Formula 1 - Silverstone - Friday Practice + 800L

[Wazza]

The sun shone down on the Friday practice day, and was shooting mostly under 1/100th today, Sigma 120-300 hand held. (wish had IS on this lens! As would make 1/50th shots a bit easier)

As for the 800L. Saw one and handled one in the flesh today. Wow! Wish I could have used it on my own camera, but the guy had it mounted to his 1D3 and had a quick run with it myself. Not as big as I would have imagined

http://www.warrenwilliams.co.nz/2008/800_01.jpg
http://www.warrenwilliams.co.nz/2008/800_02.jpg
http://www.warrenwilliams.co.nz/2008/800_03.jpg
http://www.warrenwilliams.co.nz/2008/800_04.jpg

Spent most the day at Luffields A terrace

http://www.warrenwilliams.co.nz/2008/JUL_0435.jpg

http://www.warrenwilliams.co.nz/2008/JUL_0580.jpg

http://www.warrenwilliams.co.nz/2008/JUL_0717.jpg

http://www.warrenwilliams.co.nz/2008/JUL_0859.jpg
Drawbacks of shooting 1/80th, only part of the car remains sharp, whilst the rest is blurry from moving within the frame

http://www.warrenwilliams.co.nz/2008/JUL_0885.jpg
Side pan for Dave

http://www.warrenwilliams.co.nz/2008/JUL_1013.jpg
From the stands with the 24-105

http://www.warrenwilliams.co.nz/2008/JUL_1118.jpg
Through an AWFUL fence! That was shot near wide open to get the fence out of focus... And the next a demonstration of what happened when tried to shoot with a small aperture, and much slower shutter speed:

http://www.warrenwilliams.co.nz/2008/JUL_1151.jpg

http://www.warrenwilliams.co.nz/2008/JUL_1395.jpg
Last shot of the day, Porsche GT3 in the support race


Hope it doesn't rain too much tomorrow - I left my Kata rain cover back in Kent
(Staying in Northampton)

[FlyingPhotog]

Very nice series of images.

The collar foot on that 800 looks like a freakin' tennis shoe. Holy Smokes...

[darren h]

Awesome shots Warren and very hard to pick a favourite but i think 1 & 6 edge it for me

[Lowner]

Wazza,

I'm impressed with your results from a 120-300 at Silverstone. I've always struggled to get close enough.

Assume you've read that Donnington is getting F1 shortly? The Silverstone management chanced their arm once too often with Bernie Ecclestone and lost.

Mind you Doningtons got a lot of work to do in a short time to be anywhere near ready. Who's going to pay for the 6 lane motorway straight into the track from the M1 thats going to be needed, the Government or Donington Park? Can you imagine 200,000 people all trying to get out of the track together?

Richard

[Jamie Holladay]

Great set of shots. I'm liking the wide shot #6.

[harroz]

you're just soo good at this!. yup, 6, that wide one, I like that a lot- different view but still awesome panning. they're all really good though.

[MaDProFF]

Great Shots Wazza

[Mediation]

That is sexy :o

Lovely photographs Warren. Great sense of speed and power.

[Daniel_B]

A lovely set, but it's the closeup of the McLaren nosecone that is my favourite.

[Paul C-J]

Wow is what i have to say ... i am incredibly jealous at how well you can pan...

shots this sharp at thoes speed like 1/25 WTF!

i can only dream on

massive respect!

they are all good , best i have seen from silverstone in a long time

[Anke]

Beautiful set, Warren. Really great panning.

[Desertraptor]

Awesome panning
Very nice

[Hogster86]

Really nice shots Warren :) I've done very little panning – I imagine it takes practice and a lot of shots to produce results like yours :)

Cheers!


David

[dinanm3atl]

Love it!

Wish we got some REAL F1 races over here in the States.

[Cadwell]

Why on earth would you use an 800mm at Silverstone? Silly sod! :lol: I tried the 1.4x TC on my 600mm at Luffield for a laugh once and it is WAY too long. The only place 800mm would be useful is the exit of Copse but even there it isn't much use as the huge concrete run-off area you have to shoot over causes masses of heat distortion in your photo. An obvious case of all the gear and no idea. :rolleyes:

[condyk]

Why on earth would you use an 800mm at Silverstone? Silly sod! :lol: ... An obvious case of all the gear and no idea. :rolleyes:

Maybe he's into helmet shots ;-)

[LawrenceRigby]

Love the third picture of the nose of the Mclaren. Take it that it wasn't moving at the time ;-)

[steve46]

Wow shooting mostly under 1/100th what can I say....wish I could get those results that low.....no6 for me .

