rallye stage

[Bootsy]

a few from The Rally Show at Chatsworth (uk)
i've been trying a few panning shots and still getting my hand in c&c welcome.
all croped due to other peoples arms/cameras in the way.mods -sorry if i've put this in the wrong place wasn't sure where to put it

[batman44]

I think these are great pictures~ I'm pretty new so I can't offer advice - I know what a challenge it is to take these pictures, My husband races Late Model Street Stock here in the states.
I love the 2nd one - can you tell me how you get the background blurred while the car is still in focus?? I have tried to get this effect - but with no luck - all I can do is freeze the frame, and I do "follow" the car while is moving???? Do I need to have different settings on my camera for this????

Thanks!

Kori

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Bootsy,

It's the perfect place; sport is what goes here and I'd say this qualifies.
Nice pics, more in the reply to Kori below.

Hi Kori,

Yes you must follow the cars, as you say, but do so with a smooth pan and keep the pan going a little after you have pressed the button, or taken the last of a series.

The main thing for shots like #2 is to ensure a shutter speed of between 1/20 and 1/250.
You need to do this by suitable choice of aperture and ISO and possibly even some ND, for example, I sometimes used my circular polariser for cycling shots in bright sunshine (because it gives me another 2 stops).



The right speed depends on the speed of the subject against the background, to give you a clue Bootsy's pics were;
#1 1/200, hence not much motion blur and
#2, 1/25, which shows extreme blur, at this sort of slow speed, Bootsy has done well not to have camera shake, or up down movement of the subject, spoil the effect.

Furthermore, the speed of the subject against the background depends on how close you are to the subject and how much angle you are panning through. The picture I posted above was shot at 1/240s, it still has the blur even though the ladies in question were only doing about 25mph (considerably less than Bootsy's cars) because I was pretty close to them.

Hope that helps,

[kevinbythebeach]

I'd also say if you can, set your camera to the middle focus point instead of all of them ... and keep that point on the car or whatever the subject is...

[batman44]

Thanks Dave!
I'll have to give it a try - so with the slower shutter speed I will have to stay steady in hand ( I have a mono-pod also I can use) and make sure there is enough light. Unfortunately I can't get too close as seen in my photo's from another post I made (we have bragging rights this week!). And trying to get above the fence is a challenge as I am short and they don't have step-stools! ha ha ....I'll possibly bring one to the track Friday and play and play some more!

I do focus on the middle of his car(usually his number) while taking pictures, so I think I'm doing right there?????

The cars go about 75-80mph so It's tough for me to get that effect not knowing all the tricks yet! But I have fun regardless!




Kori

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Kori,

Yes, I would focus on the number.

I would aim for a shutter speed of 1/60 in your case.
In my limited experience, although one might think shutter priority (Tv) set to that speed is best, the problem can arise where the exposure is outside the aperture range of the lens (for a fixed ISO) possibly resulting in a 'winning' composition that's over or under exposed because the required aperture wasn't possible with the lens on the camera.
So I still use aperture priority (Av) and take a reading of the area where I expect to click the shutter and set the ISO and aperture to give me the 1/60 speed there and if the shutter speed isn't optimal, at least I have a correctly exposed shot.
I suppose by the same token, you could juggle the figures and set an ISO that would use a mid-range aperture and leave you 2 stops either side for 'eventualities' at the Tv of 1/60.

Good luck Friday (camera and car),

[JonathanC]

Maybe this would be a good time to use the Auto ISO function? Use Shutter priority mode and the camera ought to do the rest.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Jonathan,

If Kori has it (on a D40?), then yes, that's certainly an option, as long as you can stop it going too far.

Cheers,

[batman44]

I have Nikon D40, and I do have Auto ISO, so I might be better to try Shutter Priority and set Auto ISO and try for the 1/60??? Guess I can play around with different settings while Craig is out there practicing, then maybe I'll have a setting to work with by the time he's out there all alone qualifying??? Wish this knowledge could be transferred INTO my brain immediately- so much to learn!

