#42 at practise

Coney_Island_Gary

Montoya getting ready.

moose135

Nice attempt at a panning shot, Gary, but the car is not quite sharp enough to my eye. It takes some practice to get good panning shots - I know, I've got plenty of blurry ones, but when you get a good, sharp subject, with a blurred background, it's worth the effort. Would love to see more of your California shots, it's a few months until I get to see the circus at Pocono!

Coney_Island_Gary

moose135 wrote: »

Nice attempt at a panning shot, Gary, but the car is not quite sharp enough to my eye. It takes some practice to get good panning shots - I know, I've got plenty of blurry ones, but when you get a good, sharp subject, with a blurred background, it's worth the effort. Would love to see more of your California shots, it's a few months until I get to see the circus at Pocono!

<style>@font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }</style> <style>@font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }</style> Moose:

This was my first attempt shooting NASCAR cars in motion. After a two-hour rain delay in 50-degree weather, I was ready to give up before I started. My hands were so cold that I could not change lenses. However, it was still a fun day but not for capturing fast moving cars.

I was shooting with my Nikon D7000. It was very difficult to capture these cars when they were up to speed. I took over 1,000 images and I have not one sharp image to write home about.

For comic relief, I will add a few more images.

Oh well, there is always next year.

Coney_Island_Gary

#5
Mark Martin getting ready.

Coney_Island_Gary

More Blurred NASCAR Cars
#2 Brad

Coney_Island_Gary

#11 Hamlin
#11 Hamlin

Coney_Island_Gary

#88 jr,
Keeping in mind, if you move your head from side-to-side as you view these images, they will appear to be sharp.

Coney_Island_Gary

Goodyear
The Goodyear guys saw me shaking from the cold and wet weather outside and invited me inside.

Coney_Island_Gary

Drying Time
Waiting to Race.

johng

Gary,

Yeah, good panning technique is a lot tougher than it looks. And, of course, images that look plenty sharp on an LCD on the camera turn out not to be. Practice with different subjects - cars on street/freeway, airplanes taking off / landing on the runway. Objects like that in everyday life. But objects that are different speeds - get used to adjusting your technique to match the speed of the subject. If you practice with only one speed you won't be able to adjust when you need to.

Coney_Island_Gary

johng wrote: »

Gary,

Yeah, good panning technique is a lot tougher than it looks. And, of course, images that look plenty sharp on an LCD on the camera turn out not to be. Practice with different subjects - cars on street/freeway, airplanes taking off / landing on the runway. Objects like that in everyday life. But objects that are different speeds - get used to adjusting your technique to match the speed of the subject. If you practice with only one speed you won't be able to adjust when you need to.

Thanks for the advice.

JSPhotography

Oh My, I feel your pain, access to pit row and came home blurry. With a shutter at 1/100 and focal at 85 you were right on the edge, bring in cold hands and ......

moose135

As John said, panning isn't as easy as it looks, but with enough practice, you can get some good shots. When I go to Pocono, I usually spend a good part of one day down at the end of pit road, to shoot the cars coming off turn 3 and heading down the front stretch or into the pits. I'll shoot just about everyone that comes by - that's the great thing about digital! I'll usually start with a few "safe" shots at higher shutter speeds, then work my way down from there.

If you don't mind me posting some examples in your thread, here is JPM at the August 2009 race, shutter speed was 1/100 sec, and he was running around 160mph when he went past me, could stand to be a little sharper too. I won't show you all the other shots I took to get this one...



Similar car speed, but shot at 1/200 sec, sharper car.



And finally, 1/250 sec, sharper still, but an acceptable amount of background (and tire) blur.


Practicing with different subjects, speeds and camera settings will help you figure out what works and what doesn't. Keep at it - you made a good start, and can build from here.

Coney_Island_Gary

Moose:

Nice images, I wish that I had the opportunity to practice this genre but I will not be able to view them again until next year.