Steve.

[JurekB]

I really like number 6, a great shot.

I think I saw the guy with the 800 during the testing last week. He had it mounted on a tripod at the back of the Luffield terrace. I guess there's nothing like getting 1000 identical photos. :rolleyes:

[ForzaF1]

Excellent photos. The panning shot of Alonso is probably my favorite. I assume you are already at the track today, as there are about 5 minutes left until qualifying right now!

[kozmix]

Wonderful shots, love the McLaren nose one!

[ForzaF1]

Love it!

Wish we got some REAL F1 races over here in the States.
+1

It's insane that there isn't a USGP this year, but I don't blame Tony George for not giving in to Bernie's demands. Bernie is a lunatic.

[James M]

What a great set, I struggled to get sharp shots of the Renault F1 at Silverstone a few months back and that was at 1/200.

How did you meter?

[PurelySwift]

1 is unbelievable. Great shot!

[Matt Peters]

Sweet shots, perfect panning!

[Joffan]

Excellent work mate.

When you at Brands next?

[tangown]

Why on earth would you use an 800mm at Silverstone? Silly sod! :lol: I tried the 1.4x TC on my 600mm at Luffield for a laugh once and it is WAY too long. The only place 800mm would be useful is the exit of Copse but even there it isn't much use as the huge concrete run-off area you have to shoot over causes masses of heat distortion in your photo. An obvious case of all the gear and no idea. :rolleyes:

Look at the area he is at, Luffield. Its about the only area you can get a shot of brooklands from a public area, which always frustrates me due to the distance, that sort of length would be perfect.

[Cadwell]

Look at the area he is at, Luffield. Its about the only area you can get a shot of brooklands from a public area, which always frustrates me due to the distance, that sort of length would be perfect.


I've tried shooting at Luffield with 800mm (840mm actually, 600mm f/4 + 1.4x TC). It is not a useful focal length, hence my comment.

[Croasdail]

An obvious case of all the gear and no idea.

Now there is a problem I would love to have. Unfortunately I have the "no idea" part down pat, it's the other part I would love to be plagued with.

[lifeisablur]

Awesome, fantastic colour and panning - love the first one

[Wazza]

Very nice series of images.

The collar foot on that 800 looks like a freakin' tennis shoe. Holy Smokes...

Yeah I just wish I could have had a real play with it, try some shots like the first one. Longer range, and slow shutter speeds with mono pod would help

Awesome shots Warren and very hard to pick a favourite but i think 1 & 6 edge it for me

Thanks - #1 is one of my favs too.
There's something about the high contrast on the back of the Ferrari that made me get it perfectly focused and panned everytime. I did those shots for around 3 laps, and each time the Ferraris came out like that, but the others weren't as great. :lol:

Wazza,

I'm impressed with your results from a 120-300 at Silverstone. I've always struggled to get close enough.

Assume you've read that Donnington is getting F1 shortly? The Silverstone management chanced their arm once too often with Bernie Ecclestone and lost.

Mind you Doningtons got a lot of work to do in a short time to be anywhere near ready. Who's going to pay for the 6 lane motorway straight into the track from the M1 thats going to be needed, the Government or Donington Park? Can you imagine 200,000 people all trying to get out of the track together?

Richard

Thanks Richard, it was disappointing of Bernie to announce it during the British Grand Prix weekend. What a kick in the teeth for the local management and fans.

Great set of shots. I'm liking the wide shot #6.

Thanks, only took a couple of those shots, as didn't exactly have a seat, and was blocking peoples view from up in grandstand :lol:

you're just soo good at this!. yup, 6, that wide one, I like that a lot- different view but still awesome panning. they're all really good though.

Cheers Mark :D
The goal was to be different to all the other photographers and shots I've seen posted here. Push the boundary, and maybe capture the eyes of some F1 magazine...
*hint hint* I'll do 2009 season

Great Shots Wazza

Thanks Brett :cool:

That is sexy

Lovely photographs Warren. Great sense of speed and power.

