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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
First NASCAR race
Brad Wilder, Photographer, Student/Intern
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Lexington | Ky | USA | Posted: 11:36 PM on 03.29.04 |
->> I normally don't like to ask for critiques on the message board, but I shot the NASCAR races for the first time this weekend and I would like some input or suggestions. Thanks
http://www.sportsshooter.com/bradwilder/nascar |
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Brad Wilder, Photographer, Student/Intern
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Lexington | Ky | USA | Posted: 12:46 PM on 03.30.04 |
| ->> Anyone? |
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Larry Vaughn, Photographer
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Gainesville | FL | usa | Posted: 1:15 PM on 03.30.04 |
->> I shot some Daytona races for the AP a long time ago. Many stringers would show up, but only turn in their film if they had something showing lots of action.
Normally that means crashes. I hate to say it, but that is where most of the exciting moments come from. Normally, someone got a shot of the finish of the race, a requirement, but the shots that were also transmitted were action oriented. Look for a wisp of smoke coming off a tire indicating something more to come.
Pit row is another place to find action. Photograph the leaders coming into the pits, and the crew running around and working on the car.
Sometimes celeb drivers are around, keep an eye open for them. Of course, the top drivers are celebs themselves and you find them in the pits and elsewhere.
Check out varous racing publications for comparison. Think crashes, drafting, bumping, nudging, fires, lead cars, close ups of drivers.
http://www.news-journalonline.com/speed/special/dale/dale13.htm |
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Craig Peterson, Photographer
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St. Petersburg | FL | US | Posted: 2:38 PM on 03.30.04 |
| ->> Try using a slower shutter speed and panning when shooting cars on the track, it blurs the background and gives more of a sense of speed and action....Nice shots, though. I think I would have left out the shot of Dale Jr. with the funny look on his face. |
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Brad Wilder, Photographer, Student/Intern
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Lexington | Ky | USA | Posted: 3:19 PM on 03.30.04 |
| ->> What shutter speed would you use. I shot some at around 200, but that still didn't give me the kind of blur that I was looking for. That seemed to be about as low as I could go without blowing out my whites considering it was so bright that day. I'm looking forward to the night race now to try it again. |
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Timothy Wesolek, Photographer, Assistant
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Frederick | MD | USA | Posted: 4:19 PM on 03.30.04 |
->> Brad...
you want to go below 60..and pan with the car. |
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Craig Peterson, Photographer
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St. Petersburg | FL | US | Posted: 6:08 PM on 03.30.04 |
| ->> I usually shoot at 60.....It takes practice. Using a monopod helps and if you have a canon lens with IS, setting #2 helps alot with panning. On my 10D I use the zoom feature to get in as close as possible on the display to make sure the cars are sharp, otherwise you'll get home on your computer and find half your panned shots are soft.... |
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George Green, Photographer
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Lexington | KY | USA | Posted: 6:49 PM on 03.30.04 |
->> Brad,
I think your pictures look good. I wish I could have gone.
Looks like some of the pictures were taken through some of the holes cut in the fence for photogs. Where else were You
shooting from. |
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John Cordes, Photographer
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Orange County | CA | USA | Posted: 6:56 PM on 03.30.04 |
->> Brad:
NASCAR ain't easy is it? Unless your Nigel Kinrade.
Its always the same stuff, over and over again. Some here mentioned slow shutter speeds and panning, so guess what? that means its been done, ALOT, by everyone.
Even winner circle stuff is hard because the driver waits in his car, drinking whatever, waiting to talk to TV and than finally getting out of his car turning towards you, just in time for you to be blasted by a boat load of confetti, while he squirts coke on you.
So all I am saying is you did fine and you looked like you had alot of fun. Its not an easy event to shoot and if you are one person its an awfully big track.
If I can offer a trick, one thing that sets Nigel apart from the pack is he looks for light quality and when he sees good light he jumps on it, that is what sets his driver, car, pit, garage, whatever shoots apart from the others.
