1st time at Snetterton - advice please

[kybo]

Hi all,

I'm watching the Britcar at Snetterton this month as, as I've never been to this circuit, I was wondering if you'd all be kind enough to offer good locations for taking pictures? Also, good places for thrills/spills/overtakes, please?

I've had a quick look at the panoramic views on their website and it looks like you are a fair distance from the tarmac at certain places.

I'm hoping to have a 70-200 for then - will this have enough reach or will I be better off taking my 50-500 (or both!)?

Many thanks,
Scott

[baz7175]

Snetterton is such a high speed circuit that other than some panning shots I always found myself back at the final chicane before the start finish straight, as 95% of the time it's where the action would be during the BTCC races and you could at least get some lockups through late braking, wheels up in the air and the occasional bit of madness...it's also one of the few spots where the public are only a couple of meters behind the official togs at the tirewall.


BTCC-R7-Snetterton-Image-241 by www.bazpics.com, on Flickr


BTCC-R7-Snetterton-Image-440 by www.bazpics.com, on Flickr


BTCC-R7-Snetterton-Image-364 by www.bazpics.com, on Flickr


BTCC-R7-Snetterton-Image-393 by www.bazpics.com, on Flickr


BTCC-R7-Snetterton-Image-394 by www.bazpics.com, on Flickr


BTCC-R7-Snetterton-Image-443 by www.bazpics.com, on Flickr


BTCC-R7-Snetterton-Image-259 by www.bazpics.com, on Flickr


Formula BMW - Red Bull - Car #6 by www.bazpics.com, on Flickr

All shot from within 20-30 meters of each other using my old 50-200mm and 70-300 lenses...

[Number31]

I've not been since the circuit was updated and while Murry's is always worth a look...



... don't discount the other areas, especially the section from the bridge through to the Bomb Hole









Bung a bike in the back of your car and you can cover the whole circuit during one race!

Number31.

[LongQ]

Take both lenses.

Only been once so far (the the 'New' layout) and is occurs to me that Snetterton could a great photographer's circuit but is not - yet.

Good bits and less good bits co-exist. You really need to plan what you want to take.

[kybo]

Thanks for the images Baz and number31 - two great sets there.

Baz, is that set taken from the infield, standing at Murrays?

Number 31 - the bridge area looks good.

What about the other end of the circuit? The corners don't much 'Fun' but are any of them worth a visit? Is it any good between Oggies and Palmer - can you see the track from the same place? Are you allowed there?

LongQ said:

Take both lenses.

Only been once so far (the the 'New' layout) and is occurs to me that Snetterton could a great photographer's circuit but is not - yet.

Good bits and less good bits co-exist. You really need to plan what you want to take.

I think I will take both lenses, to be on the safe side.

I like to see movement in the cars, some wheel lifting, rubbing, overtakes, pretty much anything and everything, I suppose. I will try and traverse the whole track, but if I can gleen info on the best spots I can spend a bit more time at those.

Did you have a preferred spot LongQ?

Thanks again,
Scott

[LongQ]

kybo said:

Thanks for the images Baz and number31 - two great sets there.

Baz, is that set taken from the infield, standing at Murrays?

Number 31 - the bridge area looks good.

What about the other end of the circuit? The corners don't much 'Fun' but are any of them worth a visit? Is it any good between Oggies and Palmer - can you see the track from the same place? Are you allowed there?

LongQ said:

Take both lenses.

Only been once so far (the the 'New' layout) and is occurs to me that Snetterton could a great photographer's circuit but is not - yet.

Good bits and less good bits co-exist. You really need to plan what you want to take.

I think I will take both lenses, to be on the safe side.

I like to see movement in the cars, some wheel lifting, rubbing, overtakes, pretty much anything and everything, I suppose. I will try and traverse the whole track, but if I can gleen info on the best spots I can spend a bit more time at those.

Did you have a preferred spot LongQ?

Thanks again,
Scott

I've only been to Snetterton once - middle of last year. A dull and ultimately rather wet day. Public areas only.

The Murrays section is reasonable for getting close to the action with sensible lenses. But it's not somewhere I found some exciting and interesting angles from the public areas. Good, but not earth shattering.

The new public viewing mound that overlooks the complex extension (assuming the 300 circuit is in use) is pretty good for viewing but not necessarily great for photography. It's OK with a long lens but, again, not really encouraging. However you can at least get some long shots head on as the cars come down the back of the paddock area, see a couple of curves as they head away and still get to the side of the long straight within a few seconds for a different sort of shot. From that perspective it offers something. With a long lens there may be more to be had from the top of the viewing mound looking out towards other side of the track but the day I was there the wind and rain that developed made that option very uncomfortable. Most people stayed away from the top of the mound (wags claim it may be the highest point in Norfolk!) on the basis that standing up was difficult enough without having a go at taking pics at the same time.

In the viewing area between the Pits and Riches (again good for viewing but not especially exciting for photos assuming the 300 circuit is in use) there are opportunties for snapping action at the end of the pit straight and then turning around and moving a few metres and catching the action as the cars come around the back of the paddock thorough the new extension loop and out again. Nice for spectators although the area available is relatively small so if it's busy the option to move quickly from one location to another may be compromised. The cars come back within range for some shots as they complete the new infield loop but although they can be easily captured with a suitable lens the shots obtainable are not really that interesting absent some sort of incident. The challenge in this entire section is that the distance to subject varies from close-ish to distant. You need to set up with the appropriate lens for the shot you have in mind.

As I was diving back into the paddock at regular intervals I didn't venture out around the farther flung parts of the circuit. The way the weather developed was not encouraging either - nice start to the weekend but it slowly got colder and wetter so I may not haveseen Snetterton at its best. In fact to be fair the newness of the revised circuit did not enhance the overall experience from a compositional POV. Earth rather than grass and a lot of very new shiny armco was not especially attractive for backdrops. I assume things are a bit better from that perspective by now.

One rather interesting possibility, perspectively speaking, is at the back of the paddock between Palmer's and Agostini where a small area (and seating) allows for a very brief glimpse of the cars as they take the left kink between the two turns. In this case what can one see of the circuit seems very limited but the angle makes for some interesting shots though the opportunity is brief. Space is limited though so on a busy day you may struggle to get a useful position. One seems to be below the track at that point rather than looking down on it so the background contains quite a bit of sky. Can be OK depending on the weather.

In summary the place seems to offer a lot of potential - far more than Silverstone for example - but may need a bit of working out to get a really interesting variety of angles from the public enclosures close to the paddock area. On the plus side, at least when I visited, the debris fencing was not a huge all pervasive intrusion on photographic endeavours. Morever the Paddock facilities were pretty good and the cafe quality was fine should that be a consideration.

I assume that, a year on, some extra 'grass' and weathered armco my improve the backdrop options. Your long lens (I only had 400mm available at max as the weather put me off attempting to lug my old manual 600mm lens + tripod around) may well add some further opportunities. Head-on shots into Agostini's for example might suit it well although for shooting pan shots through Agostini's it may be a bit long for cars - do you have a spare body .... ?

In summary .... more opportunities for snapping than many circuits but the backdrops may not always be enticing. Potential to be relatively close to the action in several places. A broad selection of lens lengths would be useful for optimum photographic flexibility. Likely to look much better overall if it's not wet! (Although really wet, rather than damp, could be interesting.

No idea whether the the outside of the circuit or the parts remote from the paddock offer greater potential - I didn't get out there.

Edited by LongQ on Tuesday 1st May 23:50

[kybo]

LongQ,

Thanks for the feedback - very informative.

I shall certainly be looking out for some of the places you mentioned there.

Great stuff. Cheers,
Scott