Any tips for shooting at F1 Silverstone?

Lead Farmer

Lead Farmer

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Steve
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Do any of you have any tips for getting decent shots at an F1 event please?

Im off to this years Silverstone F1 with seats in the International Pit Straight grandstand for race day. I will be roaming around the track on the days leading upto the race.

Ive never photographed any motorsports before and I guessing it will be difficult to track the speeding cars with my camera. So do any of you have any tips for getting decent shots of the cars please? Im hoping my Tamrom 70-300mm will be a handy lens to have, but im happy to consider buying a new lens if needed. As well as the cars, Im hoping to get some nice shots with the crowds etc.

My kit to date is;

Nikon D5000
Nikon 18-55mm
Tamron 70-300mm

Thanks:)
 
Having shot at silver stone myself I can you you unless you are high up in the grandstand or sat on a hill, it will be fairly hard to find an opening in the fence. You can get some good shots there though apart from the background is 80% crap and is full of scaffolding, fencing or a grandstand as well as the red and white strips which follow the track wall. But good luck and it sounds like a good opp for some good crowd shots as well. Hope this some how helps
 
Try and get as much practice as possible on the days before the race and read up on panning,
Handheld shots through the fence are possible but just quite difficult and your af will struggle to focus on either the track or fence, the shot bellow was handheld through the fencing so it is possible.

_MG_8614 by BenWPhotography, on Flickr
 
Thanks (y) Nice photo Ben6 :)

I'll be arriving on the Thursday and camping on the circuit through to the Monday, so will be watching the practice day, qualifying and race day.

Im able to roam around various grandstands from the Thursday to Saturday, but on race day I have a seat near the start/finish line so Im hoping of getting some nice shots of the cars on the grid.

But as well as the cars, I also fancy trying to get some candid shots of folk camping & BBQing (is that even a word?) as well as folk in the crowds.

So im guessing with the fast moving cars its a case of tracking/panning them as they pass me, whilst trying to focus at the same time?
 
Lead Farmer said:
Thanks (y) Nice photo Ben6 :)

I'll be arriving on the Thursday and camping on the circuit through to the Monday, so will be watching the practice day, qualifying and race day.

Im able to roam around various grandstands from the Thursday to Saturday, but on race day I have a seat near the start/finish line so Im hoping of getting some nice shots of the cars on the grid.

But as well as the cars, I also fancy trying to get some candid shots of folk camping & BBQing (is that even a word?) as well as folk in the crowds.

So im guessing with the fast moving cars its a case of tracking/panning them as they pass me, whilst trying to focus at the same time?
Click to expand...

Cheers Steve, I'm only there for the friday this year as I'm thinking it'll be better from a photography point of view as i can move about a lot more with half the people that are there on race day.

Try and cover as much of the track as possible and see what you can get from each corner.

Its a great track though, i'll hopefully be there for the WEC in a few weeks if the weathers picked up at all that is.

Once you've got focus on the point where the car enters the corner I've even found it easier to switch to MF and pan with the car that way, a monopod/tripod might make it easier too.
 
I've you've not done motorsport before get to another meeting before hand, that way you've got some idea of what will come and you can enjoy the sights and sounds of the f1 cars, and come away with shots you'll be pleased with. Doesn't have to be Silverstone, so if you can get over to Croft or Oulton Park for a higher end car or bike meet it would be worth going to.
 
andrewc said:
I've you've not done motorsport before get to another meeting before hand, that way you've got some idea of what will come and you can enjoy the sights and sounds of the f1 cars, and come away with shots you'll be pleased with. Doesn't have to be Silverstone, so if you can get over to Croft or Oulton Park for a higher end car or bike meet it would be worth going to.
Click to expand...

RichardTaylor said:
You may find this tutorial (introduction to motor sport photography), of mine, helpful.

Thats a good idea(y)

http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/tutorials/190114-motor-sport.html
Click to expand...

Wow, that looks like some good reading for tonight, many thanks Richard(y)
 
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Good advice from the community so far. It's my local circuit so if I can offer some more specific Silverstone info.

1. Go to other events prior to f1 (As AndrewC says) - learn where the best shooting spots are prior to rocking up. The WEC in April is a great choice

2. Friday is the best day for photos due to crowd numbers - if you try and find your way around then you will be in danger of wasting an opportunity. You need to know where you are going to shoot from and how long it takes you to move about before you go to the f1 meet. Saturday is ok but exponentially busier than Friday, Sunday is rammed, like you will only be able to shoot from your seat and depending where on the straight you are, you are unlikely to get shots you will be happy with due to fences and walls.

3.Fences will get in the way - its a fact - you need to know where you can see over them and/or through them prior to going. you will not be able to get close to the fence on sat or sun unless you German your spot from 6am or when ever the gates open.

4.learn to Pan..... low ISOs, slow shutter speeds (1/250 max) and track fast moving vehicles. Or you will end up with nasty stationary cars


I posted in another thread about locations and 300mm reach at Silverstone.

"I don't agree that 300mm is not enough for Silverstone, it has been pretty successful for me, sure a TC will help but ultimately its depends on what kind of shot you want...a close up of the drivers eyes as they turn into Stowe isn't going to happen, but if you are realistic you can get pretty good shots as long as you choose your location well.

I've posted links to large images on a few so you can actually see what is possible - i'm using a 40D for these so only 10mpx so most bodies now should capture some extra detail compared to these as well - all from spectator areas-never been media. all with sigma 100-300f4 non dg (No stabiliser)

40D @ 300mm - no TC @ Luffield complex grandstand - so behind a raft of spectator terracing as well

British GP 2009 by Fireproof_Art, on Flickr

40D @ 300mm + 1.4x converter @ at exit of brooklands pressed up against the fence :) (the full size image is 3 times bigger than this and quality is great)

8 by Fireproof_Art, on Flickr

40D @ 300mm no tc from inside of stowe - vale. behind fence again but not always accessible for big events.


Brundle WEC 2012 by Fireproof_Art, on Flickr

40D @300mm no TC from the loop (between village and wellington straight) shooting through vacant photographer hole - again not always accessible.

BritCar 24hrs Silverstone #88 by Fireproof_Art, on Flickr

40D @ 300mm (NO TC!) from club gold grandstand - granted this is a pretty large crop as I had whole car in frame, only a 10 megapixel sensor though

Sebastian Vettle by Fireproof_Art, on Flickr

And another one from Club - 40D 300mm no tc - i'm in the middle of the grandstand as well.

Jaime Alguersuari... 2011 Silverstone by Fireproof_Art, on Flickr


Hopefully this will give beginners a better idea of what is possible and a better insight into whether they need to have gear envy or not. I'm not saying my photos are artistically/compositionally wonderful - this is how close you can get for under £700
 
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