epic lighting

 could be POD? But great picture, deffanatly somthing diffrent

 that really is the shit

 This picture is worthy of Mordor.

 BOOM. Awesome shot Eric. Another POD well earned!

 OMG....

WTF ??????

what have this picture special to be POD?

lol nice work PB


p.s i think is a nice pic, but dont deserv pod, sorry

 well; jesus is on his tail

 my only simple question: what the f*ck is that?? O.o

 I had 1 flash directly behind the rider (as well as 2 in front of him) to light up the dust of them coming around the corner. Initially I wasn't planning on having it in the shot, but tried it & liked what I saw. This guy was just behind someone else, so was way more dust than any of the other shots I got at this spot. Thanks for asking & not passing a stupid comment like everyone else who doesn't know what's going on.

 Your pictures have changed alot, i like this shot, the creative use of flashes is great, i hate seeing the equipment in the shot, but i like the added flair effect. It with the dust gives the rider and aura effect, i like to see this at a high-res i bet you it looks like the light is radiating off even the hair on his arms. and the gnarly trees of south africa defitely add a busyness that makes you focus on the rider, great shot congrats on POD Palmer. AGAIN! lol

 Thanks man!
Am also not a fan of flashes in shots, but the flair was too good to miss & the dust was so thick you couldn't see the actual flash or tripod so I was amped.
Aah man, I wish there weren't so many theives out there... would love to share the full res goodness of this one, there is so much you're mission out on.

 We're proud of you for cutting down & thanks for choosing this one as your special POD rant pic, I'm really touched. I'm glad your photographic & riding experience has got you such an important opinion that you felt the need to share it with us.

 395- maybe you just shouldn't post annything till you have something constructive to say, i will go on rants but they make sense and contribute, what DON'T you like about the picture?, i said why i liked about. "if somebody tells you something is better, it's usually just their opinion" be entitled to your opinion, but give some evidence of intelligence to your "contribution"

 nicely put.

 thank you for your explonation, now i got it! that white dust thing around the biker looks interesting. deserved to be pod!

 I do not understand the helmet of the rider... looks as if there was another helmet behind him...

 Anyone who says this shouldn't be POD should just keep their comments to themselves, you clearly have no idea what was put into this shot to get to this point. In most cases I would agree about a poor POD but not this photo, when DRAGAN gets the most props out of all comments, saying it shouldn't be POD I find myself a little bit pissed off.
This is something different to the usual run of the mill race photos photos, the dust difuses the flash epicly and I love the way the front wheel leads out the dust over the rock. Eric I would just ignore every negative comment here and keep doing what your doing because your lighting set ups are epic. Definately one of the best strobists on pb

 Thanks man & don't worry nothing any silly kid on here says would ever get me to stop shooting! Is sad that they can't enjoy good photos, says something about the intelligence of most of the guys here. Most ppl like shit shots of good riding, good old DRAGAN can hardly get the rider in the shot properly, let alone think of composition or lighting, so his opinion really doesn't mean much to me. A few of the photogs that I have some respect for on here are enjoying it & that's all I need to know.

 Woa, talk about rim lighting!? Jeese!

 This deserves POD in so many ways, great use of the lighting Mr Palmer.

 dragan gets the props thanks to a hilarious picture in his post.

 LOL

did not know that now in the PB i can give my opinion ...

sorry, if you not like ... not gonna say I like just to look pretty :/

that is a good pic, nice effect, nice skills for photograph I LIKE.. but i THINK this one not deserve POD... sorry mate

keep taking good photos PB community, Say Thank you

 Super unique, great shot. What is this "dust" you speak of? LOL

 brutal pic...

 Again its an Eric palmer special, you have to understand whats going on behind the pic (thought into flash placement etc) to appreciate the pic fully. Dont worry about the gringos dissing the pic as they cant come up with a DECENT critique.

