I Love Fences!

Fireproof Creative

Fireproof Creative

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Jonny
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I've been pretending to be a photographer for 5 or so years, every year I see the same question being asked "How do I get to the other side"...

I used to be one of those people, but recently my opinion's been changing... then I had an epiphany while trying to write a Silverstone track guide for photographers (a different story)... I actually love fences...

Being the "wrong" side means I can go for a beer when I want, I can get food when I want, I can go to the toilet when I want, I can hide from the rain, I get a big chunk of the atmosphere with the crowds, other "spectographers" (I'm claiming/coining the term ;)) leave me on my own while they find unobstructed views & most significantly of all, I don't risk being impaled by flying machinery...

So as the new season gets underway, my advice to the imminent question is simply... don't worry about it... :)

1. Get as close to the fence as you can get away with
2. Stand in the middle of a panel, the posts are much less inclined to disappear
3. Use a telephoto with the widest aperture available (get an ND filter if its sunny)
4. The larger the distance between subject and fence the better (to a point obviously), make sure the two are on vastly different focal plains
5. Pick your location based on the position of the sun (avoid getting reflections on the fence)... <------Underlined because its actually very important

6. Press buttons, get this...


Alex Lowes by Fireproof Creative, on Flickr

Hahahaha now I hope you're all thinking that's an absolutely crap photo...

But is it?

...I'm quite a long way away :(

um... maybe with a crop and a bit of colour adjustment...


....hmmmm maybe....


....Yeah that's got it...


Alex Lowes - BSB 2013 by Fireproof Creative, on Flickr

^I'd advise you click it to view it larger on flickr, its been sharpened and adjusted for print on canvas (if it looks too gaudy to you, canvas tends to soften and dull images ;))

I was the only person who got this shot during the race, there were a few spectators near me, but no photographers in sight... (Maybe I should start washing :( )

Now my equipment is good, no doubt... This was taken with a full frame 5D and the 400mm f5.6 lens...

That's a 22MP original cropped to 3000px wide (plenty large enough for most uses by a speccy)... my max aperture of 5.6 is pretty standard though

But make no mistake you could just as easily achieve virtually the same shot with a 16MP crop body and a 300mm lens... At Silverstone! (Infact I have)...

probably £600 worth of 10MP 40D and Sigma 100-300mm f4 (2012 a different corner but through another lovely fence)

2 by Fireproof Creative, on Flickr

If you do have a 200mm+ f4 lens or faster then fences don't exist to you :)

...actually, thinking about it if you only have an f8 lens, fences still don't get in the way...

6 by Fireproof Creative, on Flickr

Processing makes a difference but it really doesn't take much work or experience, especially if you follow the guidelines about taking the shot in the first place...

Darren Ward wrote a great tutorial about shooting through fences which beginners should read

So I know I'm risking everyone ditching their low fences and photo holes to start getting in my way ;) but there's a whole track out there that so many people ignore :)

Be original... Love Fences!
 
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I have just had a look at your stuff on Flickr outstanding work, I have two cameras a 400D and a 600D and my longest lens is my Tamron 70-300 mm tele DI macro lens. And it's not capable of quailty shots like that which disappoints me a great deal. To the point I am not sure if I will take my cameras with me to the first round at brands hatch of British Superbikes.
 
Pinkbikerbabe said:
I have just had a look at your stuff on Flickr outstanding work, I have two cameras a 400D and a 600D and my longest lens is my Tamron 70-300 mm tele DI macro lens. And it's not capable of quailty shots like that which disappoints me a great deal. To the point I am not sure if I will take my cameras with me to the first round at brands hatch of British Superbikes.
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As I said on Flickr you should be able to get perfectly good shots with that combo, the Tamron will hold you back a bit but you can always hire a very respectable lens for about £50 that will really make your pictures shine

For an example this guy shot this with a 500D (older than yours) with a 100-400 (£50-60 to hire for a weekend)
>>Click Here<<

Now his processing isn't the best, but if you look at the detail captured in it, its great.. If I had the raw file for this I'd have no problem making it jump off the screen.

