Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/MTB trials

MTB trials rider

Original - A British competitor in the elite men's 26" division of the 2009 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships held in Canberra.

Reason: Demonstrates features peculiar to trials riding: executing the jump onto a wooden beam, good view of the bicycle - including lack of seat, extreme posture. The official in the background showing a closed fist (no penalty points) just tops it off. A few other niceties: you can see the rider's face, there is mud flying through the air, the event village can be seen in the background. Before I added this and a couple of other images, there were only a couple of fairly low quality images on the article (or indeed, on commons).
Articles this image appears in: Bike trials
Creator: User:Stevage

Support as nominator --Stevage 00:06, 7 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Support Some fill flash on his face would have been good, but perfect timing otherwise. I'd nominate File:MTB Trials 3 Stevage.jpg at some point. Noodle snacks (talk) 02:22, 7 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Neutral/Comment – The tents and people are far too distracting for me to support and the log on the bottom left is distracting too. It's got good EV and a good comp, but I think a better picture can be found for this subject. (it has too many problems to be a featured picture IMHO) Also, is that dirt below his face, in the middle? That should be edited out as the main focus should be on the rider, and it is slightly distracting (barely, just something I thought I should mention though). I'm slightly leaning to oppose, but i'd like to hear others opinions first. Jerry teps (talk) 09:08, 7 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Support I wouldnt edit the mud out, its key to the scene. Its not ideal having building in the background but it doesnt ruin the image. Biggest problem is a dark face but the fact is 'Bike trials' is illustrated well with the body shape and action --Childzy ¤ Talk 10:07, 7 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose DOF too high, cluttered background. --Dschwen 19:57, 7 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Weak oppose per Dschwen -- mcshadypl ^T ^C 23:13, 7 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose Background is very distracting. Clegs (talk) 01:50, 8 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Weak Oppose It's sad, because the image is so nice, but the background really is distracting. Staxringold _talk^contribs 02:39, 8 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Comment - thanks for the comments all, they're really useful. Strangely, I didn't even notice the distracting background before, but I see what you mean. I definitely wouldn't edit out the flying mud personally - even if I did originally think it was dirt on the sensor and had to check :) Sort of agree about the DOF - I'll have to get a neutral filter, notice that the shutter speed was already maximum (1/4000th), so I actually couldn't get the aperture any wider. Pity, because that lens goes to F1.4. Also, it's doubtful whether fill-in flash would have made sense, as you can see the sun is lighting him well, it's just that in this particular pose his face is shaded by his helmet. (Also, I'd feel weird about firing flashes at a trials rider...) Stevage 13:26, 8 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Comment - Nominate the image Noodle snacks suggested, thats very good --Childzy ¤ Talk 22:57, 8 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Agree, a little bit less action, but way better composition. --Dschwen 14:11, 9 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Heh, I find this one much more interesting, personally. Guess I'll nominate it due to popular demand.Stevage 13:27, 10 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

You can always use a longer focal length to get a lower DOF. --Dschwen 14:12, 9 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Weak oppose Distracting Bokeh --Muhammad(talk) 14:04, 11 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Not promoted --Makeemlighter (talk) 03:25, 14 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]