Some drifting shots from H.I.N

Visited my first Hot Import Nights caar show and was really impressed with some of the rides on display. I had my trusty 5D with me equipped with a 70-200 F4L and got some drifting shots. Had to shoot through a fence with people jammed against me and pushing and shoving but got a few acceptable shots none the less. C&C is always appreciated as I am new to photographing motorsports. I believe all I did was levels adjustments and some sharpening for the web.

I think the shutterspeed is too fast.

grrrrr_8 wrote in post #8042068
I think the shutterspeed is too fast.

I would have to agree. A slower shutter speed would show motion in the rear wheel and maybe the front. As you are able to go slower and your panning gets better you will be able to show motion for the entire car.

Try shooting at 1/320 (1/focal length * cropfactor) as a start. When you have mastered that slow the shutter speed down some. Keep doing so while still maintaining nice sharp images.

Very cool! So were you picking rubber out of your face afterwards?

I always thought that the fast shutter speed was a must for this type of shot. This is why I love this forum....even when you think you know what you are doing, you can still find a better way to make it happen. Thanks guys I will try that next time I get the chance to do some shots like this. Actually I didn't have to pick any rubber out of anywhere...thank God!!

This is not necessarily a critique on your shots, but more of the location.
With the cars just being in a lot the shots are pretty boring, they just look like cars doing burnouts. Drifing with a track or something to see as a reference point gives a much better idea of what is hapening in the shot.
Maybe the panning/lower shutter would have helped to convey the moiton, but I think the location handicaps the potential.

craig_xB wrote in post #8047887
This is not necessarily a critique on your shots, but more of the location.
With the cars just being in a lot the shots are pretty boring, they just look like cars doing burnouts. Drifing with a track or something to see as a reference point gives a much better idea of what is hapening in the shot.
Maybe the panning/lower shutter would have helped to convey the moiton, but I think the location handicaps the potential.

Yeah, I agree that the track was boring....just some cones in a parking lot. Having more than one car at a time would have made it more interesting but they only did that a couple of times and I wasn't at the fence when it happened. Trying to get anything at all was really hard as everybody was all jammed along the fence whenever they were running. I do think I have a pic or 2 of the cars getting into the wall but the fence and the distance made them less than postable IMHO. Thanks for looking and commenting!