First atempt at motorsports.

*maxzuk* · 03-08-2008, 9:58 PM

Hi as thread goes my first atempt. Some not bad others could be better. Have a mixture of static and blured shots.
Was all over the place learning to fiddle with my Canon Eos 450d, All shot on a 70/300IS.

Please feel free to pick holes in shots as I need to learn.

Have got the hang of deciding to go TV or sports mode.
Have got to grips with low shutter to get a blur.
Whats best One Shot,AI Focus or AI Servo as I found best for me seemed AI focus.
Which metering mode works best as Just as I was packing up I found Spot Metering effective, All shots were done under evaluative.

Thanks Nigel.

Pieeater · 03-08-2008, 10:03 PM

Excellent, I particularly like the sense of speed with the second and forth shots.

Ballgirl · 03-08-2008, 10:07 PM

Number 4 for me. Very nice capture

GaryK26 · 03-08-2008, 10:08 PM

I would never have guessed that they are your first attempts - they are all top quality. 1,2 & 4 are my pick of the bunch.

Nice One

mwjdavies · 03-08-2008, 10:32 PM

fantastic shots, great framing and detail

Spod · 04-08-2008, 6:46 AM

Very nice, I'm assuming from Brands at the weekend, was you in with the normal crowds of people?

Tobers · 04-08-2008, 7:14 AM

Not bad at all. Getting the shutter speed right for panning is tricky but you've sorted it in #2 and #4. With #5, the bike coming towards you has caused it to look soft with the long shutter as it gets marginally bigger in the viewfinder. You can use a longer shutter on pans that go across your field of view, but anything coming straight at you needs to have a faster shutter speed to keep it sharp.

amgard · 04-08-2008, 7:54 AM

Aprt from #5 (Tobers is spot on here-as usual) they look like an excellent set, much better than my recent attempt at Silverstone

*maxzuk* · 04-08-2008, 9:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spod

Very nice, I'm assuming from Brands at the weekend, was you in with the normal crowds of people?

Yes in with the crowd.

Thanks Tobers for your advice and I agree with what you are saying, would never have spotted the obvious error of shot number 5.

stevegreen · 04-08-2008, 3:26 PM

Those are superb for a first attempt.

denno75uk · 04-08-2008, 4:41 PM

As has been said already, a superb first attempt. 1,2 and 4 are absolute belters.

I'd say 4 it may be interesting if the bike were more toward the left of the frame than right. Personally I like to have more space infront, like you've done in #1. When panning, it seems to accenctuate the speed and impression of movement forward. Static, with long exposures, the reverse can be true.

eg 1 Cack cause I clipped the back end, but....

eg2 works for me cause it looks like he was going too fast (which he was)

But that's just my opinion. Don't know if you agree. It's very subjective this game. Just something to ponder regarding options for composition. Hope you don't mind.

*maxzuk* · 04-08-2008, 6:55 PM

Some more Pics

denno75uk · 04-08-2008, 8:08 PM

Another lot of corkers mate. Truly excellent.
Love 1, 2 and 4 of the second set.
Wonder why?

ryanyboy · 04-08-2008, 8:46 PM

Superb first efforts mate!

Love number 1 from the first set and 5 from the second set most. Great shots which nicely fill the frame.

Here's a general question for those of you that shoot motor sports regularly (which I don't

) - what would you want to be the point of sharpest focus. Personally I'd assume it's the helmet but I was just wondering what's the norm.......

*maxzuk* · 04-08-2008, 9:00 PM

For me its just a matter of point in the general direction, focus,pan like a madman and shoot like crazy with fingers crossed that you catch something

Its so hard just keeping a motorbike in the frame.

The general figure for a good blured background is about a shutter speed of 60 but the little speedy bikes would not stay sharp under 160.

Thanks everyone to the positive comments

denno75uk · 04-08-2008, 9:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryanyboy

Here's a general question for those of you that shoot motor sports regularly (which I don't

) - what would you want to be the point of sharpest focus. Personally I'd assume it's the helmet but I was just wondering what's the norm.......

When panning, it's common that most of the vehicle will be in focus. But training a focus point on a specific part can yield some amazing results. This was posted by alfienoakes in a thread on Goodwood a little while back. I would link to the thread but it seems he's deleted it from the hosting site he used to post so I've linked to his flickr. IIRC he said he focussed on the headlights, since they were a prominent feature.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gribbsy/2662401454/

So basically, I'd say just fix on a point you think most interesting. I suppose for bikes or open top cars, the helmet is probably a good place to start. Though if a driver/rider is moving alot in the vehicle, blurring them may also produce something interesting.

alfienoakes · 05-08-2008, 5:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryanyboy

Here's a general question for those of you that shoot motor sports regularly (which I don't

) - what would you want to be the point of sharpest focus. Personally I'd assume it's the helmet but I was just wondering what's the norm.......

For bikes I personally keep the main area of focus around the front number and rider's helmet. If you keep a decent depth of field you can generally keep the whole bike in focus from front to back. For me that is around f/9 at around 200 to 300 mm. This means bumping the ISO up if you're using a fast shutter on a dull day.

maxzuk, you've done a really good job on your first effort. The flaming Kiyonari shot is oh so close to being perfect. Looks like one you were set to pan, when for the head on shot your shutter should have been a bit faster. Like the Walker shot around Stirlings too