I feel that people shouldnt complain about a picture thats POD unless they have taken one better themselves. i bet if they were to pic a picture it would be of some pro busting a massive tailwhip over an insanely big jump taken by a photographer who makes his money solely from attending events. i think its better to have down to earth riders riding for fun. Makes this more of a community forum.

right, back to revision.....

 time travel...

 props for the pic, but not pod worthy at all...

 this is amusing.

you're just backing yourself up.
if it were anyone elses photo, you wouldn't have given a rat's ass.
I expressed my opinion, woohoo, isn't that strange?
this box that I'm writing in right now?
THAT'S WHAT IT'S FOR!
it's called a "comment".


props don't mean shit to me, and neither do your comments.
did I ever say you should stop shooting?
it's a good picture, better than I could ever take, but there are still better out there.
I love your pictures (in fact, the majority of your pictures I think deserve POD!), but thanks to your rude, ignorant comments, I'm a little less impressed.

 ...... ok then...

 Thanks man! Really stoked on this one, summin different.

 Yeah for sure...Ive seen backlit before but this is soo much more amazing

 really something different, like it a lot, like Laurence allready mentioned, that´s a perfect use of backlit. Looks like he is coming out a black hole, hahaha! Perfect work on this eric!

 Thanks! Didn't think it would work quite so well. Thought I'd have to get the flash perfectly behind the rider, but the dust was so thick it was just like a big diffuser.

 dust...that's when mud dries out yeah....I remember that!

 Yeah Rob I also have memories of this 'dust' you describe , I seem to remember it was often abundant while there was this large yellow hot sphere in the sky.

 ^^ yeah my parents talk about those days, i am yet to experience it! Sweet photo, havnt seen that effect so intense before

 eric these are what pods are all about!!! obviously you put alot of time into this photo i say shit about alot of the pods that arent great pictures just good riding because thats not the point! as a aspiring photographer myself this is epic and rather inspirational photo so keep them coming i enjoy seeing these and learning more and getting ideas!!!

 PREPARE FOR WARP SPEED MR. SPOCK!

 its not hate, its an opinion, pity you can't deal with an opinion thats differs to yours, maybe google the word 'forum' and read the result.

 Thanks Robin!

 well man... all you gotta know is that this shot is perfectly composed (in my opinion of course). Saludos bro.

 Thanks man!
Is just dust tho, no special effects

 insert heavenly noise here.

 thanks man!
Have shot there before ages ago, but with my fish, so looks a bit different. Found a lil rock below the granite slab & had to do quite a bit of gardening to get a clear view through, but was def worth it!

 Thanks man, yeah. It's not Smittie, thought it was & PB isn't letting me change it.

 aah, wkd now.

 Thats Pieter. I don't know his surname though.

 Sweet shot Eric! Nice to see different angles and shots of the track and riders. Rider is Pieter Rossouw. Thanks for taking some sick pics over the weekend Eric

 Ba ha ha! God loves Mountain biking! Nuf said!

 Why thank you Mr. Benchwarmer sir!

 Thanks, was taken like that, I don't do any cut & paste shit with my action shits. Glad you like

 Thats pretty badass man! Keep up the great work!

 check the rest of my "Paarl DH" album, you may find one you prefer in there.

 Thanks man, pity most ppl don't have the knowledge to appreciate it, but all the good photographers do

 Actually I am NOT a good Photographer, or even a Photographer.
But! Since my Girl is both, I am able to understand the work behind a shot like this.

So:
Unless I would favor other Pictures before this one, there is absolutely NOTHING in this Picture that would not be POD worthy! A great creative work and, whats even more important, something I have not seen in this way before.
You see, even some non Photographers can appreciate the quality of your Shot!
It absolutely kicks ass!

(Just gave my props to some of the positive Comments)

 Glad you like it & can appreciate what's gone into getting it like that! I work my ass off to think of new different things to try to stand out from the crowd & to have kids that have no clue be so full of shit towards it is irritating, but the few that know whats going on make up for those silly comments, so thanks!

