2009 Gator Nationals

kgarrett11

I ventured down to Gainesville, FL this past Saturday and made my first attempt at shooting extremely fast cars. Here are some of my results. All were taken with a Nikon D3. Please let me know what you think and what I can do to improve on these.


#1 70-200mm (120mm), 1/100, f/22, ISO 360



#2 70-200MM (200MM), 1/800, f/4.5, ISO 200


#3 70-200mm (95mm), 1/160, f/22, ISO 360


#4 300mm, 1/500, f/18, ISO 1600


#5 300mm, 1/1000, f/7.1, ISO 200


#6 70-200mm (110mm), 1/320, f/6.3, ISO 200

Stilltime

Looks like you were on the other side of us. We were on the summit side. It was a great time. I posted a thread with my photos here. http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=124364

I tried the whole panning thing and failed misserably, but I got a lot of cool shots of the tires twisting with the super fast shutter speeds.

kgarrett11

Stilltime wrote:

Looks like you were on the other side of us. We were on the summit side. It was a great time. I posted a thread with my photos here. http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=124364

I tried the whole panning thing and failed misserably, but I got a lot of cool shots of the tires twisting with the super fast shutter speeds.

Yea, it is a challenge to get them. I don't know how well I did in comparison to pro shooters but I felt that I did OK. I also tried to hold the camera still and snap as the car passed through the field of view but couldn't get the settings right to get a decent shot.

Stilltime

There are a few pictures on ESPN, but most of the seem to be of the driver smoking their tires at the starting line, and not any real action pictures of them going 270mph (plus). Given where they were standing, all their pictures would be of the rear of the car, and plus, the smoke from the tires is more dramatic.

But my biggest problem was my ISO. My camera is just not capable of high ISO's, and I was finding I needed the higher ISO's to get the fast shutter speeds (1/2000 and up) so there's a lot of noise. I used lightroom to reduce some of it, but the quality just isn't as good.

Something kinda funny.. after I uploaded my pictures and I was looking through them, I kept saying "dang, they're really hazy and foggy looking, what the heck is going on? Is it my lens?" (as I frantically pulled my lens out to inspect it). Lens was fine, but it took me a minute to realize it was either the smoke or the gas. Duh!

kgarrett11

Stilltime wrote:

There are a few pictures on ESPN, but most of the seem to be of the driver smoking their tires at the starting line, and not any real action pictures of them going 270mph (plus). Given where they were standing, all their pictures would be of the rear of the car, and plus, the smoke from the tires is more dramatic.

But my biggest problem was my ISO. My camera is just not capable of high ISO's, and I was finding I needed the higher ISO's to get the fast shutter speeds (1/2000 and up) so there's a lot of noise. I used lightroom to reduce some of it, but the quality just isn't as good.

Something kinda funny.. after I uploaded my pictures and I was looking through them, I kept saying "dang, they're really hazy and foggy looking, what the heck is going on? Is it my lens?" (as I frantically pulled my lens out to inspect it). Lens was fine, but it took me a minute to realize it was either the smoke or the gas. Duh!

Have you ever tried Noise Ninja? When I shoot with my D200 and get noise in the shot, NN does a really good job for me.
I saw the guys with the PHOT0 vests on and wondered if they were limited as to where they could go since they all stayed up at the start line.

Jonnyyaya

Great shots I like 5 with the heat ..

Qarik

nice pan-focus shots!

kgarrett11

Jonnyyaya wrote:

Great shots I like 5 with the heat ..

Thanks, that's the one that I like the best.

kgarrett11

Qarik wrote:

nice pan-focus shots!

Thanks, I wish that I could get some decent shots not panning and the car is blurred. I guess that I will just have to keep practicing.

Huzband

I was there shooting as well. The G'nats are a tough venue without a photo pass.

You done good.

I was in the left side start line section, & didn't think to venture down track.

kgarrett11

Huzband wrote:

I was there shooting as well. The G'nats are a tough venue without a photo pass.

You done good.

I was in the left side start line section, & didn't think to venture down track.

Thanks, I appreciate the comments. Do you know how to go about getting photo passes to events like this and SX motorcross. There is an SX event coming up in Jacksonville and the stadium won't allow anything over a six inch lens into the stadium.

Huzband

I'm not sure but,you would probably have to go through the AMA.

I spoke with a photographer at the Daytona short track, & he told me that for that event, you have to go through the speedway office, with a letter from whomever you're shooting for. He also said this has to happen moths in advance. So, I would suppose the SX wouldn't be much different.