I wanted to be down at the start of pit row so that I could catch the cars coming off of turn four and then enter pit row. Unfortunately, our location was near the start/finish line.

jmp2204

very nice

Coney_Island_Gary

moose135 wrote: »

As John said, panning isn't as easy as it looks, but with enough practice, you can get some good shots. When I go to Pocono, I usually spend a good part of one day down at the end of pit road, to shoot the cars coming off turn 3 and heading down the front stretch or into the pits. I'll shoot just about everyone that comes by - that's the great thing about digital! I'll usually start with a few "safe" shots at higher shutter speeds, then work my way down from there.

If you don't mind me posting some examples in your thread, here is JPM at the August 2009 race, shutter speed was 1/100 sec, and he was running around 160mph when he went past me, could stand to be a little sharper too. I won't show you all the other shots I took to get this one...



Similar car speed, but shot at 1/200 sec, sharper car.



And finally, 1/250 sec, sharper still, but an acceptable amount of background (and tire) blur.


Practicing with different subjects, speeds and camera settings will help you figure out what works and what doesn't. Keep at it - you made a good start, and can build from here.

Moose:

What lenses did you use and from what distant were you shooting from?

moose135

I was using a Canon 100-400mm on a 40D. The EXIF shows I was closer to the short end of the zoom, so there was probably a little cropping from the original frame (I'd have to check the Raw file on a backup drive to be sure) The cars were about 175-200 feet away, shooting across pit road and the track.

Coney_Island_Gary

Moose:

The longest lens that I have, at the moment, is a 70-300mm Nikkor. I had to let the speedway security inspect my camera bag to make sure that I was not bringing in, "Professional Lenses". Of course, if they had a chance to see my images, they would have realized that, "Professional" is not a term that could have been applied to me.

Unfortunately, my fingers do not work well at the temperatures that I was shooting in and I could not disengage the 16-85mm from the camera without pain and good chance of dropping it.

So, it looks like technique is key. I will be shooting at the interstate over-pass to see if I can figure this out.

Long Island? I lived in Port Jefferson, back in the 1970's.

moose135

Wow, I'm surprised they are so restrictive about camera gear at California Speedway. I've run into that at some sports arenas, but never at Pocono.

A little about my tecnique - I shoot in AI Servo mode (I think that is Continuous in the Nikon world). I've decoupled the AF-on from the shutter to the back button, so it my thumb rests on it when shooting. That lets me hold the button and track the subject easier. Pick up your subject before you start shooting, and follow it with a smooth motion (I usually plant my feet and turn at the waist) Fire off several shots, and continue panning after you have finished shooting - follow through, like a golf or baseball swing. As I mentioned above, you can start at a faster shutter speed, and work your way slower as you feel more comfortable.

I grew up in Elmont, and now live in Syosset.

Coney_Island_Gary

moose135 wrote: »

Wow, I'm surprised they are so restrictive about camera gear at California Speedway. I've run into that at some sports arenas, but never at Pocono.

This was my first time at this raceway. I had my monopod strapped to my bag and was told to return it back to my car.

Thanks for your advice, I am going to give it a go this afternoon.

Mitchell

What were your focus settings in the camera? Were you using the AF-On button when tracking?

moose135

Mitch, I was using AI Servo mode, center focus point only, and yes, I hold the AF-On button while tracking.

Mitchell

moose135 wrote: »

Mitch, I was using AI Servo mode, center focus point only, and yes, I hold the AF-On button while tracking.

Thanks, Moose, but your photos are sharp. I'm trying to figure out why Gary's shots are soft. Is it technique or the way he is using his new camera? Or both??

Coney_Island_Gary

Mitchell wrote: »

Thanks, Moose, but your photos are sharp. I'm trying to figure out why Gary's shots are soft. Is it technique or the way he is using his new camera? Or both??

Mitchell:

Both, I had (have) no experience in shooting fast moving cars. I was not paying attention to camera settings as the it was a tough (weather wise) day for me and it was all that I could do just to hold the camera in my hands.

Mitchell

Coney_Island_Gary wrote: »

Mitchell:

Both, I had (have) no experience in shooting fast moving cars. I was not paying attention to camera settings as the it was a tough (weather wise) day for me and it was all that I could do just to hold the camera in my hands.

Perhaps the slight softness was from your shivering?