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F1 race in Montreal this weekend


michael_sinopoli

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I will be going to the Formula One race in Montreal this weekend for the fist

time. I bought several rolls of 800 ISO Fujicolor X-TRA thinking that would be

a good choice for reproducing the colors of the cars as well as a good ISO but

then looking through a book in a book store on shooting racing events, a

majority of the pictures that were listed in the book were shot from a digital

camera at 200 ISO. Should I be using 800 or something lower like 200 or 400

ISO?

 

Also, could anyone suggest a good location to shoot from at the track? I have

a 35mm EOS 3 and a 70-200 2.8L. That's the biggest lens I have. I just moved

and I am trying to find my 2x extender but I can't find the box that it is in.

 

Thanks for any info.

Michael

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I think 200 at this time of year is sufficient, 400 if you are at all nervous about the sppeds you can get. 70-200 maybe enough, if you can get to a bend where the spectators are close to the track. The best source of information are normally the motorsport websites. TV priority at 1/500 will catch the action and leave a little movement in the tyres. While I'm no expert at panning ...my achilles heel I would say, something like 1/125 gives you a reasonable result, if like me you want to fudge it....remember to turn the stabiliser off if your lens has it. And try and get some good crowd/grid shots as without a press pass it's tough getting acceptable racing images I would say.<div>00H32F-30767984.jpg.341aae9cfa6b0f18ea50eeb3ebc910c7.jpg</div>
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Find the 2x!

 

 

There are previous posts here about the Montreal Grand Prix that I have commented in. With just the f2.8 zoom and full sun 100 ISO is plenty. With the 2x and full sun 400 ISO would be plenty. If it gets overcast the 800 will certainly come in handy if you find that converter.

 

 

It has been a long time since I have been to the Montreal GP but I assume that general admission still has very limited access to the track with the two best turns unavailable. Are you going general admission or do you have grandstand seats?

 

 

I prefer shooting at slow corners to take pictures of the cars coming at me head on or panning as they go by. The hairpin is best but its alot of fun watching the race from the tight corner shortly after the starting grid as well.

 

 

I used to shoot there with a 200/2.8 and 2x converter and Kodachrome 64 with excellent results but only a few shots per roll. I would definitely try Kodak E100VS with your f2.8 lens and you may even get some decent shots with this film and your 2x, depending on the light. Now I shoot primarily at Mosport with a 400/2.8.

 

 

Be aware of where the sun is while you are shooting so the primary side of the car is not in shadow.

 

 

Be sure to check out Crescent Street while you are in Montreal. Have a great week-end! I am extremely jealous.

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Thanks guys for your input.

 

I rented a Sigma EX 2x converter for $45 USD and used it with my 70-200mm. I was able to get grandstand seats right near the 2nd hairpin turn, which is about 3/4 around the track. The seating was a bit tight so I wasn't able to shoot as many different angles as I would have liked without violating the persons space next to me. I ended up bringing a few rolls of 200 and Fuji velvia 50. There was plenty of sun so I used the Velvia. I didn't get the pictures developed yet so I don't know how they came out.

 

I have gone to several Indy CART races and have had access to the paddock. I was expecting to get into the paddock at this race but from what I was told F1 doesn't let you in the paddock unless you give them a lot of money for a pass. Which brings me to my next question, how does one get a press pass to "go anywhere" at a race? The F1 race that I was just at was packed with people and from what I saw, trying to get anywhere half decent to shot from I you would have to displace many people.

 

Thanks for your help.

Michael

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Michael,

 

Although this is a bit late, shooting the 800 speed C-41 film at 400 to 500 will give you extra punch; and in fact I would shoot it at 640 for any use, as it wil "clean up" any manufacturer's variations in tolerance down in the toe.

 

[since I process my own E-6 & C-41 film, I expose at box speed and extend the time from 3:45 to 4:05 to do the same thing.]

 

-----------

 

Q: How do you separate Bernie Ecclestone from Max Mosley?

 

A: With a crowbar!

 

-----------

 

As for the Bernie-Max show, forget getting credentials, at least from the track: The track promotors are only allowed 12 photo, 12 media (journalist) and 12 radio credentials. Both WIBC-1070 AM and RaceFax' Forrest Bond has repeatedly documented the problems experienced by the media in covering the US Grand Prix: The Speedway has a tremendous PR machine; but they are severly handicapped by Bernie-Max' arbitrary restrictions.

 

[by the way, WIBC has been carrying every Brickyard 400, and every Indy 500 since 1939... And they were BITTERLY complaining on the broadcast about them being BARELY able to cover the USGP.]

 

[And, as Forrest Bond and Horace Hicks of RaceFax found out, if you DARE criticize Max and/or Bernie -- Like repeating their contradictory statements to expose their chicanery and outright lies -- they will revoke your credentials... To which I reply: "Go, GPMA!"]

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  • 3 weeks later...

I am sorry I didn't see this post earlier. I have a pretty good knowledge of the circuit having shot there for the past few years. Depending on where your seats are you can go in two directions once on the Island. If your seats are in the Senna Curve (all the way to the right, turn complex 1-3) then you can get some pretty interesting shots from that sector as well as the rest of the track barring the paddock. But if your seats are anywhere else... you are out of luck as they will not allow you to cross the bridge from the infield to that sector and you will be somewhat limited. Anyway, with regards to film and lens selection, I would say everything depends on what kind of shots you are looking to get. If you are looking to isolate and freeze a part of the action, the faster ISO film would be fine, but personally I prefer panning shots at slow shutter speeds as to isolate the car and/or driver and blur the background so the slower ISO films or digital equalivalent would work best for me. The fastest ISO I have shot since making a mistake at the British GP some years ago when I shot 800 speed Fuji has been 200. I personally found the shots to be grainy, lifeless, and without definition or saturation. As for lenses, the 70-200 f/2.8 L is a great selection especially when coupled with the 2x TC II. I have used this combination extensively at the Villenuve circuit over the past few years and find it to be a very flexible combination having only recently switched to prime lenses to help better isolate the diver in my images. Anyway, I look forward to seeing some of your images and hope that you had a good time there.

 

Check out my page to see a few shots that I was able to capture.. Would love to hear your thoughts.

 

 

-Norman

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