Spa weekends... not the papmering type!

scoop · 31 May 2016 at 21:08

Spent a very pleasant and unseasonably warm and dry long weekend in Belgium earlier in the month - at probably the prettiest motor racing circuit in the world - the fantastic Spa-Francorchamps in the Ardennes, for the second round of this year's FIA WEC.

A great first outing for the new toy, having just upgraded from a 40D to a 7Dii a week or so beforehand. Still getting used to the almost-telepathic AF compared to the 40D, and the various customisations.

A select bunch below, in three sections. C+C, as always, invited...

So, first up, support races from the Porsche Carrera Cup and the TCR series...

scoop · 31 May 2016 at 21:08

Next, WEC pit lane action...

scoop · 31 May 2016 at 21:09

And the race proper...

scoop · 31 May 2016 at 21:09

Buddy · 31 May 2016 at 21:13

Nice shots!

And · 1 Jun 2016 at 09:00

Great shots, deserve more comments to be honest

Those LMP cars are something else.

scoop · 1 Jun 2016 at 12:15

Thanks, guys...

And said:
Those LMP cars are something else.

They are indeed - though from the front, the new Audi does rather look like the b@$tard love-child of Darth Vader and Henry the Vacuum cleaner...

And · 1 Jun 2016 at 13:12

Rick Moranis in Spaceballs

scoop said:
They are indeed - though from the front, the new Audi does rather look like the b@$tard love-child of Darth Vader and Henry the Vacuum cleaner...

a1ex2001 · 1 Jun 2016 at 22:00

For me almost all your panning shots are too tightly cropped the cars have no room to breath and loose any reference to where they are they could have been taken anywhere, on the other hand I love the third shot a great compesition and unmistakably spa!

I've always found it interesting how web forums are full of panning shots yet the media almost always use shots with no motion in them at all.

scoop · 1 Jun 2016 at 22:22

Thanks for the feedback; you're the second person to comment on the tight crops, so some learning there - though previous comments from motorsports events suggested tighter cropping... I guess some element of personal preference but I'll go wider next time out...

I guess the media go with faster shutter speeds to get sharper images and therefore higher keeper rates, with the resultant frozen motion. I quite enjoy the challenge of getting sharp panning shots at 1/125 - 1/200th at 200+mm with fast cars - a sense of satisfaction when they come out well but the keeper rate drops off which is not ideal when you have bills to pay and editors to keep happy...?

And · 2 Jun 2016 at 07:10

Actually for editorial stuff, especially that from manufacturers, crops do tend to come pretty tight to start with (often frustratingly so from my point of view). And manufacturers do put out plenty of motion shots as well. Part of my work as a journalist is motoring (I deal with all the motors editorial for our newspaper group) and newspress is my 'go to' source for images when I don't get sent memory sticks from manufacturers.

I don't disagree with what you're saying though, I do like my own images to 'breathe' and certainly prefer editorial design where there's space to let the words and pictures 'breathe'.

a1ex2001 said:
For me almost all your panning shots are too tightly cropped the cars have no room to breath and loose any reference to where they are they could have been taken anywhere, on the other hand I love the third shot a great compesition and unmistakably spa!

I've always found it interesting how web forums are full of panning shots yet the media almost always use shots with no motion in them at all.

booyaka · 2 Jun 2016 at 08:09

Agreed - that 3rd shot is superb!

scoop · 2 Jun 2016 at 22:41

OK, so responding to constructuve suggestions, I have re-visited a few shots and tried t either allow a bit more room around the cars, or bring in some more landscape or feature to "earth" the images.

Would welcome thoughts regarding success or otherwise....do these work for you?

Through the Bus Stop...

Around La Source...

Up the hill at Eau Rouge/Raidillion....

And, for comparison.... Can't make up my mind whether I like the added context of the camera guy or not...

And · 3 Jun 2016 at 06:10

Better without camera guy IMO.

Devrij · 4 Jun 2016 at 11:07

Yeah you were right to crop him out. Excellent shots though, deeply envious!

Sunburn · 6 Jun 2016 at 12:51

Although I'm new to photography as a whole, I was told that action photography where there is perceived movement and direction in the subject, its always visually nice to see what space the object is moving into...
Very nice images btw, cropped or otherwise.

Tysonator · 8 Jun 2016 at 15:14

Some really cracking shots of Spa.
I own a 7D MK I and it is still an impressive bit of kit for its age. The AA filter is still an area of concern for sharpeness IMO, however for an action DSLR is is very, very good !

Some great spanning shots BTW