My 1st Track Day!

Broc Lee · 07-28-2008, 04:39 PM

Ok, so this was a hell of a lot of fun. Never shot action shots before, well not like this anyway... but two girls going down on each other do not move as fast as these people do...

The online images are nothing spectacular, but when you see the full sized, uncompressed images, I have to say, I haven't lost my touch.

Let me know what you think.

Track Day Firebird East

(While you're there, help a brotha out and click some ads.... I need money to get to Vegas :) )

shortstack08 · 07-28-2008, 04:44 PM

good shots.

Broc Lee · 07-28-2008, 04:51 PM

Thanks man!!! I was working with a 70-300 zoom and it was hard to keep on someone moving that fast zoomed in. The pics got better as the day went on.

There are a couple women riders in there... the bike with the orange wheels is one... I forget the other without looking through them. Totally cool there were women on the track.

vegaseric · 07-28-2008, 08:26 PM

Those are nice shots... what are you shooting with? Just as a suggestion, you may want to try a 2x teleconverter. (well, unless you've got the $$$ for something like this: AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4G ED VR from Nikon )

Try to get more straight-on shots of some riders leaned over in a corner. For instance, if you were a bit tighter on the riders in this turn:

That way, you don't have to pan as much either. Those shots are much easier to frame.

Broc Lee · 07-29-2008, 05:10 AM

I'm shooting with a canon 20D using a 70-300 zoom (Sigma I believe). It's a little hard for me still when zoomed all the way in to keep a steady hand, especially when following a fast target. Shit, I started shooting with an ASA of 100 for clarity, but quickly found out that I needed an ASA of no less that 1000 for these shots. I can go higher, 1600 is the max but there is a way to double that for a 3200 ASA. I caught a helicopter at that setting and the blades looked still but the images was REAL grainy.

Never been to Firebird Raceway, wasn't quite sure where and where I could not go.... I was told I could be anywhere behind a barrier. I found one corner where I could get some real nice shots but didn't want to just stay in that corner. I was also not allowed to cross the track... when hot anyway, but it was always hot it seemed.

Shot off 5 512 cards, 748 pics total, but a lot of repetitive shots following the riders through the corners. One thing about a zoom.... when you are zoomed in, it's hard to keep them framed at speeds. I have a lot of half bikes... LOL.

Thanks for the advice Eric, I will try to keep it closer next time I am out

vegaseric · 07-29-2008, 06:18 AM

If you're not using a monopod, that would be a great addition in order to get some stability. Your ASA shouldn't be any more than 400 or so. (maybe 800) Most riding shots benefit from little to no depth of field in order to isolate the rider, so make sure your exposure is somewhere around 4.0-5.6 at 1/1000. I can't see any EXIF data, so I'm not sure what your exposures were set at.

Bottom line, keep shooting and you'll be fine. Your shots now look good! Hopefully Mike (Trackday.net) pokes in here and gives his professional opinion!

2upFZ1 · 07-29-2008, 07:49 AM

Looks good Broc. Eric hit the nail on the head with the closer shots. But then again Mike started about the same, and now look at his work.

Bottom line, keep shooting Broc.

vegaseric · 07-29-2008, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2upFZ1

Looks good Broc. Eric hit the nail on the head with the closer shots. But then again Mike started about the same, and now look at his work.

Bottom line, keep shooting Broc.

Man... that's exactly what I was thinking.

2upFZ1 · 07-29-2008, 08:37 AM

Being able to get close to the riders is another suggestion, but you already addressed that and need to work that out with the organizers. Mike can get within 100ft of riders, and it pays off.

Broc Lee · 07-29-2008, 12:10 PM

Cool, exactly what I need...

Advice taken and will put it to the test next time I get to go out. For this particular sponsor, it won't be till sept... but I am gonna see if anyone else is doing anything that I can get into.

Thank you for the input.

Broc Lee · 07-29-2008, 12:14 PM

Just checked out that site... DAMN... them some nice shots!!!!!

I was trying to keep the entire bike and rider in the shot, I see that is not always necessary. Too bad the links aren't working.. would love to see more. :(

2upFZ1 · 07-29-2008, 12:41 PM

Here is one the last pics Mike took of me (reduced to fit here). In the fullsize pic, it is so crisp & clear that you can count the rocks reflected in my visor.

But as said before, it didn't come to Mike overnight, it took years and hundreds of thousands of pics to get there.

Broc Lee · 07-29-2008, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2upFZ1

Here is one the last pics Mike took of me (reduced to fit here). In the fullsize pic, it is so crisp & clear that you can count the rocks reflected in my visor.

But as said before, it didn't come to Mike overnight, it took years and hundreds of thousands of pics to get there.

That's a great shot.

Yeah, only my 1st time out. You should see the 1st card... PITIFUL!!!! I was going for clarity and started shooting with 100 asa. EVERYTHING was blurry

I also need to shoot in RAW mode. That will give me more to work with in editing. I didn't this time cause with a 512 card, I can only get 54 shots, where in jpg mode, I can get about 120 shots.

I am also gonna try to shoot at a lower ASA... that will help with clarity....

Once I sell NBDesign, I am going to invest in another lens or two... something with a 1.5 f stop (forget if that higher or lower... LOL)

Here is an edit I did for someone... cropped to an 12x8. It's not unclear... just grainy. 12x8 crop (4 meg file) It was also bumped up to 300 dpi for print... that too caused a bit of distortion... where in RAW mode, that would not have been a problem holding more clarity.

If nothing else, I have some great shots for site design... LOL