..

Greg Minnaar doing waht he does best… going downhill… fast!!

Burry Stander started kicking butt from an early age

Bridgette Minnaar Stewart beat more boys than girls when she was racing.

It has been a while since I had the desire to blog but recently I have had renewed inspiration to shoot and shout out about all things photography. This blog is going to change from a blog a day mission to a view of the world through my eyes.

Trail running is becoming huge around the world. Shooting trail running is full of energy, scenic and is the epitome of why I love photography.

This image was shot at the Groenkloof Nature Reserve

I went to a show this evening, We will Rock You, at the Dominion Theatre just off Oxford street in London. What a show!

This image was shot very discretely (the were big NO CAMERA signs everywhere) inside the theatre. There is nothing more satisfying than getting a shot under difficult circumstances that either reflects what you see or experience. I think this shot reflects both.

It’s funny how the London Underground (and probably many other forms of public transport around the world) turns people miserable. People in general just don’t appear to be happy when they’re commuting.

This image was shot in the London Underground on the way back from one of my meetings.