Possible to plant a camera for motorcycle racing?

[inernets]

Hello, i am friends with a motorcycle racer and have been with and photographed him at 3 events last year and i'm trying to step up my game for this coming year and i am looking at getting some better shots and experimenting with a planted camera on the slowest turn on the track.

It is a small track in West Virginia and i know i will get permission to shoot from inside the fence so i am trying to figure out if i should put a camera on a tripod close to the track and shoot with a wireless remote. Would i be allowed to do this? Could i plant it 5 or 10 feet back? Would i have to secure it extra with a stake and leash, i have never done anything like this?

Also we are thinking about selling the photos at the event, has anyone had any experience trying to do this on their own? I was going to contact the track and ask if they would allow it and maybe offer a percentage of the money, does that sound like a good plan?

[DC Fan]

It's unlikely to produce a usable image, at first. The idea seems based on the use of remote television cameras for what are called "speed shots," however, those television frames are based on motion blur and not on generating a saleable still frame.The best way to get a usable still image in even a slow corner is to have a human photographer who tracks the subject in the frame. Examples:

Aperture: f/3.5
Exposure Time: 0.0050 s (1/200)
ISO equiv: 800
Exposure Bias: none
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: shutter priority (semi-auto)
White Balance: Auto
Flash Fired: No (enforced)
Orientation: Normal
Color Space: sRGB




Focal Length: 60.0mm
Aperture: f/5.0
Exposure Time: 0.0025 s (1/400)
ISO equiv: 800
Exposure Bias: none
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: shutter priority (semi-auto)
White Balance: Auto
Flash Fired: No (enforced)
Orientation: Normal

Aperture: f/2.8
Exposure Time: 0.0063 s (1/160)
ISO equiv: 2000
Exposure Bias: none
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: program (Auto)
White Balance: Auto
Flash Fired: No (enforced)
Orientation: Normal
Color Space: sRGB

The best-know uses of remote cameras are for basketball, and typically, those remotes are assisted with the additional motion stopping power of strobes. Any chance of getting a useful image in the conditions described wouldrequire some luck. It would be an interesting experiment.

Originally Posted by inernets

Hello, i am friends with a motorcycle racer and have been with and photographed him at 3 events last year and i'm trying to step up my game for this coming year and i am looking at getting some better shots and experimenting with a planted camera on the slowest turn on the track.t is a small track in West Virginia and i know i will get permission to shoot from inside the fence so i am trying to figure out if i should put a camera on a tripod close to the track and shoot with a wireless remote. Would i be allowed to do this? Could i plant it 5 or 10 feet back? Would i have to secure it extra with a stake and leash, i have never done anything like this?

Also we are thinking about selling the photos at the event, has anyone had any experience trying to do this on their own? I was going to contact the track and ask if they would allow it and maybe offer a percentage of the money, does that sound like a good plan?

[636]

One of the photographers at a local track does that. He has a camera set up on a mini tripod and puts it right behind the apex cone in the corner. Fast shutter speed and small apertures.

Not the best example, but gives you an idea:

[Tessa]

I haven't used a remote camera (yet), but I'm not sure you would be allowed to put a full sized tripod close to the track. Behind a barrier, yes, but not out in the open - it would pose a danger to any motorcycle rider having an off.

A camera on a mini tripod behind a cone (like in 636's example) seems much more doable.

[inernets]

Originally Posted by 636

One of the photographers at a local track does that. He has a camera set up on a mini tripod and puts it right behind the apex cone in the corner. Fast shutter speed and small apertures.

Not the best example, but gives you an idea:

AWESOME this was the response i was looking for!! I wonder if my joby tripod will be enough if i put it that close?

Yeah i wanted to put it close to the apex on the slowest turn, and putting the camera somewhere safe i guess behind a barrier or by a cone. i really appreciate the reply because i know professionals do this on the slow turns.

Thanks again for the reply.

[Echo63]

I haven't don't this for bike racing, but have run a remote camera at a rally (near a jump)

I watched 000 car go through, had a friend stand where the cars would be airborne, focused and locked off the tripod (actually a very short "background" lightstand and magic arm)
The camera had a 16-35 - set to f8 in AV - with the ISO set fairly high, around 800 I think to give me a shutter speed fast enough to freeze a flying car.
Triggered with a pocketwizard (which was taped to a tree 6' above the ground)

I was standing maybe 50m down the road with a 300 f2.8