Simon Harrison
11th of October 2006 (Wed), 15:06
An end of an era on Sunday, when my local Autograss Club held its last meeting ever at its current track. They've been forced to relocate, as the landowner is going to open a caravan park where the track currently is.
The track is very popular among the Autograss community, and so over 200 drivers representing 11 clubs from Scotland, Ireland and all over England turned up for the event.
Prior to the event, I had been asked to get a shot of all of the cars and drivers before racing began. What I agreed with the club chairman, was that the cars would be directed into the centre of the track as they left scruitineering. This would get everyone into one location, and hence allow me to get the shot my client wanted. The best laid plans of mice and men :rolleyes: . With such a large number of cars it became apparent, that there was not going to be enough time to do what we had agreed. The client still wanted his shot, so thinking on my feet, I realised the only time the drivers would be all together would be for the briefing prior to racing. I managed to persuade one of the track marshalls to move one of their tractors close to where the briefing would take place. I climbed up onto the roof and took 4 shots that I stiched together in PS.
http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/YD08Oct/Pano-1.jpg
Re-sizing for the forum really does the shot no justice at all. The shot not only has all of the drivers, but also all of the cars in the frame, so my client was happy. The shot produced with a Canon 1D (manual exposure + CWB) and a 17-40L, and was hand held. Not an ideal set up for a panorama, particularly saying the vibrations on the roof of the tractor from its engine were pretty bad.
Autograss racing is sometimes referred to as banger racing. Don't ever say that to a 'grasser as they're likely to get a bit upset. Here's the business end of a Class 5 Fiat to prove the point.
http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/YD08Oct/08-10-06---009.jpg
Who says the 1D classic can't do high ISO well? Here's local man Neil Rawlinson in his Class 10 Special getting both front wheels off the ground under acceleration, taken at ISO800.
http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/YD08Oct/08-10-06---1153.jpg
A Class 7 Cinquecento after having misjudged his breaking and ran into the back of a fellow competitor.
http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/YD08Oct/08-10-06---1011.jpg
I'll finish with another panoramic shot. This one was taken from the top of a motorhome in the pits around 0830hrs in the morning. I was after something a little different rather than the normal pit and paddock shots, and was attracted by the sky and low angled side light. Again it's a 4 shot stitch using the 17-40 f4 L hand held. It was a right pain to put together, as people were moving around the pits while I took the shots. Probably the closest thing to landscape shot I've taken in a long time.
http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/YD08Oct/Pano-2.jpg
Again, re-sizing does it no justice at all.
Anyway, comments and feedback on the shots are welcome as always. For those that are interested, there's a full gallery on my website (link in signature below).
Cheers,
Simon.
The track is very popular among the Autograss community, and so over 200 drivers representing 11 clubs from Scotland, Ireland and all over England turned up for the event.
Prior to the event, I had been asked to get a shot of all of the cars and drivers before racing began. What I agreed with the club chairman, was that the cars would be directed into the centre of the track as they left scruitineering. This would get everyone into one location, and hence allow me to get the shot my client wanted. The best laid plans of mice and men :rolleyes: . With such a large number of cars it became apparent, that there was not going to be enough time to do what we had agreed. The client still wanted his shot, so thinking on my feet, I realised the only time the drivers would be all together would be for the briefing prior to racing. I managed to persuade one of the track marshalls to move one of their tractors close to where the briefing would take place. I climbed up onto the roof and took 4 shots that I stiched together in PS.
http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/YD08Oct/Pano-1.jpg
Re-sizing for the forum really does the shot no justice at all. The shot not only has all of the drivers, but also all of the cars in the frame, so my client was happy. The shot produced with a Canon 1D (manual exposure + CWB) and a 17-40L, and was hand held. Not an ideal set up for a panorama, particularly saying the vibrations on the roof of the tractor from its engine were pretty bad.
Autograss racing is sometimes referred to as banger racing. Don't ever say that to a 'grasser as they're likely to get a bit upset. Here's the business end of a Class 5 Fiat to prove the point.
http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/YD08Oct/08-10-06---009.jpg
Who says the 1D classic can't do high ISO well? Here's local man Neil Rawlinson in his Class 10 Special getting both front wheels off the ground under acceleration, taken at ISO800.
http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/YD08Oct/08-10-06---1153.jpg
A Class 7 Cinquecento after having misjudged his breaking and ran into the back of a fellow competitor.
http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/YD08Oct/08-10-06---1011.jpg
I'll finish with another panoramic shot. This one was taken from the top of a motorhome in the pits around 0830hrs in the morning. I was after something a little different rather than the normal pit and paddock shots, and was attracted by the sky and low angled side light. Again it's a 4 shot stitch using the 17-40 f4 L hand held. It was a right pain to put together, as people were moving around the pits while I took the shots. Probably the closest thing to landscape shot I've taken in a long time.
http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/YD08Oct/Pano-2.jpg
Again, re-sizing does it no justice at all.
Anyway, comments and feedback on the shots are welcome as always. For those that are interested, there's a full gallery on my website (link in signature below).
Cheers,
Simon.