Uh, sorry. I wasn't very clear with my comment there. I didn't mean you had to be a good photographer to be able to appreciate it, rather meant that all the good photographers on here that I've been chatting to over the past few yrs had already given positive feedback.

 Luckily you can tell the guys with no fucking idea of what they are talking about from the way they write their comments. And by so far there was not so much real critique between a lot of funded props. And with this piece of work you really stand out, in a complete positive way!

 yeah, no effects or any alteration, just tiny contrast tweak & that's it.

 yes it could, it could be a blank sheet of white paper, that would be brighter

 Thanks Les!

 Hey, thanks. It's Pic Of the Day.

 lmfao, thats the way jesus should be

 eh... thanks, but keep ur fingers away from me.

 Pieter rides a Giant Glory, maybe that's the reason for the bright light!

 Giant Glory

 I just lit up the dust here too & your nanny sounds dope!

 I wish I had such a nanny when I was younger...

 thanks! I understand that I'm so talented with my camera I take such good shots ppl can't believe they are real & not manipulated.

 Hahahaha awesome! This is an insane shot. Cant believe guys are complaining, its so nice to see something original and fresh for a POD!

 yeah, some guys are just a*sholes that can't appreciate anything & complain about everything.
Glad you diggin it man!

 People generaly look for the bad first....it's not nice, but it's become human nature. So my dad was right: "If you don't have anything good to say, don't say it!"

 Yeah, those guys should just keep quiet. The problem is that you can put any pic as POD, there will always be some prick to say "photoshopped" or "not POD worthy". Guess their parents didn't bring them up properly.

 ok after looking at all your other photos and comparing them to this one i have come to the conclusion that...

this photo is legit.
please excuse my comment from above.
two reasons this is not photoshopped
First, it would take an incredibly long time to do that to all your pictures
and
Two, there was a lot of dust, it just seems very unlikely that a flash would work in the middle of the day.
I like your photos a lot.
No hard feelings ehh?

and for all you haters.
look at his other photos and see that HIS PHOTOS ARE NOT PHOTOSHOPPED

 Thanks for the apology man! Really appreciate it.
Glad you like my work too man... No worries, I save my hard feelings for women hahaha

 I hardly did anything to it... is just the lighting, but thanks

 its the devils sun mwhaha

 ok, so someone gets confused by a flash & some dust... who's the idiot now iridehorsecocks?

 dont have a hissy fit woman! it's an opinion, you know that thing that everyone is entitled to, if you have a problem with my opinion then it is you that is the idiot. get a life

 It's not an opinion, an opinion would have went "I think some one knows how to use photoshop" what you said was a statement, a statement with no proof or purpose. so here is my opinion, you shouldn't post any other useless banter until your IQ rises above your age and you learn to write something that is coherent. so there is my opinion, to quote you "if you have a problem with my opinion then it is you that is the idiot." , so is there a problem with my opinion?

 You know that an opinion can be given indirectly right? You don't always have to say "I think that..." If you went to school and had actually payed any attention at all you would know that. I have no problem with your opinion, and I never said that his opinion was wrong either.

 second of all (sorry guys i'm bored at work) Eric has said that this is pretty much untouched in photoshop, and anyone who works with camera's or photoshop knows that creating this picture would not be easy to do with either or both. what you see above is the work of a Pro and nothing more. so what do you guys get paid to do? is it sit infront of a computer and trash talk people who get paid to do what they want, sounds likea pretty sadistic and sad life to me, so get a new life.