Thanks! I'm really looking forward to see what my pictures turn out like now! Hopefully good!!!! ha ha

Kori

[Colin Southern]

I have Nikon D40, and I do have Auto ISO, so I might be better to try Shutter Priority and set Auto ISO and try for the 1/60???

Hi Kori,

If it were me, I'd shoot manual because (a) you need to shutterspeed control for background blur, and (b) you need aperture control for depth of field. Once you've set both of those you could adjust the ISO to get the exposure right (perhaps with a little tweak to shutterspeed and aperture if necessary). Some ND (or a CP) filter might be needed on bright days too.

[batman44]

Oh Boy! Anyone care to join me tonight for a teaching lesson "hands on"???????

I'm not going to guarantee anything at this point...I seem to "freeze" all action - maybe this is because of the speed of the car and distance away? Maybe I'm just not understanding quick enough either? Maybe I bit off more than I can chew right now.... spit it out!!!! We'll see!

Thanks all!

Kori

[Colin Southern]

I seem to "freeze" all action

Hi Kori,

What shutter speed are you using?

[batman44]

Hi Colin!

This is my set up:
I use my 55-200mm lens (Non VR)
aperature 5.6 - can't get any lower number

shutter at 1/200 is blurry - entire shot (sort of) - not sharp
shutter at 1/800 is Frozen in time. Doesn't look like the car is moving at all.

I have been shooting in burst mode because I hand hold the camera and follow it as it's moving around the track. I usually get a couple crisp pictures then, but I really like that motion look now! Am I stuck here because of my equipment and I'm not allowed to be standing in the "in field"?

thanks!

Kori

[Colin Southern]

shutter at 1/200 is blurry - entire shot (sort of) - not sharp

Hi Kori,

You could try something inbetween like 1/400th - but I suspect you'll get the best results at 1/200th, but you may have to practice your panning!

Perhaps you could post one of the 1/200th shots?

[batman44]

This is one of the 1/200 - I would like to crop to get in a tad closer to the car and crop out some of the grass.....when I view it at 100% the car is blurry....But on here - because it's smaller, it looks okay - I think..... This is as close as I can get - this is going in to turn 2, which is my closest for pictures.

[Colin Southern]

Hi Kori,

I'll have a play with it later (when I'm on a "Photoshop enabled" PC), but from here it just looks like the car needs some sharpening and could well end up looking quite presentable.

If you like, send me the full-resolution original, and I'll take a look at it for you?

I hate to say it, but your probably going to have to drop the shutterspeed even more - I'd suggest focusing your attention on learning to track the car with the lens; your aiming for ZERO relative motion

... practice makes perfect! (an IS / VR lens with panning mode would help too) (remember - there's no problem money can't solve!).

[batman44]

Thanks Colin-
Sorry it took me so long to get back on! BTW - Friday Night's Race - Craig won and lead every lap!!!!

Yes I need to work on panning more I haven't had a chance to check Friday Night pictures but I will later today to see if something turned out....if not then I can send you that file to help me! practice practice......

... practice makes perfect! (an IS / VR lens with panning mode would help too) (remember - there's no problem money can't solve!).

Are you teasing me again!!!! ha ha Still checking my mail box everyday-no packages yet!

Kori

[Colin Southern]

Are you teasing me again!!!! ha ha Still checking my mail box everyday-no packages yet!

Just post your credit card details here and we'll make sure that you have LOTS of packages waiting for you in your mailbox

[batman44]

Just post your credit card details here and we'll make sure that you have LOTS of packages waiting for you in your mailbox

WOW I didn't know it would be that easy -
I can dig it out...just let me change the Billing address to Colin Southern and the Mailing address to Kori Schei!

Still been busy with work.... hope to have some time tonight to work on that pict to see if I can do it "myself".... if so I will post... If not I will post for some help..... but hopefully soon! I need a month vacation!!!!