First attempt at motorsport photography - Wakefield Park

[Vodka]

Hi,

I attended a trackday organised by my old car club at Wakefield Park on the weekend. This was my first attempt at motorsport photography, and was the first time I gave my new lens a real workout. Boy, was it hard! Mucho Respecto to the guys on this board that consistently get sharp shots!

I had heaps of fun trying different settings to see what worked and what didn't. Lens was a 70-200VR + TC-17E, so I can't blame equipment for the (lack of) quality.

Here's a few that I was happy with (i.e. ones that were reasonably sharp). Flickr seems to have done a fine job of screwing with the colours.









A few more here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/benng/sets ... 963956625/

Any hints or tips on what I can improve would be much appreciated (especially techniques for panning). Thanks!

Ben

[Kyle]

Like the last one mate different take on wake

Is that silvia dale's car?

[Vodka]

Nope, someone else I haven't met before. Dale was there on the day though. Got a few shots of him that I didn't put up.

Ben

[bwhinnen]

Good start Ben. As you get used to the technique you will be able to lower the shutter speed to really emphasis the movement.

First one is great for a typical panning shot. Car has somewhere to go, has a bit of body roll.

Second is a little too tightly cropped, although the contrast and saturation is great. Don't know what happened to the red though...

Third is a good angle as well, almost lifting the rear wheel, sharp across the back. This one is either a) too tightly cropped or b) not cropped enough, you can use the cropping to emphasis the attitude of the car by giving the viewer the rear of the car only.

Fourth, love the angle, would love to see it exposed a little better, I feel there is more there that could really make the photo stand out.

Well done!

[Vodka]

Really appreciate the advice, Brett. Regarding shutter speed, I was using 1/200 at f/8 for most of the day, stopping up/down when the light changes. What shutter speed should I be aiming for to emphasize subject movement?

As for the other comments...

1st one - I positioned myself close to corner entries/exits where the cars were slower. This made panning a little easier. I was focusing on the front of the car. Should I be focusing more to the centre of the car (where the numbering is) for shots like these instead?

2nd one - Not sure what happened there. Flickr totally screwed up the red and added what looks like jpeg artifacts.

3rd one - regarding the cropping, I have a few where I zoomed in so that only the front + A-pillar was showing. I wasn't too sure if it "worked" or not, so didn't put it up. I guess the brakes were the main subject - was hoping for some glowing red discs.

4th one - lucky I shot in raw. I'll see if it has enough info to expose it a little more.

Again, thanks for the comments.

Ben

[Kyle]

I think the exposure on the last is great actually

I'd like to see a line of cars behind the mx5 on the front straight, but still shooting at the same angle and dof.
I think that would be awesome

[bwhinnen]

H Ben, Shutter speed will vary with your location on the track, the speed of the car and what you want to achieve with the shot. For them coming out of what looks to be a low speed corner I would drop the shutter down further. If you want to get them mid corner hitting the apex then look at bringing the shutter speed up a bit to help with crispness.

Front of the car is a good spot to focus (or rear if going away).

Glowing Brakes are a hard one, it really depends on the track, the race and the brake pad compound

[Raskill]

Nice images for a first time out (to say the least).

I think Brett and Kyle have covered anything I would say on the critique side of things.

Panning technique is something you will develop over time, there is no 'standard' panning technique, but heres some tips none the less.

Stand with your feet about shoulder width apart, this makes a nice stable platform to shoot with, and assists in a smooth rotation at the hips. Place your feet so you will take the picture square on to subject.

Keep your elbows tucked down near the body as much as possible. This helps get a smooth rotation. If you leave your elbows out, it's just one more thing to wave about.

Judge the speed that your subject is coming past you. I find it is useful to pan very slightly faster than the subject, but slow down, allowing the car (or whatever) to catch up. When this happens, your pan speed and vehicle speed should be in relation to each other. Take the picture.

Get used to pressing the shutter slowly and carefully. If you get to excited, you will push down on the shutter release to hard, and this will show in your image.

Once you have taken the picture, continue your panning motion until you reach the end of the arc. If you stop panning as soon as you take the image, you will find your will eventually stop before you take it, and ruin your shot.

Practice, practice and practice. I find that longer focal lengths are easier than shorter ones, because of the apparent speed with which you have to pan. I also try to use a shutter speed around 125 - 160.

Find a nice busy bit of highway and practice there. You may look like a weirdo, but it will help you to acquire, track and take a shot of your subject.

Hope this helps at least a little!

[Vodka]

I think the exposure on the last is great actually

I'd like to see a line of cars behind the mx5 on the front straight, but still shooting at the same angle and dof.
I think that would be awesome

I tried... but didn't quite get it right.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1173/885 ... de76_o.jpg

Raskill: Thank you for the valuable advice. I actually did think about a few of those points on the day - things like how I should be standing to allow for smooth panning. Tried different things to see what worked and what didn't. I'm definitely looking forward to the next trackday!

Ben

[michael_]

good stuff for your first go, in regards to the colour, it may be your photoshop settings if you used it or your camera, SRGB are (i have found) better for web and colours stay true, RGB i have found loses colour when posted on the web