silverstone photography?

[egor110]

I'm plannng on going to silverstone next weekend for the blancpain endurance race.

I'll be going along with a nikon d60 and 50-300 lens.

I've done a bit of searching online and i'm planning on using these settings:

Cam mode- shutter priority start at 1/320 then work down
Focus point point - dynamic (although just as many people say single point)
A/F mode- continous AI servo
Drive mode- continous
Meter mode- matrix

do these sound ok?
also what is tv mode?

[Simpo Two]

Seems pretty good - I use centre-weighted metering, logic being I'm usually more interested in what's in the middle - but there's probably not much difference.

TV is usually Canon-speak for shutter speed ('time value'). On a Nikon, it might set the shutter speed to one suitable for photographing a TV - probably 1/25th or slower. Or you can find out by opening the funny white book that came in the box

[LongQ]

Simpo Two said:

Or you can find out by opening the funny white book that came in the box

Old technology.

Just Google for the USer Guide and download a fully searchable PDF file then copy it to your preferred selection of mobile devices .... and make sure they are all charged before you head out.

If you are really up with the modern game and have data access at a reasonable cost stick the file in the cloud somewhere and obtain access everywhere.

[LongQ]

egor110 said:

I'm plannng on going to silverstone next weekend for the blancpain endurance race.

I'll be going along with a nikon d60 and 50-300 lens.

If you are likely to get into the paddock area you might find the lens a bit too long in some ways (especially on a crop body). If you have an opportunity to take something wider - say a 35mm or, better, a 24mm lens I would do so. (Actually even wider would be good but other than kit lenses that may suffice weel enough it starts to get in to into somewhat specialist areas that may not be best investigated on this trip.)

Silverstone is not the most photogenic of places these days (if it ever was) and nor is it particularly compact for the spectator. There are many fences to deal with. I would suggest you try to work out which locations you would like to try to shoot from and try to work out what options they offer to get a clear shot. I might save you a lot of walking on the day.

[Simpo Two]

LongQ said:

Old technology.

Just Google for the USer Guide and download a fully searchable PDF file then copy it to your preferred selection of mobile devices ....

But you must realise that knowing something is very different from being able to look it up - if only for speed of response.

A: 'Here comes a race car, I've just changed the setting to X so I can take a better photograph.'

B: 'Here comes a race car, now where's my mobile, I'm sure it's here somewhere in the bottom of this bag, I just need to go online and search Google...'


Just because you can cloud your wifi to your bluetooth PDF download tablet does not mean it is always the best solution. And you save having to cart lots of 'mobile devices' with you - each of which can fail.

[Gemm]

LongQ said:

There are many fences to deal with.

My philosophy is, if there's fencing, shoot through it!

[LongQ]

Gemm said:

My philosophy is, if there's fencing, shoot through it!

Depends on the type of fencing, how reflective it may be, how close you can get to it and, potentially, the speed of the target subject at that point.

Sometimes shooting through it is the only way.

However that stll leaves the problem of the backdrop for the shot ...

Sometimes shoting over the top of the fencing looking down onto the track can mitigate both issues ... but it does leave one with a lot of very familiar looking images.

[egor110]

I could and have read the user manual, however it wouldn't tell me the best settings for motorsport.

I could just stick it on sport mode, shutter or aperture priority but by asking a question on a forum i was hoping to save some time snapping away in the wrong settings.

I think we have paddock access but not sure about the pits. It's a long 3 hour race so i'm looking forward to having a good look around silverstone without the crowds.

[LongQ]

egor110 said:

I could and have read the user manual, however it wouldn't tell me the best settings for motorsport.

I could just stick it on sport mode, shutter or aperture priority but by asking a question on a forum i was hoping to save some time snapping away in the wrong settings.

I think we have paddock access but not sure about the pits. It's a long 3 hour race so i'm looking forward to having a good look around silverstone without the crowds.

OK.

It's a long way around and often, in my experience over the years though it may now be different, there can be extended sections where you don't get much of a view of the track. This can be either because there is not much to view or there is a Grandstand in the way and it's not open or, depending on the relationship of your event compared to the last big or next big one, grandstands are being erected or dismantled. However I have to say I'm not too sure what the effect is these days after the last round of developments.