Thanks Matt - speed is the way to go. It's a fairly slow section of the course, and really needed the ultra low shutter speeds to show this.
Tried a few higher speed, front end shots on race day, in the rain, with a wide open aperture, to really seperate the car from the background and catch some rain drops frozen midflight (and water spray), as using 1/100th and less created soft blur look ... More like fog and not rain :p

[Wazza]

A lovely set, but it's the closeup of the McLaren nosecone that is my favourite.

Thanks :) - taken with 120-300, at near minimum focus in the Mercedes stand in the F1 Village (so wasn't the real thing)... Can kinda tell by the people in reflections

Wow is what i have to say ... i am incredibly jealous at how well you can pan...

shots this sharp at thoes speed like 1/25 WTF!

i can only dream on

massive respect!

they are all good , best i have seen from silverstone in a long time

I can personally thank 4 cans of red bull in the morning, gave the hyper edge needed :twisted:
Thanks kindly

Beautiful set, Warren. Really great panning.

Thanks mate - I got home last night with the most incredibly sore triceps ever. The way I hold my camera and elbows locked up, and rotate my back and hips, keeping my arms/shoulders locked is the key

Awesome panning
Very nice

:)

Really nice shots Warren :) I've done very little panning – I imagine it takes practice and a lot of shots to produce results like yours :)

Cheers!


David

Thanks David - glad you like them - I know not everyone is into F1 these days - a shame, as there's some pretty intense competition again, just wish there weren't so many aerodynamical aides this season, to make it even closer. Roll on 2009
Practice wise, I had track side access for the past couple years in NZ, shooting the www.d1nz.com (NZ Drifting Championship), but the ISO 50 on the 1D really does help in getting lower shutter speeds in the middle of the day.

http://www.warrenwilliams.co.nz/d107-r3/
That was one of my last events, but loads of fun - shooting close to the action, and also up in a cherry picker, shooting with a 17-40 + Cokin ND grad kit

Just a shame few people like drifting, as it's quite fun to shoot

Love it!

Wish we got some REAL F1 races over here in the States.

Yeah it is a shame. Maybe they need a street race in an exotic famous location...
Or perhaps Laguna Seca could be fun

Why on earth would you use an 800mm at Silverstone? Silly sod! :lol: I tried the 1.4x TC on my 600mm at Luffield for a laugh once and it is WAY too long. The only place 800mm would be useful is the exit of Copse but even there it isn't much use as the huge concrete run-off area you have to shoot over causes masses of heat distortion in your photo. An obvious case of all the gear and no idea. :rolleyes:

Sure it would have a few purposes, but overall not the best!
The 2nd shot down, tighter crops exiting Luffields, with hot exhaust gases, which are more apparent on longer focal ranges would be nice.

[Wazza]

Love the third picture of the nose of the Mclaren. Take it that it wasn't moving at the time ;-)

:lol: I wish it was real - as above, just from the Mercedes stand

Wow shooting mostly under 1/100th what can I say....wish I could get those results that low.....no6 for me .

Steve.

I must admit earlier in the day during practice for BMW Formula and GP2, I was struggling with the slow shutter speeds - but then found a good rhythm by the time the F1 cars were out. These shots were all from Practice 2 (I think), as the light was much better, and more behind, rather than slightly back lit or directly overhead.

I really like number 6, a great shot.

I think I saw the guy with the 800 during the testing last week. He had it mounted on a tripod at the back of the Luffield terrace. I guess there's nothing like getting 1000 identical photos. :rolleyes:

Yeah that would have been him - he did mention he was there for the testing.

Excellent photos. The panning shot of Alonso is probably my favorite. I assume you are already at the track today, as there are about 5 minutes left until qualifying right now!

Thanks - was indeed at the track all weekend, 6am to 6pm pretty much all 3 days. Very tired after all of it

Wonderful shots, love the McLaren nose one!

:cool:

+1

It's insane that there isn't a USGP this year, but I don't blame Tony George for not giving in to Bernie's demands. Bernie is a lunatic.

+2

What a great set, I struggled to get sharp shots of the Renault F1 at Silverstone a few months back and that was at 1/200.

How did you meter?

Thanks - was using evaluative, and adjusting ISO (mostly 50), aperture and shutter speed to suit. Generally will account for dark objects also, and just let the meter shot +1, if say shooting a person whose face is in shadow.
Too much effort to switch to spot metering.

