Hello every1. Kinda' new kid in town on dis board (i'm active on the N&W) but I thought I share some pics here since I have the rare opportunity to follow a close friend of mine on his first season on the Ferrari 458 Challenge European Championship
I'm posting a mix of shots from the latest Monza Circuit test w the cars..including some GT2 category cars.
Some constructive C&C and feedback from experienced racetrack photographers will be appreciated
1) Would be a strong image but it's just cropped wrong.
2) & 4) Pretty lack luster in terms of action, loose crop, and severe window glare.
3) Looks a tad soft?
5) Would be the strongest image to me, but I think it could be processed differently. I'm not a fan of the B&W conversion, the noise, and the windshield glare.
6) Good nostalgic feel with processing. I think timing could be better in a few seconds later when he is putting helmet on or fixing straps with helmet on.
Overall, it takes specific locations to shoot a track well. In general it looks like you were just too far away for your focal length or you just didnt have a great angle. When I don't have these for the track, I like to head to the pits/garage and focus on details... tires, steering wheels, sponsor logos, race notes, etc. Racers and teams eat up the detail photos because they see the on track stuff every day.
Great fun stuff Nello! You aren't an expert yet but I have a feeling you'll kill at this the way you do with wildlife and product. These are shots I would be happy with for sure. Hell if I ever even set foot on Monza I could die a happy man!! Wish Lorenzo the best of luck for me, he has the chops!!!
Although I am a musclecar guy at heart, I do leave some room in one of my ventricles for the beloved Ferrari's. I have been very fortunate to be able to work on a couple of them. A 550 TR and a 360 Modena Spyder. I have also worked on a Lambo LP640 Spyder.
Something about those Italian sportscars, their beauty, their sophistication.
Thx for the honest feed-back !
On 1 I thought I go creative guess not
Hmmm how do I avoid window glare or should I try photoshop it away
Guess I should crop tighter!
You're so right about the angles..at Imola yesterday I quit tryin..angles were awful. I concentrated on the straight line were I got a perfect spot and the pit.
Took ur advice about concentrating on details and added a helmet shot KrautFed wrote:
It's good to have friends!
1) Would be a strong image but it's just cropped wrong.
2) & 4) Pretty lack luster in terms of action, loose crop, and severe window glare.
3) Looks a tad soft?
5) Would be the strongest image to me, but I think it could be processed differently. I'm not a fan of the B&W conversion, the noise, and the windshield glare.
6) Good nostalgic feel with processing. I think timing could be better in a few seconds later when he is putting helmet on or fixing straps with helmet on.
Overall, it takes specific locations to shoot a track well. In general it looks like you were just too far away for your focal length or you just didnt have a great angle. When I don't have these for the track, I like to head to the pits/garage and focus on details... tires, steering wheels, sponsor logos, race notes, etc. Racers and teams eat up the detail photos because they see the on track stuff every day....Show more →
@Jefferson
Love those shots...well done the green 458 looks pretty slick although the exhausts look pretty tame by our Challenge category standards..not opened enough it seems?
Maybe US noise regulations
Those shots are from the Petit Le Mans held at Road Atlanta located about 50 miles from Atlanta. Over the last decade, many homes and subdivisions have been built...Build a home next to an airport, then complain about the planes...same thing.
Shoot early morning...(I know you shoot them when their there), but the light is much less harsh, and you can lower the shutter speed, ISO, and open the aperture...during the early afternoon hours, shoot the paddock area...late afternoon, back to whatever you want to shoot that the light will let you. For panning, I shoot shutter priority with as low an ISO as I can go and stay within 1/60th to 1/125 and let the aperture float. I use spot metering and the center focal point, and generally aim for the helment...some contrast there. It's nice when you can get f/4 to f/11, (morning), but in harsh light you might get f/20 or so, why the good shots are in the morning
Those shots at Road Atlanta are like 1PM in harsh light...some LR there
I am going to edit in the exif data on those shots, you'll see what I mean
Nello Milanese wrote:
Took ur advice about concentrating on details and added a helmet shot
The helmet shot is EXACTLY what I was talking about.
As for glare, its tough, especially when races/practices aren't at the appropriate times. One thing I like to do for cars at high noon is to shoot directly face on or directly ass on. The amount of light helps the autofocus as well as allows rediculous shutter speeds. You can get creative with shooting through heat refraction and tires throwing up rubber marbles.
guess not 
the green 458 looks pretty slick although the exhausts look pretty tame by our Challenge category standards..not opened enough it seems?