Capturing a quality photograph is difficult. Capturing a truly excellent shot of a moving target that’s as fast as a mountain biker… now that can be extremely difficult!

So check out this blog post, and enjoy all of the labor that these photographers have put into their art:

“Riding at the foot of the mighty Beaverhead Mountains. Disco Hill, Salmon, ID.”  Photo: chukt.

“How skinny is skinny?” Trail: Joyride 150 Indoor Bike Park, Ontario. Self Portrait: element22.

“Night lap during 12 Hour Endurance Race at Amelia Earhart Park in South Florida.”  Photo: Eric Norris.

“Mountain biking in Lesotho, southern Africa.”  Photo: holloppy.

Trail: Macerto, Visso (mc), Italy.  Photo: barbonis.

“Tire tracks through ice crystals on one of the coldest days of the year.” Trail: Bull Mountain, Dahlonega, GA.  Photo: mtbgreg1.

“Breath taking views, vivid colors, and rocky singletrack makes Monarch Pass a true epic trail.”  Photo: stumpyfsr.

Your Turn: Which photo did you think was the most scenic?

Check out these seven great featured photos from last week:

“Bob_the_builder Railing it on my bike…” Photo: element22. Rider: Bob_the_Builder.

“Old sign for the Big Lake Creek Trail…the CDT is behind you.” Trail: Sheep Creek, Idaho. Photo: chukt.

Photo: element22.

Photo: Durango Devo.

“Claudio getting some air.” Photo: element22.

“Deschutes River Trail near Bend, Oregon today (12/20/11).” Photo: Ina McLean.

Doncaster, UK. Photo: Gavin Morgan.

Your turn: Which photo was your favorite from this week?

Without further ado, here are the first Photos of the Day for 2012. Jerry Hazard starts us off with a bang:

Self Portrait, somewhere in New Mexico. Photo: Jerry Hazard.

About to drop into the Dyke Trail, Crested Butte, Colorado. Photo: mtbgreg1. Be sure to read the blog post about this trail!

Trail: Seven Springs Resort, Pennsylvania. Photo partially credited to element22. Photo: chrispaulcx.

“Running away from the coming rain.” Trail: Buffalo Creek, CO. Photo: stumpyfsr.

“Who says there is no Mountain Biking in FL?? Located at Hailes Trails in Gainesville, FL.” Photo: Eric Norris.

Photo: element22.

“With a smile of determination an unidentified rider nears the Start/Finish line in the 2010 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo MTB Race, Tucson, AZ.”  Photo: Daniel Christianson.

We want to know: What do YOU think makes a quality PoD? What factors make a photo worthy of being spotlighted?

Many thanks to all of the great photographers that contributed to last week’s POD display! Think you have what it takes to make Photo of the Day? Submit your shot here!

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory/Devo Sweet Elite. Photo: Durango Devo.

Ripping the Enduro Loop, Disco Hill, Salmon, ID. Photo: chukt

Trail: White Rim, Moab, Utah. Photo: Luke_E

Photo: element22.

“zig zag.” Trail: Hartwood Acres, Pittsburgh, PA. Photo: moorhead14.

Rider: Christian Robertson. Trail: Timeline, Evolution Bike Park, Crested Butte Mountain Resort, Colorado. Photo: mtbgreg1.

“Late season on the Rippey Loop. Salmon, ID.” Photo: chukt.

What was your favorite POD from this week?

In case you’ve missed any of them, here’s our eclectic line up of featured photos from this past week:

Photo: element22.

“Playing around in the park at Bromont.” Photo: chrispaulcx.

“Firebreak Tr.” Trail: Harbison State Forest, Columbia, SC. Photo: jaybird57.

“Late season Disco Hill session, Salmon, ID.” Photo: chukt.

Trail: Slickrock, Moab, Utah. Photo: durangomtbiketours.

 ”Krista Park, pro rider and recent nominee to the US MTB Olympic Team, making everything look easy in the ’10 White Tank Whirlwind.” Trail: White Tanks, Phoenix, AZ. Photo: Daniel Christianson.

“Almost a mile of descending down to the mighty Salmon River! Stein Mountain, North Fork, ID.” Photo: chukt.

Your turn: Think you can shoot better photos than these? Submit them here, and maybe you’ll see them featured here on Singletracks soon!

