Macau GP

[craigs]

Have any of you guys attended or shot at the Macau GP? I've been to Macau several times but never during the races.

Thanks,

Craig

[craigs]

Ok since no one has been there or is unwilling to give up their secret spot, how about some other advice.

Bit of history, on a whim I decided to extend a business trip to Macau for the race if I could get a hotel room, I found a room. I want to document my trip and do it right. I picked up a 40d and a lens or two. I have never ever shot a DSLR. Realizing I didn't have time to learn in the field I read everything about panning on here and a few other sites. I also have made one trip to a local track to take pictures. I may be able to make it out one more day before my trip.

I have been racing with SCCA for years so I am familiar with the motorsport end of things - lines, corners, pits, etc...I have had the opportunity to be in the pits for several NASCAR races so I have an idea of how things go from the racing side.

Where I have no clue is the photography side.

I know I will get some grief or even lack of responses to my question, but remember I don't have time to learn at the track, so here goes: Do these settings sound right?

Shoot in high speed continuos mode, auto wb, picture style standard, large fine jpegs, Tv mode, AI servo, IS mode 2, ISO 100 for sunny and ISO 400 for cloudy.

For pans start at 1/250, 1/200, 1/125, to 1/80.

For head on and pits shoot at IS mode 1 AV.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Craig

[Lowner]

Craig,

IS mode 2 is OK for monopod use, if handholding use mode 1.

Personally I would not use high speed continuous, I prefer to shoot in one-shot mode but others use your method successfully. Successful panning takes practise, so don't be upset if you don't bring home many keepers on your first attempt. I am always bad at the beginning of the season, but improve as I shoot more.

Using AI Servo you do need to concentrate hard on keeping the AF point nailed to the subject. Let it wander off even for a moment and you will be out of focus. Again it takes practise.

I generally start the day shooting reasonably high shutter speeds to get some bankers. Once I'm happy I've got something to take home I start getting creative and try lower speeds.

[craigs]

Richard:

Thanks. No room for a monopod unfortunately. I'm loaded up fully already and worried about trying to stuff all my gear on the plane.

I agree on the panning and its difficulty. Do you think I would be better off manually focusing on a spot and then shooting as the car passes through there or using AI servo?

I'm hoping to get into double digits for keepers over the four days I am there. But most important have a good time, see some good racing, and improve my shooting skills.

Thanks for the tips.

Craig

[Lowner]

No, AI Servo is a good choice.

Hope you have a great time.

[DisrupTer911]

shoot raw files. you'll thank yourself you did when you get home and have to process them. jpgs will limit your processing abilities.

[craigs]

Thanks for the advice guys. I plan to shoot a card or two with RAW and jpegs.

Made it over here and have to endure a little over two weeks of work before the event, but man am I pumped up! Gear is all in working order and cards are empty and ready to roll.

If anyone else reads this and will be there too PM me and the first beer is on me.

Craig

[craigs]

We registered as media, but this does not give you access to the track. You need to register as media/press on course. The press on course bib gives you the access you need. Also, you want to sign up to shoot from the Lisboa bend booth. Access is limited each day. I recommend signing up for the Thursday or Friday sessions.

I will start where we did and throw in some comments.

Shooting the night before the action begins could be tough for the formula BMW and touring cars because they are garaged in the basement below the pits. Low light in here.

Once the action starts you can walk down to the last turn – Reservior Bend. Leave through the pits and walk between the pit lane entrance and the track. Shooting from the track out point was scary without much room to escape when cars do end up hitting there. There was at least one big one here so stay alert or pick a better spot. You can shoot from the outside of the turn, at the flag station, towards the apex for panning. We crossed the track here in-between sessions and headed counterclockwise around the reservoir. Walking around the reservoir, past the water treatment plant (I believe that’s what it is), we came to a set of stairs going up. These lead up to Donna Maria bend.

Donna Maria bend is listed in the press handouts as having only access before 6 am and after the last session. In other words show up before 6 am to get there and don’t plan on leaving. We found this not to be true. We simply walked up the stairs and were at the entrance of the turn. There are two flag stations here and the flaggers were kind enough to share their stations so we could shoot entering and exiting the turn. One great thing about this spot was that there are permanent public bathrooms here. From here you can go two directions. The first day they let us on track to run down to the hairpin between sessions. The other is to head to the right hander prior to DM bend (not the 90 degree one – the bend prior to that). Apparently it’s rare for them to let you onto the track from Donna Maria to run to the hairpin so I will take you the “correct” way towards the right hand bend before DM bend.

