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Bahahahahaha!!! I have just gone and foolishly booked flights for the F1 GP in March. A mate and I have been going on about going down to Melbourne for the race for each of the last 8 years in a row ("Yeah! This year we are SO going to go to the F1s!!!!") and then never bothering. But next year we ARE definitely going Very bold considering it will be about 6 weeks before our due date... I am only allowed to go if I promise to rush back immediately should we go into labour......

Anyone here been to the big race and have any tips? My plan was just to get a 4-day pass and wander around the place on Fri/Sat before finding a nice spot on Sun. I'll bring down a couple of bodies (D200 and D70s), and the 70-200, TC and maybe the 12-24. The T&Cs mention that you can't bring in anything longer than 300mm... If I had a 300/2.8 by then, it'd be awesome, however I am not expecting that I will!!

I'll be there primarily for the race and the atmosphere. If I can get some good shots, so be it, however I won't be distraught if my results are ordinary considering the restrictions, security and likely crowds. I am expecting my best photos to be on the Fri/Sat before the big race on sunday.

I'm going to the Singapore leg, thought I'd like to see a night race under lights!

Alpha_7 wrote:I'm going to the Singapore leg, thought I'd like to see a night race under lights!

you will need a D3 for that

I wasn't necessarily going to take photos.. not my forte, but perhaps I will.

The lights are meant to be damn bright.

Des,

My wife and I went in 2004 (she was more keen about it that I was). We had good seats in the Jones stand (no, he's not a relation) which is right on the first corner. I must say the atmosphere was fantastic and we got a great view of the cars (for a few seconds each lap). You don't realise just how fast and loud the cars are until you have been there. While I enjoyed the time, if you really love watching a F1 race, it is better on TV.

If you want to get photographs, the stands are not the place to be. The damn safety fences completely block the view. You also need to get as far away from the pit straight as possible, because it is crowded as (not that you can get close if you don't have stand seating).

You would need to get there early each day and mark our a good vantage spot. You may have a very hard time finding anyway to get a good shot without fencing in the way, and the only breaks in the fencing face towards the rear of the cars (for safety reasons, obviously).

Below are a couple of crap photographs from my P&S (this was a year before I bought my D70). Perhaps with a dSLR and longer lens I might have been able to do better, but not on this spot on the track.

Michael


Kimi

I haven't decided yet.

Maybe Melbourne, maybe KL. Overall cost will be about the same.

For Melbourne, I'd suggest booking accommodation ASAP: we generally stay on or near Lygon St, so that we can be handy to the apres-race action.

And restaurants.

And atmosphere.

From there, it's about a $12 cab fare to trackside. Leaving the track is a little more difficult on raceday due to .... too many bloody people, but the trams do an admirable job anyway.

At the track, we generally book seats in the stand at the start of pit straight - actually, they're just before the final corner. You have views of the last two corners and up pit straight (from the rear of the cars), as well as a view of the entrance to the pits.

If you get seats towards the rear of the stands, you may be able to see over the tops of the fences.

Or get a corporate ticket.

We did GA one year and found it to be very disappointing, as we had good views of nothing at all.

And unless you have tickets for the stands in the pit straight area, you won't be allowed to go anywhere near that part of the circuit at all.

gstark wrote:Or get a corporate ticket.

That's how I will be there... hopefully in the SAP box... given that they sponsor Mclaren hopefully I get a pit lane walk like I did last year!

Sounds like I better get used to fences in my photos!!

Don't think I'll be able to stretch to a grandstand seat unfortunately (why oh why don't they let you buy a stand seat for just one day, or for just the weekend?) Paying more than double the price of the GA ticket for the very cheapest of the stands is a bit rich

Nevermind, I wasn't expecting to get front-cover quality photos in any case... I'll be there for the atmosphere, and whatever photos I get will be a bonus.

i'll be there again next year. last yr i found the 70-200 was still too short (crop body). so it will be a tad worse this year unless i can get my hands on a 400mm

methd wrote:i'll be there again next year. last yr i found the 70-200 was still too short (crop body). so it will be a tad worse this year

Actually, it'll be about the same.

I've seen some discussion suggesting that with the FX body you lose the extra "focal length" that the crop bodies afford you, and I assume that this is what you might be referring to.

That discussion is, IMHO, misinformed.

You gain the edges that the crop bodies lose, but you always have the option of cropping as you see fit, even, if you wish, to 1.5, which would yield similar resolution (and image size) on the D3 to what you would see on the D70.

Take a few moments to think about how a lens works with a crop sensor, and compare that with how that same lens will work with a FX sensor: you have the same image circle, and the same sized images, projected over the different sized sensors. That is all.

I always do the corporate box at turn 4
and a big warning to all: security really do enforce the 300mm max lense size so might be best to chuck a t/c into your bag.
last year someone in the corp box managed to get in with an 80-400 but he had to do a lot of yelling at security first

the lenses i usually use are the nikon kit 70-300 and the sigma 28-300 i get pretty good results with my d70 the key is to get as close to the fence as possible
i might go for the d300 and a 70-200vr by race time
some of my photo's from this year i got too lazy to upload the rest http://picasaweb.google.com/a9xtorana/GrandPrix

gstark wrote:

methd wrote:i'll be there again next year. last yr i found the 70-200 was still too short (crop body). so it will be a tad worse this year

Actually, it'll be about the same.

