BTCC - Brands Hatch

[Mark Baxter-Jones]

I popped along to Brands this weekend to catch the opening round of the British Touring Car Championship.

Here's a few pics, C&C please! (there's more on my Smugmug site, if you like: http://mbaxterjones.smugmug.com/Racing)

Cheers,
Mark



1http://mbaxterjones.smugmug.com/photos/505249298_3p7Xn-L.jpg

2http://mbaxterjones.smugmug.com/photos/505251041_974ex-L.jpg

3http://mbaxterjones.smugmug.com/photos/505252434_BmTH6-L.jpg

4http://mbaxterjones.smugmug.com/photos/505554604_iu8wa-L.jpg

5http://mbaxterjones.smugmug.com/photos/505556898_vPnoF-L.jpg

[John Thawley]

Nice "attitude" on #3.

JT

[Steve Stein]

+1 on 3. If you have the time, I'd clone that little patch of grass out on the top right.

#5 has a little too much pavement for my tastes.

I'm curious on what you shot with since you didn't attach the EXIF info.

Steve

[Mark Baxter-Jones]

Thanks for the comments.

These are all straight out of the camera, as I don't own or know how to use Photoshop or similar programs. Someone has suggested that I should adjust the levels on no.3, however they couldn't tell me what it would actually do.

Besides the cloing/cropping that has been suggested do you guys think they need adjusting?

BTW, they were all shot with a Nikon D40, and all but the first Porker with my 70-300VR (The first Porsche was shot with a 55-200mm kit lens).

Cheers,
Mark

[Curtis Creager]

Great looking stuff Mark!

Curtis

[John Thawley]

Regarding Steve's comment about "too much pavement" in number 5:

That rather over simplifies what is "wrong" with the image. ("wrong" being subjective) - In left to right pan shots, often people prefer to have room in front of the car... suggesting the car has somewhere to travel too. It is also recommended that the car stay low in the frame.

Of course, both of those "rules" can often be successfully broken.

In the case of a car traveling at angle toward the camera, (such as yours) it has always been my argument that (in this case) the right side and lower portion of the frame, to the viewer's eye, is the FOREGROUND of the photo. Therefore, by positioning the car lower right of center, you provide more "tension" with the car coming toward the viewer at speed.

Opposite direction... but here's an example of what I mean:

http://www.trackbytes.com/picture/thaw_228.jpg?pictureId=2084199

So, it's not just a matter of "too much pavement."

Hope that helps.

JT

[Mark Baxter-Jones]

Thanks for the advice, John. I'll keep it in mind for next time I'm out shooting.

[Chris Kelly]

One other thing: They are all very fine pans (and being straight out of the camera is even more impressive), but there is no sense of time or place in any of your shots. A couple of these could have as well been from Road Atlanta. I'm sure Brands Hatch must have some interesting backgrounds that place the cars there, and give your shots some historical content.

[Mark Baxter-Jones]

Thanks, Chris. I do appreciate the comments, the more the merrier!

Up to this point I've been working on the technical side of my photography (having only first picked up a camera 6 or so months ago), particularly practicing my pans and generally trying to get things sharp. However I'm starting to get bored of half the pictures I'm taking so I think you're right in that they don't have any particular points of reference or outstanding features.

I suppose it's all about giving a story of the race, circuit or a particularly exciting moment, rather than shots of random cars that may look nice. Perhaps this is why I favour the pictures I've shot at rallies, as it's easier to feature the scenery/backgrounds?

My personal favourite is this one, probably because I almost got run over taking it!

http://mbaxterjones.smugmug.com/photos/431761304_fqKVF-L.jpg


There's a few more from the rally on this like:
http://mbaxterjones.smugmug.com/gallery/6760751_iiCp5/1/431749885_3LDcc

[Dave Verna]

My personal favourite is this one, probably because I almost got run over taking it!

http://mbaxterjones.smugmug.com/photos/431761304_fqKVF-L.jpg



I know the feeling!


http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb115/djvcuda/atco%2010-17/DSC_9470.jpg

[Steve Stein]

JT,

Yep, more exact description. I just got home from a 7 hour drive from Chicago when I posted the comment and should have been more descripive. The balance of the photo just seemed off.

BUt this is some good stuff right out of the camera.