A bit late to the party, F1 Pics from Sepang (First Motorsport Shoot)

[Patrick.TeSeng]

Hi all,

I've always wanted to shoot motorsports and I've been lurking here on the forums for the past few months, trying to absorb as much information from you guys. I had my chance at the Malaysian Grand Prix a couple of weeks ago, armed with my first DSLR purchase: a used 20D and 70-200mm F4/L that I got a few days before the race weekend.

Here are some shots:


With my really shaky hands (I have either a thyroid issue or essential tremors), I wasn't expecting to shoot decent pics, but I did shoot 1800+ frames over two days to improve my chances of getting a handful of usable pics.

I had no monopod, so used a cheap tripod with one leg extended in a pinch.

My lens were a bit short at 200mm, I ran out of budget for a teleconverter and these pics have been cropped to where the action is (some of them actual pixel-size crops; at its best a car would fill up 1/12-1/16th of a frame). Quality isn't the best :(

I also took a crash course in histogram reading (have it peak in the middle is that right?) and was constantly getting histogram readings of an empty track while the cars were on the other side.

The panning technique I picked up somewhere on this forum.

Without further ado:

The Great Alonso Getaway
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/211/460739962_ddcba34327.jpg

Rookie sensation so far... Lewis Hamilton
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/215/466779045_c4a9b2e614.jpg

Doing the midfield Conga line:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/195/466780247_4d38b0ada3.jpg

The surprisingly Super Aguri:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/200/460745471_b6fb4ea999.jpg

PP done for some of them: levels and contrast adjustment, USM, cropping.

I did learn a lot during this first shoot, and C&C from you guys are most welcome as it's my first time (still have a lot to learn!).

Thanks for looking!

[wannabe_at_glamis]

Great stuff, especially given the constraints of your lens, and the distance I'm sure you had to stay away! Post some more!

[tony79]

they've come out very well, the start especially. looks like you had a good vantage point. well done

[Patrick.TeSeng]

Thanks for the comments, kind sirs.

I browsed around the Malaysian photography forums to see where the best seats would be. There were three mentioned, but I ultimately chose a seat in front of the first turn of the track, where the cars slow down to 85-95kph (slowest turn on the track, right after a very long start/finish straight) making it easier for a newbie like me to get a good view. It's quite far from the track as there's a big (if colorful) gravel trap to catch runaway cars at 325kph.

About the first pic: This is the upper two thirds of the original shot. The lower third was cropped out because it was the back of someone's head when he stood up suddenly to get a better view.

I tried the pre-focusing trick suggested somewhere in this forum and got some nice pics, but I did get more good panning ones when I used AI servo mode when tracking the cars.

Some more pics:

First thing I see, the Scuderia Ferrari banner flying high and proud:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/171/466778325_84bb7f9acf.jpg

My first-ever view of a Formula One track (K1 Platinum):
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/208/466779575_2cecb557d9.jpg

Some atmosphere shots:

The Schumi Bros. (there's only Ralfie now and yes, there's a flagpole sprouting out of one's head sorry about that):
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/195/466784767_6a5f7fff8f.jpg

A nice Tifosi couple:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/207/466774780_10413fc8fa.jpg

Another nice Tifosi duo, this time from Russia:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/199/466783453_35da10190c.jpg

Beer? Check. Cigarette? Check. Headsets to hear race commentary? Check. Red shirt? Check. Flag of Finland? Check. A Kimi fan in full battle gear.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/227/466779805_f4fb387b3d.jpg

Disclaimer: I'm a Mclaren person, but Ferrari fans make much better photography subjects IMHO :P

The crowd at my grandstand:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/201/466779399_b9fc315e4c.jpg

The real pros:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/216/466784561_13692b4721.jpg

Coming up next, more race pics.

[Patrick.TeSeng]

Following the leaders:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/245/460747371_260c7e9e98_o.jpg

A Spyker that's waaaaaay out of line:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/211/460747809_6597674b47_o.jpg

Honda VS Honda (Jenson Button of the Honda works team playing catch up with Takuma Sato on a Super Aguri)
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/246/460739760_55da6d594e.jpg

Coulthard being a Red Bull:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/250/460738262_79ed62e468.jpg

Bullish Coulthard fighting off a Williams
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/183/466786233_3339955e10.jpg

Trulli. Madli. Deepli.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/194/466775634_6644f43b04.jpg

Massa trying to get his pole position back (forgot that shutterspeed was high. DOH!)
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/189/460739354_b7f5373559.jpg

And the winnah is... Alonso!
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/172/466777223_e3febbd4a4.jpg

Thanks for looking!

Some questions:
1. A lot of my shots had blown highlights under the noonday sun, especially on white cars. How can I avoid this?
2. What part of the car should I be focusing on for best effect? I realized I wasn't conscious about this when I was shooting and just clicked away when I got focus lock on a car using AI Servo.

[SunTsu]

The real pros:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/216/466784561_13692b4721.jpg

Coming up next, more race pics.

Gees.....what lenses are those?

[Nzshrimper]

Two 400mm primes by the look of them, two 70 - 200's and may be a 300 mm prime

oh and one tv camera

[Lux Interior]

I'm no pro, but a polarizing filter would probably cut some of that glare.

I especially like the Super Aguri Jr. Team leading the Honda Senior team.

[erdavis]

Those are great shots for a beginner so keep up the good work. The only thing I would do different would be to add motion blur to the pics by slowing down the shutter speed while panning. Good work!

[mogearnotalent]

man those tifosi girls sure look hot