I've seen some discussion suggesting that with the FX body you lose the extra "focal length" that the crop bodies afford you, and I assume that this is what you might be referring to.

That discussion is, IMHO, misinformed.

You gain the edges that the crop bodies lose, but you always have the option of cropping as you see fit, even, if you wish, to 1.5, which would yield similar resolution (and image size) on the D3 to what you would see on the D70.

Take a few moments to think about how a lens works with a crop sensor, and compare that with how that same lens will work with a FX sensor: you have the same image circle, and the same sized images, projected over the different sized sensors. That is all.

yep, totally understood but i have a habit of not cropping that tight. the plus side is that focusing will be a lot easier though.

Taken in 07 througha nice big gap in the fence. Can't remember the corner, but it's where Massa crashed in 06 during qualifying (naturally I had left the spot about 30mins prior!).



You can also get some nice through the fence pans at the end of the front straight with the brakes glowing nicely. You do get the lines from the fence horizontally though, but it's still a nice shot

Nice shot Nathan. Were you accredited for this?

I usually leave a spot just before a prang also. I always laugh that someone will get a great shot soon as I walk away....

From what I have heard and read accreditation is near to impossible at this years event. Apparently it's going to be extrememly strict.

What about the amateurs I ask you!

Benny2707 wrote:From what I have heard and read accreditation is near to impossible at this years event. Apparently it's going to be extrememly strict.

What about the amateurs I ask you!

The F1GP is very popular - worldwide - and in Melbourne amateurs don't get a look in: look at the lens restrictions for proof of that.

Accreditation is effectively a closed shop: you need to be working with a known and established publication or agency, and assigned to the event, and have already shot F1 - you need to provide evidence of this. Given that it's virtually impossible to get good shots in Melbourne with any of the GA ticketing, satisfying that lattermost requirement is seriously problematic.

And that's assuming you can satisfy the other requirements.

general admin is not very good at all, if SAP-AU call me and want me to come shoot from their box, then I'll be there with bells on.

I sometimes get pit access for the V8s and that is great!

perhaps we can arrange a meet around that time if we have a few in town?

Benny2707 wrote:From what I have heard and read accreditation is near to impossible at this years event. Apparently it's going to be extrememly strict.

What about the amateurs I ask you!

It's strict EVERY year. There are a set number of accreditations given to the Australian Media - half of these would end up going to shooters from Auto Action and Motorsport News and the rest to the newspapers. Many of the Nationally accredited photographers can't and don't get accredited due to the FIA restrictions on numbers. And the guys shooting the Supports like the V8s are NOT allowed to shoot during the F1s. They can usually sneak a few shots here and there, but don't expect to see them walking around like the F1 shooters.

What about the amateurs? What about them?

It's going to be bloody hard to get a start in motorsport shooting in the coming years with Oran Park on the way out. Looks like I'll be making a few trips to Wakefield this year and EC.

Benny2707 wrote:It's going to be bloody hard to get a start in motorsport shooting in the coming years with Oran Park on the way out. Looks like I'll be making a few trips to Wakefield this year and EC.

Come to the bathurst motorsport festival next weekend mate! There's plenty of racing there


Leigh you got your accreditation sorted for the F1?

Well I just got asked if I would like to go and shoot at the F1, Its not set in concrete yet, waiting for them to get back to me if its a go ahead.

So may catch a few of you there

I'm glad I satisfied my grand prix craving at the Sydney A1GP,no restrictions there,plenty of opportunity to get close and pretty much fence free...................ok so not quite the F1 experience but well worth it!

idleowen wrote:I'm glad I satisfied my grand prix craving at the Sydney A1GP

Clearly you've never been to the real thing.

Clearly I havent and probably never will because photography not the motorsport was the attraction for me and as this thread suggests (and the point I was making) was that for primarily photographic purposes the A1GP sounds better suited...to us amateurs.....I totally agree that A1 is not on the same scale as F1... but for photogrpahers with similar interests/ambitions on the forum (Sydney based) I wholeheartedly recommend the A1GP....for the connoisseurs of motorsport then the big trip to Melbourne (whilst you can) is the go (without anything bigger than 300mm!).. .....

Benny2707 wrote:It's going to be bloody hard to get a start in motorsport shooting in the coming years with Oran Park on the way out. Looks like I'll be making a few trips to Wakefield this year and EC.

Don't restrict yourself to tracks. Try and find grass roots level rally clubs, car clubs, hill climbs etc etc. By only attending on track stuff, you will limit yourself.

I dont think I could stand the noise !!!

Just catching up on this thread and i've notice that some you have mentioned at the Melbourne F1 you can use up to 300mm lens. I was just wondering is this a standard max size for a lens you can bring to for any F1 in the world? As i'm going to the Singapore F1 and i've read that it only allows no greater than 200mm. Is this a miss print i've read or is it true?

best to phone up before you go. I was stopped the other week when i took the missus to see Jack Johnson as they would only allow a 70mm lense so i had to leave my 200mm at the gate!!!!!


This thread reminds me to sort out my F1 photos...i will crack on tonight