Any dirt track tips/suggestions?

[nwagirl]

Hi - I'm pretty much new to the whole DSLR world.. I've had my Rebel XTi for about a week. I have some friends who own a dirt race track and their season starts in less than a month and they are going to let me go to their infield area and take pictures (I know a lot of the racers and want to try to go get some good shots of them racing). I think I can figure out the daytime, early evening pictures okay but the feature races happen at night. Last year I went with my P&S and you can image what kind of grainy, blurry pics I usually ended up with. The track is dusty and the lighting is direct in the corners (about like really bright street lights), so just wondering if anyone has any suggestions on what settings I might want to try or play around with? Some times the cars will be under the lights and other times while on the track they will not be. And the winners circle is a the driver standing by their car under a very bright light. But I will be in the dark while taking the photos. (Probably in more ways than one! :lol:) I know it will probably just be a lot of trial and error, just looking for a little guidance.

also I know the atmosphere is dusty, can be really hot in the summer or really cold in the start of the season.. any suggestions on things I need to do to make sure I take care of my equipment while out there shooting??

Any suggestions/tips are greatly appreciated. I've been reading through a lot of literature but I wasn't sure if anyone here had some ideas.

Signed, Still Learning - NWA :D

[JD1476]

What track do you visit?

To shoot under low light a night is always tricky. I started with a P&S like you I gave up & bought a Canon XT which is the earlier version of what you have now. I first bought a 70-300 Zoom from Tamron ( not that good ) but the price was right at $200.00 at the time. The best way to get good shots is a decent lens & a good flash. For night shooting you'll need at least an F/4 lens if not a F/2.8 otherwise you have to punch up the ISO to 1600 with a higher F stop lens ( making the pictures more grainy) , but still need a good flash.

You'll probably need to drop the shutter speed into the 1/60 range. This will also increase blur due to camera shake which is where IS (Canon's Image Stabilization) comes in handy. It's built into the better lenses.

Even though the cars might be under bright lights, If you're not under them the camera needs to see more light. The Victory Lane shots are allot easier do to no motion & being able to get closer. If there are any professional photographers there ask them for some tips, most are willing to lend a hand. They helped me on an occasion or two.



I recently acquired better lenses ( 135 F/2 L & the 70-200 F2.8L IS) & it makes things easier.

Here's a pic I took last year:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=4215105&postcount=306


Last week:
While it started to rain


http://www.geocities.com/jdcluster/Racing/Sprintcars/Selinsgrove/pitmansml.jpg


Good Luck,

JD

[PhotosGuy]

Sprint Cars @ Ventura Farigroiunds. (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=468180)

Motorsport Shooting Tips, Tutorials and Advice (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=151056)

[nwagirl]

I'm attending a dirt track in Oklahoma. There is a photographer there but I notice she packs up and leaves about the time it gets dark, usually.

Thanks you guys for all the links and tips here and in the Motorsports forum.. I'm getting pretty good early evening pics but when its really dusty and the night time is still tricky. Your pics are great JD!

[JD1476]

Thanks!

Good equipment does help allot!
I started out with my XT almost 3 years ago. I'm no pro but, I'd love to try it some day.
Before I bought the expensive lenses ( more than $500.00) I picked up the Canon 28-200 USM lens. It's very versatile when it comes to racing the only draw back it's still not good poor lighting & or night. It's good up till about dusk which maybe where a 28-135 IS might come in handy (don't know never owned it).
The toughest thing to deal with at night other than lighting is the camera shake unless you use a mono-pod which most people shooting racing don't use anyhow (at least at the tracks I visit).
Here's 2 of the first few pics I ever took at night with the XT with the cheapo Tamron 70-300mm Zoom:

[Brandon Anderson Photos]

my advice is to invest in a 2.8 lens. I am curently working on that part as well. Also a good flash is a must when it comes to night shooting I curently have the 580 ex II but I am wanting to get a Norman 200b or 400b.

Im not sure what you have for lens and flashes but with what I have I know I shoot at a min of 800iso if not 1600 and I slow my shutter speed to 1/80-1/60 range when it gets darker. I am luckey enough to work at a track that has really good lighting but there are a few tracks I go to that seem to have a guy holding a flash light for their lighting system and thats when I get alot of the shots for the day b4 the sun is gone.

Also even in the daylight I have learned to use my flash then too, it just helps to get rid of some of the shadows.

[DerekRob]

Hi - I'm pretty much new to the whole DSLR world.. I've had my Rebel XTi for about a week. I have some friends who own a dirt race track and their season starts in less than a month and they are going to let me go to their infield area and take pictures (I know a lot of the racers and want to try to go get some good shots of them racing). I think I can figure out the daytime, early evening pictures okay but the feature races happen at night. Last year I went with my P&S and you can image what kind of grainy, blurry pics I usually ended up with. The track is dusty and the lighting is direct in the corners (about like really bright street lights), so just wondering if anyone has any suggestions on what settings I might want to try or play around with? Some times the cars will be under the lights and other times while on the track they will not be. And the winners circle is a the driver standing by their car under a very bright light. But I will be in the dark while taking the photos. (Probably in more ways than one! :lol:) I know it will probably just be a lot of trial and error, just looking for a little guidance.

also I know the atmosphere is dusty, can be really hot in the summer or really cold in the start of the season.. any suggestions on things I need to do to make sure I take care of my equipment while out there shooting??

