Last weekend at Watkins Glen

[Dustin Finn]

I had the opportunity to get to Watkins Glen and I jumped on it.

KONI Challenge Line Up for Qualify
http://www.dustinfinn.com/gallery/Posted_2007/2007.07.06_14-40-27_WatkinsGlen_DCF_0087-web-.jpg

Guy Cosmo - Fountain Motorsports -
http://www.dustinfinn.com/gallery/Posted_2007/2007.07.07_17-46-13_WatkinsGlen_IMG_9199-web-.jpg

Indy Practice - Danika
http://www.dustinfinn.com/gallery/Posted_2007/2007.07.06_15-57-43_WatkinsGlen_DCF_0348-web-.jpg

Does anyone like this ?
I felt the need to get something more out of the Vintage race - the filter used might be too much
I Also wanted it tighter to focus more on the hand in the air...
http://www.dustinfinn.com/gallery/Posted_2007/2007.07.07_11-43-10_Vintage_F1_Race_DCF_1502-web-.jpg

http://www.dustinfinn.com/gallery/sports/2007_KoniChallenge/2007_WatkinsGlen/2007.07.07_17-22-43_WatkinsGlen_DCF_2260_web.jpg


After having a circular polarizer - actually FALL APART - it was rough getting into the swing of things. Felt very rusty as the last time I shot any race was 2005 Road Atlanta Petit Le Mans.

I can't say I am thrilled with my turn out - but as I learn and get out there more - I epect to be better.

Any thoughts ? Comments ? What do you hate ?
Give it to me blunt - I am done crying over my spilled milk and am ready to move on.

[John Thawley]

Hey!!! Cosmo is MY client! LOL

Good job. Compositions are nice... need a little tweaking on the post. Seems to be some magenta tint creeping into things... check the asphalt. The track surface is always a bit a moving target... but it's jumping out at me here.

Nice panning on the last shot.

JT

[Dustin Finn]

Hey!!! Cosmo is MY client! LOL


I am glad to see the LOL - I was overthinking a bit wether or not to post it :)


Good job. Compositions are nice... need a little tweaking on the post. Seems to be some magenta tint creeping into things... check the asphalt. The track surface is always a bit a moving target... but it's jumping out at me here.

Nice panning on the last shot.

JT

Thanks for the kind words - but what don't you like - anything stand out that says WTF ?

I appreciate the insight - but I must admit being totally disappointed.

I was unable to control the 300mm as I do in nature photos of birds in flight - went to switch to the 70-200 so I could hand hold better...

I have a list if items I need to work on and so forth.

[Dustin Finn]

Oh and I will check the white balence, I have heard you state that before about the track surface...

I will pull WB off something white and look at the before and after for the difference.

[Derric Slocum]

i need to make it to the glen sometime, im only a little over an hour away and i havent been there.

[John Thawley]

I am glad to see the LOL - I was overthinking a bit wether or not to post it :)



Thanks for the kind words - but what don't you like - anything stand out that says WTF ?

I appreciate the insight - but I must admit being totally disappointed.

I was unable to control the 300mm as I do in nature photos of birds in flight - went to switch to the 70-200 so I could hand hold better...

I have a list if items I need to work on and so forth.

Well... I don't like the black and white shot. Not real interesting composition... and it looks yellow. Not aged yellow :) ... just yellow.

The wheels off of the Fountain car is an excellent shot... except for the camper in the background.

The tight open-wheel shot is nice.... but... nothing that say's wow.

The last frame (pan} I'd have liked the car lower in the frame. Sometimes there is a track feature that puts the car up in the frame... but this is not one of them. If you go to the exit of the bus stop, there's a very cool three quarter pan... but the car is virtually over your head. That works both ways.. up and down... but the view point is still up.

The long line grid shot doesn't do anything for me. It's shot from a high angle which doesn't add anything either. I think I know where you were going... but I think if you'd have had a wide angle on the right rear corner of the last car and were shooting from a seating position it would have been more dramatic. Right now it's just a line of cars.

I stick with auto white balance. These look like maybe you let Photoshop "autolevels" take over or something... that can give things either a magenta or cyan cast... depending on the colors in the image.

