First attempt at auto racing.

I went up with JimmyB to Skagit Speedway to shoot my first car race. I had all sorts of things to practice, particularly my panning. I was trying different shutter speeds to see what worked best and with these cars 1/125 seemed to come out nice. Plus I was experimenting with different settings with my flash. Does anyone know what causes the spots on the last pic? We both have some we couldn't figure out what it is. It looks like some sort of weird glare. Also since it was very dusty up there, I'd like some good recommendations on lens cleaning as far as cloths, brushes or any lens cleaning solutions if anyone uses them. I want to make sure I don't do any damage to my lenses. I also have a crash sequence in the racing wrecks thread. http://forums.photographyreview.com/...171#post227171
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...kagitRace1.jpg
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...kagitRace2.jpg
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...kagitRace3.jpg
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...kagitRace4.jpg
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...kagitRace5.jpg
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...kagitRace6.jpg
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...kagitRace7.jpg
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...dway/Glare.jpg

Those spots are dust on the lens and it shows up if the light hits just right. It may be one spot or hundreds. Normally at dirt tracks I have a lens cloth and wipe the UV(0) filter off between each heat and feature to avoid this. Most of the time though you won't pick it up this bad, the light was just right though.

You did very well for the first time out, good job! :thumbsup: I bet you want to go now too.

JS

Well that makes sense and explains why I didn't see any on the shots I took with the Rebel. I used the 28-75 on the 30D and the 70-200 on the Rebel. Since we were so close I didn't take many shots with the 70-200 and what dust did get on it wouldn't have been as obvious. I don't use any filters on the lenes, but I think that's a good idea for that type of environment. I was worried about scratching the lens if I used a dust cloth. I was thinking of getting a good brush to use first. I'd definitely like to go again or were you asking if I'd like to get in a car? I'd get into pretty much any race that someone would let me drive :D

No, I wasn't meaning for you to drive, but hey, I'm sure Jimmy like to be there if you did :D although he may be hiding somewhere safe till he sees how you do. I was meaning that you'd probably like to take pics there again though.
You had a good first day, it's not always that easy first time out. You also did the right thing playing with the settings, thats a good learning experiance.

JS

You did a good job with your first time shooting sprints. Those dots are most likely out of focus dust particles being hit by the flash.

or... paranormal beings?!?! eh?

just kidding, of course. good job for your first time out.

You did fantastic! How great you got to meet up with Jimmy too.

This is the lens cleaning kit I use. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._Kit_with.html

On top of the kit I usually carry two different kinds of micro fiber clothes in case of rain, mud etcetcetc....

Just like JS I use the hoya uv 0 filter. He suggested the filters to me when I first came here. I've bought one for each of my lenses and actually have two for my 70-200.

Again, you did an amazing job! I'm very impressed. :)

Thanks guys and girl. That was a lot of fun and yet another learning experience. I need to try and find a closer track that would let me shoot from the infield. I would like to try driving one, but with my history of crashing my downhill bike, it may not be such a good idea :eek: Jimmy and I have been friends for a few years now. We met on my 2nd ever mtn bike ride. I had been wanting to take better pics of us riding than I could with my G2 and when Jimmy bought his Rebel and let me play with it, that was all I needed. Gee another money pit hobby. Thanks Jimmy :rolleyes:

It was good to get you off the bike for a day so you could come out and shoot! nice shots!
As soon as I figure out why I can't get my pics uploaded I will join the post with some pics.
Jimmy B
JS I would be at the track if Tad got a chance to drive:) It's got to be better than his first few MTN bike rides:p

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tadrscin

Gee another money pit hobby. Thanks Jimmy :rolleyes:

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Sure, blame it ALL on Jimmy :D Way to go Jimmy, you got him started on the right foot :thumbsup:

JS

Finally got them to upload! I had a good time with Tad in tow. JS the first thing I told Tad was find your shooting area, then look for a place to bail out if you have too with out jumping blindly and getting hurt.

Well it is hard to get me off the bike these days. I did manage to ride and shoot last night though. Yes my first few rides were a bit, how should I put it, pathetic. Yeah I think that describes them pretty well. Well I think I've come a long way in 3 years. This is one of me that Linda took last night.
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q.../FlowPark8.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jimmy B

It was good to get you off the bike for a day so you could come out and shoot! nice shots!
As soon as I figure out why I can't get my pics uploaded I will join the post with some pics.
Jimmy B
JS I would be at the track if Tad got a chance to drive:) It's got to be better than his first few MTN bike rides:p

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by JSPhoto

Sure, blame it ALL on Jimmy :D Way to go Jimmy, you got him started on the right foot :thumbsup:

JS

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Well it's not entirely Jimmy's fault. I used to be into photography years ago and I had wanted a digital SLR since the first Rebel came out. I just couldn't justify the cost at the time. I'd been wanting to get back into photography for a couple of years now, Jimmy just gave me the necessary push.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jimmy B

Finally got them to upload! I had a good time with Tad in tow. JS the first thing I told Tad was find your shooting area, then look for a place to bail out if you have too with out jumping blindly and getting hurt.

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Nice shots Jimmy. Some of those look like you were shooting over my shoulder. I'm not sure if you ever told me to duck though. In hind sight that's what I should've done on that first crash.

tadrscin - that 4th image in the original post (#3 car) is very nice. Seems your shutter speed was perfect IMO - love the blur captured in the rear wheel. Nice job tracking the car.

Thanks Loupey. I think that was my best panning shot of the night.

So I've been looking at UV filters at B&H and I have a question about which ones to get. Do I really need the ones that say they're for digital cameras or is that just marketing hype. I'd really like to not have to spend $120 on 2 filters!

IMO, filters should only be used when there are airborne particulates (dust, dirt, or water) in the air. Then taken off as soon as the air clears.

So buying filters that may be tiny bit better (but a whole lot more expensive) seem silly to me when the air quality is already degraded enough to warrant putting anything on in the first place.

So I use "Protection Filters" by Promaster. Not even UV. About $20 for 77mm diameter. And only used when absolutely necessary.

The filter isn't used as a filter as such, it's there to protect the front element from damage as well as from scratching the front element. I am a firm believer in the Hoya UV(0) because I have had first hand experiance with it protecting lensesI have now replaced 4 of these filters at $47 each. 3 due to flying objects and the latest due to some idiot kid at a weekend festival I had to shoot. Fortunately this time the kids parents are paying for it, plus my mileage to replace it. Hoods do NOT protect things that hit the lens, yeah, they MAY deflect something, but at the same time they can deflect the item at the lens. The UV(0) filter does not alter colors but will block UV.
The latest incident was Saturday when a kid being an idiot stuck a metal car up inside the hood as I walked through the festival. It scratched the filter all to hell but didn't damage the glass.
I have had a rock hit a filter and break the filter but no damage to the glass, same with a bolt that cracked a filter. The one incident I don't know what hit it but the filter shattered , the glass was fine though.

The paper now uses them on all their camera lenses as they got tired of replacing the front elements due to careless handling by staff personel. They had a 70-200 that was badly pitted and after getting it repaired Canon told them to use the same filters I told the to use, in the 5 years since getting it fixed they replaced two filters but no damage to the glass.

My UV(0) filters only come off for lens cleaning and never off during use.

JS

Thanks guys. That helps me decide which ones to buy.