F1 photography

benners

benners

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Ben
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hi all

I'm lucky enough to be going to the Silverstone F1 GP this year, albeit just the race day! Going to be sat in Vale... wondered if anyone's snapped from there in the past, what sort of view to expect, fences, etc.?

The longest lens I have is: Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G IF-ED AF-S DX VR
will this do me well, or should I consider hiring something longer/faster for the day?

Really just after advice/tips for F1 shooting... I've not shot any motorsport before, so grateful of any thoughts!

I've done a search on here and seen a great bunch of Silverstone shots from 2009, not sure which areas a lot where taken from though... so any Vale info would be ace!
 
the problem is that if you are in a grandstand unable to move then its almost not worth the bother. you are just going to get lots of shots all from the same place.. and if you hire anything too big you probably just wont have the room for it.

my advice would be to take the camera on the saturday and move about a lot, and maybe even leave it at home on the sunday.
 
hmm, yeah I think I'll just take my kit and see what I can get with what I already have... and just get some ok shots for the memories rather than top-notch photographs :)

might see if I can pick up a cheapish 70-300 for the extra reach... though would having a non-VR lens be a disadvantage?
 
A bit off topic(sorry Benners), but i was wondering if you can get any closer to the action on test day? Without needing a media pass of course. :D
 
Blimey! you're getting in early! :) you'd stand a good chance going for a walk down to the luffield complex and watching them come through there. you can stand on the hill and look down over the fence. it was the best place I could find on the circuit after walking round twice, but if you have grandstand seating :shrug: you may want to hire something a longer if you're going for more than one day or if you don't to want to post-crop lots of shots.


I shot these with a 70-300mm VR last year (mainly from Luffield):
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=143946

hope this helps.
 
benners said:
hmm, yeah I think I'll just take my kit and see what I can get with what I already have... and just get some ok shots for the memories rather than top-notch photographs :)
Click to expand...

:thumbs:

benners said:
might see if I can pick up a cheapish 70-300 for the extra reach... though would having a non-VR lens be a disadvantage?
Click to expand...

not if you rest it on the person in front of you's head :)

from that distance it would help having VR, but a monopod should do the trick.
 
F1 cars come through very fast, and if you've not done any motorsport photography before you may struggle and end up missing the race trying to take photos. Get yourself to Snetterton or to Brands to get a bit of practise in first.
 
If you can go on a test day, take a decent size box for your gear rather than a bag maybe. the fences are a bit of a pain in some parts of the track, so if youve got a box you can turn upside down for an extra couple of feet, thats worth a bit i think
 
(picnic style cool box could possibly do the job if you can pack everything safely inside it)
 
andrewc said:
You have the same access on the test day as you would on race day - just with about 80,000 less people in the way.

On test day they have blocked off parts of the circuit to spectators.
Click to expand...

When is the test day? From last year there is no in season testing (part of the gradual budget cuts), and I can't see the teams going to a cold Silverstone before the middle of March!

To the OP - for Vale I would perhaps hire something like a 300mm f/4 prime, if they are not too big. Can be hard to pan though in the grandstands without standing up and then you block the view for those behind you!
 
daveb99 said:
When is the test day? From last year there is no in season testing (part of the gradual budget cuts), and I can't see the teams going to a cold Silverstone before the middle of March!

To the OP - for Vale I would perhaps hire something like a 300mm f/4 prime, if they are not too big. Can be hard to pan though in the grandstands without standing up and then you block the view for those behind you!
Click to expand...

you can walk to Jerez Circuit from the airport.. takes about 20 mins
and ryanair in feb is cheaper than driving to silverstone :)
 
benners said:
hmm, yeah I think I'll just take my kit and see what I can get with what I already have... and just get some ok shots for the memories rather than top-notch photographs :)

might see if I can pick up a cheapish 70-300 for the extra reach... though would having a non-VR lens be a disadvantage?
Click to expand...

i use the non vr lens on the d90 for about 90% of my shots it never had any real issue (dont use a monopod either).
 
there is no test days anymore :) they got removed in the budget costs :)

free practice is the best time to get photos on the friday
qualifying on saturday is ok but busy
sunday you might as well not bother with photos, restricted to your seat (or G\A area) and its heaving!!
 
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