Need tips for shooting Speedway...

[Spencerj]

During the closed football season the local newspaper i work for has asked for me to cover a season of speedway, anyone got any tips? whats the lighting like in general? ill be covering the home games of the Arena Essex Hammers.

[PhotosGuy]

Sports Shooting Tutorials and Advice
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=135417

[gmen]

Hi Spencer,

Under the lights at Arena, the ambient is 1/400s, f/1.8 at IS3200 in the bright bit, and Arena is one of the brighter speedway tracks!

Obviously as the evenings get longer, better light is available from May through to August.

During floodlit meetings, an good external flash is worth having otherwise you might be struggling.

Some threads of interest...

Q&A session on shooting positions (scroll down for speedway):
http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=1008779&postcount=175 (reminds me I need to re-upload a couple of pics to the server)

A couple of speedway with flash threads:
http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=103472&highlight=speedwayhttp://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=103472&highlight=speedway

http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=100390&highlight=speedway

Sounds like it's going to be even more crowded out on the centre green this year :lol: Be prepared with your sensor cleaning kit as well - speedway is mighty dusty!

---- Gavin

[Spencerj]

ouch, sounds like a battlefield! thanks to you both, ill read those threads! thanks.

[gmen]

Just remembered I'd assembled a few shots from last season's speedway here - should give you a broad idea of what's possible:

http://www.photoshelter.com/gallery-show/G00005OAYn.boUNU

EDIT: Also speedway World Cup:

http://www.photoshelter.com/gallery-show/G0000Kp68WJSqf78 (all from a raised media platform on the outside - shale-tastic)

and Arena's riders last season:

http://www.photoshelter.com/gallery-show/G0000rr9AqJ9D5d4

---- Gavin

[Spencerj]

Gavin, I know you said about dust in an earlier post and although i promised myself i wouldnt get paranoid about dust anymore i really dont want to take any jobs on that will put my equipment at risk, i cant afford to replace it and i dont like the idea of having to clean it twice weekly etc, do you really think speedway could put my camera or lenses at risk? and also, after seeing my kit the other week do you really think my gear is up to it? I think its best to let neil know now that i wont be covering rather than during the season and finally what other sports could be covered during the closed football season if i choose not to take on speedway? phew! sorry about that lot! thanks, spencer

[gmen]

Gavin, I know you said about dust in an earlier post and although i promised myself i wouldnt get paranoid about dust anymore i really dont want to take any jobs on that will put my equipment at risk, i cant afford to replace it and i dont like the idea of having to clean it twice weekly etc, do you really think speedway could put my camera or lenses at risk? and also, after seeing my kit the other week do you really think my gear is up to it? I think its best to let neil know now that i wont be covering rather than during the season and finally what other sports could be covered during the closed football season if i choose not to take on speedway? phew! sorry about that lot! thanks, spencerHi Spencer... it's perfectly possible to shoot speedway with your gear. It might be a bit of a struggle under the lights, but I have seen togs use the built-in flash to some effect.

However, I would be lying to you if I said that there wasn't some risk from dust. At one extreme, one guy decided to change lenses during a race and ended up with a mirror box full of shale. At the other extreme, if it's been wet for a few days, there can be no major problems. Although there haven't been many nights that I haven't had to give the gear a pretty thorough clean up... my kit survived about 40 meetings last season, so the dust doesn't have to be terminal ;) Like I said the worst days are the dry, windy ones.

The big alternative to speedway during the summer is cricket - plenty of options there: Stanford-le-Hope, Horndon and Orsett (amongst others) all have good teams that might be of interest to the Gazette. So there's certainly plenty to be getting on with! If you need info on the cricket, don't hesitate to drop me a line, I've covered matches at most of the local clubs.

---- Gavin

[Spencerj]

I have got an external low end flash but I have to say cricket sounds more like my thing.... ill have to think seriously about speedway, thanks gavin.

[gmen]

I have got an external low end flash but I have to say cricket sounds more like my thing.... ill have to think seriously about speedway, thanks gavin.Cricket photography is a fantastic way to spend an afternoon (and part of the morning for some of the games). Very relaxing! I have covered four games in a day on occasion without feeling like I was rushing around... it's hassle free. No dust, very little chance of being hit by the ball, captions are easy and there's plenty of friendly banter to be had! The really good shots can be hard to come by... but you can generally get something usable within a few overs.

---- Gavin

[primoz]

I don't shoot speedway all that much, but at least around here dust is not really main problem with speedway. They "water" track quite often, so you get much less dust then at for example mx races. If you are really scared about dust damaging your equipment there's pretty easy (but for some people funny looking) solution. Take plastic bag, tape it over lenshood and drag it back to end of camera. Cut hole for hand and you get pretty good working dust/water/snow cover for your camera.
I still think you should watch out more those "stones" (or whaever right word is in English) which fly out of their wheels, then dust. Those things are far more dangerous then dust.
And just to give you some ideas how much cameras can stand (even though 1d or Nikon d1/d2 cameras stand more then 350d) you can check this photo (http://grahamwatson.com/gw/imagedocs.nsf/photos/02GWatwork-022000) (sorry I don't have any photo of my equipment in condition like this, even though it survived pretty much same abuse already)

[gmen]

I don't shoot speedway all that much, but at least around here dust is not really main problem with speedway. They "water" track quite often, so you get much less dust then at for example mx races. If you are really scared about dust damaging your equipment there's pretty easy (but for some people funny looking) solution. Take plastic bag, tape it over lenshood and drag it back to end of camera. Cut hole for hand and you get pretty good working dust/water/snow cover for your camera.
I still think you should watch out more those "stones" (or whaever right word is in English) which fly out of their wheels, then dust. Those things are far more dangerous then dust.
And just to give you some ideas how much cameras can stand (even though 1d or Nikon d1/d2 cameras stand more then 350d) you can check this photo (http://grahamwatson.com/gw/imagedocs.nsf/photos/02GWatwork-022000) (sorry I don't have any photo of my equipment in condition like this, even though it survived pretty much same abuse already)Yeah those stones can be fun as well!

On a dry day at Arena, the track dries out very quickly even between waterings. I usually end up coated in a layer of dust as does the camera bag and gear. I just find that the dust is more 'invasive' than the bigger debris... and it constantly reminds me why I use 1-series bodies and I have several of the 'sealed' lenses. Even though my bag was always enveloped in a rain cover last season, I was still hoovering out dust from the nooks and crannies on a frequent basis.

It's just my experience of this particular venue (and a couple of others). Not all tracks are the same... some are a good deal 'dustier' than others :lol:

In all honesty, it doesn't bother me a great deal - I covered about 40 speedway meetings last season and my gear survived to see another season. I was just providing Spencer with a 'heads-up' since he has had a previous bad experience with his equipment.

---- Gavin