Need advice from all you photographers...

[BlackRider]

I am going to mid-ohio for the July 20-22 ALMS & IRL races. Any advice on lenses, camera settings, or techniques would be appreciated.

[XMEN Gambit]

Er, long lens, tripod or monopod, maybe a teleconverter/lens extender, and polarizing filter would be nice to cut the glare. If you've got a wide lens or fisheye you could probably get some interesting "atmosphere" type shots, but I'd think most of your work would be tele.

As far as specifics about the race, I've not ever shot one so don't have a clue. I'd think you'd want a spot where you could get a nice long view of them approaching as well as a side view.

[XMENPorsche]

It would be nice to know what kind of equipment you currently have. You may have the stuff to shoot with already, or you may need to rent. Don't know how close you'll be to the track but something that will reach out to about 400mm would probably work well.

Since you're more than likely going to be sitting behind a fence or some kind of netting I would suggest doing your shots using manual focus. Pick a place on the track and set your focus, and then shoot as the cars pass by that spot. If you leave your camera in auto focus you'll probably get a lot of nice clear shots of the fence with blurred images of cars in the background. Don't get me wrong - try it in autofocus mode and if it works, great. I suspect that it'll be difficult to manage, however.

What time of the day will the race take place? If it's during the day and the sun is out you should be able to get away without needing a monopod (I wouldn't suggest a tripod - takes up too much space and is a bit cumbersome to move around). The rule of thumb as to whether or not you need some sort of stabilization device is to try and shoot with a shutter speed that is at least as fast as the focal length that you are using. For example, my Nikon D200 has a 1.5x crop factor built into it which means that my 70-200mm lens gives me the equivalent focal length of a 105-300mm lens. If I'm zoomed in to 200mm (300mm equivalent) I need to be shooting at at least 1/300 of a second to avoid blurring the shot.

If your camera supports it I would also recommend shooting in Av mode (aperture priority). Set your aperture and let the camera figure out the shutter speed. If it looks like you're going to be at too slow of a shutter speed bump your ISO a bit.

If you want to try for some speed shots you'll definitely need a monopod. This will work best if the cars are passing by you left to right (or right to left as the case may be) as opposed to coming right at you. Remember - you're probably shooting in manual focus. To do a good speed shot you'll need to be in totally maunal mode, run your aperture to about f/18 or f/20, and set your shutter speed to about 1/60 or 1/80 of a second (depending on available lighting). Pan with the car as it's going by and let the camera do the rest. What you're going for is to have the car in sharp focus while the background is blurred, which implies speed. This is not an easy technique to master but it does give some pleasing results. Below is an example of the kind of shot that I'm describing.




If I think of anything else I'll let you know.

[BlackRider]

All I have is a Canon Digital Rebel XT and 18-55mm and 75-300mm lenses.

I've never been to a car race before, so I don't know if I can get up to the fence or if I have to shoot from the grandstands.
*edit* wahoo!!! seems I can walk all over the place. expect a plethora of pictures at the end of July (ALMS, IRL, and the Dayton Airshow!)

Oh, guess I need a few more flashcards too.

[XMEN Gambit]

Yeah, I've got an 18-55, and it is NOT a good lens for shooting most sports. The 18 end is about wide enough for those atmosphere shots, tho. I've got a Sigma 70-300 that I use for the long range.