New to action photography

[Sirashley]

Hey guys, I'm sort of new to action photography, as I mainly do Landscape photography. So I went out to the local R.C. track to take some photos. I'm trying to learn how to freeze interesting action and also learn how to pan... I find panning to be incredibly difficult. So all C&C is welcome and thanks for looking

Here are a few panning shots....

1.

2.

3.

Here are a few of frozen action shots

4.

5.

6.

Anyway, thanks again for looking and all C&C welcome... I try to learn alittle something each time out... I learned this time that you can pan a shot even at 1/160 with an aperture of f.13, depending on lighting... I also learned that letting the camera adjust the light meter is a great thing and I learned that when shooting action shots, its a good idea to keep both of your eyes open, for two reasons, A.) to follow the action and B.) to make sure the action isn't coming at you

this guy actually took an odd bounce and flew over my right shoulder and I was lucky to have been able to get out of the way Well, thanks for looking

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

I really like #2 for what it is showing. Looks like it's spinning out. I like the bit of blur on the front end. I think you could crop some of the right and bottom off, still giving plenty of room for percieved travel to the left. Hmmm... could just be cutting some off the right. It just feels too close to centered, to not be centered, if that makes sense?

I can imagine how difficult this was. Good job.

 

[nickb98c]

I like 5 and 6. And with the first ones, maybe a little tighter to the subject would be an improvement. I know how fast these little buggies can be, so great job on keeping up!

 

[Sirashley]

Thanks guys, the panning ones were tough to get closer because the only straight away was opposite the bleachers, and because of the shape of the track, the only way to get a good shot was from the bleachers. I used a cheapo 18-200 tamron for these shots on a D200 body. I'm really happy with that tamron, for the money (150$), you can't beat it... Anyway, I really appreciate the C&C... I'm going back to the track tomorrow, but I'm going to run my car, so no photos. Maybe though I can come up with an interesting angle to shoot from for the next trip... The real downside to shooting these cars is the fact that you and your camera leave covered in red dust from the track... They are great practice though, because they are Soooooo fast....

 

[Sirashley]

Anyone else have any experience in shooting these things??? The red clay really messes with the light meter. Some of my shots were under/over exposed but thankfully RAW made up for it... I'm just curious if anyone else here has shot these? and if so, what field tips you could give me...

 

[myfotoguy]

You did a great job capturing these. Keep it up! Enjoyed these.
Agree, maybe some tighter crops on 1-3 not much tighter at all though, they look great.

 

[Sirashley]

I used a cheapo 18-200 tamron for these shots on a D200 body. I'm really happy with that tamron, for the money (150$), you can't beat it...

Can I ask if you got that lens in a condition other than New or just at a "lower rate"? Out of curiosity I googled "Tamron 18-200mm" and the only one that I'm coming up with is around $250. Is there more than one 18-200mm? Or did you just get lucky on the price???

Oh I grabbed this off ebay in "Like New" condition... and it was... I won the auction at 157.50... Really, for what it is, it seems to be very capable and it caused me to sell my 55-200 VR Nikon lense that I really didn't care for... I think this tamron lense to me, is a far and away better lense and my results have been way better... but that's just me... I love the fact that it covers 18-200... and all of my shots here were done hand-held... so I wonder if I ever needed the VR to begin with...

 

[reznap]

I've seen how fast these things are for their size, I'd say this is pretty tough panning practice..

I LOVE 4 and 5, so close-up with that DOF they almost look full-sized in a way... those are awesome imo.

I wanted to mess with #5 a bit, think it's perfect cept for the antenna. I darkened the tires too. I only edit images I really like though so it's a compliment (even if my work sucks...lol)

 

[Sirashley]

I've seen how fast these things are for their size, I'd say this is pretty tough panning practice..

I LOVE 4 and 5, so close-up with that DOF they almost look full-sized in a way... those are awesome imo.

