witolda_maruszewska

I like this - rain shots are always so much fun to shoot, especially when you can get the reflections off the wet track like you've done here. Couple of points, though:

One is that the background is a little bit distracting - the adverts are fine, but the aircraft wing & prop are quite irritating. Second is that the focus point is on the car's front wing. For single-seaters, you should be focusing on the driver's helmet.

Hope this helps :)

Rich,

In terms of dynamics, the second shot is much better - the car looks as if it is going somewhere, and very quickly at that :)

Panning does take a lot of practice, and I find it helps if I use a shorter focal length than I actually need. That way if I don't quite get the positioning right, I still have the option of cropping. Another tip is to use a line on the track or a scrape on the wall as a marker to help set up the shot. (I *HAVE* to produce photos at race meetings, so I need as big a safety margin with each shot as I can possibly get...)

BTW, are these two taken from on top of the pits garages? There's only one track in the UK I can do that (Rockingham) and it is one of my favourite places to get shots :)

Gary - I agree totally with your argument regarding action photography. As a motorsports freelancer, I know what you mean.

Anyways, this is a great shot of the "expensive repair bill" moment - love it, you've nailed it. I like the fact that the errant wheel is in the bottom left corner of the frame as it makes the eye move around the shot, taking it all in.

ASCAR pit stops are chaotic due to a two lap window, but this driver

came in for an unscheduled stop after twatting the wall which meant I

could get a good uncluttered view of the action. I took this from the

cold pit lane with a telephoto lens.

Just want to know what your thoughts are on this shot.

Sorry, this shot just doesn't do it for me.

Colour manipulation of motorsports photos isn't something I go for personally - well not beyond correcting colour casts or converting to B&W - and I can't say I'm especially taken by the framing either.

Sure, there's no harm in having a play around with photos and trying out new things, but this is something that looks, well, odd...

Not bad for a first try at shooting F1 cars. Pity the ends are cropped because everything else works really well; colours, background blur, angle etc.

I find 135mm (on a D60) is plenty long enough to shoot single-seaters. Better to have too much background and crop than to miss bits off.

Would also suggest you up the shutter speed to around 1/200 or 1/250 to pan F1 cars (Copse is pretty quick after all) which will increase the success rate as you'll cut the risk of shake.

Not a bad shot. While you show good motion of the subject, the shot is too cropped and the rear wing and mud flaps are missing.

But for it to be a truly great rally photo, you need to put the car into context i.e. show much more of the background than you do here. That way, you add in the characteristics of the event.

Take a look at a good rally yearbook or the photos published in Autosport and you'll see what I mean.

Good bit of timing! Our V8 ASCARs in the UK don't flame unless the engine goes *BOOM* and F3s only tend to burp a bit on the downshift...

The shot could be a little sharper though, and the light blur (?) on the left of the frame is a tad distracting.

Not a bad effort though :)

I like the way the colours of the car make it jump out of the subdued & blurred background. Really catches the eye. You've nailed the car well too.

One point I would like to make however, is that the car is soo close to the centre of the frame to make the photograph truly effective. Ideally, you should be looking to give the car space to "move in" to the the frame or put it on the extreme left so that it "moves out" of the frame.

Neil, there's a couple of galleries with my photos from this meeting at:

1) www.gforceimages.co.uk

2) www.post14.f9.co.uk/2003_ascar_03.htm

Enjoy ;)

At a recent ASCAR race (ASA for you US people) a privateer, Mark

Proctor, was up there at the front of the race, trading paint with

championship leader and works driver Ben Collins. When I saw Procky's

crew going bananas in pit lane during the closing laps, I just

couldn't resist shooting them rather than the happenings on track.

I took a whole sequence of shots and this is one of my favourites.

What do you reckon? Does this work as a photo?

Agreed - this is too blurry.

A faster shutter speed is needed here (1/180 ish), though I've noticed you're using a 2x TC which does pose its own problems regarding the maximum aperture and hence its effect on the shutter speed.

Well done for catching the flameout though, as you need good timing to nail these :)

Not a bad shot, though looks a little odd having the #74 Eurotech N-GT Porsche heading the two GT class cars :) My main issue with this is the distracting polystyrene marker in the background - maybe you could have framed this a fraction tighter and/or cropped it more.

Donington certainly is not an easy track to take photos at, and keeping that in mind you've done pretty well here considering.

BTW, I was at the meeting too, cheering on two of my mates in the #89 TMC 360 Modena.

This *COULD* have been a very good shot... But while it gives a very good feel of speed, the fact that it isn't sharp enough or sufficiently in focus really pulls it down, I'm afraid.

I am a regular at Brands - this looks like the approach to Hawthorns, and if it is, you'd want to be panning around 1/180s to get a good crisp pan shot here, possibly a fraction faster with digital.

Here's a link to one of my shots - taken with a D60 - to show you what can be achieved: http://www.post14.f9.co.uk/pics/2003_ascar03/ascar03_27.jpg

I'm looking forward to taking a look at both your photos - let me know when they're posted.

FYI this was my first time shooting vintage / classic race cars - ASCAR, GTs, touring cars (BTCC) and Formula 3 single seaters is what I normally cover.

Tim,

The car was going quite slowly back down the hill (this event was a hillclimb) so I used a slowish shutter speed (1/90 s) to blur out the background. I may be tempted to print this as B/W though :)

I was fortunate enough to be at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and

this is one of my favourite photos from the weekend. What I like

about it is the fact that the blurred background and the straw bales

make the shot feel as though it could almost be 1968 - when the car

actually raced in anger...

I'd be welcome to hear other people's opinions on this shot.

This was a bit of an opportunist shot - I just happened to be looking

the right way when this chap's engine let go in a big way on a hot

lap. Just curious what people think of it really. BTW, it was my

first day with a digital SLR as well.

Ooooooh, I love this one! It really tickles my funny bone, particularly since the poor cat looks distinctly hacked off about his situation. Don't get me wrong, I love cats (have two myself, both of whom have had the "final cut") but I still can't resist a smile at this one.

Seriously, top marks for originality here - works fantastic in B&W. Somehow I get the feeling it wouldn't have worked so well in colour.

I like this, especially the reflections. You seem to have nailed the car well here.

However, I don't agree with some of the comments about the pan shots. When you operate the shutter is not just a matter of timing,but also personal taste. Side-on is nice, but sometimes front 3/4 or rear 3/4 is just as effective. Also, the degree of crop is a matter of personal taste.

With a wet track, I personally prefer a rear 3/4 view with an off-centre car (either going into or out of the frame) with as much emphasis on the spray as possible.

Not a bad shot at all - single seaters are hard to photograph well and F1 cars even more so.

My only real issue with this photograph is that the car is a little too close to the bottom of the frame; the rear wheel is cropped out and so is the shadow.

As a result, the car isn't the focal point of the shot, which is a shame since everything else works well (focus, panning & exposure).

Love this - tickles my funny bone.

I've taken a few pictures like this too, as I love taking people shots at race meetings. I've also had my photo taken while doing exactly what those two are doing too, so I've been at both ends of this kind of shot.

As for taking photographs through the up-and-over fence - that's an awesome experience!

Dylan - this is a good improvement over your previous efforts, so well done.

Faster film has given you more flexibility with the equipment that you are using. As a result, the actual exposure is a lot better and it has let you use a slower shutter speed which means that you get good blur on the background.

The only problem is with the framing - the rear of the car is perhaps just a little bit too close to the edge of the frame, but that can be improved by practice and timing. But it does convey a good sense of speed :)