Went up to the Grand Prix in Montreal last weekend, lugging along my new Sigma EX 70-200mm f/2.8 ... I'm so happy with the results. I've uploaded a few shots here... the 640x480 doesn't really do them justice, and I still haven't worked out good USM settings on these for posting up here... but without further ado:
Great shots! I'm a big fan of auto racing, and can't wait until I get to my next one with some good gear to shoot with. You must have had great seats, or where were these taken from?
They were all taken from grandstand #33 near the turn 6/7 complex at the track... our seats for most of the shots (everything except Friday practice) were in the 14th row of the grandstand (row N). It's hard to say how far away we were, but it was a pretty serious distance... as an idea...
That shot is from our spot the first day, and on the other days, we were down by the red cooler in the lower right of the shot.
I thought it might have been higher seats. I used to get seats down further, but I always had a fence in front of me. I'll always get higher ups from now on. Much better photos.
I thought it might have been higher seats. I used to get seats down further, but I always had a fence in front of me. I'll always get higher ups from now on. Much better photos.
Yeah, when I was on the phone with the woman at the track to get tickets, she said that anything above row M or so in the grandstand we were in would allow me to shoot over the fence.
Some of my shots had some bits of fence in the bottom, but most of them cropped right out... for instance, the shot of Narain Karthikeyan in the gravel trap:
You can see the fence blurred at the bottom of the shot.
Oddly, a good friend of mine is Narain's cousin... sounds like he's going to want some prints from me. =)
Some absolutely wonderful shots here. Sharp, colourful and well-captured. It can be extremely difficult catching these motors in full flight. Good choice of seating - we went to Silverstone last year and managed to get to sit really close to the track. The fence was a nightmare for someone like me trying to take photos. I think it ruined at least 90% of the shots I took.
Some absolutely wonderful shots here. Sharp, colourful and well-captured. It can be extremely difficult catching these motors in full flight. Good choice of seating - we went to Silverstone last year and managed to get to sit really close to the track. The fence was a nightmare for someone like me trying to take photos. I think it ruined at least 90% of the shots I took.
Again, great shots.
Thanks!
This was my first grand prix... I've only been doing photography for the last year or so (bought my first camera, a point and shoot HP digital in May of 2004), and picked up the Rebel in February.
I've done a few other motorsport events (ice racing, One Lap of America), but never something as loud, fast, and crowded as a Formula One race. I took around 1200 shots, and of that, around 300 were good enough to put up in my gallery, and about 50 of them are really favorites.
My only regret is not doing more panning shots... at 1/250 and slower, on the screen, they didn't seem nearly as good as they actually came out, so I upped my shutter back up to 1/800 and stuck with that for the rest of the weekend. Lesson learned. =)
