24 heures du Mans

AndWhyNot

AndWhyNot

Messages
1,402
Name
Andrew
Edit My Images
No
Received a last-minute invite to make my first trip to Le Mans for the 24h race. Primarily a social thing but would've been out of character to leave the camera at home. Didn't know what to expect in terms of vantage points or light but pretty pleased with what I caught. Maybe would've like more variety but the scale of the place was surprising even as someone fairly used to racetracks; and the free bar kinda dulled my sense of urgency :LOL:

Nonetheless, here's how I saw it.

//01 The Pole-position Audi crosses the start line and the clock starts counting down.

Time To Race

//02 Can't begin to imagine how solitary it feels as day becomes night and your only company is the taillights in front and occasional messages over the team radio. Panning at 1/10sec to make the fence disappear

Isolation

//03 This type of shot was on my hitlist, luckily there's plenty such hoardings to choose from so I managed to find one with a view over the fence.

24

//04 Snuck in a short startrail to represent the passing of time as the racing continued right through the night

Through The Night

//05 Eventually found our way to Arnage where there was plenty of action including a couple of cars that just went straight to the back of the gravel trap. Preferred shooting the overtakes though, and using one car's lights to illuminate another.

Arnage

//06 Pre-sunrise colours were lovely, I expect many a sore head was soothed by the view just a little bit. The cars were bunched up by a safety car here.

'til Dawn

Thanks for looking- there's a few more on the set page if interested, comments and crit welcome.
 
Number 4 is purely amazing. How did you get that result?
 
Love 2,3 & 6 but 4 is just a ingenious idea and my favourite! :)
 
Wow. Inspiring stuff! I love 6. If the light trails could have been continuous that would be phenomenal.
 
I rather like those, certainly a different take on it.
 
I've always tried and failed to take light trails like these. Ive tried at le mans and even practiced over the motorway at home but no good. Great shots and very iconic to le mans for me
 
1, 2 and 3 for me, in that order!

Shot 1, the atmosphere sums up the whole LM24 thing; the viewpoint and timing are exceptional.
Were you in the grandstand, or one of the team's hospitality suites?
 
#2, #3 and #4 to me are really great shots. #3 in particular shows some real originality. It's a shame the car lights didn't show better in the star trail.

Where was #6 taken from, I can't work it out!
 
Thanks everyone, it's pleasing to know the 3hrs sleep between 5am Friday and 1am Monday was worth it. Fortunately I didn't have to drive home but even as a passenger I was buzzing and ended up awake for the whole return journey. I lay in bed for a couple of hours before dropping off and everytime a car passed the house my head was hearing a 458 or 'Vette.

Gary said:
number 5 is a binner in my humble opinion.
Click to expand...

You're probably right. The fence does it no favours but tiredness and free beer played a part in poor technique.

nickc said:
Number 4 is purely amazing. How did you get that result?
Click to expand...

Camera on tripod, cable release* locking the shutter open for multiple, consecutive frames each of which was ISO400, 30sec & f/4. The lines through the sky are startrails, a factor of the earth's constant rotation. There's a tutorial linked from my sig (see first post). More of mine are in this startrail set and there's some more excellent examples in the creative photography section here on TP. (*cable release is ideal but I broke mine so used a length of gaffer tape to hold a small pebble in place to keep the shutter button pressed down.)

Garnett said:
Wow. Inspiring stuff! I love 6. If the light trails could have been continuous that would be phenomenal.
Click to expand...

I'd seen it done with continuous light trails before so fancied a different take on it. I was pressed hard up against the catch fencing for this one, contorting the fence around the camera and with the camera upside down (so using my left thumb to trigger the shutter button) so the grip wasn't getting snagged on the fence.

dangerous bryan said:
I've always tried and failed to take light trails like these. Ive tried at le mans and even practiced over the motorway at home but no good. Great shots and very iconic to le mans for me
Click to expand...

Matt (MWHCVT) here on TP has written a great guide on capturing traffic trails, again refer to the creative photography section where he commonly hangs out and it's in his sig.

Digitall said:
Excellent set except no 5 as it's a bit below par.
Click to expand...

See previous response to Gary :)

DuncanDisorderly said:
1, 2 and 3 for me, in that order!

Shot 1, the atmosphere sums up the whole LM24 thing; the viewpoint and timing are exceptional.
Were you in the grandstand, or one of the team's hospitality suites?
Click to expand...

Front row of the grandstand, trying to lean around some scrote who'd got in without a ticket and was blocking my view. His elbow appears in several subsequent shots...

muppetdave said:
#2, #3 and #4 to me are really great shots. #3 in particular shows some real originality. It's a shame the car lights didn't show better in the star trail.

Where was #6 taken from, I can't work it out!
Click to expand...

I have got some further foreground frames- essentially bracketed- for the startrail but haven't tried very hard to blend them yet.

As sixtoes suggests #6 was indeed from just after the Dunlop Bridge.

Here's one more I just got around to processing. Captured just before my previous shot #3


Endurance
 
I prefer the first of the ACO signboards you put up, I like the composition better.

I thought it was taken from the Dunlop bridge in terms of track, but didn't realise you could see the stadium as clearly as that!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top