Formula 1 photos from the weekend

[losfp]

I knew it was going to be tough at the Grand Prix, but I didn't think it'd be this tough!!!

95% of my shots have visible blurry fence lines in them, but you really don't have a lot of choice shooting from ground level unless you have accreditation and can shoot through the strategically placed openings in the fence.

Here are a couple that have minimal fencing (lucky combination of a wide aperture, close proximity to the fence and long distance to the subject) that I am pretty happy with.

All shot with the D300, 70-200VR, 1.7x TC. Pretty much all 340mm, f/6.3





I even had a go at some panning shots. This is the absolute best of a diabolical lot. Shows the fence in all its glory



I don't know why it's taken me so long to go to the grand prix, it was a lot of fun! I think I might have to load up and go again next year!

My full gallery for anyone interested: http://losfp.smugmug.com/gallery/4528730_yf3mo

[Pehpsi]

Pretty great job considering there was a fence in your way! Does AF work or do you need to focus manually?

Either way, nice work.. Gotta get out and see these things one day. Being broke sux!

[Raskill]

Nice mate, did really well considering the fence. Love the color and saturation.

Looks like it was agreat race to be at. Seems a llittle excitement has returned to F1!

Well done.

[Pehpsi]

Looks like it was agreat race to be at.

Speaking of which, why weren't you there!?!

[mickeyjuice]

#3 is the best composition - good work.

EDIT: Now the site isn't totally chopping the space away from the front of the cars, the above statement is kinda wrong.… Sorry about that.

[losfp]

Pehpsi, I used AF, however I noticed a little quirk.

At 340mm (200 + 1.7 TC), I didn't have many problems, as long as I manually focused to infinity every so often. At 200mm, the AF kept locking onto the fence instead of the cars.

[Analog6]

You didn't have any problems taking your camera in? On a couple of forums I'm on people have been turned away becasue theri gear was deemed 'professional' standard.

I got excellent photos last year at Speed on Tweed (historic car racing/exhibition - see my gallery) but I was lucky enough to get a Press pass. However, they do not fence people off so obstructively as shown in oyur shots and the cars make really interesting photographic subjects. I recommend it to any car keen photogs on here.

http://www.speedontweed.com/index.html BTW - I like #2 best, good work. The funny things is, the fence lines don't really detract from the panned image, they seem to increase the movement feel.

[Alpha_7]

Give the conditions you've done really well Des, what sort of shutter speed were you getting ? I'm going to be at the race in Singapore under lights and I'm expecting the conditions to be even more trying!

[losfp]

analog6 - No real problems. No questions asked on Fri/Sat. On Sun, I was asked "Do you have permission to take photos?" - I replied with "The terms & conditions state that the restriction is no lenses greater than 200mm in focal length" and was waved through

I think it helped that you couldn't see the battery grip attached, and the 70-200 was hidden under something else in the bag.

Still, I saw plenty of punters walking around with DSLRs, and a few had 70-200 or 70-300 type lenses too. Just depends on how you sell it to the security staff

craig - I was getting typically 1/500 and faster without too many problems @ ISO 200. Hopefully the night race will yield reasonable speeds too, apparently they have to have it VERY bright for their HDTV commitments

[velly_16v_cab]

great photos, I was on turn 4 on sunday.

i did stuggle with the grids lines. i will try to get a few photos up this week...i may post the jpgs before i work on the RAW ones.