Practice is much more important than equipment :) don't get down hearted, if it was really easy then it'd be very boring :)

This guys done a pretty good job with very similar equipment to yours..just not sure which 70-300 he used, but same body
>>Now Here<<
 
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Love the title :clap: and a great article.
Have to agree with all that you say (y) I absolutely love days photographing at my own leisure and especially at my local Silverstone,and have heard people echoing exactly what you say regarding being this side of the fence..only thing I hanker for are the better positions that are available "on the other side"...:naughty:
That's some decent editing on the first shot :clap:

Clive
 
coopers said:
Love the title :clap: and a great article.
Have to agree with all that you say (y) I absolutely love days photographing at my own leisure and especially at my local Silverstone,and have heard people echoing exactly what you say regarding being this side of the fence..only thing I hanker for are the better positions that are available "on the other side"...:naughty:
That's some decent editing on the first shot :clap:

Clive
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Hahaha comedy very much intended :) meah angles at silverstone aren't too much different for speccys and press for a lot of events, there's certainly enough variation not to get too hung up on it anyway :) I prefer the beers XD settles the panning you know
 
GAZA62 said:
Nice work Johnathan and that lowes shot looks superb viewed at 1600 on flickr cheers for the link I need to master panning through a fence as I am OK with the head on shots
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Thanks very much GAz, I find panning helps you use a narrower aperture... Just need to tweak the contrast a bit more, avoid reflections and it'll be fine (not sure you need any advice haha)
 
Nice piece Jonathon some good tips, I joined the speccy on a step brigade last year and found that panning was tricky without falling off, or having a big wobble on, plus most fences are still too high. I shot some through the fence shots at Druids (Brands) with success, but others at Clearways failed, which could be down to that focal distance or light reflections that you mention.
 
Interesting post Jonathan well illustrated, some cracking stuff on your Flickr too. Can I ask which AF case you find works best on your 5D111 for motor sport ?
 
Neil. said:
Interesting post Jonathan well illustrated, some cracking stuff on your Flickr too. Can I ask which AF case you find works best on your 5D111 for motor sport ?
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Thanks Neil, to be honest it depends on the type of shot I'm trying to take. I always use single point with expansion and Ai servo obviously. If I'm panning through the fence ill usually use case 2, shooting head on into a corner I'll use case 4... case 1 will often do a good enough job for most things if you are smooth and able to keep the AF point on target.. I always use a monopod and have found personally that makes much more of a significant difference than case selection (for both pans and higher SS work) :) I figure less erratic overall movement on my part gives the AF system more of a chance regardless of case, which I think makes sense (at least in my non technical head) :)
 
Graphix501 said:
Thanks Neil, to be honest it depends on the type of shot I'm trying to take. I always use single point with expansion and Ai servo obviously. If I'm panning through the fence ill usually use case 2, shooting head on into a corner I'll use case 4... case 1 will often do a good enough job for most things if you are smooth and able to keep the AF point on target.. I always use a monopod and have found personally that makes much more of a significant difference than case selection (for both pans and higher SS work) :) I figure less erratic overall movement on my part gives the AF system more of a chance regardless of case, which I think makes sense (at least in my non technical head) :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the pointers Jonathan, I've tried various case combinations myself but have yet to settle on what works best for me, need to do some more testing (and make a note of what case Ive used - pity it doesn't show up in the exif). Interesting to hear your thoughts on how much of a benefit a monopod is. Cheers.
 
Apologies for putting my devils advocate coat on, but Silverstone is largely surrounded by fencing, which is then surrounded by a barrier several feet back from the fencing. Presumably the above shots require a bit of 'rule breaking', unless taken from some of the very few spots where you can get right at the fence, i.e. vehicle gates?

I'm more than happy shooting spectator-side, but I can't think of a huge number of circuits where you can get right up against the debris fence, without as you say, getting away with it. That's a fairly slippery slope in my opinion, as presumably there is a sound reason for the buffer zone and if everyone was at it it would make marshals lives a whole lot busier.
 
ukaskew said:
Apologies for putting my devils advocate coat on, but Silverstone is largely surrounded by fencing, which is then surrounded by a barrier several feet back from the fencing. Presumably the above shots require a bit of 'rule breaking', unless taken from some of the very few spots where you can get right at the fence, i.e. vehicle gates?

I'm more than happy shooting spectator-side, but I can't think of a huge number of circuits where you can get right up against the debris fence, without as you say, getting away with it. That's a fairly slippery slope in my opinion, as presumably there is a sound reason for the buffer zone and if everyone was at it it would make marshals lives a whole lot busier.
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Agreed mate actually rushing the fence wasn't really what I meant and should clarify that, these were from behind the guard rail as well :) some areas at ss are grey areas like the loop and access gates like you mention
 
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After seeing the flying bike photos from Brands over the weekend, I can see Jonathon's reasoning for wanting to be behind the fence ! I believe that luckily, only a Canon lens suffered in the crash .
 
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