Goodwood Festival Of Speed..advice please

andrewc said:
be prepared for a lot of walking. The car park is almost in a different county.
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Having been several times I've parked in two different car parks. One is at the bottom of the hill from the rally stage and the other was at the back of the F1 paddock. Niether was very far at all, especially if you can get there early as car parks are open before the pedestrian gates open.
 
Neil, were you able to chose which car park to park in, or are you directed by staff ?
 
I've always found Friday really good. I arrive for opening (7am I think), at that time you basically have free rein of the paddock areas, last time I could count the number of people in view in the supercar paddock on one hand for at least half an hour. A few cars may not have arrived yet and some may be undercover still, but the vast majority are just sat waiting to be looked at/photographed. I fly around the paddocks until it starts getting busy, then walk up the hill on the lookout for a nice viewpoint ready for the hill-climb.

I've only got a 120-300 now and it's far too long, when I had my 80-200 that was pretty much perfect. Anywhere above the Bowler Experience (i.e. near the top) I've always found to be relatively spacious as far as shooting the hill goes, particularly if you cross over to the opposite side from most spectator areas (so the cars are travelling from your right to left as they come up the hill)

It's worth remembering that the cars come back down the hill as well as up it, you can get some interesting angles when they are going the other way and often people are using that time to move to a different spot so it's a little quieter.
 
Thanks Chris, sounds like a good plan. I guess I need to get there early to make the most of the day.
 
Last time I went to the FoS I had a 40D and 70-200 f4 with 1.4ex. No probs at all. The rally stage is great for shots as you can get a lot closer - though be prepared to linger at the good corners because some other photog will have already nabbed the good spots!

I bought grandstand tickets last time and found that first thing the AM they were great for photos as you could get some height. Later on in the day they were too busy and people's head's were in the way. The grandstand is a great base and lets the Mrs have a seat whilst you are photofaffing.

Here are the shots from the last time I went (2009).
 
Thanks Simon.
Enjoyed looking at your shots from 09, quite some machinery on display.
 
Not sure if its been said but take ALL available keys for all makes of cars, we got into the Audi stand last year which has a perfect viewing area for the track to take shots from. FOS is SO busy now, you will stuggle to get to the front of the barriers at any point along the course :(

You can get some great shots at the Rally track in the woods though.
 
if it has been dry for a while depending on where you go the cars can kick up a lot of dust so take a reasonable camera bag, rockect blower and lens cloth to give the lens a quick blast if required
 
Shabba,
was it 'invite only' into the Audi stand as an Audi owner ?


Adrian, thanks, will go well prepared.
 
It was dry last year, and very dusty in the rally area. The rally section is quite far from the main area, but they have a tractor and trailor shuttle service, though the queues do get quite long. Still probably works out quicker than walking, but it was an exceptionally dusty, and very bumpy ride!! Recommend you have all your camera kit in a bag before you join the tractor queue.

I only took photos within the rally section in 2009, and left my 100-400 lens on, all the shots were taken at 100mm, and the odd photo would have benefitted from a slighter wider lens, so I think your 70-200 will be ideal. If you're also planning on taking photos of the hill climb, you would be better off with the 100-400 - plus the Red Arrows do a good display there.

Friday is quieter, but is still busy, and it's definately an event where it's worth planning in advance so you can spend two days there or even three!
 
Neil. said:
Neil, were you able to chose which car park to park in, or are you directed by staff ?
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Sorry but only just come back to this thread and seen your question. Car Parks are sign posted on the approach roads. The Car Parks are by letter of the alphabet as far as I remember, your best bit would be to have a look on Google maps of the area, make a note of names and numbers of roads to give you an idea of where you want to aim for. Paddock car parks are to rear of Goodwood House others are to the front running parallel to the hill. If I remember rightly the car parks open at 6:00 AM (you may need to confirm this with Goodwood or it may even be on tickets or website). The earlier you get there the closer you'll get to park to the pedestrian entrance of your choice. Car Park stewards only direct you once in the car park so choice of car park is pretty much yours down to how early you get there.
 
Thanks for the info vtecsilver & Neil. Good to hear that 70-200mm seems a good choice for the rallying as it's the longest I have at the moment !
I plan to get there reasonably early on the friday, possibly staying over the night before to get a head start, although looks like a lot of accommodation has been booked up well in advance.
 
With regards to the walk up the hill to the rally stage, a lot of it is along the stage through the woods, so there are plenty of chances to stop for photographs.

But yes, it gets seriously dusty towards the rally stage and the tractor shuttles.
 
I have been going since 2004 on a Friday and done a couple of Saturdays and the number of people there has increased 5 fold IMO. The weekends are really rammed so Friday is best for photos.

I would recommend something wider than 70-200 for the paddocks I just got a Sigma 10-20 with Goodwood in mind, 20- something will do though your 70-200 should be fine for the Hill Climb and Rally stage. The Hill Climb is usually less busy towards the top and at bend 4 and you can get head on and side shots. The start is also worth a visit tie this in with the air show.

The Event Program is expensive but it tells you the time of the air show and the Red Arrows are there this year. The amount of times we have missed this is disgraceful as we are either looking at some Audi, Range Rover, under trees or having a beer. Try to get near to the start or the cricket pitch/open arena for this as it is more open or on a higher stand with a southerly open view.

The Bowler ride is worth a go as is a helicopter ride if you are travelling there specially but none are cheap. The Porsche Cafe does a good breakfast.

We went once by mini bus and found a good stand selling organic cider but that is another storey.
 
Thanks lewis & martin. Have got other focal lengths covered up to 70mm and will probably take else something for flexibility. Have 10-22mm, 50mm & 17-85mm to chose from. Obviously some overlap, so won't be taking all.
 
Thanks for all those that offered advice. Went to FOS on Friday and had a great day. Some posted in Motorsports section.
 
For anyone looking at going to Goodwood Festival Of Speed 2014 to do photography please take a look at my website as I have done a short post on places and technique. I am one of the official photographers commissioned by goodwood and get asked questions by lots of people so decided to write this post to help others. Click Here
 
I'd go on a Friday as the weekend can get really busy. You can usually het pretty close to the action so 70-200 would be ideal. I went with my 105 a few years ago and managed okay.
 
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