What a killer week of PODs! From great work by photographer Chris Martin, a couple of epic photos by chukt, some race shots by Garvin Handley, an XC guy getting airborne thanks to Durango Devo, and finally a lady laying the smack down on a group of guys, thanks to Daniel Christianson’s photo skills… yeah, it has been a big week!

In case you missed any, be sure to check out the past 7 PODs below:

Sheer concentration while shredding urban trails during a Singletracks.com photo/video shoot. Rider: mtbgreg1 (Greg Heil). Bystander: trek7k (Jeff Barber). Photo: Chris Martin.

Max finds a shortcut to the Salmon River, Salmon, ID. Photo: chukt.

Baker’s Dozen endurance race, Lick Fork, SC. Rider: trek7k. Photo: Garvin Handley.

The River Loop, Disco Hill, Salmon, ID. Photo: chukt.

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory/Devo Sweet Elite Team. Photo: Durango Devo.

Racing in the Baker’s Dozen endurance race at Lick Fork, South Carolina. Rider: mtbgreg. Photo: Garvin Handley.

An unidentified young lady schools a group of riders on climbing switchbacks in the White Tank Whirlwind @ White Tanks, Phoenix, AZ. Photo: Daniel Christianson.

Your Turn: I know it’s a tough choice, but what was your favorite photo this week?

Many thanks to all of the skilled photographers that submitted the photos featured this week! Just look at this beautiful, eclectic arrangement of mountain bike photos from all corners of the nation and all aspects of the sport:

“Buffalo Creek, CO Sunset.” Photo: Todd Culter.

Trail: Seven Springs, PA. Photo: element22.

“Evening fades on a pair of riders in the 2010 24 hours in the Old Pueblo, Tucson, AZ.” Photo: Daniel Christianson.

Trail: Strand Hill, Crested Butte, Colorado. Photo: mtbgreg1.

Rider: Daniel Christianson. Trail: Sweetwater Preserve, Tucson, AZ. Photo: Daniel Christianson.

Rider: mtbgreg1. Trail: Quehl Holler, Blankets Creek in Woodstock, Georgia. Photo: GoldenGoose.

Rider heading towards Devil’s Pass on the Resurrection Trail, AK during the 2011 Soggy Bottom 100. Listed as one of the top 100 most grueling events on the planet. Photo: Daniel Christianson.

Your turn: Which photo resonates with you the most? Why?

We’ve had a very cross-country-oriented week over on the MTB POD page! With locations including Utah, Missouri, Idaho, U.P. of Michigan, Georgia, and Mexico, we’ve got a great sampling of photos from all over North America! All we need are more Canadian shots…

Photo: Daniel Christianson (AK_Dan). Trail: Thunder Mountain, Utah.

Tall Oaks 6 hour challenge in Jefferson City, Mo. Trail: Binder Lake. Photo: Nicole Stacey.

Rolling in to 3000′ of descending. Warm Springs Ridge, Sula, MT. Photo: chukt.

Trail: Copper Harbor Trails, Copper Harbor, U.P. of Michigan. Photo: ukraine.

Caon del Paraiso, Mexico. Rider: Delfino Palacios.  Photo: Andrea Francavilla.

Slickrock Trail, Moab, UT. Photo: DurangoMtBikeTours.

“Action shot of mudhunny screaming down the trail.” Photo: trek7k. Rider: mudhunny. Trail: Morningside Nature Preserve, Atlanta, GA.

Which was your favorite POD this week?

According to a recent poll that we ran on the Singletracks Facebook Page, fall is by far the riding season of choice! The temps are cool, the singletrack is running hard and fast, the trees display radiant colors, and the lights come out in force… yes, fall was made for mountain biking!

In honor of this gorgeous season, we present to you 10 radiant fall mountain bike photos that were recently featured as PODs:

Photo: ricknorman.

 Colorado Trail, Kenosha Pass. Photo: Colin1983.

Fall colors along the Bizz Johnson Trail, Susanville, CA. Photo: Daniel Christianson.

 Colorado Trail, Kenosha Pass. Photo: Colin1983.

Jerry Hazard, self portrait – Dirt Jumps at Fort Lewis College, Durango Colorado. First time “Dirt Jumping” in over a decade!

