Le Mans...better late than never

Well, finally had a few minutes to breathe after returning from Le Mans. It was off the plane from Paris and onto one for Infineon. So now had a little time before leaving for Lime Rock tomorrow, so here are a few shots from my week in France.

I didnt want to travel all that distance and come home with images that looked like they could have been shot just anywhere, I wanted to try to capture the feel and look of Le Mans, so I tried to not shoot real tight unless there was something about it that just made it worth the shot. Hope I succeeded and your thoughts I whether I did or not are welcome. Full galleries can be viewed at the Le Mans section of SpeedArena.com. http://speedarena.com …/lemans_06/lema​ns_06.html

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Wow, those are ALL great shots. It's very difficult to pick out my favorites. I love the re-fueling shot and the shot of the Aston pulling into the pits. Awesome depth of field in the shot of the white prototype with the forest in the background.

Great job as usual!

The first and the pit stop shots are the ones that I like the most. Well, it's about time for someone to tell you that you should look into getting seriously involved with photography, you seem to have a talent for it...

On a serious note, thanks for sharing those. We now -at least me- have something to look up to, a high standard set for photos. No more crappy photos of my wife peeling tires in the Ford Escort !! he he

What equipment do you have on you when you do these events?... Do you carry a backpack with 4-5 lenses, or just have your own car around with all the stuff, or simply walk around with a single camera setup?... just curious.

Cheers, and again, awesome photos, mate.

Well, You certainly seem to have captured the fell of being there. Love the shot of the Jag? pulling into the pit with the fuel line overhead, for one example. Nice work.
-Bruce

All these shots are incredible, but the pit stops do it for me, too. #8 is something else with the crew ready for action as the car comes to a stop. I like the pan shot (#5) lots as well. I have tried to take photos in years past at the American LeMans Series at Laguna Seca, it isn't a piece of cake.

I am also curious as to the equipment used for the event. Did you have any special access to pit locations or can anyone get that close?

awesome 8) all of them

mjgravina wrote:
Well, it's about time for someone to tell you that you should look into getting seriously involved with photography, you seem to have a talent for it...

Judging by his photos, and the angles/vantage points he used, I think he very probably is seriously involved already. He almost certianly had media accreditation to Le Mans, and he used it to excellent effect.

Excellent

Excellent work. This is the most enjoyable set of images I have seen here for a very long time. Great coverage of the event.

---- Gavin

Very nice stuff.... wish I could have been there. I like the variety of shots you have too... not same place different car type stuff. Well done.

I think the comments by mjgravina were a tad tongue in cheek. It's pretty obvious he's not a "hacker"...please excuse the golf term.

Fourth and last one are among the best I've seen on this forum. Seriously. The only thing I would do to the fourth one is tilt it clockwise about 1 degree. Apart from that, they are astounding images.

Right. I'm off to play Gran Turismo 4

Gary.

Thanks for the comments guys really appreciate the feedback.

MJ and Justin, I use Canon 1DMkII N bodies and three main Canon lenses, the 24-70 f/2.8, the 70-200 f/2.8 IS and the 500 f/4. I wouldnt mind adding something a little wider, but to this point just havent felt the real need to spend the money and do it, although at times I sit there and wish I had it.

I use two bodies and mainly just pick the two lenses I think I'll need for a particular corner or going to the pits or whatever. Rarely I'll also carry the third lens if I know the spot offers looks with all three or if I plan to hit the pits after coming back from a corner and wont have the opportunity to go to the media center and pick up the other lens. I keep the gear in a Think Tank Airport Security locked bag in the media center locked to a table or something, that way I have relatively easy access to it all since parking is not always convenient.

Gavin, thanks for the comment, that is saying a lot and I truly appreciate it.

Gary, thanks for the comments on the images and thanks for the suggestion as well. I'll have to play with that one a bit on the rotation. I didnt do that because I wanted to get as much of the sign in the backround as I could to give that tie in with the car, unfortunately I couldnt find the right angle to hit all of it. Rotating would require a slight crop and not sure how much would have to go. Also, its a weird image in the sense that you kind of want the sign to be level, but then the car is tilted in the opposite direction and levelling the sign will make the turn look banked a lot more. So its a great suggestion, I'll have to play a bit and see if there is an angle that works better.

Thanks again for all the comments and I'm always open to hear suggestions and ideas for making any of them better.

Off to Lime Rock.

the last picture is awesome almost as if they were statues and the aston martin was just driving through

This ROCKS!!!!

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