Drag recing photos... Comments and suggestions.

[PhotoSlacker]

http://www.10d.dns2go.com/Cars/Index.html

I've been lurking here for a while and I know there are a few motorsports photogs here...

This is my first attempt at motorsports and would like some advice on ways I can improve.

I used a 10D, ISO 400, 28-135IS with IS off and no tripod. I also was in AI Servo 90% of the time. Varied between AV, TV, and M.

[Scottes]

In pic #9 (yellow "Burnin" car) the people are more in focus than the car. Try panning a bit to get the car in focus but the background out of focus. You're much closer in #1, the yellow van. Having the background out of focus but the subject in focus implies motion and will usually be a better-looking picture.


Also, we have forums called "Share Photos" or "Critique" for photos. This forum is meant for gear. Thanks.

[rodbunn]

The only thing I would suggest is to do some "pan" shots. Slow
the shutter down to 1/15 or 1/4 or even longer and PAN the camera
with the subject. This shows motion. Also, on long burnouts where
the car is in the same place shoot a 1/4 sec and watch how the
rear wheels come out (good action) . . .

Good luck, Rod

[PhotoSlacker]

The only thing I would suggest is to do some "pan" shots. Slow
the shutter down to 1/15 or 1/4 or even longer and PAN the camera
with the subject. This shows motion. Also, on long burnouts where
the car is in the same place shoot a 1/4 sec and watch how the
rear wheels come out (good action) . . .

Good luck, Rod

I do have to work on the pan part... its tough cause you are very close to these things that when they decide to move they are gone in seconds and its very hard to keep up with. Maybe if I were like 50+ feet away with a longer FL I could pan them better... hmm.

I do have to try the 1/4 second shutter on the burnouts... that sounds great. Thanks for the advice.



Oh and sorry for posting this here but I also was looking for tips with the 10D.

[Tom W]

The only thing I would suggest is to do some "pan" shots. Slow
the shutter down to 1/15 or 1/4 or even longer and PAN the camera
with the subject. This shows motion. Also, on long burnouts where
the car is in the same place shoot a 1/4 sec and watch how the
rear wheels come out (good action) . . .

Good luck, Rod

I do have to work on the pan part... its tough cause you are very close to these things that when they decide to move they are gone in seconds and its very hard to keep up with. Maybe if I were like 50+ feet away with a longer FL I could pan them better... hmm.

I do have to try the 1/4 second shutter on the burnouts... that sounds great. Thanks for the advice.



Oh and sorry for posting this here but I also was looking for tips with the 10D.

Don't pan too slow! Those puppies cover 1/4 mile in, what, around 6 seconds. :)

Seriously though, pretty decent pictures. Do some panning of the burnout, but get those cars in focus, even if you have to manually prefocus on a spot.

BTW, where's the Fords? ;)

[kanwingshing]

I think they are pretty nice shots. :wink:
Like Tom W says, maybe you should try pre-focusing the cars as we can see that you are focusing on the crowd instead of the car on 1 shot. And you can also spend a bit more time on framing on a couple of shots too. But in general, nice work.

[iwatkins]

Nice shots, all my suggestions have already been covered.

There was a list of facts the circulated the 'net several years ago about dragsters, i.e. the top fuel babies. One stat. that stuck, and I was never sure how true they were was that the top fuelers (4 ish seconds for the 1/4) accelerate from 0 - 100mph within the length of the car. Mind you they are long cars :lol:

Cheers

Ian

[PhotoSlacker]

Nice shots, all my suggestions have already been covered.

There was a list of facts the circulated the 'net several years ago about dragsters, i.e. the top fuel babies. One stat. that stuck, and I was never sure how true they were was that the top fuelers (4 ish seconds for the 1/4) accelerate from 0 - 100mph within the length of the car. Mind you they are long cars :lol:

Cheers

Ian

Yea was some cool stuff for sure.

The rocket cars toped out at about 300mph at the end of the 1/4 mile...

The big truck you see there toped out at 180 in 1/4 mile. That engine is 18000HP (YES eighteen thousand!!!) and burned 100 gallons of jet fuel in the 1/4 mile. Sick stuff.


As for the real cars I think low 7's is the fastest I saw. Being right next to them when the took off my entire body and internals were shook to no end.

[DAMphyne]

I tried some drag racing pics last summer at the local track.
Here is the link, hope you have good luck trying out all the new ideas.

http://www.damphyne.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=racing

[PhotoSlacker]

I tried some drag racing pics last summer at the local track.
Here is the link, hope you have good luck trying out all the new ideas.

http://www.damphyne.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=racing

Great shots. Nice color, I have to work on my exposure.