 That is not an opinion I'm afraid. It is a statement about my image which is not true... an opinion is something that you have toward something you cannot prove. Like religion or a like & dislike. An opinion is: "I don't like this photo."
Saying that my pic is photoshopped is a statement, I can prove it isn't, therefore your statement is incorrect & I still find it funny that someone gets confused by a flash & some dust...
If you want to get owned even more pass another comment I can keep going if you like.

 an opinion can't be wrong. that's the weird thing about them, you can give evidence about your statements to provide proof to your opinion, such as reading and investigating, you know like the comments above yours, the one where palmer says he used shop just to tweak the contrast a bit. that is right from the horses mouth, so where is your proof it is shopped? can you see anycut lines? or shadowing errors? do you know what photoshop is? have you used photoshop? so although it is your opinion, it really doesn't hold any value simply because you don't know what your talking about, all the photographers on Pinkbike know this is an insane shot, and I THINK that is all Palmer needs to be satisfied with a POD.

 So what you are really saying is that my opinion is wrong, but when I call you on that you say that an opinion can't be wrong.... if you could please start making logical argument it would be really nice.

I really don't care whether there is any evidence that it IS or ISN'T photoshopped, TO ME IT LOOKS PHOTOSHOPPED. THAT IS MY OPINION. Was that clear enough or do I have to drive all the way to middle of nowhere Saskatoon to say it to your face?

By the way you are definetly the bigger, more mature 25 year old since you have turned this into an all out argument, despite the fact that you are completely illogical and have no valid arguments.

Go ride in a barley field and quite making somebody's opinion such a huge deal!

 I'd like to quote Mr. Palmer on this one because it is really quite rich,he said:

"Saying that my pic is photoshopped is a statement, I can prove it isn't, therefore your statement is incorrect"

So, because I gave my opinion (no it was not just a statement) about your photo which you obviously don't agree with I am instantly wrong? If you can't prove that your photo WAS NOT photoshopped then we are just supposed to believe that it ISN'T? If anything your lack of proof should indicate that it was indeed photoshopped.

Just to reiterate, an opinion DOES NOT have to contain the words "I think that..." an opinion can be given indirectly as well. The reason why you don't find scholarly essays filled with "I think that..." is because it is very unprofessional and it gets very repetitive.

Just because you don't agree with someone else's opinion it doesn't mean that you are automatically right and they are wrong.

 i'm not saying your opinion is completely faulted, i'm saying my opinion and your's differ and that mine is correct. of course we all believe our opinion is correct.

I have established why i don't believe your opinion is correct, and call me out for trashing your opinion but prove to me that i am wrong. if your truely believed what you said, there would of been some thought and logical reasoning behind it. other than basically... that's my opinion and shut up. i have told you why i don't think it is
the reasons i believe it is not shopped is, i have spoke with the person who took the shot, he said it isn't, and as a photographer it doens't look that processed.

You show a picture to a photographer and he says it's photoshopped i will probably take it seriously, but from a cyclist, not really a sure fire thing.

and what you said, "TO ME IT LOOKS PHOTOSHOPPED." is about the only time you made it clear that was your opinion and not a statement.

the difference between directly and indirectly voicing your opinion is making it sound like an opinion and not factual. If i said "you suck at biking" as an example.(seriously just an example, i have no doubt your probably a better rider than me...as i live in the prairies, and am really not that good lol ) but if someone was walking by they might look at you and think your a terrible biker even though it is just my opinion. and if you were a professional biker, you would probably take offense to that.

 and you can say what ever you want on here, one of the best and worst things about this site, but if you do say something that someone doesn't like, your probably gunna hear about it, and with asses like me IT'S MY OPINION isn't a good enough reason to say UNFACTUAL statements about something you don't know about, to someone you don't know, about someone you don't know.

feel free to say waht you want but be prepared to back it up, that is also a life lesson. and through all of your posts you still haven't answered any of my questions about your knoweledge of photography, or photoshop to prove your "opinion" is an educated at one.

so if you want to talk about valid arguements, i think i have established pretty well that i don't think is photoshopped, and why i don't. Can you do the same for why it is? probably not. know why? cause IT'S NOT.

