Bob Rigby Photographic Ltd

[Andy Boardman]

Hi all, Andy here from Bob Rigby's in Bollington, Cheshire. We have been around for 26 years this year.We are a family run business & the team is made up by Gary, Simon, Bob, Sharon & myself.
We supply professional photographic equipment including Canon, Nikon & Fuji to name a few & are the UK distributors for Wimberley gimbal heads & Acratech ballheads.We keep a vast range of products in stock and also supply studio lighting for Bowens & Elinchrom & are able to supply & fit Bowens Hi-Glide tracking.We do deal in used equipment & we cover all types of photography from traditional to digital including Apple computers & Epson printers.We offer on site a limited large format printing service on Fuji paper in gloss or pearl finish.
If we can help you out in anyway with products or information please do not hesitate to contact us & we alway try our best to sort you out.
Regards
Andy

 

[Pete Askew]

Welcome to the forum Andy. Glad to hear that Bob Rigby is still going strong. I'm sure you'll enjoy the forum and hopefully some of us will pay you a visit!

 

[Andy Boardman]

Thanks Pete, we look forward to helping you out in the future if we can.
Andy

 

[Hamish Gill]

Hi Andy, welcome to the forum!
So lets see some of this "vintage motocross & superbikes" photography then
Sounds interesting, and its nice to have a trade member who does photography out side of work ...

... Ive dropped you in it now havent I ... no pressure to post any photos of course!

Hamish

 

[Andy Boardman]

Will try & sort some out then & post them up, promise not to be to brutal on them LOL.

 

[Hamish Gill]

Andy, we are the single most accepting forum on the internet of peoples photography!
Any criticism is always entirely constructive and very polite... you have nothing to worry about on that front ... especially if you do it on an official basis!

 

[Andy Boardman]

personal site

Regards the shots , you can have a look at a small selection on my personal website which is at www.twinshockpictures.com where there is a selection of images but in a small resolution size due to website so not as sharp as the originals I send out.Hope you like it, I have a new site under construction at present & hope to launch that very soon when tweaked a bit more.

 

[Andy Boardman]

Here are a few low res examples of the shots I do, let me know what you all think !

 

[Hamish Gill]

Great shots mate!
the first one is great, with the chap at an angle in the air!
Id love to have a go at motocross photography, do you ever get covered in mud?
do you know Apex at worcester, do they let random people just go and take photos?

 

[Andy Boardman]

Covered in mud all the time if it is wet LOL Bought a rain cover for the camera a few years ago so covered on that score.Not been to APEX but at most tracks you can get close enough to get good shots, I do get trackside as have passes so a lot of my shots are taken at the 35mm setting on my zoom & also use the 17-40 a lot at the wide side to.You ought to go along and have a go, it is great fun.
Thanks for the comments as well.
Cheers
Andy

 

[Hamish Gill]

You shoot canon then?

Yeah, I keep thinking i should go up...
My biological father does a bit motocross, although i think he is starting to get a bit old for it really from what he tells me ...

so how close could i get without some sort of pass?

 

[Andy Boardman]

Yep Canon for mt sins LOL might change to Nikon one day when funds allow.At most tracks you can get very close ie 10 ft away in places so no massive lenses required as would be the case at say Silverstone were a 600 plus 1.4 converter would be the norm.

 

[Hamish Gill]

So what camera do you use then ... The weather seals of the nikon kit might do you some favours with all that mud
Funny you say that about silverstone, i struggled to use anything longer than 200mm last time i was there, but i suppose it depends where about you go ...

 

[Andy Boardman]

I use a 40D with a 35-350 L 17-40 L and thats about it,I was talking about the bikes at Silverstone to fill the frame my mate does it full time & that was what he had to set up in film days gone digital now so can loose the 1.4 converter.
Some parts of Oulton Park (my local track) I was OK at 200mm end but other parts had to use the 350mm end.

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Andy - welcome to the forum, great to see both trade and personal input.

I used to shoot at the tracks you mention - ah, happy memories

Bikes need that much more tele reach than cars to fill the frame - not a cheap pastime!

 

[Hamish Gill]

Ah yeah, I suppose a bike is smaller ...
Must see if I can wing another trip to a race ... A mate of mine builds motor sport beemers for a living...
Been to a few 24hr races with him, lots of photos to be had ...
I guess it also depends on style and experience, I was there with little experience and did a lot of shooting through fences ...
With experience I bet there are locations where better shots can be had without shooting through fences ...
I'd dread to think how hard panning photos of bikes would be with lenses that long with a film camera without vr ... I have the upmost respect for motor spot photogs who started out with film! I struggled with shot tele and vr!!

 

[Andy Boardman]

None of my lenses are IS/VR as I do not belive in it, something else to go wrong & we have had lenses in for repair where the small pins that hold it in place have snapped, very very expensive to put right.Also had a 100-400 in as the background was double imaged ?? A search on the web sorted the problem, remove filter & turn IS off, did the trick & the customer is now happy but angry as he has paid for something that does not work 100%.Good technique rather than gizzmos on lenses is the answer.

 

[Hamish Gill]

Was that not just the filter ...
I actually agree with you to a point ... When I was in the shop we would often say to people "don't buy a tv with built in DVD it's more to go wrong" (they sell tvs as well as cameras)
And I definitely agree that learning the technique is more important than relying on tech ... In fact a really would say that is one of the things I want this place to stand for!

But VR is very useful! I have just bought the Nikon 16-35 f/4 vr ... The VR allows hand held use to very long shutter speeds with little thought! Now I know that people will say breathing techniques etc should be learned blah blah, but we have got to a stage where photography and technology allows for very quick shooting. Stopping to breath and compose your self can sometimes take to long!

The same goes for many of the modern features on cameras. (I'm gonna sound a bit like Larry here - he will no doubt comment too if he sees this) The auto iso feature on my d3 is wonderful for quick shooting without thought to settings ... I wouldn't condone it's use before understanding what iso is and how it relates to shutter speed etc... But once the knowledge is there, using features that make a job easier is really just common sense if you ask me!

As for image quality of vr/is lenses ... It is often sensible to switch it off if using a tripod, and using filters is a no go in my books anyway, but beyond that I've not had any real issues with my vr lenses ... Even the cheap Nikon 18-55 is a good performer in terms of vr!

But like I say, I do agree with you on the "something else to go wrong bit" ... But I shoot with a d3 ... There is about 1,000,000 things that could go wrong in there ... For me, one more thing, that arguably improves my photography, is not an issue for me personally!

 

[Andy Boardman]

No it was deffo linked to the IS as well, the filter was a very expesive Hoya to.It seems the IS was still working when the shutter was open so caused a double image as moving when the shot was being exposed.The lens was not faulty from Canons point of view either as it was fully working acording to them & no fault found.
I still look at it as a gizzmo to sell lenses & not a required item, it also adds on a fair few quid to the price of the lens.Ansel Adams never had it so it can not be needed that much LOL
Some of you will love it I am sure but is that because you have it in the lens & feel the need to like it??

 

[Chris Dodkin]

I've heard that the 100-400 doesn't like filters - seems very odd, but there you go

I've seen sports photogs say they leave IS off, as the image takes longer to settle for them when shooting high speed / high frame rate.

For most sports IS is not a requirement, because you're shooting high shutter speeds to freeze the action any way - I think this is an area where the technology is being 'sold', but may not really be needed.

Now if you're shooting birds in flight in low light, then you live or die by your IS - different ball game completely.

I've yet to buy an IS lens - my 300 and 600 are both non-IS, and I don't have any issues getting the shots I want.

Plus, I'm a tight git and just won't pay the extra!