Critique Lotus Trackday, First Attempt at Panning

[rpsmith79]

Well here goes, a few shots from a Lotus Club Trackday at Donnington earlier in the week, this is my first attempt at panning so all comments/critique welcomed

As it was my first go at this sort of thing i was experimenting with shutter speeds, i tried from 1/350th all the way down to 1/90th, my hit rate was obviously better the faster i went, but the motion blur no where near as nice, out of the 400 odd photos i took, about 75% went in the bin straight away, then i whittled the remaining 100 or so down to about 12 shots, most of which were the ones i hopefully nailed at the slower shutter speeds

Anyway, here are a select few of what i consider my best shots from the session

Also, any tips on panning technique and locations to shoot from around Donnington as i would like to give it another shot at some point

#1 - 1/90th


Lotus Elise by Richard Smith, on Flickr

#2 - 1/90th


Lotus Elise by Richard Smith, on Flickr

#3 - 1/180th


Lotus Elise by Richard Smith, on Flickr

#4 - 1/90th


Lotus Elise by Richard Smith, on Flickr

 

[Jesoid]

For a first attempt I would say you have done a very good job, number 3 doesn't do anything for me, I would say number 2 has more punch than the others.
Keep practising and enjoying is my only advice
John

 

[Hix]

Hi,
Nice first effort. For me I would prefer to see a bit more space in front of the cars. Give them some room to 'move' into. That being said, it is just my preference, others may have totally different opinions.

 

[OliverH]

The first two are very nice but the others dont really do anything for me. For a first attempt you have done very well and you should be proud of yourself. Im guessing you are using a IS / VR Lens which helps. My best advice is just practice, practice, practice.

I do feel a little cropping would make the images alot better though. It depends on your style, i like a fairly tight crop but others favor leaving some space in front. Its a case of trying and seeing what you like.

 

[rpsmith79]

For a first attempt I would say you have done a very good job, number 3 doesn't do anything for me, I would say number 2 has more punch than the others.
Keep practising and enjoying is my only advice
John

Cheers, yes i think #2 was my favourite too, and i only really included #3 for a bit of variety as otherwise it looks like i was only shooting Grey Series 2 Elise's

Hi,
Nice first effort. For me I would prefer to see a bit more space in front of the cars. Give them some room to 'move' into. That being said, it is just my preference, others may have totally different opinions.

These are all crops from memory, so i could have a play with the crops later to see how they come out

The first two are very nice but the others dont really do anything for me. For a first attempt you have done very well and you should be proud of yourself. Im guessing you are using a IS / VR Lens which helps. My best advice is just practice, practice, practice.

I do feel a little cropping would make the images alot better though. It depends on your style, i like a fairly tight crop but others favor leaving some space in front. Its a case of trying and seeing what you like.

Yes i was using a VR lens, but i wasn't sure whether to have it on or off, so i just kept switching throughout the evening, is it recommended to have VR on when panning then?

And thanks al for taking the time to comment, much appreciated

 

[OliverH]

I always have VR turned on. There are two modes though on some lenses so check your manual. I forget what they are called but one will try and stabalise all movement and the other allows for horizontal movement (panning).

 

[rpsmith79]

I always have VR turned on. There are two modes though on some lenses so check your manual. I forget what they are called but one will try and stabalise all movement and the other allows for horizontal movement (panning).

On my Tamron 70-300mm there is only on or off, it's not really an ideal lens for this sort of thing and i only really use the Tamron as a walkabout telephoto lens as it's nice and light

I manly shoot wildlife, but i don't think my 300mm f4 would have been any more suitable......... and that doesn't have VR either

What is the weapon of choice for Motorsport photography then, i suspect something like a 70-200 f2.8??

 

[OliverH]

The 70-200 F2.8 VR from Nikon is very nice. I like the Nikon 70-300 VR as well.

 

[alemarvaldi]

First attempt??? the first one is great!!!

Well done, i personally prefer the color ones ... B&W shows a little less punch!

 

[rpsmith79]

First attempt??? the first one is great!!!

Well done, i personally prefer the color ones ... B&W shows a little less punch!

Yes, first attempt at panning, and first attempt at Motorsport............... i do shoot wildlife though, so i guess some of the techniques are transferable

The B&W conversions were done partially down to the rather overcast sky giving less that ideal lighting, and a rather dull look it gave to most of the colour shots

But i was also able to apply these techniques I practiced at the Trackday to shoot the Sunderland Airshow this past weekend, just got to finish sorting through the 700 odd photos i took now