Photo Techniques - Drifting forum

Paddy · 24-06-2005, 00:01

Hi all,

Thought it would be a good idea for all the Dori photographers to share tips, talk about their equipment, their prefered style, Digital Vs Film, Favourite Drift Photo ?

I usually work with slow(ish) shutter speeds to achieve maximum effect when panning, by Killing the body of the ar dead and having the wheels and BG moving to try and capture the feeling of speed.

I think it's very hard to capture Angle or the essense of Drift in one photograph, It always looks like a power slide. I've seen a few photos that do capture it tho, but the rest are mostly bursts displayed side by side..

Do you find it easier to get a good shot when your photographing a clean and kitted Dori Car as opposed to say a standard S13 on steel's ?

At the moment, I'm using a Fuji S5000 Digital

I collected a 170-500mm Sigma Lens today for the new camera arriving next week, Canon EOS 350D (Digital Rebel XT), 18-55mm lens, with portrait grip, 1GB CF card and two LI-ION batteries. I hope to get my hands on a 70 to 200mm lens soon too, to cover all focal lengths.

One of my favourite photos at the moment is a pic taken by Junior of Brett Castle at Mondello last year.

I like the tidiness of the picture, its smooth, the lighting is right and the tyre smoke looks spot on.

Ross / Peco of Doristars is IMO (all arse licking aside) one of the best Dori snappers in Europe at the mo, always produces top quality shots

**James** · 24-06-2005, 00:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paddy

I think it's very hard to capture Angle or the essense of Drift in one photograph, It always looks like a power slide.

It's all about the entry

If you can get a good face-on snap of someone steaming into a corner fully sideways and on the lockstops, that seems to capture it nicely

Chris · 24-06-2005, 00:05

this is my new cam:

Konica Minolta Dimage Z2

got it yesterday, gunna test it out at gtbattle

Paddy · 24-06-2005, 00:19

You get it online ?

What Megapixels etc ?

@James
I think it can depend on the track aswell, Watergrasshill here has a good corner to capture the drift but Rosegreen is

There's too many rounds there I suppose, gets very hard to come up with new angles ...

Chris · 24-06-2005, 00:26

only 4mp got it cheap at jessops, as my sister was there and she knew the guy who sold it so he gave us loads of discount. i must take her shopping with me more often.

yeager · 24-06-2005, 00:27

Sorry for slight offtopic, what happened to Martin Williams?

Paddy · 24-06-2005, 00:28

Who ?

ant · 24-06-2005, 00:34

hes still alive si, was talking to him last nite , hes coming to gt battle aswell and can hopefully get a media pass

he took this pic which it rather good

AnimalityRacing · 24-06-2005, 00:43

im running a pentax optio s4 digital..
it is 4 mega pixels, time lapse video mode, panaramic shoot and a whole lot else...
but the best part about it, is that it is smaller than a pack of cards!

the best shoots in my opinion, are taken from on the car itself,
IE: a pic taken from above the headlight pointing backwards....

twin drifting makes for some great photos.....

Paddy · 24-06-2005, 14:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnimalityRacing

IE: a pic taken from above the headlight pointing backwards....

Oh aye, Thats why I want one of those fancy car mounts and an IR remote for the new camera

Colonel K · 24-06-2005, 14:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris

this is my new cam:

Konica Minolta Dimage Z2

got it yesterday, gunna test it out at gtbattle

Ive got the old version of this.... good camera although mine was a bit prone to camera shake, so I had to use a tripod pretty much all the time. Hopefully they got it sussed on the new model.

The 10x optical zoom is great tho... means you can get half decent shots while sat in the grandstand.....

Heres some i took @ round3 2004 Silverstone... me in the grandstand

The cars quite small in this one, but the corner was a reasonable distance from the grandstand! I was on max zoom at this point IIRC

And my main problem is composition! LOL need to oil the tripods mech I think! Couldnt always turn fast enough!

P.s. I know my pics aint great, but Ive got a (relatively) cheap camera and Im a complete novice!

Paddy · 24-06-2005, 15:13

I really like the last one, the car doesnt really have to be in the centre of the frame, it looks well off centre !

I'm in the same boat as you bud, I'm only a novice trying to cram as much into my head as I possibly can, I love motorsport of all kinds and I love photography so its a nice in-between hobby

Brooksie · 24-06-2005, 15:34

not stills but sort of along the same lines

I press the big red button that says record

.. and then i panic like frick trying to keep the cars in focus

.. yes i could focus on infinity but thats gay (for film i mean) so i prefer to make it as hard as possible for myself

I use a couple of different cameras, we have a pair of DSR570's and a Cannon XL1 .. also got an old PD150 which sits on top of the jib arm.

some nice images on this thread gents ..