Any suggestions/tips are greatly appreciated. I've been reading through a lot of literature but I wasn't sure if anyone here had some ideas.

Signed, Still Learning - NWA :DGte a big freezer bag and out the camera through the bag and zip tie so you can protect your camera.

And thats the only tip I can give for now since I'm still a newb to photography.

[PhotosGuy]

You were shooting at ISO 800 & auto exposure. You could have put it on "M" & used ISO 3200 for better results.
If you'd used a white car to chimp your exposure, something like this would work:
Need an exposure crutch? (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=89123)
More on how the subject affects the exposure in Post # 47 (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=5191658&postcount=47)

[Bumgardnern]

The best tip I have for you is to get good at panning. Also to not trust your exposure meter. I shoot at an asphalt track and it fools the meter because the majority of the frame is lighter than medium gray. You can check out some of my motorsports shots on my site.

[Capt Rick]

I grew up at a dirt track. My dad raced for over 25 years. I was there EVERY weekend when we were racing! (In our best year we won 27 out of 40 races!)

Safety first!
If you are on the ground in the pit area,,,watch out for the cars coming in for a pit stop.
They will run over you!

Hang around the inside of the turns in the infield. NEVER on the outside of the turns,,NEVER!!!.
Coming into turn number one (After the flag stand) and turn number three will be your best bet for a lot of action!

[nwagirl]

Thanks you guys for still adding to this thread, I'm still checking it and the info you've shared is helpful!

[Brandon Anderson Photos]

yea im not too sure about the plastic thing...... I never even think about doin that to my stuff.....

[Wood #4]

Came across this post while searching for something.

Get you a Norman 200B or 400B and having enough light will never be an issue. I use a 200B and got a 400B for Christmas. Both of mine are used and were bought off Ebay and I was very pleased with my purchase. For safety purposes I sent my 200B to Dasaga http://dasaga.com/index.html which is in Oklahoma City and had them go through it. The 200B works great and I can't wait to try the 400B out.

I got ito this as a hobby and it has turned into an addiction but I love it!;)

Here's an example with the 200B. Of course the amount of light will depend on the tack lighting as Brandon referred to.

http://tailtank.smugmug.com/photos/318369196_2DCaL-L.jpg

[photosbyali]

I'm a dirt track fanatic! Spend MOST of my weekends at different tracks in the southeast. I travel with a dirt late model series. I was at Talladega Short Track for the annual ICE BOWL this past weekend and here is my favorite shot I took. (also got a lucky break bc this was mid-day..a cloudy day and not night time)

http://i44.tinypic.com/s0zork.jpg

I'm not new to SLR but new to trying shoot fast acton shots. I've been taking pics at dirt races for the past 2 or 3 seasons with a SLR but I normally put my camera up come nightfall. I usually do the behind the scenes shots, drivers, fans etc instead of fast action. I have shot a few track shots in the past but this past weekend at TST I was determined to take some and try my best at it - to take it seriousely. I want to shoot more track stuff in 09. I think I did okay this past weekend. I had fun though - that is what matters the most. I played around with my camera. I took both of my Canons and found I liked shooting with the Canon 40D better than than the Rebel.
I played around with all my settings - trying different things. "Testin and Tunin"
But the one of Ray Cook above turned out pretty good I think.

nwagirl - just practice, play around with your camera...and read all the info you can on your camera and what you are shooting. That is what I do and did. Get a starting point and go from there. AND you know like I know - dirt racing is very unpredictable, trackwise and weatherwise.
I started two different threads on here about shooting fast action at a dirt track and got some great feedback.


Good luck with your pictures and please post some in the near future! :)

[Bosscat]

Turn the flash off and shoot the night racing. Flash just makes every photo look like a staged shot. The cars are moving and moving fast when on the track, so show it in your photos. Don't park the cars, thats what valets are for.

[photosbyali]

GOD, those shots are sick! And I mean that in a good way!

[freebird]

At the Knoxville National Sprints I see alot of togs using lke 12 round flash reflectors as the shoot in or near the corners.

I prefer non flash, but dirt track lighting leaves some to be desired.

I love to pan for motorsports, static images do nothing for my eye.


Bosscat, xlent images btw. ty for sharing them.

[The Moose]

I haven't shot any dirt track yet but every meet I've gone to here in Australia, I've seen photogs with 70-200mm lenses always panning round the corners. As soon as it's dark they use their Speedlites while still panning.

I don't think I'll get to go in-field anytime soon but I can't wait to. I have the non-IS version but hopefully it won't be too bad for panning (which I've still yet to actually practice properly).

[zipp669]

Nice shots BOSSCAT!!!!

I will say practice, practice, practice.

A 70-200 2.8 is almost a must.

I am looking at a norman flash system. Either a 200 or 400b. NOt sure which one yet.
Have been using a 580ex and metz 58 but on a low light track they suck the batteries and just dont kick out the light.

I have a few photos on my website of mainly dirt track racing along with some sports stuff.

Some nights I get so frustrated trying to get it right. play with you r settings. Take notes on what worked good and what did not.