I'll be working it with my dirt bike club, so I'll be up close, but no opportunity for shooting.

kgarrett11

Huzband wrote:

I'm not sure but,you would probably have to go through the AMA.

I spoke with a photographer at the Daytona short track, & he told me that for that event, you have to go through the speedway office, with a letter from whomever you're shooting for. He also said this has to happen moths in advance. So, I would suppose the SX wouldn't be much different.

I'll be working it with my dirt bike club, so I'll be up close, but no opportunity for shooting.

OK thanks, I'll have to give it a try next year.

Erbeman

kgarrett11 wrote:

Thanks, I appreciate the comments. Do you know how to go about getting photo passes to events like this and SX motorcross. There is an SX event coming up in Jacksonville and the stadium won't allow anything over a six inch lens into the stadium.

I shoot SX and the odds of you getting on the track are slim to none if you aren't affiliated with a magazine or MX website. They have really cracked down on giving track credentials.

kgarrett11

Erbeman wrote:

I shoot SX and the odds of you getting on the track are slim to none if you aren't affiliated with a magazine or MX website. They have really cracked down on giving track credentials.

That sucks. Thanks for the info. I guess my best bet is to work on the people here in Jacksonville and get them to allow larger lens in to events that aren't controlled by the NFL.

moose135

Nice work, Keith! Shooting 300mph race cars certainly is a challenge. You did a nice job on your panning shots.

kgarrett11 wrote:

I also tried to hold the camera still and snap as the car passed through the field of view but couldn't get the settings right to get a decent shot.

You mean something like this, where the background is sharp, and the car is blurry? (Yes, I know it's not a car...:D)



I shot that one at the NHRA event at Englishtown last summer http://moose135.smugmug.com/gallery/5226543_vZzTc/1/317437176_jpY4N
It was taken at 1/1250, f/8.0, ISO 200. It's a matter of timing (and a little luck). I focused on the finish line, and fired off a couple of shots, starting as he first popped into the viewfinder. Since he was coming from my right, and that is my shooting eye, I was trying to watch him as best I could as he approached. If he is coming from your "off side" you can keep your other eye open to watch as he approaches.

One bit of advice I'll offer you - I'm seeing some of your shots were taken at higher ISO settings (360 - I never use those in-between ISOs btw, 1600) and relatively small apertures (f/18, f/22). I would open up your lens - unless I'm looking for some type of effect, I usually shoot around f/7.1 or f/8.0. That will allow you to get a higher shutter speed while avoiding noise introduced by higher ISOs. You really shouldn't need an extreme DOF, and if anything, a shallower DOF will help make the crowd a little less distinct, keeping your attention on the race cars. At that distance away, you should have plenty of DOF at a more open aperture and still keep the cars and their immediate surroundings sharp.

kgarrett11

moose135 wrote:

Nice work, Keith! Shooting 300mph race cars certainly is a challenge. You did a nice job on your panning shots.


You mean something like this, where the background is sharp, and the car is blurry? (Yes, I know it's not a car...:D)



I shot that one at the NHRA event at Englishtown last summer http://moose135.smugmug.com/gallery/5226543_vZzTc/1/317437176_jpY4N
It was taken at 1/1250, f/8.0, ISO 200. It's a matter of timing (and a little luck). I focused on the finish line, and fired off a couple of shots, starting as he first popped into the viewfinder. Since he was coming from my right, and that is my shooting eye, I was trying to watch him as best I could as he approached. If he is coming from your "off side" you can keep your other eye open to watch as he approaches.

One bit of advice I'll offer you - I'm seeing some of your shots were taken at higher ISO settings (360 - I never use those in-between ISOs btw, 1600) and relatively small apertures (f/18, f/22). I would open up your lens - unless I'm looking for some type of effect, I usually shoot around f/7.1 or f/8.0. That will allow you to get a higher shutter speed while avoiding noise introduced by higher ISOs. You really shouldn't need an extreme DOF, and if anything, a shallower DOF will help make the crowd a little less distinct, keeping your attention on the race cars. At that distance away, you should have plenty of DOF at a more open aperture and still keep the cars and their immediate surroundings sharp.

Thanks for the help. That is the kind of information that I have been looking for. Anything that will make my shots better.
Using the D3, I have had very little problem with noise. Even at ISO 6400 the only place that I have gotten any noise is in a very dark (night) sky and then the noise that I do get Noise Ninja does a great job on it.

Swede

I like #3. I went to an IHRA in the fall and getting a clean panning shot of the TopFuels is very tough(Especially from the stands). I think part of it too is the vibration of the cars. I got a couple pans on slower cars but nothing like that on the top fuel. http://www.performance-images.com/gallery/6325656_8AUg7/1/398888614_dmQm7

mercphoto

kgarrett11 wrote:

That sucks.

