When you come across a finished product of anything on Instagram, you may not always understand the struggle or passion that it takes to accomplish it. In my eyes, there is a large gap in people’s minds and they forget that it takes time and effort to reach the final result. At times, it takes a team to assemble all the parts to get the proper results.

I may not work in-house anymore at Supercross BMX, but I still keep in contact and lend a helping hand whenever I can. This time around, I had the joy of shooting the team (those that could make it out) out at Apple valley BMX Motorpark, also known as, Horsemen’s BMX, as some of the previous generations may remember it.

There is so much that goes into creating images like these that eventually reach you. It may sound as simple as just point, shoot, and then load up. But it’s not like that all the time. There is a long editing process I have to go through in order for you to get the right shot “perfected”. It is a rare occasion that I will shoot photos and not think that they will need editing. Usually, I see the shot I want and then try to take it to the best of my ability with the tools at hand. Afterwards, I will try and make up for any mistakes in post editing later. This process seems to suite me the best.

Luck, that is the best way I can describe some of my timing with my shots. Seeing someone ride versus trying to capture that in one frame are two different things. So luck plays a big part in that. Luck also helps when you decide to do dumb things, like get close to someone whipin'. With these shots (seen below), I almost got a face full of tire, but Anthony is skilled enough and I moved just in time that it ended up only being a scare lol. It was worth it though.  

the previous frames before the money shot

the final shot( i almost gave my life for lol)

Setting up the shot is only step one (in my process). Step two requires more time, effort, and a few Adobe programs. This video below shows you (in one minute) the process I go through with every shot to get them to look correct and balanced out. Of course with photography, everything is opinionated so what I deem an acceptable shot may not be that for you, and that is perfectly fine. With everything I put out there is a fine line between perfectly done or over doing it. Finding the balance is the hard part.

BEFORE and AFTER EDITING

I had a good time shooting at Applevalley and ended up with about 600 or so shots. Yes it was hot, and yes a lot of the material I shot came out very blurry, but that’s just how it works. As long as I get like 2 or 3 shots out of it, I would call it a success haha. After all the dust settled and I eventually went through all my shots, I can say that I am happy with my results. So when’s the next shoot Bill? haha

So there you go, please be sure to click thru the rest of Korban's site to find some more great articles on the BMX Lifestyle.