If the event is using the New pits the options for getting to the outside of the track (or vice versa) may be somewhat limited. Slightly better at the old pits but not much.

I would be very tempted to take a bicycle but I have no idea whether that might attract a negative response from the security people. H&S and all that.

Forget sport mode (usually). The settings usually anticipate athletics rather than motor sport.

Take a look at the EXIF info (if you can get to it) on some shots you like on, say, Flickr. See if there is a pattern of settings for ach type (Head -on, 3/4 front at apex, side shot panning, etc.) that appeals to you.

Mostly the shots will likely use a lens quite wide open compared to the lens's max aperture, although this is not always the case. However is does help to isolate the subject forme the background as far as that can be acheived.

If the car is, generally, coming directly towards you at the point of shooting you can use a high shutter speed and freeze the action to get things sharp. If it's more side-on you need to decide whether to take a pan shot (probable) and then consider how much motion blur you want to see - especially in the wheels.

If the car is travelling past you at some speed even a fairly high shutter speed (1/360th for example) will show some wheel blur. But if it's slow a longer shutter may be needed to invest the image with a sense of speed. Within those criteria you may need to experiment with the aperture setting (Depth of fields tends to be less of a concern with side pan shots) and ISO value adjustments to get the exposure as you would wish it to be. If the camera has Auto ISO capability that may help somewhat but I have no idea whether yours does. The weather and the sort of light it offers make stunt your options too.

That said you have the chance for instant review so getting a few practice shots in early in the day and reviewing them is an obviously good idea.

[egor110]

Why would getting to the outside of the track be limited? You can walk around the entire outside of the track?

If i choose shutter priority the camera does the aperture/iso on it's own.

[LongQ]

egor110 said:

Why would getting to the outside of the track be limited? You can walk around the entire outside of the track?

Unless things have changed the only way to cross to the outside of the circuit from the the paddocks is the bridge near the main entrance and, for the new pits, a footbridge over the Hanger Straight.

If they are using the old pits then the main entrance bridge is not too far away on foot and there is a tunnel under the track at the Copse end of the pits that gets you to the outside of the circuit. However once there, from memory and absent a Media pass, the only views you can sensibly get are from the Grandstands (if open) or by walking around the back of the Grandstands to the terraced are that overlooks the end section of the complex. You coould head the other way to Copse and that Grandstand. NOt sure what the photo opportunities are like around there - I don't recall too may people heading that way and you are a long way from the track.

But my overriding impression of Silverstone is that for some reason it just seems so large and takes longer than expected to get from one place to another - often out of view af any track action.

If you can use it the narrow section between the two ends of the circuit offers a few opportunities to cover more positions without moving too far and should work with a 300mm lens but, IMO, the backdrops are usually uninspiring even if the circuit is fully 'dressed' for the meeting.

egor110 said:

If i choose shutter priority the camera does the aperture/iso on it's own.

That sounds like a useful starting point. If you also set aperture does the exposure adjustment still work with just the ISO changing?

In many instances you will probably find that setting shutter speed is enough especially when panning. Av may not have much effect on the resulting composition. In fact if the light is good and broght and you are using relatively low shutter speeds you may have no option unless you fit Neutral Density filter(s) to reduce light levels (in freduce ISO sensitivity at the point if exposure) to avoid over exposure. The downside of filters, if you have any, would be faffing about with them if the light is highly changeable - which I find it often is at race meetings. In addition they would more than likely cause problems for the AF system due to reduceing the amount of light available when the lens is wide open.

Also, if you are using spot metering or even centre weighted average (or whatever such a thing might be called) you may well get different exposures from shot to shot depending on the colour of the car and how much of the frame it fills. The range could easily be a couple of stops. This is not necessarily a problem and I tend to accept it ion order to keep good tonal values in the main subject where possible. If you want consistency of exposure above all else shot to shot you almost certainly have to set all values manually and go with the results.

