Bridgestone - Ferrari

Hi,

This is from the F1 race in Indianapolis on July 2nd, 2006. This was

my first racing event and am very keen to hear comments and

suggestions on my photographs. Please have a look at the other

pictures from this event in my portfolio and let me know of your

thoughts.

 

Thanks a lot for your time, Himanshu

This is an unusual shot and I don't recall seeing one like it. As I mentioned in another critique of one of your images IMHO you do seem to crop things too tightly. In this image I think if you showed the contact patch between the tire and the road surface it would have more power.

Hi,

 

As unusual it might be, this is pretty much the full frame (I have cropped a bit from the top and the left as there was a huge white cloth visible). I haven't cropped the car or the road beneath. I did want to get the full tire but as I said earlier, I am still learning to pan well and get a good composition at the same time.

 

Thanks,

Himanshu

A big white cloth would be a problem in the background and I can understand you cropping it out. Panning will take practice and even when you're proficient you'll still wind up throwing away a lot of shots. I do a lot of panning shots and still throw most of them away because the focus or composition is not what I'd like. With panning shots you typically learn by trying to get the entire vehicle in the frame till you've honed your technique and then work on the variations. This takes time so don't beat yourself up if you haven't mastered it the first time out.

 

Attached is a shot I took last weekend with the emphasis on the rear of the car, similar to yours, but yours is more radical. You'll note that the tire/road intersection in my image is missing, the front half of the car is not shown and the focus is very selective on the driver, but not the sponsor logo (sorry DHL!). Yet the shot still works, IMHO. Don't beat yourself up because your panning technique isn't perfect on your first attempt. But be encouraged that you've tried something unusual and recognized that it still has merit. Once you've learned the basics,experimenting and being your own harshest critic is how you learn and become better.