At a WDCR SCCA Solo event. C&c welcomed. I used NX to post process. The camera used was a D300 with Sigma 120-300 lens. I switched to and from handheld to monopod during the event.
I just ordered NX to add to my workflow. I'm really torn. I love Lightroom but the conversion I get out of the trial version of NX is just better at times.
I like the first one, a sense of motion, reaching for the shifter, etc. But the next two are really kinda bland. Sure there's a flipping cone and such, but they really look a bit snapshot-ish to me. You've got some killer equipment, so why the large depth of field? Get some isolation. Get lower, shoot lower, not standing up. Crop tighter. Get some more interesting composition.
To answer your question about the depth of field. I wanted to more wheel and background blur the ISO was already 200. I see from the examples you cited that if I had moved for a streight on shot I could have used a faster shutter speed. I will give that a try next month.
Thanks for the C&C. A very big thanks for the link to the other pics.
(Learned form the link Mercphoto posted... In the event that anyone wants to see other shots from the day. Again C&C is always welcome.)
I like the first one, a sense of motion, reaching for the shifter, etc. But the next two are really kinda bland. Sure there's a flipping cone and such, but they really look a bit snapshot-ish to me. You've got some killer equipment, so why the large depth of field? Get some isolation. Get lower, shoot lower, not standing up. Crop tighter. Get some more interesting composition.
To answer your question about the depth of field. I wanted to more wheel and background blur the ISO was already 200. I see from the examples you cited that if I had moved for a streight on shot I could have used a faster shutter speed. I will give that a try next month.
If you want wheel blur you need to be shooting at mostly the side, so that you can see the wheels. You end up with a relatively small aperture so that you can get that slow shutter, which means more depth of field, which is bad. But that problem is fixed as you pan with the moving car, thus blurring that background with motion.
But if you are shooting relatively straight at the car, you can't really see the sides of the wheels, so you won't see any wheel blur. And you won't be panning the camera because the car isn't moving side to side, its moving straight at you, thus no camera movement. Therefore you get a large depth of field, and crisp backgrounds, and your shots look like they were done by mom and pop with their point and shoot. I'm not trying to be harsh, but that is what happened to your last two shots. There's nothing really compelling about them, in contrast to that first shot.
So what you have to do is change your camera settings based on what you are shooting. Are you shooting profile? Head-on? What direction is the light coming from? What is the background like here, do I even bother shooting here or do I move somewhere else?
I'd also suggest getting lower, shooting at the car's level. Get a knee pad and spend most of the day shooting on one knee, then look at the difference.
I agree with your points on the flying cone shots. The flying cone picture just happened when I was trying to get these kind of pictures. I was panning the kart when he hit the cone but had not zoomed in when the action started. I posted it here because I had never been able to catch so many cones in the air at one time. Sadly the shot you saw was the best of the lot. If I crop the shot in post production it does not look that sharp as the timing on the pan leaves a lot to be desired.
The two shots below with a tighter crop and better panning during the same general time period as the flying cones picture. When cropping the first (another kart) I made an attempt to use a thirds grid that comes with Capture NX while at the same time crop the picture to an 8x10 size (for thems that want prints). I am not so sure I was successful. The second shot I was afraid I would loose to much action if I cropped tighter.
I am learning a lot and have a thick hide so do not worry about feelings as long as you make points I can learn from.
(link to full size..[URL="ttp://dac.smugmug.com/gallery/8416746_XTWhy#553595756_o988U"].ttp://dac.smugmug.com/gallery/8416746_XTWhy#553595756_o988U[/URL]
Comments
#1 just grabs my thought process and screams "Grab the green knob and go"!
Thanks
Royce
www.dannerphotography.smugmug.com
I just ordered NX to add to my workflow. I'm really torn. I love Lightroom but the conversion I get out of the trial version of NX is just better at times.
Comments and constructive criticism always welcome.
www.mikejulianaphotography.com
Facebook
Thanks for the comments.
John
Some examples from another forum:
http://community.automotivephoto.net/forums/showthread.php?t=2835
A former sports shooter
Follow me at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjurasz/
My Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/mercphoto?ref=hdr_shop_menu
Thanks for the C&C. A very big thanks for the link to the other pics.
(Learned form the link Mercphoto posted... In the event that anyone wants to see other shots from the day. Again C&C is always welcome.)
http://dac.smugmug.com/My%20Autocross%20Shots/800381
But if you are shooting relatively straight at the car, you can't really see the sides of the wheels, so you won't see any wheel blur. And you won't be panning the camera because the car isn't moving side to side, its moving straight at you, thus no camera movement. Therefore you get a large depth of field, and crisp backgrounds, and your shots look like they were done by mom and pop with their point and shoot.
So what you have to do is change your camera settings based on what you are shooting. Are you shooting profile? Head-on? What direction is the light coming from? What is the background like here, do I even bother shooting here or do I move somewhere else?
I'd also suggest getting lower, shooting at the car's level. Get a knee pad and spend most of the day shooting on one knee, then look at the difference.
A former sports shooter
Follow me at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjurasz/
My Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/mercphoto?ref=hdr_shop_menu
The two shots below with a tighter crop and better panning during the same general time period as the flying cones picture. When cropping the first (another kart) I made an attempt to use a thirds grid that comes with Capture NX while at the same time crop the picture to an 8x10 size (for thems that want prints). I am not so sure I was successful. The second shot I was afraid I would loose to much action if I cropped tighter.
I am learning a lot and have a thick hide so do not worry about feelings as long as you make points I can learn from.
(link to full size http://dac.smugmug.com/gallery/8414047_Cf598#552768372_Gs7u2)
(link to full size..[URL="ttp://dac.smugmug.com/gallery/8416746_XTWhy#553595756_o988U"].ttp://dac.smugmug.com/gallery/8416746_XTWhy#553595756_o988U[/URL]