You wouldn't think so if you were a working photog who was on assignment to get paying assignments. You're panning is pretty good! I like the shots. Nice choice on getting yourself a bit elevated, looking down on the track, lets you see the entire car w/o any blockage from the safety barriers. And you seem to know when to use the fast shutter, when to use the slow shutter too.

mercphoto

moose135 wrote:

One bit of advice I'll offer you - I'm seeing some of your shots were taken at higher ISO settings (360 - I never use those in-between ISOs btw, 1600) and relatively small apertures (f/18, f/22). I would open up your lens - unless I'm looking for some type of effect, I usually shoot around f/7.1 or f/8.0. That will allow you to get a higher shutter speed while avoiding noise introduced by higher ISOs. You really shouldn't need an extreme DOF, and if anything, a shallower DOF will help make the crowd a little less distinct, keeping your attention on the race cars. At that distance away, you should have plenty of DOF at a more open aperture and still keep the cars and their immediate surroundings sharp.

+1 on that advice. If you think about it, its not any different than outdoor portrait photography. Get separation of the subject from the background, to draw your eye to the subject and not have competing interests. That background shouldn't be tack sharp, but also not so blurry that you loose all sense of environment (where was that shot taken?). Slow shutters to show motion. Pay attention to the direction of light, where are the shadows, etc. Composition - where is the car in the frame relative to its motion (is it moving into the frame, or out of the frame). Pay attention to backgrounds (any porta potties behind that car? is the background pleasing or distracting?).

kgarrett11

mercphoto wrote:

+1 on that advice. If you think about it, its not any different than outdoor portrait photography. Get separation of the subject from the background, to draw your eye to the subject and not have competing interests. That background shouldn't be tack sharp, but also not so blurry that you loose all sense of environment (where was that shot taken?). Slow shutters to show motion. Pay attention to the direction of light, where are the shadows, etc. Composition - where is the car in the frame relative to its motion (is it moving into the frame, or out of the frame). Pay attention to backgrounds (any porta potties behind that car? is the background pleasing or distracting?).

Thanks. I tried a lot to capture the motion of the car passing through the frame and the background sharp and just couldn't get it. I had tried the week before at the SX at Daytona and didn't get any better results with the bikes. I find panning so much easier than timing.

kgarrett11

Swede wrote:

I like #3. I went to an IHRA in the fall and getting a clean panning shot of the TopFuels is very tough(Especially from the stands). I think part of it too is the vibration of the cars. I got a couple pans on slower cars but nothing like that on the top fuel. http://www.performance-images.com/gallery/6325656_8AUg7/1/398888614_dmQm7

I took a look at your shots. I like #13 and was wondering how you managed to get the car in the background to be stopped and sharp and the one in the foreground to show some really good motion. What were you shooting with?

mercphoto

kgarrett11 wrote:

I took a look at your shots. I like #13 and was wondering how you managed to get the car in the background to be stopped and sharp and the one in the foreground to show some really good motion.

Simple -- the car in the background is NOT stopped. Look at the wheels, that background car is moving fast. He's panning with the car in the background very accurately, but the foreground car is going at a much different speed. Hence the effect.

What were you shooting with?

Has nothing to do with the equipment, its all in how he chose to use it.

kgarrett11

mercphoto wrote:

Has nothing to do with the equipment, its all in how he chose to use it.

I know that it has little to do with the equipment. I'm just interested in knowing what equipment people use.

I thought that the speed was different but I wasn't sure if there was a big difference in the speed.

rmwphoto

Great Shots!!
I tried to get into the Toronto SX but couldn't ,they said I had to work for
a newspaper.
Going to go early to practice and try to get to the first row seats next too
the track and try to get some pics there.
I even tried to ask a newspaper if i could take pics for them in exchange
for a press pass.
No go.

torags

kgarrett11 wrote:

Thanks, I wish that I could get some decent shots not panning and the car is blurred. I guess that I will just have to keep practicing.

Nice shots but really bright. Maybe from glare?

Any EV or a CP

BTW I shot the Honda SX (Daytona) from outside the infield and felt I had a better shooting site. The highest whoops were along the grandstand with the lights from the grandstand on them. Same lights caused a shadow if shooting from the infield. Additionally the equipment does matter somewhat, I was amazed at the lack of noise for the black sky.

http://ragspix.smugmug.com/gallery/7444755_94B8x#492639823_2tXjj