I also made a first good effort at changing focus points regular - particularly helpful after the latest firmware upgrade for the 1DIII, in which you can use the little toggle stick to quickly move around.

Mostly using the bottom right one for the shots, and composing the shots with more in front (as usual) and a bit more above, as I had annoying fences directly below.

1 is unbelievable. Great shot!

Thanks, glad you like it

Sweet shots, perfect panning!

Thanks Matt, you need to come along to Brands one day with me! It's a load of fun, and some other regulars there, who I'm sure will be welcoming ;)

Excellent work mate.

When you at Brands next?

Thanks Jon,
Neal is trying to get me along very soon.
I'm rather busy the next few weeks, and always have to work the last Saturday of the month, which doesn't help with the upcoming WTCC and DTM!
WTCC last year was fun, and I wouldn't mind seeing DTM also. Maybe the race day sundays I'll come along. :)

Now there is a problem I would love to have. Unfortunately I have the "no idea" part down pat, it's the other part I would love to be plagued with. :lol: - admitting it, means you're part way there to having at least some idea now :p

Awesome, fantastic colour and panning - love the first one

Thanks again..


Alright, off to go through all these other shots. 4037 from 3 days. And was shooting 1 shot a time (the number of people I see shooting at 10fps and hoping to get a keeper.. spray and pray, doesn't work... focus, compose, and time the shots)

[GuidoH]

Coming in so late, doesn't leave a lot of room for new things to say, as everything has already been said. I really like the images. Top notch!

[o2sensorheating]

Shots are wonderful!, 1st is my favorite - gives a new look to the sports typical photographs

[BOUNCINGNRG]

great shots dude.

[Wazza]

Coming in so late, doesn't leave a lot of room for new things to say, as everything has already been said. I really like the images. Top notch!
Thank you

Shots are wonderful!, 1st is my favorite - gives a new look to the sports typical photographs
Thanks - now just struggling to find the time to go through the rest! (plus GP2, historic touring cars etc)

great shots dude.
Thanks Mark :cool:

[BrettRio]

Nice man! You have skill!

[Oz Boggy]

What a great series. Nicely captured.

Cheers

Boggy

[Big K]

I really like #3. Different and very well composed. I have yet to even see anyone with an 800 but plan to bother them as soon as I do.

[nedwards]

McLaren nose cone my fave mate..but the wide on the 24-105 is tops too! I've just spunked 700 notes on the 24-105 so looking forward to getting some similar images!

[Lowner]

I really do fancy that 800mm lens. Unlike Cadwell, I think it would be an ideal lens at Silverstone on a Full frame camera. Might be a bit over the top on my 30D.

[Wazza]

Thanks guys! Checking the new 2009 cars, I think they look very nice! Especially the McLaren. Very clean lines, none of those silly barge boards.

Congrats Neil on the purchase! It's a very useful lens :)

Still haven't managed to save for the 800mm :p
Doesn't help when I haven't been in work for over 7 weeks now

[Lowner]

Wazza,

But how many of those enormous front wings are going to be still attached after the first corner?

I'm intrigued by how each year, the "oily bits" and the driver get closer and closer to the rear of the chassis and farther from the nose.

[Wazza]

Yeah I did see a side comparison 2008 vs 2009, and can clearly see all cars have their drivers a further 6-12 inches behind. Some have particularly long noses too, beyond the front wheels - such as the Ferrari F60

[EveryMilesAMemory]

Wow is what i have to say ... i am incredibly jealous at how well you can pan...

shots this sharp at thoes speed like 1/25 WTF!

i can only dream on

massive respect!

they are all good , best i have seen from silverstone in a long time

# 3 in the 800mm shots is funny. Not sure if you're the guy holding on to the monopod, or if it's the owner of the lens, but his facial expression looking at the monster reminds me of a young kid at a strip bar for the first time. You can see him drooling!

[Wazza]

:lol:

Yeah the guy in the pic, works for Canon UK apparently. Just borrows lens to go shooting. Lucky!

[danny87]

Great shots, excellent panning. I like how you put at the end of your post "I hope it doesn't rain too much"

[Wazza]

Great shots, excellent panning. I like how you put at the end of your post "I hope it doesn't rain too much"

Thanks :)
And we all know how wet it turned out... lol