Documenting a track day

[Chris Mason]

I've been shooting pictures at a bunch of local track events and have had comments about the pictures not being interesting enough (e.g. always a single car taken from the side view). I had been trying to take a picture of everyone that I could in case they wanted a picture of their car. Now, I'm thinking of just posting a few pictures that I think are nice. I am also trying some new locations around Pacific Raceways (Seattle, WA) and some different compositions.

These are from the outside of Turn 9 which requires crossing over the track which is not always possible depending upon who is running the event

These are all from a Park Place / ProFormance Racing School day last week:

1. Panning a single car
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/203/498792116_0b8be5eb6b_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cjmdriver/498792116/)

2. Panning multiple cars
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/203/498832507_e5296c4f3d_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cjmdriver/498832507/)

3. A group of cars coming through turn 8
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/194/498784272_6f4965a974_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cjmdriver/498784272)

C&C?

[Jeff Boerio]

Chris,

My opinions are this ....

The pictures need to tell a story. Where are you? What is happening? What is interesting about what is happening?

My chief complaint about these pictures is that there isn't much interesting in the background. These all look like they're in a big parking lot rather than a racetrack.

Note: My home track is Portland International Raceway. The backgrounds there aren't very interesting either.

Your #2 above is a little interesting, but I think the better story might be if the lead car were in focus while the others were motion blurred. My eye is drawn to the lead car, not the middle car.

Jeff

[John Thawley]

Not sure of your objective, but if it's print sales to participants, these aren't going to cut it. Or... if they're pomoting the excitement of the organizer's track day... well... honestly, they aren't going to cut it.

I just emailed the same advice to someone earlier today.

Track day participants typically want shots to put on their "ego" wall. So... they want people to know for sure that it's THEM driving THEIR pride and joy ON a race track. Clear and in focus... large and in charge. They don't want art. They want ego biscuits.

Here are some from a track day I did last year...

http://gallery.johnthawley.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=77152&g2_serialNumber=2

http://gallery.johnthawley.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=77155&g2_serialNumber=2

http://gallery.johnthawley.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=77165&g2_serialNumber=2


Of course, the rolling shot requires some coordination in advance, but it'll ring the cash register, that's for sure. :)

JT

[Jeff Boerio]

JT, Now THAT is a track day!

Jeff

[Jacob Leveton]

Couple other things to try:
- tighter crops on the car (they want to see their car number... zoom it in)
- move the car lower in the frame to get more of the horizon and 'environment' in the photo
- try moving the car out of the center of the photo. For some of my shots, i try to move the car to the left or right of the frame and give some perspective of driving into or out of the frame.

[Chris Mason]

Thanks all. I like the idea of Ego Shots - that describes what they want very well. However, if they look like they are parked, it just does not work for me.

Here are some closer shots

1. A little blurry to get some motion
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/223/499109205_993a7124ea.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cjmdriver/499109205/)

2. Crisper but there is clutter in the background
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/220/499060650_a6e78d7c09.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cjmdriver/499060650/)

3. Same clutter but I think it actually makes for a cool background when blurred
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/213/473981353_30d7b14c09_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cjmdriver/473981353/)

[Curtis Creager]

First I want to say thanks for JT for showing some very fine examples of a local track event. I must say I agree with what everyone has said, very good pointers!

This may just be a Seattle thing. I don’t think that most of the people that show up to our local track days are really interested in purchasing. Unless of course it’s a private event like say the Ferrari track days and other similar events

But I learned something by looking at the Enzo shot…400mm @ 5.6 1000/sec = a killer image.

Curtis

P.S. it would be interesting if others have none racing related track day shots to show?

[Curtis Creager]

However, if they look like they are parked, it just does not work for me.

IMO the higher shutter speeds only work with head on shots, you get all the detail of the subject and a nice dof. The panning shots always require the slower shutter speeds.

Curtis

[Mike Hoyer]

The type of trackdays that I do is generally quantity over quality, the organisers want as many photos of each car as humanly possibly, I assume in the hope of selling more. Because of that we normally take a burst as they go through each corner - there's not really much in the way of well thought out shots. That said it is good practice for panning etc., when I'm doing a "real" race!

[Dennis Murray]

My experience with shooting the Driver's Ed portion of SCCA and NASA events at Road Atlanta is that a good picture of the car in the context of the track sells.

My best selling location at the last Road Atlanta event was looking down the front straight...I used the crossover bridge in the background. I got some panned and got some head on.

[John Thawley]

Keeping the "location" certainly is something to consider. Dennis' example of Road Atlanta makes a lot of sense. But again... isn't that part of the "ego?"

"Yeah... this is a shot of me coming through the esses at Road Atlanta.... the bedroom is this way." LOL

But, that said, many trackdays are on tracks with less legacy and for the most part, less scenery. Get in on that car... get it crisp and sharp. Slow pans on cars without graphics don't work all that well. They rarely "look" sharp and due to limitations of autofocus, rarely ARE sharp. Autofocus likes to find an edge or contrast to lock onto quickly.