I have a drop in polarizer with my 500mm ... but I'm not sure I like it ... I mean there are pictures I like with it. But, it seems to add an unpredictable element. And, yes... the 70-200 is a panning work horse.

JT

[Dustin Finn]

Thanks John - again - great information.

I am not sure where I can be or get to next. Limerock is easiest to get to for me while being on Long Island - I will try to see what their schedule is. I need more practice and I would like to practice a few times at the same track so I can manage one thing at a time...

I am almost tempted to go up to the expressway and start working on technique on the cars traveling by - I am sure that will cause me other pain points.

- Dustin

[Dustin Finn]

Not sure if I should post this in another thread - but my photoshop actions don't touch levels or anything, so I imagine this is an issue with incam WB, to CaptureONE for RAW conversion and then PSCS2 for Sharpening and touch up work....

I cannot seem to figure out where the Magenta is coming from. I shoot in sRGB Color space (I know adobe gives me better gamut - but all the web stuff is sRGB) so I dunno whats going on.

[Jim Sykes]

You know, my MkII Ns ALWAYS give me a magenta cast when I shoot in RAW. I dont shoot RAW normally and the jpegs look fine, but when I do shoot RAW I always have to edit out the magenta cast. These look exactly like my IIN RAW images do.

It has to be a setting as I talk to other guys shooting Ns and they dont have the same issue. I havent been able to figure out what it is, but both of my Ns do it, so its not a bad camera and the images do it on all the computers I've viewed them on, so its not a setting in PS or the RAW converter. It has to be something to do with a tone setting or some other setting in the camera that is doing it since, even in RAW, when you view an image in the converter it shows it to you using the settings that are in camera, not the raw file that is actually there.

You may want to play with that, I dont shoot RAW enough to worry about it, but see if you can find a setting that is doing it and if you do let me know.

Also compare the look of the RAW file to the jpeg preview. On mine, its obvious the difference in color cast from the preview to the actual RAW file.

[Jim Sykes]

Actually here is an example of what I'm talking about. Both of these are straight from the camera except for resize, convert to sRGB (so colors are accurate) and the RAW file converted to jpg. These were shot in RAW+L jpeg so the images are identical and had identical in camera processing done to them.

You can see the difference between the two. The first one (RAW) has a slight magenta tint to it, especially noticable in the track, the red is a little more pink that the other and even in the trees some.

The second shot is the jpeg image and you can see its more natural in the color. I'm not sure what is going on with the RAWs, but you can see the difference in what is coming out of the camera.

I dont have any special processing in camera, the only thing I changed was the sharpness setting in it, no special curves or tone settings or anything like that.

http://is.rely.net/2-189-30208-l-aoE3aIQu3OpSUcymjZAyQ.jpg

http://is.rely.net/2-189-30207-l-ibHdIeBVhrm7KAcA7EO8g.jpg

[Dustin Finn]

Thanks Jim,

It is my understanding that the camera really doesn't do any processing RAW files, it kinda just dumps the CMOS sensor data ina format that can be understood by software and thats that (along with metadata and stuff like WB and whatnot) but the JPG goes through a bit more in cam - especially because its converting the RAW to JPG, compression, picture styles and so forth....

So I am not sure what the camera / software is doing to create this color cast of magenta out of the RAW.

I also shot with a 5D on this trip - I will see which images came from that cam - all were shot with RAW so I am not sure where to begin.

I appreciate the comments, its something to look out for...

[Jim Sykes]

the camera doesnt do anything to the RAW file, but from my understanding, the software will take the as shot settings and apply them to the image you see when you open the file. So if there is some setting that is causing it in camera that is what is we end up seeing. I'm not sure though what is really causing it, but the difference is definately there.

[John Waugh]

Jimmy,
sRGB might be your culprit. Try Adobe RGB (1998) it has a broader Spectrum that sRGB.
Go into Color Sync Utility and toggel between the two in profiles.
Also you might want to set your picture style to "faithful".
It helps with the magenta cast.
John

[Jim Sykes]

Actually they were shot as sRGB and they look the same in the editor when editing under AdobeRGB. I only converted to sRGB to display those so that they colors would be represented the same on the web as I see when I open them in an editor.