“Getting some serious air!” Photo: element22.

Photo: comacruz.

Chasing Daylight, chasing summer… Self portrait behind the house after work today… Photo: Jerry Hazard.

Trail: Bull Mountain, Dahlonega, Georgia. Photo: mtbgreg1.

“Kevin wanting to jump the rest of the skinny.” Trail: Kelso, Milton, Ontario. Photo: element22.

Your Turn:  Have a gorgeous fall mountain bike photo? We’d love to see it, and potentially feature it as a POD! Head on over to the Photo of the Day page and submit it!

We have had a stunning group of pictures submitted over the past two weeks, and here are the seven that were chosen as MTB Photos of the Day this week.

Photo: comacruz.

“My Buddy Chris flying above me” Photo: element22. Rider: Chris

“This photo is from Tall Oaks 6 hour challenge in Jefferson City, Missouri.” Trail: Binder Lake, Missouri. Photo: Nicole Stacey.

Rider: Andrew K. Photo: mtbgreg1. Trail: Trail 401, Crested Butte, CO.

Photo: simongauthier. Trail: Thunder Mountain, Red Canyon, Utah.

Jerry Hazard: “Self portrait at some local DJ’s in Durango.”

Photo: Collin1983. Trail: Colorado Trail, Kenosha Pass.

Looking for some tips on how to produce excellent mountain bike photographs? Check out this interview with mountain bike photographer Tommy Chandler for some ideas!

Your turn:

Which is your favorite POD from this week?

Hey guys, we are proud to announce the roll-out of a brand-new feature on Singletracks.com: the Mountain Bike Photo of the Day!

Each day we’ll select a quality mountain bike photograph to feature as our POD. The POD will be posted to the dedicated Photo of the Day Page and to the Singletracks.com Facebook page. Each week we’ll also publish a blog post with the best photos from the previous week and you can view all the past photos of the day in the gallery.

Today’s photo of the day! Rider: Christian Robertson. Photo: Greg Heil. Trail: Timeline, Evolution Bike Park, Crested Butte Mountain Resort, CO.

In short, if you love taking mountain bike photos, this is a great way to get your photography recognized! We’re also allowing everyone who submits a photo to include a link to their personal blog or website in the photo credit. So not only are you getting your name out there, but you’re spreading the link to your website around too.

How is the POD selected?

There is no single factor that determines which photos will be selected for POD. Some photos have certain defining factors that make them desirable, and other photos have very different factors. However, here are a few key guidelines:

• Most of the PODs feature someone actually riding a mountain bike, and absolutely all of them will relate to mountain biking in some way. However, having a rider in your shot is not absolutely necessary if you do an excellent job on one of the next points.
• Your photo has a much better chance of getting selected if it makes good use of basic artistic elements. Some of these elements include composition, lighting, and color.
• Another way to help your photo stand out is to have the image tell a story. Since this is mountain biking, it isn’t absolutely necessary – pure action shots are totally fine. But telling a story with your photograph can definitely help it stand out above the rest.
• All photos selected will be at least 900 pixels along their longest side.

Finally, we want to be clear that you don’t have to be a professional photographer to have your image featured as POD… you don’t even need to own a professional-grade camera. If you enjoy taking photos with your point-and-shoot and you think you have a couple of great images, we would love to see them! While we won’t be featuring just any old snapshot, the bar isn’t set so high that only the elite can reach it.

Get Started

So get started submitting photos: upload them to the Singletracks database as you normally would, use the upload form on the POD page, or post them to the Singletracks Facebook wall to get your submissions a little extra attention. You can also submit photos via email to pod@singletracks.com – just be sure to include the photographer’s name, a link (optional), and a caption.

We want to see your photographs, and we want to share them with the world!

More information is available on the POD FAQ page. If you have a question that the FAQ page doesn’t answer,  feel free to ask it in the comments section below!

Kona is sponsoring their 3rd Annual Shoot the Ride Photo contest and they’re giving away $700 in Kona store credits to the top 3 photogs! The contest is pretty simple: email your “tightly edited photo” to photos@konaworld.com and in May they’ll announce the winners. Clearly the shotgun approach to MTB photography won’t work here – pick your shots like a sniper for a serious chance at winning. Get the contest deets here.