St. Pete Grand Prix

[John Thawley]

Ok... I guess I'll get this party started with a few of mine from St. Pete. I actually thought this year was better than previous... even though actual race lighting conditions were not the best (1:25PM - 3:20PM). We had two morning sessions that were pretty nice. Track still lacks good access... especially when you consider some things could generate some real pretty scene setters.

1. http://gallery.johnthawley.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=111061&g2_serialNumber=1

2. http://gallery.johnthawley.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=111091&g2_serialNumber=1

3.http://gallery.johnthawley.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=111036&g2_serialNumber=1

4.http://gallery.johnthawley.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=111047&g2_serialNumber=1

5. http://gallery.johnthawley.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=111045&g2_serialNumber=1
6. http://gallery.johnthawley.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=111039&g2_serialNumber=1

7. http://gallery.johnthawley.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=111043&g2_serialNumber=1

8. http://gallery.johnthawley.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=111053&g2_serialNumber=1

[Chris Clark]

I really like #1 and #4 JT.

But #5, for me, is the show stopper. Nice.

chris

[Bob Chapman]

#1 is really nifty. You had some going-away stuff from Friday that I saw over your shoulder that I liked a lot better than #7. #4 works well with a brightly colored car like the Risi Ferrari.

[Dustin Finn]

3, 5, 8 are my favs... do wish more of the car was visible in 5, I Can see it being used for their "Go Green" type ad which seems to be the craze...(I dont mean their teams got a go green ad - but that everyone and their uncle seem to have some sort of Go Green thing)...

[Jamie Holladay]

Great stuff as always JT. I'd like to learn to shoot a shot like #5.

[John Thawley]

Great stuff as always JT. I'd like to learn to shoot a shot like #5.

It's just a matter of thinking it through, Jamie. Obviously, you have to get the shutter down in order to "see through" the obstacles. In this case, the fence and the trees.

Then, you'll probably want to manually focus on the general spot your aiming for. The good news is, at a low shutter, you're pretty well stopped down.. so the depth of field will be fairly forgiving.

Finally... I like to find a spot where I can pick up on the car... follow it to my spot and just "squeeze" the shutter and keep following.

It's probably a low percentage shot to be sure... but when they're nice, they're really nice.

I'm sure F22 Bob will be along shortly with something he shot similar ..... but at 1/4 of a second or something. LOL

[Aaron Kupferman]

Definitely liking 3 and 4.

On shots 2 (f/8) and 4 (f/11), were you stopping down to make sure you have the whole car in focus allowing the background to get a bit sharper than where wide open would put it or was there another reason you didn't shoot those wide open?

[John Thawley]

Definitely liking 3 and 4.

On shots 2 (f/8) and 4 (f/11), were you stopping down to make sure you have the whole car in focus allowing the background to get a bit sharper than where wide open would put it or was there another reason you didn't shoot those wide open?
Actually, I was shooting shutter preferred. With #4, I knew the wheels might peek through and so to have some spin, I was at 1/800 and panning slightly. I know that sounds odd, but keep in mind, I was nearly at the end of the front straight... they're flying at that point.

With the #2 shot of the Acura, I was shooting two locations at the same time. First I was capturing them as they entered the chicane with the boats in the background and then waiting for the tight shot in the chicane. What happens is the car is going to wash across your shooting plane sideways as it navigates the chicane. I think (in theory) if you shoot too slow, you get some softening with that sideways movement. I shot at 1/1000 and stood back much further from the wall. I could do the same shot with the 70-200mm and stand at the wall, but I think it's easier to manage it by standing back with the 500mm. And, the longer lens let's me get away with a little faster shutter without losing depth of field and risking freezing the wheels completely. Keep in mind the 500mm's compression is going soften behind the car. It's a pretty forgiving set up that way.

JT

[Jamie Holladay]

It's just a matter of thinking it through, Jamie. Obviously, you have to get the shutter down in order to "see through" the obstacles. In this case, the fence and the trees.

Then, you'll probably want to manually focus on the general spot your aiming for. The good news is, at a low shutter, you're pretty well stopped down.. so the depth of field will be fairly forgiving.

Finally... I like to find a spot where I can pick up on the car... follow it to my spot and just "squeeze" the shutter and keep following.

It's probably a low percentage shot to be sure... but when they're nice, they're really nice.

I'm sure F22 Bob will be along shortly with something he shot similar ..... but at 1/4 of a second or something. LOL
Thanks for the lesson. I'll give it a try at Barber.

[John Thawley]

Thanks for the lesson. I'll give it a try at Barber.

Here's the shot from Barber:

http://community.automotivephoto.net/photopost/data/500/IMG_11363.jpg

[Matt Mead]

john i really appreicate how u luv to share ur knowledge... really helps us newbies :)...

[Tim Hulme]

#3 and #5 are just wow! The rest are "only" brilliant!

[Jamie Holladay]

Here's the shot from Barber:


I remembered the shot from the Rolex series and tried my hand at it during the SCCA Cub race. Sufice it to say I'll not be sharing but will give it another try in July.

[John Thawley]

will give it another try in July.

Give it many, many tries. LOL - Believe me, if you get a handful you like out of a couple hundred, that ain't all bad.

For that shot, I think I set my focus to a spot about 6' in from the curbing. Often, what I'll do is just point to the spot with Autofocus, then carefully kick it to manual. You just need to be fairly accurate with the location and then try to shoot consistant.

JT

[Jamie Holladay]

Give it many, many tries. LOL - Believe me, if you get a handful you like out of a couple hundred, that ain't all bad.

For that shot, I think I set my focus to a spot about 6' in from the curbing. Often, what I'll do is just point to the spot with Autofocus, then carefully kick it to manual. You just need to be fairly accurate with the location and then try to shoot consistant.

JT
Thanks for the more details.

[John Thawley]

Thanks for the more details.

You're welcome.

JT