F-1 race photo tips?

Whitese · « **on:** 9 Sep 2003, 08:34 pm »

Hi everyone... I will be at Indianapolis for the F-1 race...

I have a Nikon FE-2, and a mediocre 70-210 lens, besides the great Nikon 50 mm,,,,

I believe I will be somewhat up in the paddock area...but as I will be attending qualifying and practice, I may have a chance to walk around....What are the best settings for this kind of photography...film, lens (inexpensive used), and camera settings...

any ideas?

hk29 · « **Reply #1 on:** 10 Sep 2003, 04:34 pm »

I'm an amature as well, but my guess is that you want a fast shutter speed. So a 400 speed would be the best, but the pictures will be grainy if you plan to blow it up. Just hope its going to be a sunny day.

I would take a 200 speed for stationary pictures. If its light enough then you might need to use the 400.

Just my two cents...

Carlman · « **Reply #2 on:** 10 Sep 2003, 09:12 pm »

If you are planning on taking some shots of cars coming around a corner, or other shot where the cars will be close to you, the 210 will be enough of a lens. However, if the lens is fairly dim... like 5.6 is the biggest aperture, it'll require a lot of effort from you to focus and/or find things through your viewfinder. Plus, the shutter speed will be very low if it's a cloudy day even with high speed film.

Every time you double film speed, you get 1-stop higher exposure. So, if your lens starts at 5.6 and your shutter speed is 500 with 200 speed film.... and you then switch to 400 speed film, you can move to 1000 for the shutter speed.... that's the purpose of higher speed film. Sorry if you already know all that but, in case someone was wondering....

Back to actual shooting.... think about where you'll be and what will be between you and the subject. (such as the fence, barricades, etc.) If you're shooting from the side of the cars as they go by, be sure to follow the car you want to shoot as you take the picture. The smoother you do this, the sharper the car will be. Watch other 'pro' photographers shooting... you'll see what I'm talking about, it's called 'panning'. You can shoot at lower speeds and blur the background a great deal which will look very neat when you get the photos back.

My recommendation would be to rent a bigger and faster lens and a motor drive. I would shoot a variety of types of shots. (some slow, some fast, etc...) Think about what you'll be seeing... parked cars, moving, racing, not racing, etc... and think about what shots you'll want to take. That'll dictate what you need. Also, you'll want a variety of film... why not take a roll of black and white for fun?

If I were doing this I'd have in my bag: TMAX 100, 400, and 3200 (B&W), Kodak 100, 400, and 800... pick whatever flavor you like... I'd probably shoot about 10-12 rolls total.... but, that's me.

Also, take a flash and play around with some flash shots after dark... you can use it to fill the cars and have the sunset in the background. Don't know if that opportunity will arise, though...

Hope that helps....
-Carl

Whitese · « **Reply #3 on:** 22 Sep 2003, 02:54 am »

thanks for the tips,,,I did order an MD-12 Motordrive for my Nikon FE-2, and will shop for film tomorrow...

I get to walk the paddock on thursday morning, so hopefully I can take some still shots then...

djklmnop · « **Reply #4 on:** 22 Sep 2003, 05:03 am »

Wow, this sounds exciting. Please share the results when you are done.

Andy

Whitese · « **Reply #5 on:** 24 Sep 2003, 08:42 pm »

Quote from: djklmnop

Wow, this sounds exciting. Please share the results when you are done.

Andy

Whew,,,UPS came thru and delivered my MD12 motor drive, and bought 8 rolls of ASA800 and some ASA400....I didnt buy black and white,,,I only have one camera, and Its a pain to be reloading and shooting blanks in teh dark if you unload and reload a partially used film...169.00 bucks used, with the battery holder...8 AA batteries.

Carlman · « **Reply #6 on:** 25 Sep 2003, 01:23 pm »

Awesome! A motor drive and lots of film...
Just remember:
Make every photo premeditated; you'll get much better results.
So, if you're going for a shot, use the tools you bought to get it... don't expect the tools to get it for you.

Hope you get some great photos. If you think you have some really good ones, take the film to a commercial lab for processing (if you can afford it). Nothing worse than having Wal-mart botch the processing.... Just a thought.

Best of luck!!!