Ross · 24-06-2005, 15:47

afternoon all.
great idea paddy

still cant get my head around msn

yep juniors photo of brett is the dogs! i havent seen it before, but it captures it perfecly. im with you on working with low shutter speed its a bit of a aquired art but definatly worth the effort, i practice (this may sound a bit sad and you do get some strange looks) by going down to the motorway and spend a few hours panning cars going past and dropping the shutter speed stop by stop with and without tripod.my results depend alot on how i feel on the day, at wildtrax i was bloody cold and suffering a bit with hayfeaver and i think it shows in my pics hence why i was bloody disapointed with the results from what should have been such a great track photograph wise, it normaly takes me at least an hour to get warmed up and start getting stuff that im happy with, it just dident seem to happen at round two.
venue has a lot to do with results imo, for example northampton raceway is fantastic only been there once but i loved, it the mistake i made was being lazy and not changing my shoot point enough hence all a bit samey but i was happy with the results i got, drift uk round 4 im going to do my tits to get more interesting varied shots, silverstone car parks on the other hand is a total bitch and i hate every square inch of the concrete spanker, i just find it so hard to capture anything there.
Does anyone else suffer from vampires? (people you photograph alot and the pics never seem to work) i do....badly, at the moment its steve carter, every time i point a camera at him the pic turns to shit, paz is another i dont think ive 1 decent shot of him drifting, and from my recent efforts i think phil and julie might be going the way the nightstalker. weird theres no real reason for it must be in my head.
what im trying at the moment is low shutter mixed with rear curtain flash, aslong as you track accuratly you get a lovely blur then at the end of the exposure BANG the flash captures the subject, ive been down as low as a 20th and got good sharp results i recon that in the right light you could go as low a 2 perhaps 3 seconds it would look the tits, you would instantly be able to see what was going on. this is one of my favorite pics only for the reson that somthing i tryed actualy worked, its brett on the exit of coram at snet, i dont know what speed he was doing but i amagine 90mph wouldent be far wrong, the settings are. 1/30 f11 rear curtain flash.
]

does anyone else find capturing twin drift a total bastard?
this has turned into a bit of a boring essay now, sorry

im glad martins still around, he does take a dam fine picture.

Mrs P · 24-06-2005, 15:59

I am quite a critic sometimes [ESPECIALLY with my own pics!!!!!] but it does mean that when I say something's good.... I really mean it! A LOT of credit has to go to photographers such as ross, "junior", someone on this forum called "ninjaman" and paddy - all of whom take photos i envy! Having said that, even people that aren't pro's take excellent shots...morf, for example has a keen eye.

I have only tried doing drifting photography...er....5?.....times now, still have a fair way to go but I think I'm improving.

What I want to ask is has anyone tried getting the side of the car to blur? It's something I've always aimed to do - but getting the feeling of speed, side of the car blurred but front in focus....is a PAIN!

Only about 1 out of 20 pics will come out how I want. I find a setting that works for one car...then suddenly the same setting won't work for another car.

Below is a pic I took at my first silverstone day, it's one of the pics which is pretty much what I'm after. However, I was after a much longer blur to really get the impression of a slide.

Am I going on a hopeless mission, have people tried it before? Is it worth pursuing??

Thinking I may give up on it [for now] because as I said above, only one in about 20 pics will be like it. The other 19 could've been sharp and sell-able!

Paddy · 24-06-2005, 15:59

REF: Tsuiso

Yea, Definitely, although in saying that theres a few drivers here I know that when they go out, they'll get right up the arse of the lead car so it makes life easier. Most are usually two far behind and if you pull the zoom back the shot gets too boring with one car at either side of the frame. I used a super wide angle before but wasnt too fond of the results ..

I'd like to know how to do that curtain flash but I have found out a trick on my Fuji for night shots, Just need to find some cars willing to dori at night ...

I'm dreading this new camera for a reason that I'll need to re-learn everything I've learnt so far which It'll make it feel like a huge setback for me. I'm going fomr a compact Digital to a full on Digital SLR, I hope it'll be easier than I think its going be (V. Hard)

EDIT:
@Mrs P
Maybe the shutter speed is too long or you may not be panning enough ?

I know the feeling about playing it safe, I have to deliver 200+ shots a round that are usable and rather bland IMO as opposed to going all out to get 30 or 40 perfect and interesting shots ...

Mrs P · 24-06-2005, 16:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paddy

Maybe the shutter speed is too long or you may not be panning enough ?

Maybe..... think you have a point there, thanks!

I think that on the next practice day I go to I'm going to spend the first half of the day trying the blur-thing and the other half getting normal shots. I really would love to get the hang of this, though, as I'm still not satisfied with my drift pics. I'm sure a long blur of it's side would really add punch to it.