The image must identify the individual.. and the fact they're driviing their car in a "racing" enviorment. We're making memories here folks. :)

JT

[Chris Woolman]

Here are a few pictures from some recent track day events I attended. I have had a couple of people tell me that the pans are kind of boring (they like the head on shots better), what do you guys think? Is there something I can do to make the pans more interesting? Thanks!

_Chris_

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/194/500525865_8c28a9f80b.jpg
Cobra Club of America @ Willow Springs, Rosamond, CA

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/209/500526001_7218c398a4.jpg
Cobra Club of America @ Willow Springs, Rosamond, CA

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/199/500526025_bc842ed4ef.jpg
Cobra Club of America @ Willow Springs, Rosamond, CA

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/147/434456365_5f7c3ae567.jpg
Phil Wicks MINI Driving Academy @ Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch, Pahrump, NV

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/156/434464798_c1e8982d64.jpg
Phil Wicks MINI Driving Academy @ Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch, Pahrump, NV

[Jacob Leveton]

Chris - those photos look great to me!! pretty dang sharp, sense of motion, good framing, etc

[Mark Scheuern]

I shot a track day last weekend so here's my contribution. I don't do lots of track days but I think John's right about what sells. I always have to fight the temptation to start shooting stuff that I know no one will buy, especially when I start to get a bit bored.

These are from Gingerman in western Michigan.

http://www.scheuern.com/mini/cgi07/mgscgi006m.jpg


http://www.scheuern.com/mini/cgi07/mgscgi007m.jpg


http://www.scheuern.com/mini/cgi07/mgscgi008m.jpg


http://www.scheuern.com/mini/cgi07/mgscgi005m.jpg

[Chris Woolman]

Love the MINI shots...#1 (the GP) is my favorite!

Chris

[Mark Scheuern]

Thanks, Chris! The MINIs were well-represented with a good turnout from the Michigan club. I have an '05 Cooper S I'd like to get out there one day soon. It was a driving school put on by CGI Motorsports and they got an amazing amount of track time.

[Chris Woolman]

Thanks, Chris! The MINIs were well-represented with a good turnout from the Michigan club. I have an '05 Cooper S I'd like to get out there one day soon. It was a driving school put on by CGI Motorsports and they got an amazing amount of track time.

Thats very cool! I have had an '03 Cooper S since new. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Happy motoring!

Chris

[Paul Vincent]

I've been shooting pictures at a bunch of local track events and have had comments about the pictures not being interesting enough (e.g. always a single car taken from the side view). I had been trying to take a picture of everyone that I could in case they wanted a picture of their car. Now, I'm thinking of just posting a few pictures that I think are nice. I am also trying some new locations around Pacific Raceways (Seattle, WA) and some different compositions.

What kind of lens selection do you have? Try using different lenses on the corners to see what works with the different situations you are shooting for. I find I use my 180mm F2.8 or 300mm F4.5 lenses most of the time (being on an E-1 they are equivalent to 360mm and 600mm lenses respectively) on the corners. It seems as long as the car content is at least half of the image area the shot comes out better. So choose a lense that will get the car to fill between 1/3 to 1/2 of the image area. If you have a great background ( scenic track, or a good sunset/sunrise shot opportunity) then the cars as side items would work good. I've even hand panned with my 500mm fixed F8 mirror lens (1000mm) with ok results, too fuzzy for my taste though. One thing about my setup though is that it is all manual focusing, manual stopping down, and zone shooting with the old Olympus OM lenses on my E-1...I can't afford the Olympus digital glass and get good enough results from the OM lenses. Most of the shots end up being out of focus because of this - just like when I'm driving on course, I have to hit the apexs perfectly to get good results. Too early or too late = out of focus and fuzzy.

Just experiment with all different types of shots when you can to see what works and what doesn't for you. That's the beauty of a digital SLR, you can experiment on the fly and have a sense of if it works or not.

How I like to shoot track days:

A Grid shot...
http://vracer111.smugmug.com/photos/110456421-L.jpg

500mm shot...
http://vracer111.smugmug.com/photos/110455184-L.jpg

A side panning shot...
http://vracer111.smugmug.com/photos/110456461-L.jpg

Sometimes cars don't stay on track...
http://vracer111.smugmug.com/photos/109636921-L-1.jpg

I think a slightly blurry car (due to yaw rotation about center axis) works out good...[this style is majority of the shots at events]
http://vracer111.smugmug.com/photos/110461239-L.jpg

Sometimes coming into the pits is an opportunity...
http://vracer111.smugmug.com/photos/110463335-L-1.jpg

And I like still shots too...
http://vracer111.smugmug.com/photos/110458628-L.jpg

http://vracer111.smugmug.com/photos/117847767-L-1.jpg

[Darren Chang]

Oh and not forgetting catching some of the drama every now and then. This is from the recent Japan GT Series.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1108/643638163_1e796027c4.jpg?v=0

Some of the heavily-modded cars might give you a few licks of flames...

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1069/646514308_da17341701.jpg?v=0