 "If you want to get owned even more pass another comment I can keep going if you like."
Thanks for saving me the effort Mazekwon, although it's pointless after this:
"So what you are really saying is that my opinion is wrong, but when I call you on that you say that an opinion can't be wrong.... if you could please start making logical argument it would be really nice." I thought I was rather clear when I said his 1st comment was a statement & not an opinion & that is the entire reason he was wrong. If it was an opinion he couldn't be, but it's not, so he is. If he's too slow to get that I won't waste any more time on him. haha I love the interweb!

 I agree 100%, but Eric your a busy guy, and while your out busy taking sick pictures and what not. i am stuck in a boring office job where i get paid too much money so that i'll keep my mouth shut and not tell people off, and stick around and keep the sales high. so when i see that you have made a living doing what you enjoy doing, i think that you should keep doing more of that. and i hate what i am doing, so why not tell people off who are hating on what your doing. i got nothing better to do. lol

 You know what the amazing thing about an opinion is? It doesn't have to be justified, it's your own idea and it doesn't matter who disagrees with you or who agrees with you, it's your opinion and it doesn't need to be backed up.

And palmer, just because you say something is, for example, a statement and not an opinion it does not mean that you are right. If you would get your head out of your cocky little ass then you would realize that there are always going to be people that have a different opinion than yours, and it does not mean that your opinion is right. An opinion is never right nor can it be wrong. I admit that if this was my photo and I was a photography teacher as you claim you are I would also be trying to defend the honor (if you will please just humor me) of my hard work. I have no doubt that this shot took a lot of time and effort. Personally I am just getting into photography and admit that I have very little experience, but that does not mean that my opinion is wrong. What you are doing is making yourself look worse by blatantly telling someone else that their opinion is wrong.

 Ok, your 1st comment was a statement (& put in a shit way... was it necessary to put it the way you did? "...big deal"), but the 2nd was an opinion. Find an English teacher to argue that out with if you like. I have no problem with you thinking it looks photoshopped, but the actual fact is that it isn't. I'm not cocky to mature people that can type their opinion without coming across like a stuck up dick (read your 1st comment again & think on how you'd reply to it).
Once again I never said your opinion was wrong, just your statement. If that makes me look bad, well, I guess I'm looking bad now... too bad. We're going in circles & am not really keen on going on about this anymore, I've made my point & so have you, so lets just leave it now. Thanks.

 Sorry Eric but i have to add

rule no.3:
3. add and explain constructive criticism for the video/photo/article/product/story

ironhorse you agreed to these terms when you signed up for pinkbike please follow them.

'You know what the amazing thing about an opinion is? It doesn't have to be justified, it's your own idea and it doesn't matter who disagrees with you or who agrees with you, it's your opinion and it doesn't need to be backed up.'

that is an out and your acting like a little bitch about it simply because you can't back it up with anything except forr the same ole "MY OPINION IS MY OPINION AND IT'S DIFFERENT BUT JUST AS IMPORTANT BECAUSE MOMMY SAYS SO" rig-a-ma-role

grow up look past your nose and admit you were wrong.

 Wow. I love how you are so mature and have nothing better to add than a rule and tell me that my mommy says my opinion is right and that is the only reason I am saying this. By the way, you two are definitely adding constructive criticism by attacking EVERY SINGLE person who has thought that this picture is photoshopped. All this for what? Because someone's opinion is different? Really, you should know better than that.

Oh and Palmer I did read through all the comments and not too far above you did admit that it was a bit photoshopped, which is not the same thing as not photoshopped.

Mazekwon, you realize that you accusing me of using that argument as an out is actually you deflecting away from the fact that I am speaking the truth right?

 the truth usually has you know, some type of proof or evidence, of which you have none.

 I meant truth as in "an opinion can never be right or wrong". Honestly I don't care whether it is photoshopped or not, in my opinion it looks photoshopped. I am amazed that this is not photoshopped, yes Palmer I believe you and congrats on the shot. I admit that it was disrespectful of me to label it as photoshopped.