Shooting at the Grand Prix - Any Tips

[pilot_pik]

Hi everyone,

I'm lucky enough to be going to the Barcelona Grand Prix later this year and I'm keen to bag some top notch shots, I'm a new comer to all things photography and would best be described as a keen self-improver.

Any top tips on how to get the best from my kit would be much appreciated. I'll be taking:

My Nikon D90 DSLR Body
My kit lenses, a NIKKOR 18-105mm 1:3.5-5.6G VR
A NIKKOR 70-300mm 1:4.5-5.6 VR Telephoto
an SB-800 Flash.

I'm probably also going to invest in a Mono-pod rather than lug around a tripod all weekend.

So any thoughts on ideal settings to try out or techniques would be much appreciated and I'll post the results back on here in May.

Thanks in advance.

[chris-p]

If it was me it'd be the 70-300 using as fast a shutter speed as possible to freeze the action. I've not shot F1 so I don't know exactly but I'd be aiming for 1/1000 to start with and adjust based on how they came out.

Also worth having a go at some panning shots.

Really depends on how close to the track you get. If you're in the stands you'll probably find that 300mm might be a little short.

[pilot_pik]

Thanks Chris.

I'm aiming to get as close to the track as possible, I'm only have the lenses described. I cant afford something better, even rental seems really expensive , I'd need to hire for 5 days and i could buy another lens for what that would cost.

At the risk of sounding really dumb, what's a panning shot? Also I've been looking at some of the shots on the F1 groups on Flickr, I take it I could note some of the settings for pics I like and try them even if they apply to a picture taken on a Canon?
Thx

[chris-p]

Panning is the technique of moving the camera when you shoot so that the car stays sharp but the background behind it blurs.

A quick example:


Not mine, I hasten to add. Just the first thing that popped up on Google!

There is a tutorial here

You can always use the same settings that someone else has used before (like from EXIF data on Flickr) but they won't work perfectly if the light levels are different or the sun is in a different place. They will be a good starting point though.

What I would do is put the camera in shutter priority mode (S on your mode dial) and select something thats in the same sort of range as the photos you've seen on Flickr. The camera will select the aperture to match (and possibly the ISO depending on your settings).
Then take some test shots and see how the come out. If the car is blurring, use a shorter shutter speed.

[anglefire]

If the cars are coming straight at you (Out of a bend etc) then get the shutter speed up. Say between 1/1000 and 1/4000

If the cars are coming left to right or right to left past you, then you need to pan - high shutter speed or not.

Principle is that you follow the car as it comes past, squeezing the shutter (Have it in continuous fire) as it comes past. Keep the camera moving at the same speed as the car is going. Depending on how fast the cars are going, then, to get the background to blur out and the car sharp, the shutter speed will need to be fairly slow. I would recommend starting at say 1/1000 and bring it down. If the cars are doing around 100mph, then depending how close you are, the shutter could be as low as 1/50" (But don't expect many keepers!)

The biggest problem you will have I expect is the catch fencing. It could really **** you up!

[pavman]

As a first timer taking F1 racing cars, the biggest challenge you will face is keeping the cars in the frame and getting the image you wanted to capture. these cars move very very quickly.as stated by chris if you want to stop the action high shutter speeds will be required and the cars may look like this no movement so the car looks "parked"


with panning you will need slower shutter speeds and it will look like this.
you can see that the background is blurred and you can get a sense of speed in the wheels and the looks like it is moving. suggest you get as much practice in regarding the panning technique, go to a busy street and practice on cars / bikes just to get the hang of the panning technique

[pavman]

here's a F1 car taken at Silverstone on a testing day not many people attend these days but I find it provides me with an opportunity to practice my panning technique, where as on race day 100,000 people attend and good photo opportunities are limited and the pros get the best pitches (and rightly so) I would love to take photos inside of the safety fences,the only circuit I am aware of where you can get very close to the cars is at Driuds corner Brands Hatch.I attend smaller racing events at Brands and Thruxton where you can move fairly freely around the circuit to find a good pitch to shoot from. I am attending testing day at Barcelona on 27 Feb with 3 mates and whilst you are limited to where you can go on the circuit it still provides good vantage points to take your photos from. Most of the teams do about 80 to 100 laps per car so plenty of opportunities

[anglefire]

The other place I know of that you get un-interupted views is Mallory Park.

I've picked the first shot as you can see the barrier!

You can also see the background is bluring out a bit, despite being a 1/200" shutter speed - the closer you are, the faster the shutter can be and still get motion.



The second shot was at 28mm and 1/160"

[pavman]

would love to go to Mallory Park but just over 2 hours drive from where i am Thruxton and Brands Hatch both within 75 to 90 mins from my location, maybe one day!

[anglefire]

Funny that, cos I fancy going to Brans and perhaps thruxton!