Pictures vln-race @ the ring

[c0wb0y007]

Voila, here are the rest of the pictures that I like to share with you guys from the last VLN-race @ the Nurburgring.
I try to visit different places each time I go and try to experiment by shooting under different angles as well. Sometimes it pays off sometimes it doesn't :)
All pictures are posted under a higher resolution as well compared to my previous posts, as requested :D

Enjoy them !!! Feel free to react and if you have any questions ... just shoot !!!


http://users.pandora.be/jokke1/Photography/B.Cars/VLN%2024-05-2005/D2X_9719%20Nr%20237%20Opel%20Astra%201024.jpg

http://users.pandora.be/jokke1/Photography/B.Cars/VLN%2024-05-2005/Nr%20100%20BMW%201024.jpg

http://users.pandora.be/jokke1/Photography/B.Cars/VLN%2024-05-2005/Nr%20111%20Porsche%20MR_2%201024.jpg

http://users.pandora.be/jokke1/Photography/B.Cars/VLN%2024-05-2005/Nr%20138%20SLK%20Carlsson%201024.jpg

http://users.pandora.be/jokke1/Photography/B.Cars/VLN%2024-05-2005/Nr%20140%20BMW%20CSL%201024.jpg

http://users.pandora.be/jokke1/Photography/B.Cars/VLN%2024-05-2005/Nr%20152%20BMW%20M3%201024.jpg

http://users.pandora.be/jokke1/Photography/B.Cars/VLN%2024-05-2005/Nr%20345%20Opel%20V8-star%201024.jpg

http://users.pandora.be/jokke1/Photography/B.Cars/VLN%2024-05-2005/Nr%20350%20Opel%20Astra%20DTM%201024.jpg

http://users.pandora.be/jokke1/Photography/B.Cars/VLN%2024-05-2005/Nr%2077%20Porsche%20Turbo%20Uwe%20Alzen%201024.jpg

http://users.pandora.be/jokke1/Photography/B.Cars/VLN%2024-05-2005/Nr%2099%20BMW%20M3%201024.jpg

http://users.pandora.be/jokke1/Photography/B.Cars/VLN%2024-05-2005/Johan%20D2x.jpg

Hope the pictures aren't too big so that it sticks to the rules.


Cheers

[redbaron]

Marvelous pics, thanks c0wb0y007

[taygunho]

http://users.pandora.be/jokke1/Photography/B.Cars/VLN%2024-05-2005/Nr%20345%20Opel%20V8-star%201024.jpg

is this opel omega?
if it is true first time i saw a omega race car.

[SilviaEvo]

that Merc is awesome and good pics with the Astra and the white M3 with the wheels off teh ground

[taygunho]

thanks for the pics
stype and vw paasat !... do you have pics of them?
can you sendthem as pm ?

[BADMIHAI]

Great pics as always. Were you using continuous focus, or did you have to throw away lots of shots?

[Stikz]

Amazing pics, thanks!!!

[c0wb0y007]

Great pics as always. Were you using continuous focus, or did you have to throw away lots of shots?

Hi Badmihai,

Interesting question. But I'm not shooting panning shots on AF-C I always use AF-S. The only time I was using the AF-C focus setting was when I was shooting with the Nikon D2X, due to that the fellow photographer who joined me there likes it alot (it is his camera). We had a dicussion about the focus setting on both of the cameras and we experienced that you get the best results in AF-S mode with the D70 and when it comes to the D2X the AF-C seems to be the best option. 8)

Cheers

[c0wb0y007]

Thanks to all of you for your nice words !!!

@ Taygunho

Yep, that's the Irmscher Opel Omega V8-Star 8) I just love those V8-stars

All of you seems to like that Carlsson SLK, and I have to admit, that's one of the most beautiful racecars I have seen lately :)


Cheers

[TT]

The pics are marvellous, even more so at higher res, but there is a slight problem LOL, the rules say you can't directly post pictures with the img tags if they are bigger than 800x600, in which case you should use thumbs

[c0wb0y007]

The pics are marvellous, even more so at higher res, but there is a slight problem LOL, the rules say you can't directly post pictures with the img tags if they are bigger than 800x600, in which case you should use thumbs

TT,

Sorry for that, I have been looking for that info before posting this thread but I eventually didn't find it. But now I know :)

So thanks for the nice words and for the Info

Cheers

[Wutputt]

Superb pics, so sharp! Except for the back end, but it's quite impossible to get that one in focus if you're focussing on the front and you're shooting with a high focal length. Even with my wide angle lens, the depth of field isn't really wide due to the fact there isn't enough light to really use a small aperture opening. I normally use AF-C for focussing with panning shots, but I still don't have a real zoom lens :) What are the advantages of AF-S over AF-C with the D70?