[egor110]

If you pick aperture mode the camera picks best iso and shutter speed. There is a fully manual mode though but not sure if that's wise as it's my 1st time using the camera trackside.

Think i'll watch the start around the arena then head to luffield then go club, vale , maggotts, becketts.

[LongQ]

egor110 said:

If you pick aperture mode the camera picks best iso and shutter speed. There is a fully manual mode though but not sure if that's wise as it's my 1st time using the camera trackside.

Think i'll watch the start around the arena then head to luffield then go club, vale , maggotts, becketts.

It's no big desl to try it - you can readily see the results and choose to revert to shutter priority of you want to. (If Auto ISO is available on full manual operation ....)

As for your plan of attack - check the direction of the sun at the time of day you expect to be at the different locations. I don't know the timetable but I just have a feeling that you might find yourself shooting generally towards the sun more than you need to (Depending on whether you are inside or outside the circuit at the time of course! I have assumed outside.)

[kybo]

What grandstands will be open? These often get you above the fence but also may take you too far from the track.

The disabled stand at Vale/Club will probably have to be open and that offers you shots over the fence of the Vale straight, the tight left hander and around club. You can also stand in front and slightly to the left and shoot over the fence - it's a low one. Club stand is also good and not too far from track IIRC.

There's a slit in the fence at Backetts but that usually get crowded. Good shots from the stand there, though.

You can shoot over the fence from the back steps of Luffield steps (used to be Luffield A G.stand I think). You can get close enough to the fence at cops to shoot through it, down the straight.

Some good shots to be had from Luffield stands but distance from track may be an issue.

If possible I'd lock the ISO down as low as possible rather than leave it on Auto - stick it in shutter priority, set the ISO and let the only variable be the aperture. I tend to get more consistent looking shots that way.

Good luck and enjoy the experience

Scott

[egor110]

Thanks for the advice, main race is 12.45-15.45 then another 16.15-17.05.

Not sure what stands are open as silverstone seem to decide on the day depending on how many spectators arrive, i'm guessing not many though.

[MonkeyHanger]

It's worth noting that GT Cars have a nasty habit of running with lights on, even during the day and that will play havoc with any sort of semi-auto mode.

Manual might well be your friend.

[LongQ]

MonkeyHanger said:

It's worth noting that GT Cars have a nasty habit of running with lights on, even during the day and that will play havoc with any sort of semi-auto mode.

Manual might well be your friend.

Hehe.

Plan D.

Take a stack of memory cards and spare charged batteries. Shoot anything that moves and keep changing settings, etc. Bound to get some shots you think are OK so then check the EXIF to see what works for you!



Much easier back in pre-digital days with manual focusing. Bit of a blow if you had the wrong ASA film stock though and had to compromise (or change film mid roll).

[Mutley]

MonkeyHanger said:

It's worth noting that GT Cars have a nasty habit of running with lights on, even during the day and that will play havoc with any sort of semi-auto mode.

That's because the lights generally have tints in for classes (white/yellow), but i agree it's a pain.

OP, go to the Vale end of the track, there is a large flat area above the fencing, but if the new pits are in use, don't expect to see much from the banking.

I would suggest taking quite a few memory cards, and spare battery. And don't be afraid to experiment or take the camera off the auto setting, you'll learn more about the camera/your style in manual.

[egor110]

Thanks for the tips, if i go for manual mode what aperture/iso settings should i be starting at?

Planning on taking 2 16gb cards and 2 battery's.

I don't think crowds will be a problem for this event, it's a 3 hour gt race.

[LongQ]

egor110 said:

Thanks for the tips, if i go for manual mode what aperture/iso settings should i be starting at?

What sort of light will you have?

egor110 said:

Planning on taking 2 16gb cards and 2 battery's.

I don't think crowds will be a problem for this event, it's a 3 hour gt race.

How many images would that allow you to capture usually? Will that be enough for you?

I suspect it will although It's quite usual for me to shoot 32Gb + in a day. If shooting RAW + JPG then somewhat more than that but usually to separate cards in my case with the jpgs there primarly for backup or fast sharing.