Silverstone viewpoints..?

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iains1976

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iain
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Heading to Silverstone for moto gp this weekend and taking camera on Saturday. Is there anywhere on the circuit that is not surrounded by 12" crash fencing?? I'm shooting at 300mm so need to be quite close! Any info would be great!

Iain
 
Quickly wrote this yesterday & posted on another forum in response to a similar question.

Saturday was my first visit to Silverstone this year & it has changed since last year. The bigger , higher stands which give views over the fencing, now seem to be at the southern end of the track.
My comments are based on having access to the stands at the FIA GT1 event.

Luffield - still a small area of the terracing at the entrance to Luffield where you can take shots over the fence. My 500 lens allowed shots at both Brooklands exit & Luffield entrance.

Copse - there seems to be smaller stands at around the old start / finish line than in the past. The result is you can't seem to get shots over the fence anymore. The terrace is only of use if you want to shoot through the fences.

Maggots - from the stand there are good views both of the Maggots / Becketts complex & over to the "new" Village / Loop complex. If you have a front row seat you can get some good shots here with either panning or head on pictures. I used both my 500 & 100-400 lemses here. The 500 allowed shots into Village & the Loop with some fence intrusion.

Hanger straight - there is a small stand on the infield just over the bridge. Decent shots of cars exiting Chapel or on the hanger straight.

Stowe - I didnt get into the stands. However there is a place at the back of the spectator banking where you can take pictures of cars on the apex of Stowe over the top of the fencing. Used my 500 here.

Vale - Small area at vale where the fencing is only 4' high . 100-400 ideal here, slow speed corner lots of bunching under braking.

Club / International straight - I sat in the Grandstand on the straight as near to club as I could get. Good panning shots on the main straight. Also with the 500 I was able to capure cars on the decent from Stowe to Vale, through Vale Then around Club. You are also opposite the presentatiomn podium in the Wing here.

Farm - I sat in the grandstand on the infield at Farm .Good panning shots & the exit of Abbey.

Village / The Loop - the gap in the fencing at Village has now been filled by the extension to the stand at Village. The Village stand is good for shots approaching Village, Village & the Loop.

Wellington Straight - By standing on the road bridge banking you can take shots over the fencing of cars on the wellington straight.

The Wing - at the southern end of the wing there is any area where you can take pictures of cars approaching Vale from Stowe, Vale itself & Club.

I did at lot of walking on Staturday , fortunately the weather was kind.
Some points to remember.
1. There were Not many people about so I did not have to compete for a spot.
2. The rover ticket allowed access into lots, but not all, the grandstands.
3. I was always able to get a good seat in the stands, either on the front row or at the extreme side of the stand.
4.If you are restricted to the standing areas your viewpoints are some restricted unless you shoot through the catch fencing.



I hope this is of use I'm not sure what the access policy is for the Moto GP.
 
Thanks for that info, Very useful! I was told of an area of fence at Vale thats only 4' high but is there anywhere else that only has low fences? I will only be using a 300mm so the grandstands are a bit far away! We have roaming grandstand tickets so will just be there to enjoy the racing on Sunday but I'm keen to get some good shots on the saturday.
 
Vale is the only place where I saw fences that low. There is a low gate on the inside of the loop. I saw people taking pictures from there. Note you are not supposed to walk between the Northern & Southern parts of the circuit thro' the Pinch point between the loop / becketts you should "catch the bus"

The grandstands are not that far away from the track for panning pictures with your 300mm, its the head on shots where you may struggle. Your problem in the stands will be to find a seat where you dont hit someone with your lens. On Saturday you will probably find a lot of people moving around so you should get a good view with patience. The best panning shot I got was standing at the top of the steps in the grandstand at Becketts.
 
Blacklab is your 500mm camouflaged? I was there on Saturday and felt most inadequate sat next to that lens especially as I had my new 400mm which I thought was going to be the muts nuts.

Actually, I am very happy with my shots from the main grandstand.

Have you posted your pictures anywhere?
 
Yep , that was me. The camo tends to protect the lens as I'm a clumsey sod !
Havent processed anything yet as my computer has "memory issues" that restrict me using CS2.
 
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If you don't mind 'going away' angles there are two nice low spots that are still currently open to general admission spectators.

#1: Right below the new International Pit Straight stand, about 30ft right of the start line there is a wide gap between the two overlapping fences with a great view of the main straight. http://www.flickr.com/photos/harry_s/5796967715/

#2: Hanger Straight into Stowe, emergency access gate with a fantastic view back towards Club. It's a tight angle and depends where the fire truck is positioned, but 300mm is enough for a nice image. http://www.flickr.com/photos/harry_s/3642342608/
 
iains1976 said:
Thanks for that info, Very useful! I was told of an area of fence at Vale thats only 4' high but is there anywhere else that only has low fences? I will only be using a 300mm so the grandstands are a bit far away! We have roaming grandstand tickets so will just be there to enjoy the racing on Sunday but I'm keen to get some good shots on the saturday.
Click to expand...

