My first attempt at motorsports photography! :)

<img src="http://rajashar.smugmug.com/photos/25727404-L.jpg">

<img src="http://rajashar.smugmug.com/photos/25727447-L.jpg">

<img src="http://rajashar.smugmug.com/photos/25727460-L.jpg">

<img src="http://rajashar.smugmug.com/photos/25727381-L.jpg">

Great first outing !!

great drag shutter technique.

kj

Leslie and I were working the race. During the race I was almost directly above you on the roof of the stands you were shooting from.

Also shot armco/fence position of some of your other shots.

Unlike most amatuers, you figured out the shutter speeds pretty damn well.

Congrats.

Mike S

but came up empty

Those pics could have been taken with an original D1, a D100, a Rebel G.

The key is the exposure he dialed in, as well as white balance, composure, tracking, etc.

You could hand a Mark II or a D2X with a 600/F4 and they'd do far worse.

The real question is are the frames original/full frames and besides internet file size reduction, are they unedited?

Mike S

grab the EXIF info and quickly tell the aperature, shutter speed, focal length, ISO settings, etc

Your points are definitely well taken. I was just impressed with the images and was hoping to glean a little more info that might help my own efforts in the future.

As a n00b film shooter, I don't have the luxury of taking multiple pictures and seeing how they turned out in 15 seconds, then adjusting later shots. So I like to try and get them right the first (or second) time around.

pro shooters at the Olympics in Athens were digi. They asked us when we got our bibs (common, always done at the world cups and olympics).

Too many advantages and sooooooooooo much cheaper in the long run.

The highest end digi slrs are beating up on Velvia and similar low iso films as well, now, so grain is no longer a reason.

The a D50 or the new Rebel digi and run with it.

Take care,

Mike S

I've had my Elan for about 4 years now, and still feel like I'm learning how to use it. Also just got two new lenses, one of which wouldn't be all that optimal on a Digital Rebel/d20 (24-85mm).

And there is still something about looking through slides when you're done shooting. It seems like the slides are a 'truer' representation of what my eye actually saw, instead of a file that has to go through at least three different iterations (camera, PS, monitor calibration, printer) of software before you can really take a look at it. With slides, you just need a projector or light table.

I'd love to be good enough to get to the point where I can sell some of my work, but at this point, I'm just hoping to get something good enough to hang on my wall.

If you have a body of work available for viewing, I'd love to take a look at it.

Some professional stuff (work), some personal (fun).

Take care,

Mike S

Good glass can't be emulated in PS !! ;-)

Can you say 'L'.... ;-)

take a quality picture of the Grand Teton during an Alpen Glow.

You know what I mean.

Mike S

:-P The link below goes to my gallery. Exif data can be found by clicking the appropriate link ("more photo details") below each picture.

<b>Camera:</b> Canon 1D mkII
<b>Lens:</b> Mostly Canon 300mm f4 L IS
<b>Post Processing:</b> Autolevels in pshop, resize for web, and mild USM.
<b>Camera settings:</b> Lighting was challenging on the first two days as clouds were rolling in and out. I left the camera on aperture priority and auto white balance as a result. With consistent lighting, I would have shot in Manual mode. I really wanted to concentrate on panning technique, and determine appropriate shutter speeds for different corners. I started with 160th and worked my way down to 125th. That was as low as I could go for now. Any lower would have resulted in 100% throw-aways.
<b>Other Notes:</b> Many were cropped to clean up the composition. The second shot I posted at the top of the thread was a heavy crop. The picture was reasonably sharp, so I cropped to get the tight shot I really wanted. That one won't print...the rest will, as any cropping was generally done to clean up the composition. In general, while the 300mm didn't get me as much reach as I would have liked, it proved to be perfect to learn on. Getting any tighter would have been very challenging with my sloppy tracking technique.

<b>Please don't crosslink this thread or my gallery to other AW forums.</b> I don't have enough bandwidth to accomodate those picture fiends.<ul><li><a href="http://rajashar.smugmug.com/gallery/609157">http://rajashar.smugmug.com/gallery/609157</a</li></ul>

I had a feeling you guys were out there! Race day was a huge disappointment, but I had so many picture taking opportunities over the two previous days that it didn't make the trip feel like a complete waste. Not too many other fans felt the same way...obviously.

definitely impressive stuff for an amateur! :)

sorry i didn't get a chance to return your mail. i read it just before heading out of town... but it was in my junk mail folder, and when we returned from the trip it had been past 7 days and it was deleted. sorry.

but, again, good job(!). i'm surprised we didn't bump into each other, looks like we were nearby at least...

and hope to see you at mid-o next year! :P do you run road america, or any others?

I'm on the east coast, so the Glen, VIR and Mid O are basically the three that always end up on my wish list. No events for me this year...next year hasn't crossed my mind yet. I'll bump into you somewhere...if not at Indy next year!

well that's no fun! :P we just got back from the Glen. looked like a real fun track! a bit of a haul for us though, but we should be back next year.

wanted to do VIR, but the audi club has scheduled Sears and Portland on the same dates this year! doh. we'll be out west then, so maybe next year on that one.

again, good job w/ the pics. usually, when mike or i get asked our opinions, we have to think of something nice to say. but not in your case, we're completely sincere! :)

two of those are mine! ;-)

Yah, two of the Doggie photos are yours.

Oh, and who set up the camera for you when you were taking those pics? Hmmmmm. Lets see, could it have been, ME!

; )

Mike S

the doggie pics are yours. mine are the silver 996, and sprinter ones. and i set those up. :P

I had no idea you had gotten so deep into gear. The pics are great. Check out the smugmug forums at dgrin.com if you get a chance. Lots of good (and friendly) shooters over there.