If you head down the stairs you climbed to Donna Maria and continue clockwise around the reservoir you come to a walkway going right and one going straight under the elevated roadway. The walk way to the right puts you up against the guardrail on the inside after the bend prior to DM turn. Neat spot but not really that great of a vantage point. It’s better to take the walkway under the elevated roadway and swing around to the outside of the bend prior to DM. Here again there are plenty of shots you can take. The cars are coming at you for a long time. I saw several guys shooting with both 300-400 mm as the cars approached. This was a cool angle, but the one I liked even better was again moving towards track out and getting the cars as they apexed. In this turn you can also shot the backs of the cars as they head up the hill towards the right hand 90 degree turn just before DM.

From here you can walk along the outside of the track against the race direction and get to a couple more flag stations that provide shots of the cars coming through the S turns on the back of the circuit. These shots show how narrow the track is, but might not be worth the walk. Instead head away from the right hand bend before DM and stay to the right at the first intersection, walk past the school and the parking garage and to your right will be the Melco Hairpin. You could shoot all day long here. Entrance, mid, exit, down the hill past the exit towards the next turn, etc… There are just a ton of angles here. I saw a few guys shooting with fisheyes here. I don’t have one so I couldn’t see what they were seeing, but the tall buildings must have made for some great shots. Speaking of tall buildings the vantage point from the parking garage down onto the hairpin is where theTV cameras are, security wouldn’t let us into the garage, but we did see a few people up there. While at the hairpin if you walk next to the track at the turn in point and continue against race traffic and look to your right there is a spot where you can shoot the cars head on as they are going up the towards DM bend.

At the other end of the track is the Lisboa Bend, San Fransisco Hill, and Maternity Bend. At Lisboa Bend there is a photo stand at the end of the grandstand. Cool spot if you want to capture crashes and are not bothered by chainlink fence. We shot here for five minutes. On the outside of Lisboa Bend is the stand where you need the special access I mentioned earlier. We didn’t have it, so I can’t comment first hand, but it looked like a great spot.

Heading around Lisboa you can shoot from the green porch on one of the houses. Bring either a big lens or a fisheye. With the 70-200mm I was still looking for reach. Think 400mm at least to get the bikes at the entrance of SF hill. Personally I would skip this spot and head up the hill towards the hospital. Once you get to the hospital go through the tunnel on your right, pass the emergency room entrance and you’ll find yourself at Hospital Hill.

Hospital Hill…it’s like the hairpin where there are just so many shots and angles that you can spend a whole day there. I will start at the beginning of this spot and work with race traffic down towards the end. There is a bridge over the track where you can shoot the cars coming at you and below you. This was the only bridge I saw that wasn’t covered in plywood to stop photographers. Moving along the track there is a great spot on the wall to get the cars coming at you or for panning. Anywhere along that wall we were free to go. At the end of the wall there is a 20 foot section of guardrail. You can shoot over it or through it, but be on your toes. This is the spot where the F3 car hit in the race.

Overall we had a ball. Although I had the kits lens, I felt that gear wise I was wanting for a shorter fast lens (I had a 18-55, 70-200, 300, and 1.4 tc). If you are just shooting for fun then a 17-55, 70-200, and 300 with a 1.4tc should be more than enough if you have press access. If you are a pro then who knows, you aren’t looking to me for advice. I did see a bunch of 400mm glass being hoisted up by the big boys though. No matter your skill level remember to bring water, food, and comfortable shoes.

EDIT: One nice thing to have would have been a small protable TV - the qualifying, practice, and race are covered on live TV. It was nice to see what red flags were for and what the delays were. Also, bring sunscreen.

[Lowner]

Craig,

Press access no less! I am very jealous. What strings did you have to pull to get that?

500 and 600mm is in common use amonst the F1 professional togs through Europe. Not seen an 800mm in action yet.

[craigs]

A buddy of mine writes articles for a few different car and motorcycle magazines. My deal with him was I provide the hotel room and he gets me a pass. He ran a story idea by two of his editors and the second one said "I like it". I'll paste the link to the magazine site when the story get published.

We did make sure to stay out of the way of anyone who was there to make a living shooting. A couple of times when pros showed up we offered to move or give up our spot.

Everyone was friendly from the drivers that crashed and hung out with us, to the corner workers who gave us lunch one day, to the TV camera guy who offered us waters, to the other photographers who chatted between sessions or told us how to get to the good spots. For example, we would have never found Hospital Hill if not for the guy on Saturday morning who told us to "go right, up two flights of stairs, pass two side streets, and take the tunnel under the hospital past the ER, through the parking garage, and take a left at the cop". Overall, everyone that was involved was friendly and helpful. I got the feeling that they wanted us to feel welcome and be there covering the racing.

I can't wait to go back!

[offevytaf]

You should definately come to Macau, maybe start the University of Oklahoma Alumni branch in Macau, you would then become one the few new comers who will be in personal terms with the new CE. You never know, that may get you somewhere in Macau where perosonal relationship is very important.