Brands BTCC test day

[greenwoo]

ok ok, i didn't see any BTCC cars...but i did pop over to Brands yesterday afternoon. Following Mikes post about having gone to the Historic test day last week it seemed like a good idea to search the calendar for similar days...
well worth doing so for those that can nick a bit of weekday time as there's no admission cost, and only a handful of people.

The intent was to see the BTCC cars testing out for the race this weekend, but the support cars were a good watch though, each series coming out for about 20 mins at a time.

Snapped a shedload of pic's, with as much success as a one armed blind man playing snooker.
Learned bit, so wasn't a worthless exercise...and found 2 new angles that i like, 'doable' due to lack of folks there.

sharing a few, some just to show the location/composition rather than the actual shot! Up at Druids i was trying to get shots of the rear wheels which were often off the ground and motionless after crazy hard braking...

[b33fy]

Nice captures at Druids, liking the wheel locking. From the background looks like you stood further to the entry point. Have to try that. What shutter speed did you use? Might be worth checking your focus settings and go for single point, centre point on some cameras are more accurate then the peripheral points.

It’s very satisfying when you get a good one out of the “misses” though I find myself wanting to get back there and do better still.

[greenwoo]

i played with a variety of settings Mike, at Druids was anywhere between 30-60, those above were 60th, talked to a guy who had a media pass and he was buggering around trying 13th, so i did too......with expected results.
i was using centre point focus in various modes - manual, afc, afs with the focus area tied down to the smallest box, as i must have changed an internal setting that wouldnt let me do spot focus. What i didnt try was enlarging the focus 'box' a bit so that it was still centre weighted but slightly bigger.

the open wheeler was on the run between druids/graham hill....having built in ND filters helped for the slow shutter speeds, but i couldnt get enough light without bumping the ISO massively for some of the other shots.

Came away thinking that it was a great afternoons fun, easier for me to occasionally do that rather than screwing up a weekend....and spent last night pricing up a Panasonic 4/3 'package'....kind of going round in circles with that as am not 100% sure what lenses i'd really need/use. Looked at hiring some stuff to give it a go....about 55 per lens and 150 for the body. Adds up a bit rapidly if unsure about what to get.

Been watching reviews/trying to pick up what others have...current thoughts are kit lens 12-60 which gets good reviews, and then adding in 42.5mm 1.7, and then not sure if i'd need/want a fast wide - maybe 12mm 1.2/1.4 - but biggest concern is reach. With the existing one its got 480equivalent...and looking at the 400mm panny/leica that's a frigging big old bit of kit. So a/ gotta get my head round what the comparative lens would be length wise in 4/3 and whether i truly use / need that much, and whether a slightly shorter one would be 'ok' given that i could crop in a bit and still be comparable with the existing one.

guess main reason for thinking of upgrading is faster autofocus, better light, sharper lenses....but needs some thought as its a big chunk of change and Mrs G would probably prefer me to spend the money on quartz worktops!

[b33fy]

Aperture setting not so critical on panning, background will be blurred anyhow. Got to be well practiced to hit 1/15 sec. I stay at 1/60 minimum to improve hit rate, occasionally dropping down for the challenge..

My lens is 70-300 with gives me 480 equivalent. Adequate for Brands.. good for Snett, short for Rockingham ideally 100-400 would be spot on

Aim for the car number or crash helmet AF might lock on easier, sometimes a shiny car don’t help.

Re: camera choice, depends what you want to do.. I enjoy car related photography though over the years my gear has never really been up to the job until now.

DSLR is the best for sports currently, if you want to improve hit rate. Mirrorless and bridge have a little way to go though are catching up. The main issue is viewing through an LCD screen with time lag.

I’m sticking with cropped DSLR as it gives me more reach without having to pay silly money for a longer lens. Uncropped, images can go to A2 without issue. Did three 30”x20” posters for the Snodhurst workshop. They didn’t look too sad tbh.

Going to see how I go over the next year or so with my upgrade. Canon are bringing out a couple of new cameras next year so might upgrade again and go for the new top spec cropped DSLR. Current top model was too old to consider at the moment with some key features missing.

There’s a bike meet coming up, will try and get to the practice for that. Also into the night event will make for some good shots.

If you fancy a bash with my 760 and 18-200 you’re more than welcome. Would be ok for standing at Druids.

[b33fy]

Had a go at some photography at a local rugby match, I think I’ll stick to still life.. a couple below..

[b33fy]

A few more from yesterday. I must admit I don’t think they are all that good, though the team and manager were pleased with them and want me to be their official photographer lol. The players promised loads of free beer! Have to take the missus she can drink them for me

Going to give it another go on the 20th September. It’s a local derby with Aylesford playing Maidstone. Give me something to do outside the motorsport season as well.

[greenwoo]

I hadn't thought about that type of tography til you mentioned it the other day....but I imagine that it's hard to capture a stand out shot, as opposed to the kind of pic that the team would be happy having in their weekly feed/update/newsletter.
Obvs in a pro game there's harder hits, swan dives and the like...interesting challenge i imagine to capture a standout moment.

[b33fy]

I hadn't thought about that type of tography til you mentioned it the other day....but I imagine that it's hard to capture a stand out shot, as opposed to the kind of pic that the team would be happy having in their weekly feed/update/newsletter.
Obvs in a pro game there's harder hits, swan dives and the like...interesting challenge i imagine to capture a standout moment.

Yep quite a challenge, will persevere with it, home games don’t clash with the race meets. I can think of worse ways to spend a Saturday afternoon and the guys seem to appreciate my efforts.

Going to stay at one end next time so if I don’t get much in the first half might get something in the second half. Not going to bother zooming either, just leave on max then pray and spray when I can see the whites of their eyes lol

[b33fy]

British super bikes practice day Friday 12th Oct. going to aim for that if weather good and stars align.. if anyone is interested.

[b33fy]

New Body, too dark to shoot, here's a dirty saucepan lid instead.

IMG_3092 by Buckmore Boy, on Flickr