[c0wb0y007]

Hi wutputt,

It is possible to get the whole car sharp even when you are shooting panning shots and normaly it has to be more easy (duable) with f/2.8 lenses.
First of all, when you use AF-S focussing you aim for a spot on the track and the moment the car passes by and comes into the sharp area you have to hit the shutter button, that's obvious. But the hardest part is that you have to take the pictures just on the moment when the whole car is sharp and there is no room for error here, not when it comes to panning shots. Everything has to be right; you have to pick up the speed of the car by following it through your viewfinder and you have to aim on a certain spot of the car and stick on on it eg: Front wheel. I think that the best thing you can do is just to wait a few milli secs longer when you see the front of the car becoming sharp before hitting the shutter button. My experience is that the front of the car will be sharp and that you have more chance of ending up with a nice sharp back of the car as well.
Another important thing is not to move or shake the lens the moment you hit the shutter button and that you track the car just a little bit longer even after the first click that the mirror makes. The picture you get is the result of what happened between the first and the second click of the mirror :) It is must harder than that it sounds.

I do find it frustrating from time to time, if you look at the pictures in my previous post it is cristal clear to my why those back ends are much sharper than here. It's because those cars aren't driven that fast, that's the main reason. So, I probably get sharper back ends when I shoot those vln-cars with higher shutterspeeds. ANother very important thing is the exposure, the amount of light available. It was much brighter the week before which means you will end up with a higher exposure figure, big advantage :!: You can get this by changing the iso setting, start shooting on 400 / 500 / 600 ... . I made a print of the drifting M3 GTR I had shot during the 24 hours race. I shot that image on iso 500 and with a shutterspeed of 1/160. The dimensions of the poster are 75 cm x 50 cm and you don't see any grain at all.
Wutputt, I can go on and on for hours but let me end with this. Don't get fooled by the images of professional photographers. If you look at panning shots most of them won't be super sharp and lots of them will be taken on a slight higher shutterspeed than you see here. I almost shoot all my panning shots on 1/160 s, it seems to be perfect, especially when it comes to those touristenfahrten. But it's maybe a bit too low to get those super sharp results when shooting race cars. It is possible of coarse but not on a regular base. But when everything falls into place, you end up with a striking image.
Eventually, lots of panning shots only show one side of the car. I 'm not really fond of that, it's ok and they can be very good but then it's the mega blurry background that does the trick instead of the sharpness of the car and the rotating wheels. I love to shoot my panning shots so you can the front, the side and the back of the car. You get a nice sharp front with lots of detail in the frontgrill(s) and lights, you can also see the number that the car has and last but not least it is great when you can read the name(s) of the driver(s) glued on the rear window. All of this sharpness combined with a blurry background makes it a stunning shot.

I think you should take the AF-S focussing over the AF-C focussing mode when it comes to the D70. My experience is that the AF-C isn't that relaible, the AF-S is great. The AF-C on Nikon pro bodies is much better. I think it is a software issue, so updating your D70 to the D70s by downloading the latest firmware can be a good option here.

I hope you haven't fallen asleep after reading this :D :lol:


Cheers & keep on praticing those panning shots

[Wutputt]

I'm still awake :lol:

Thanks for the info. Nowadays I'm also trying to do some more '3/4th' panning shots showing the front and side of the car. But I'm still working on the quality of those. I was shooting them at AF-C, not AF-S. So thanks for the advise for changing to AF-S. I'll try that out. This probably will also make it easier to use slower shutter speeds for those amazing pics. The AF-C probably isn't fast enough when the cars are moving fast towards you.

For my 'side' panning shots showing only the side of the cars, I also came to the conclusion a shutter speed of 1/160 suits me most. At higher shutter speeds you don't really have enough feel of speed and for the lower ones my hands are a bit to shaky :D. Though I've experimented with slower shutter speeds as well (1/100 and 1/125), and sometimes I'm lucky finding some superb shots on my CF disk, like the one below. But at those slow shutter speeds most pics tend to be not sharp enough. So 1/160 is my favourite shutter speed.

http://users.skynet.be/fa344132/fotokes/auto/DSC_8011.jpg

[c0wb0y007]

Very nice panning shot Wutputt, Congrats mate !!!

You see, you can do it 8)

I think it would be cool if we could team up to shoot some VLN-cars ... sounds cool 8)

Cheers

[Wutputt]

^^^

That's sounds like a good idea ;)

[stmoritzer]

Nice pictures and intersting read about "making of race pictures", thanks c0wb0y007
:D