Newbie at NHRA

[Hollywoodgt]

Couple shots. Just getting back into shooting. Did most all in manual

[MT Stringer]

You might want to consider adjusting the exposure in # 1 and 2, delete #3 (out of focus) and crop #4 tighter. Just my thoughts.

[Hollywoodgt]

Thanks a bunch, It was hard to shot manual since I have not been shooting in a long time. Plus the vibrations in the stands led to a little camera shake and also me anticipating the green light.

[Jim M]

It takes a little practice, but I completely disregard the Christmas tree and shoot by car sound or movement. The peak of the action usually occurs a little bit after the car is in motion.

[Praemunitus]

Why would you shoot in manual? Shoot shutter priority to achieve appropriate motion blur and let the camera take care of the rest, or shoot aperture priority if you're shooting them while doing the burnout (as seems to be the case). If you know that you're blowing out highlights, just adjust your exposure down a notch and keep shooting!

Honestly, there's no reason to shoot full manual when you don't have that much time to be checking your settings as you take shots. Just swinging the camera a few degrees can change the required settings. Heck, most pros don't shoot full manual in daylight as it's a waste of time. They know what they want to achieve and they set the camera up accordingly, letting it "automatically" adjust for things they don't care about.

[Jim M]

Praemunitus, I was going to suggest the same thing. Things happen fast and the lighting where I shoot is rarely consistent enough to count on nailing it with manual. I normally shoot in shutter priority during the day or program if I have a really long lens. I think with anything that moves, shutter speed is by far the most important factor.

[Lowieken]

It's a matter of forcing yourself to learn ... I shoot almost manual all the time. The reason is you see what settings do what ... Sometime you waste a lot of shot's but since I'me no pro it only serves me as a lesson. But I do agree, pro's and people that really have no time and money to waste will use Tv/Av, as they know what they want to achieve and what they can expect in which conditions with a certain setting. I almost hit myself on the head once when I almost missed all my shot's of some wild dolphin's in low light in Bali. (A kinda once in a life time experience). It only tought me that in some conditions you just have to choose a speed and let the camera take care of the rest ... And play around when you got time or you can re-shoot ...

[Jim M]

I'm an old geezer and I've been shooting since my teens. I've shot manual longer than most members of this forum have been alive. I was shooting 35mm before light meters were built into cameras. Sometimes it's best not to have to think quite as much, although you still have to think even when the camera is doing some of the work for you. But I'm one of those guys that has to deliver the goods. All that being said, everyone has to find a shooting style that suits them. I'm sure there are excellent race photographers that always shoot manual and others that rarely do.

[andrewhuxman]

Good series of shots ,like you said practice ,practice , practice .... good info offered here what hasnt been said : maybe you might want to straighten the horizon so they are not going up hill...... just my observation. Racing photography is Fun.

[Hollywoodgt]

Originally Posted by andrewhuxman

Good series of shots ,like you said practice ,practice , practice .... good info offered here what hasnt been said : maybe you might want to straighten the horizon so they are not going up hill...... just my observation. Racing photography is Fun.

You know I didn't notice that about the angle of the shot. Funny thing is the camera was straight. Must have been the angle I was at?

As far as manual shooting, thanks for all the advise. The reason I was shooting manual was to see how the adjustments effected the shoots. I shooting and reviewing the effects would help me understand, what needs to be done. Sometimes I'd leave it in auto or action mode and see what it suggested. Then take a shot and tweak the settings and see the effect?

Thank you everyone for the suggestions and taking the time to review my pics.

[TLR]

I hope those guys have ear protection!

[Jim M]

Keeping the camera level is a problem I have. I am particularly bad at it. What I have learned is that if you can find a true horizontal at your eye level or on the actual distant horizon, that is easiest to judge. However, all too often when shooting from the stands, eye level is way above the image. The best way to judge horizontal is to use vertical lines. In your pictures, true verticals seem to be available in the straight concrete wall just in front of the spectators and, of course, the Christmas tree. The wider angle the lens, the more important it is to use a vertical in the center of the image due to lens distortion. The first and third image look to be close to straight. The second image is tilted.

[MT Stringer]

Since I run all of my keepers through Lightroom, it is really a simple matter to straighten the background while in the crop mode. I used to use PS Elements and you can do the same thing. I adjust to it looks good to me.

I also have a hard time with straight backgrounds, especially when shooting with the 300 on a monopod.