Eric W

Finally went through my photos from the race this past race in November. Besides the Start/Finish and Turn 7, I was able to go to Turns 3, 4 & 5. I also went back to Turn 7 at dusk to get some brake glow shows. I think I did a little better this year than last.

I unfortunately did not attend the WEC races, this was a 1 day event for me this year, and I will not make that mistake again. I had a great time at the races, but it was a more social than photography. A friend of mine has a couple of nice set ups which are not in the most photogenic spots. The main camp was just before the breaking zone into Turn 1. I tried early on to get some panning shots there but was unsuccessful as they were near top speed when going by. I did take some high speed shots at 1/750 or faster, but those shots were boring. The second tailgating spot was between Turn 14 and Turn 15 which was better action but the could not get high enough to avoid the fence. There was a spot just after Turn 15 with no high fence or RV's where I had some success (for me). I did walk to Turn 17 and then Turn 7. Where I was on Turn 17 was great viewing but to far for photo's. I had my most success at Turn 7 which is a hairpin turn. For most of the time I was there, the race was under caution. Of the series of shots on a car, one shot would be sharp. I was panning around 1/90th or 1/180th of second while panning. Yes the rain was a disappointment which limited how far I was willing to walk from tailgating spots. I am recovery from foot surgery and the amount of walking I did was still to much. So the threat of rain keeping me at those tailgating spots probably was not a bad thing. I am disappointed that I did walk the starting grid because of the rain. I did walk the paddocks early in the day, but most of the cars were out on the track, but I did get lucky to see them working on the Corvettes. I need to be there on Friday to walk the paddocks when they are full of cars. I am already thinking how to improve and get more variety of shots. Most of the photo's I took were of single cars, so I need to concentrate a little more of showing multiple cars.

Thanks for the help, and hopefully you have giving me a little head start on taking these photos. I was wondering about the monopod, although I might try with a tripod if the situation permits. All my gear will be in the car and should be accessible during the race. I did notice your portfolio earlier from researching old topics. I especially like your Superbike shots and got me thinking about Daytona 200 but unfortunately the 200 hundred is on the same day.

I am heading to the 12 Hours of Sebring Car Race next month and looking forward to filling up the memory cards. I currently have a Nikon 7200 and plan on using the 16-85/3.5-5.6 and the kit lens 55-300. I am wondering if I should rent a 70-200/2.8 especially for the night portion of the race or should I consider renting a longer telephoto? Any other suggestions? I am going to need to practice my panning between now and the race.