1st Attempt at Auto Racing

[tadrscin]

I went up with JimmyB to Skagit Speedway to shoot my first car race. I had all sorts of things to practice, particularly my panning. I was trying different shutter speeds to see what worked best and with these cars 1/125 seemed to come out nice. Plus I was experimenting with different settings with my flash. Does anyone know what causes the spots on the last pic? We both have some we couldn't figure out what it is. It looks like some sort of weird glare. Also since it was very dusty up there, I'd like some good recommendations on lens cleaning as far as cloths, brushes or any lens cleaning solutions if anyone uses them. I want to make sure I don't do any damage to my lenses.
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q63/tadrscin/Skagit%20Speedway/SkagitRace1.jpg
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q63/tadrscin/Skagit%20Speedway/SkagitRace2.jpg
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q63/tadrscin/Skagit%20Speedway/SkagitRace3.jpg
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q63/tadrscin/Skagit%20Speedway/SkagitRace4.jpg
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q63/tadrscin/Skagit%20Speedway/SkagitRace5.jpg
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q63/tadrscin/Skagit%20Speedway/SkagitRace6.jpg
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q63/tadrscin/Skagit%20Speedway/SkagitRace7.jpg
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q63/tadrscin/Skagit%20Speedway/Glare.jpg

[Big K]

It looks to me like the spots on the last image are just dust and that when you had the lens turned this far to your left, it was lit up by the lights from the track hitting it from almost directly sideways.

I get the same thing on occasion when I am shooting dirt racing, except my spots have a reddish cast from the red clay used at most of the tracks here in Indiana.

The other possiblity is that it is water. Did the track crews go out and spray water on the track just before this event? If so, some of the spray from this process might have found its way to your lens.

My only other suggestion would be to also try and shoot some shots at a higher shutter speed and not always try and pan each shot. It will be helpful for shots such as the flip since you can't really pan too well when a car is flying around out of control.

Overall, very nice shots. Night shooting at a race track can be about as tough as it gets considering most are lit with what seem like 8 candles.

Good luck.

Kevin

[tadrscin]

Thanks for the comments. I think it's definitely dust as someone else has pointed out to me. That shot was shot at an angle the was just into the next light stand. I did shoot at varying shutter speeds and I have another crash sequence that was shot at 1/320 that's much sharper. You can see that on my gallery. One of my goals was to work on my panning so that was my focus that night, but I was torn between doing that and shooting faster to try and get a really nice crash sequence. I guess I'll just have to go back and shoot some more :lol: This track seemed to be lit pretty well. Jimmy was pointing that the lighting company is the same one that many of the big Nascar tracks use.

[khall]

Nice shots. Looking at the cars/carts they carry more advertising for there size than any other car/cart racing. As you gather not sure about the term used to describe them.