Thanks for the ideas.

[DAMphyne]

Just a note from my experience. I had it in my mind that I needed to shoot in front of the cars coming off the line. I was wrong, when the cars get the green, the first movement is up. The front of the car lifts, then they lurch forward. I used a fairly high shutter speed to freeze the tire compression and didn't really pan that much. Unless you are shooting them down the track, they really aren't moving that fast.
Drag Racing is a different animal compared to round track racing. The nice thing about digital, you can experiment for free.
Have Fun,
Dave

[GenEOS]

Drags can sometimes be a drag, so to speak. But, you look like you have trackside access, so you have an upper hand. Perspective, in drag pics can make the difference between snapshot quality and pro.

It looks like you had a pretty overcast day, which stinks for taking decent car photos.

Backgrounds can make or break a shot too. So, DOF is critical if you have a bunch of gear heads in the background taking you attention away from the car. Pics 2, 3 and 8 suffer this problem. Looks like the cars have heads sprouting from the roof. The people in Pic 9 don't distract from the image but add to it, so that is ok. But I think your camera back focused on the grandstands.

Pics 6 and 7 are the most proessional looking of all of them.I just wish the ol' 55 would have hiked the front end up a bit! By moving a little further down track at the 80-120ft marks and shooting from a lower camera position, you get a nice clean image without distractions. With a super high shutter speed and the right f-stop setting, you will be able to blur the background a little which will make the car pop out at you. Shooting from down the track a little further will also let you get the drivers faces on some of the cars. That is great when you can do it.

You can get creative with panning shots, but with a 10D it is going to be hit and miss because you dont have the FPS to increase your odds at getting a nice crisp photo with the desired effect. I would suggest shooting the high shutter speeds and getting tack sharp images to start with , then move to the artsy stuff.

I like freezing the tire wrinkle. Most gear heads want to see their cars ability to hook up. If you blurr the tire, they don't see it as obvious as if you shoot it at a high shutter speed.

Using a polarizer will cut some of the windshield glare from these images. But, it can effect shutter speed if you don't have good light. I know you are limited on when these guys run, but your morning light and evening light will yield much nicer images , warmer anyways.

I don't usually shoot in Av mode. In motorsports and sports in general, Tv is the ay to go. Most the time you want to maximize shutter speed.

Overall nice job. I am glad there are others who like to shoot cars.. I will be posting last years NHRA from Houston on my site soon. I shot next to some of the best drag photogs in the business. You can learn a lot by watching these pros work. If you are at an event, watch where they shoot from, and what lenses they are using. Go to www.nhra.com and go to the photos section in the Media area. Look at what they are taking.

Hope this helps a little. Keep posting!
My Site is www.dmtphoto.com

[randyk]

here are a few I shot last summer with a 10D + 70-200 4.0:

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=2213128

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=2213043

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=2213166

[PhotosGuy]

My personal preference is for #s 8 & 10. They just scream DRAG RACING!
Numbers 2-7 are, to me, cropped a bit tight. I'd like to see a bit more room between the front of the car & the edge of the pic.
All in all, a great start for a " first attempt at motorsports"! Keep at it.

[PhotoSlacker]

Thanks everyone for the comments... A lot of good ideas next time I hit the track I might try to use the 70-200 to take advantage of the L glass... I was just afraid I would be to close for that lens.

Thanks again.

[BobbyC]

If you can stand just past the tree, you should be able to get some good panning shots, but be aware, you must clear this with the starter, he is the boss of the starting line area.

You can also get some great pannig shots from the stands if they are fairly close to the track. For motorsycles you'll need 300mm but for cars you can get by with 200. Try about half track, it's a lot harder to pan and get a sharp pic but when you do they look great, nicely streaked background even at 1/400 or so.

http://gulfimagesphoto.com/TxSh101203/crw_0952_std.jpg

http://gulfimagesphoto.com/TxSh101203/crw_0955_std.jpg

http://gulfimagesphoto.com/pictures/racing/car/4467.jpg

[PhotoSlacker]

Nice shots... I like the last one. IM gonna have to try that. Go to the top of the stands as close to the middle of the track as possible and pratice my panning.

Thanks again.

[BobbyC]

Thanks, actually, the last one, there are no stands there, I was standing on top of our motorhome. That was right at the 1/8 mile mark, but you can still get the same effect just out past the starting line. most stands will go out at least to the 330' mark or more.