Again, I think you did fine, you got alot of solid stock shots, that can be used over and over again. |
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David Griffin, Photographer
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Concord | NC | | Posted: 7:16 PM on 03.30.04 |
| ->> Nice stuff, Brad. I was there, wish I knew you were there so we could have met up. |
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Brad Wilder, Photographer, Student/Intern
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Lexington | Ky | USA | Posted: 11:42 PM on 03.30.04 |
->> Thanks everybody for your help and feedback. I'm anxious to try panning again. I'll try it with horse racing this spring, but horses don't exactly go 130mph. One thing is for sure, after hiking around the track twice over the weekend, never again will I complain about truckin it down the sideline of a football game. I did have a great time though, and I already have a couple of potential stock sales. It's hard to really appreciate motorsports photography until you have done it. I did learn a lot about paying attention to the light and using it to your advantage. Thats one thing I wish I would have paid more attention to during the race. The photos do tend to look the same. The action is pretty consistent, especially at a single groove track like Bristol. It was challenging and a lot of fun though.
George> We should get together sometime and have lunch or something. There are a few other sportsshooters in Lexington too. I did shoot from the fence holes in turns one and three for about 75 laps. Turn one was probably my favorite spot. I was still cleaning tire rubber dust out of my ears on Monday morning. The rest of my time was split between the inside of the turns and the ends of pit row. I also tried to roam the infield a little bit to mix things up with stuff like the Kasey Kahne shot. For the last 30 laps or so, I went up to victory lane on the roof of the communications building.
David> Hopefully I will be at the fall race and we can meet up then. I think there are some sportsshooters locally. We should have a cookout or something.
John> I got a kick out of victory lane. I finally decided to leave to go transmit after about the seventh set of sponsor logo hats came out for photo ops. Where would we be without sponsors? Oh well.
Boogity, boogity, boogity boys. See you in the fall. |
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George Green, Photographer
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Lexington | KY | USA | Posted: 1:12 PM on 03.31.04 |
->> Brad,
How did you create your Bristol gallery? I would like to do that with some U.K. baseball pictures I took. |
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Brad Wilder, Photographer, Student/Intern
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Lexington | Ky | USA | Posted: 2:07 PM on 03.31.04 |
| ->> From your member page, go to "create hidden gallery." You can add up to 20 pictures. Just make sure you double check everything, because once you upload it, you can't change anything without starting over. |
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Steve Benesh, Photographer
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West Allis | WI | United States | Posted: 10:43 PM on 03.31.04 |
| ->> BRAD - I shoot NASCAR stuff and I sometimes wear a pedometer. Last year at Pikes Peak I did 5.6 miles in 90-100 degree heat (dry of course) during a Busch race and the NASCAR Midwest series race. |
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Michael Redmond, Photographer
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Kennett Square | PA | USA | Posted: 2:04 PM on 04.01.04 |
->> Nice shots Brad.
And dont be afraid to use that slow shutter speed as others mentioned to capture the *motion* of racing.
I have been shooting cars in motion for years and am still constantly experimenting. Practice, practice, practice... |
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Worth Canoy, Photographer
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High Point | NC | USA | Posted: 2:37 PM on 04.01.04 |
->> John,
Are you president of the Kinrade Fan Club?
I work with Nigel every week, and must agree he does some really good work. |
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John Cordes, Photographer
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Orange County | CA | USA | Posted: 4:31 PM on 04.01.04 |
->> Worth:
He just pisses me off getting good photos at NASCAR. Makes it hard to be a lazy photog with him around.
By the way, what would Pres. of his fan club pay? I'll do it if the money is right. Any good free stuff for Kinrade Fan Club members is always a plus. NO vest, please. |
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David Griffin, Photographer
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Bill Anderson, Photographer, Assistant
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Harrisburg | PA | usa | Posted: 8:30 PM on 04.01.04 |
| ->> With TV coverage the way it is you need to get a different angle and a photo that tells a story, not just a single car shot or a driver sittng in his car, be creative and look around real hard. The guys that follow the circut like Nigel and Worth have a nack for looking at things in a different way and know what lens to select to get that interesting image. I shoot about 10- 12 races a year and enjoy every second. You will develope a style of your own if you do it over and over, Have Fun |
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Brad Wilder, Photographer, Student/Intern
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Lexington | Ky | USA | Posted: 11:28 PM on 04.01.04 |
| ->> Back to the topic of panning. As I said, it was really bright at the race, which made it hard to shoot at a low shutter speed. Does anybody ever use filters to cut down the light? |
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