The start finish straight is a good spot, I went to the world series by renault a couple of years back and i went to the grandstand on the start finish line and the grandstand on the exit of woodcote. the fence gets in the way abit but if you sit a couple of rows back you will be ok.:)

Dan
 
Remember the track has changed over the past two years, and as I said in my post the "old" start finish line has had a lot of changes to the stand positioning & indeed the size of the stands themselves.
 
This is great info, thanks.

I haven't been to Silverstone since the BGP last year (and we're going next Saturday & Sunday - yay!) but as you imply the BGP weekend isn't ideal for car photography because of the crowds. I'll certainly be going to some other weekends there later in the year, and your tips will come in very handy.

Last year on the Friday of the GP weekend we walked out to the stand at Becketts and got some decent panning shots over the fence even from the front of the stand. You certainly need 500mm+ there, though. You also get some decent views over to the new infield section, some of which is fence-free if you're in the stand. I like this spot for P1 and P2 because you can watch the effects of the teams dialling out under- and over-steer so clearly through the fast sweeps of Maggotts and Becketts.

Oh yes, I agree that outside the track at the apex of Maggotts is still one of the truly great places to experience an F1 car close up on the limit (y)
 
I'll add my thanks too, great info in here:) I'm off to the British Grand Prix, Haven't been Silverstone since September last year.
 
I've shot all over Sillystone, inside and out, through, over, and under, and round the fences. Sometimes even the RIGHT side of it.

I treat it as intellectual stimulation! THINK, don't just point, and shoot.

Those talking lens sizes? Are you running 35mm sensors, or what? On crop bodies, 500mm is enough to get a close up from Stowe as they exit Becketts! OK, I'm an Olympus user, with my old nail E-1, but my 200 is plenty. I sold the teleconverter, I never used it...
Feel free to browse the proof?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandfish_imagining/
 
catmangler said:
Those talking lens sizes? Are you running 35mm sensors, or what? On crop bodies, 500mm is enough to get a close up from Stowe as they exit Becketts! OK, I'm an Olympus user, with my old nail E-1, but my 200 is plenty. I sold the teleconverter, I never used it...
Feel free to browse the proof?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandfish_imagining/
Click to expand...

Have to agree, I never find the problem with Silverstone being the distance from the track if I'm honest. The fences are difficult to deal with, but it can be done. Just use them as a compositional element, and there are gaps in places! In terms of lens length, I managed to cope with GT1, and FIA F2 this year (as well as events last year) with my 250mm on a 350D. So a 300mm will be fine.

Besides, it's not necessarily about the gear. Work with what you've got. ;)
 
catmangler said:
Those talking lens sizes? Are you running 35mm sensors, or what? On crop bodies
Click to expand...

I was talking 35mm equivalent: and I was also referring to what you need to use ideally for shooting from a particular grandstand, which is now further away from the track than it used to be before the changes in the past 2 years.

I've used both E-System 4/3 and DX Nikon gear at the 'stone (and OM-system film cameras in the past, too!). I can't afford the cost and weight of FX kit these days :shake:

If you're prepared to crop, I agree you can get decent shots with mid-range tele lenses from almost anywhere!
 
I thought you were. I've seen geezers with 600 f4s on D3, or 1Ds, and pitied them.
Not that I wasn't jealous as all get out, but I still pitied them!
 
catmangler said:
. I've seen geezers with 600 f4s on D3, or 1Ds, and pitied them.
Click to expand...

Errrrm ok.

On this question it just depends what you want to get out of it.

If you are going to watch some racing at Silverstone and take a few photos to remind yourself what it looked like, it doesn't really matter. Take something small and light like a 70-300 and just get on with it.

If you are after "the same shots as you see in the magazines", well, thats a different game entirely.

The photos you are looking at, the ones that you think of when you think glossy motorsport are probably shot low down, with a long prime, head on. Some of these are possible from behind the fence, but you need to hunt for spots and carry £10K's worth of heavy gear, like the media do... there are people on this forum who do just that and get excellent results - but check out their equipment they've used... its not casual!

Other shots you'll also like will be pitlane action with drivers in or wide shots with crowd in... again, you won't probably get those as you are in the wrong place.

Years ago I realised the above, the shots I dreamed of were created in this way. Armed with this information you then have to decide whether to seek the goal or accept less - either is fine in my book to be honest.
 
im going on this friday to F1 practice.

i only have a 70-200 F4L...........i trust i will be able to get something half decent?
 
Did you read my post?
 
You'll get miles better shots than 95% people there who're trying to shoot 200mph cars from 100 yards with a P&S or iPhone!

A couple of years ago I had some back trouble so only took my P&S Canon Ixus to the Italian GP at Monza.
I had a really great time and my back didn't suffer, but I just gave up trying to photograph the cars close up because of the shutter lag. However, I got some great shots of the crowd doing silly things, and I used the HD video & sound capabilities to record moody segments of racing engines echoing muffled through the forest...

I agree with desantnik - you've just got to be realistic and exploit and enjoy what you can.
 
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