First attempt at Motorsport Photography

[davewebleyphotography]

Hi All,

This is my first attempt at motorsport photography. I varied the shutter speed to emphasise the speed in some of the photos. Let me know what you think and where I can improve as I have never done this sort of thing before.

All pictures were taken at a race meet at Castle Combe.

Camera - Canon 60D
Lens - Canon 7-200 f4 L IS

ISO 100, f5.6, 1/400


ISO 100, f5.6, 1/640


ISO 100, f5.6, 1/320


ISO 100, f5.6, 1/400


ISO 100, f5.6, 1/320


Dave

[wildcard]

Great panning on the third shot and good choice of shutter speed for background blur, although the angle is a bit extreme for me. It's very difficult to maintain a sense of movement when the cars are coming towards you so they don't look as though they are standing still - much easier with side to side panning shots. As you have realised the slower the shutter speed the greater the feeling of movement (background and wheel spoke blur) but the correspondingly more difficult it is to pan smoothly enough to maintain a sharp subject.

[Stargate 01]

Hi Dave, out of them all I also like the third one. The angle on this one I really like, it's different and it makes a nice change from all the other straight on ones, I think that it adds to the atmosphere and drama of the situation/time and place it was taken. Well done for ur first time..........

[Stargate 01]

Also may I say that, ur last one is a wee bit off putting because of the spectators in the background, especially the one wearing the red top. He kind of takes ur focus away from the cars, maybe a slight crop to the top of the wall might improve the shot slightly....

What do u or anybody else think for that matter..............

[davewebleyphotography]

Originally Posted by Stargate 01

Also may I say that, ur last one is a wee bit off putting because of the spectators in the background, especially the one wearing the red top. He kind of takes ur focus away from the cars, maybe a slight crop to the top of the wall might improve the shot slightly....

What do u or anybody else think for that matter..............

Thanks for the comments, its funny until you mentioned it I hadn't really notcied the guy in the red top, now its all I see!

I am going back to Castle Combe in a few weeks so I hope to improve on my first outing.

Dave

[Stargate 01]

Don't get me wrong Dave, they're good shots, especially for ur first attempt and I probably couldn't do any better myself, as a matter of fact mine would probably end up alot worse..... Also considering that my camera hasn't been out of the bag for over a year due to sickness, which I'll not delve into, but thankfully I'm on the mend(and starting to get the will to live back) I would be lucky remembering how it works or even how to turn it on lol...............

[davewebleyphotography]

Originally Posted by Stargate 01

Don't get me wrong Dave, they're good shots, especially for ur first attempt and I probably couldn't do any better myself, as a matter of fact mine would probably end up alot worse..... Also considering that my camera hasn't been out of the bag for over a year due to sickness, which I'll not delve into, but thankfully I'm on the mend(and starting to get the will to live back) I would be lucky remembering how it works or even how to turn it on lol...............

I sympathise with your situation I was seriously ill over winter and went through 6 months of intensive chemotherapy. Since being placed in remission getting back into my photography has given me something to focus on. I can tell you its really helped!

All the best.

Dave

[Stargate 01]

I'm glad to hear that you're doing better Dave, all I can say is KEEP FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT and a quote from one of my favorite martial arts films "No Retreat, No Surrender" and the film is also called this.......