I wanted to mess with #5 a bit, think it's perfect cept for the antenna. I darkened the tires too. I only edit images I really like though so it's a compliment (even if my work sucks...lol)

Awesome man.. thanks for the edit... I knew the antenna getting cut off was an issue in that photo, I never thought to just add it back on...LOL... it looks much better and doesn't draw the eye out of the photo... I really appreciate the edit and that is EXACTLY why it says, "MY PHOTOS ARE OKAY TO EDIT"... because I always end up learning something, or seeing a perspective that I missed... I wish more people would allow the editing by others, but that's a whole different thread Adding the end of the antenna make the photo... Apparently, for some reason, I'm out of "Thread thanks..." so, THANK YOU, I'm going to go back and edit the original...

 

[myfotoguy]

I was browsing the forum and your title caught my eye, so came back in. For being new to this, you're doing great. Panning takes practice, sometimes lots of it, and you are well on your way!

 

[Sirashley]

I was browsing the forum and your title caught my eye, so came back in. For being new to this, you're doing great. Panning takes practice, sometimes lots of it, and you are well on your way!

Thank you, I love the way panning looks, so that's why I've been trying to learn how to do it... Saturday, I'm going to an on-road R.C. course where they have drifting and all different types of on-road true-to-scale cars, so Im hoping to bring the camera and get some really cool shots. The on-road cars should be even more difficult because they are faster, so we'll see... I have two on-road cars myself... so after I run a few laps I'm going to break out the D200 and see what I can come up with...

 

[TCampbell]

You mentioned that the red clay was giving the light meter a hard time. As I look at these, you've got an outdoor track in full sun. So it looks like every shot should have had the same meter reading. Rather than letting the camera read & suggest metering for _every_ shot, just do it once... dial in the exposure you want, and then ignore the meter (unless a cloud rolls in and you know the lighting changed) and work on your panning.

Outdoors, full daytime sun... you "should" be able to use a sunny-16 equivalent exposure reliably. (iso 100, f/16, 1/125th) If you want to do 1/60th panning (very tough) then take the f-stop up to f/22.

I think you did GREAT for these panning shots. I've done a bit of panning but I'm no pro -- and it is tough, takes lots of practice, and you don't get a lot of "keepers" at first... but then that's why you practice at it.

 

[Psytrox]

Those were good My favorit is number 4.

I tried taking some pictures of some RC cars doing some jumps at a quarry. They didnt exactly turn out aswell as I had planned. When taking pictures of jumping cars, stand on the side, to avoid only getting a shot of the underside of the car. If you're ever at a quary, use some kind of filter. I was "lucky" and got hit in the head with a fly rock, glad it was my head and not my lens or camera.

 

[KmH]

Panning becomes a lot easier when you understand how your camera works.

 

[DanPower]

These are really cool shots, I have an RC club near me (MORCC) and it turns out they're racing a state-level championship round on Sunday so you've inspired me to go check it out Thanks for the idea! I've been looking for local events to attend and take photos of, this is perfect... Did they allow you access to the actual track or did you have to take the photos from the sidelines? I notice you shot most of these at or around 200mm so I'm guessing you had to be off to the side..

I have an old Losi XX-CR kinwald edition sitting in the shed in pieces, so I might even put it back together and give it a burl sometime.

I really like these pics, 2 and 5 are my favourites, #4 is pretty awesome too. The side shots (1 and 3) are a bit boring, but don't take that the wrong way - not dissing your shooting, I mean that in the sense that there's just not much going on from that angle. But you've picked some sweet angles for the others. It's a shame #6 didn't get a bit of a better background but I'd just be stoked if I managed to catch the thing in the air LOL

Bitter Jeweller mentioned cropping #2 in a bit tighter, I did a quick edit to show you how I probably would have cropped it just to give you a fresh view. It might be better or it might be worse (like you I'm just starting out so I have no real weight here) but it's just food for thought..