Ross · 24-06-2005, 16:23

i like the fish eye shot

i bet you were bloody close to the cars though, this is one of my only efforts with wide angle its a sigma 15mm and if i took my hand off the camera it felt like i could have touched bens bumper.

i wouldnt worry to much about the new kit,if you can shoot like you do with a compact youve done the hard part and you know what your looking for, so learning the new camera epecialy a canon you'll piss it. have a look in the flash menu when you get your new camera rear curtain or slow sync flash should be in there.

i know what you mean laura. its a bloody difficult shot to get, i think the superlong exposure with flash thing might work other than that i havent got the foggiest, perhaps a low power burst at the start of the exposure followed by a full fat one at the end might work????

heres a couple of my fav pics.

is this the type of thing laura?

dont know who took them i found em on a aussie site.

Colonel K · 24-06-2005, 16:53

Thanks for the Compliment there paddy, I was only really trying to show the Cameras capabilities TBH.

Im still convinced Im pretty Carp at these things..... but then I dont get much practise!

Worst of all Ive mislaid my Tripod for GT Battle

Oh well, nevermind!

Mrs P · 24-06-2005, 17:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ross

is this the type of thing laura?

Yeah, kinda.... but a longer blur! [Yes, I am very fussy!

] I really want to give an impression of the slide, as afterall it is the slide which [to me] really makes drifting different to other motorsports. The longer the blur is/further it goes the better. Plus, the very front of that car isn't COMPLETELY in focus/sharp. Again, I would prefer to get that part really crisp. I think it is do-able....but my god it'll be hard!

I really like your idea with the flash and I think it might just work...I don't think my camera will do it though [have to dig out my manual again] so maybe I'd need to invest in another flash?? Not too sure of other places to practice as there isn't exacty a drift day every week. Maybe going to just a normal road with a sharp bend and practice on cars going round it?

24-06-2005, 00:01	#1 (permalink)
Paddy PIMP Snapper Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Waterford, Ireland Posts: 1,038	Photo Techniques Hi all, Thought it would be a good idea for all the Dori photographers to share tips, talk about their equipment, their prefered style, Digital Vs Film, Favourite Drift Photo ? I usually work with slow(ish) shutter speeds to achieve maximum effect when panning, by Killing the body of the ar dead and having the wheels and BG moving to try and capture the feeling of speed. I think it's very hard to capture Angle or the essense of Drift in one photograph, It always looks like a power slide. I've seen a few photos that do capture it tho, but the rest are mostly bursts displayed side by side.. Do you find it easier to get a good shot when your photographing a clean and kitted Dori Car as opposed to say a standard S13 on steel's ? At the moment, I'm using a Fuji S5000 Digital I collected a 170-500mm Sigma Lens today for the new camera arriving next week, Canon EOS 350D (Digital Rebel XT), 18-55mm lens, with portrait grip, 1GB CF card and two LI-ION batteries. I hope to get my hands on a 70 to 200mm lens soon too, to cover all focal lengths. One of my favourite photos at the moment is a pic taken by Junior of Brett Castle at Mondello last year. I like the tidiness of the picture, its smooth, the lighting is right and the tyre smoke looks spot on. Ross / Peco of Doristars is IMO (all arse licking aside) one of the best Dori snappers in Europe at the mo, always produces top quality shots

24-06-2005, 15:47	#14 (permalink)
Ross CQB 241 Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 1,010	afternoon all. great idea paddy still cant get my head around msn yep juniors photo of brett is the dogs! i havent seen it before, but it captures it perfecly. im with you on working with low shutter speed its a bit of a aquired art but definatly worth the effort, i practice (this may sound a bit sad and you do get some strange looks) by going down to the motorway and spend a few hours panning cars going past and dropping the shutter speed stop by stop with and without tripod.my results depend alot on how i feel on the day, at wildtrax i was bloody cold and suffering a bit with hayfeaver and i think it shows in my pics hence why i was bloody disapointed with the results from what should have been such a great track photograph wise, it normaly takes me at least an hour to get warmed up and start getting stuff that im happy with, it just dident seem to happen at round two. venue has a lot to do with results imo, for example northampton raceway is fantastic only been there once but i loved, it the mistake i made was being lazy and not changing my shoot point enough hence all a bit samey but i was happy with the results i got, drift uk round 4 im going to do my tits to get more interesting varied shots, silverstone car parks on the other hand is a total bitch and i hate every square inch of the concrete spanker, i just find it so hard to capture anything there. Does anyone else suffer from vampires? (people you photograph alot and the pics never seem to work) i do....badly, at the moment its steve carter, every time i point a camera at him the pic turns to shit, paz is another i dont think ive 1 decent shot of him drifting, and from my recent efforts i think phil and julie might be going the way the nightstalker. weird theres no real reason for it must be in my head. what im trying at the moment is low shutter mixed with rear curtain flash, aslong as you track accuratly you get a lovely blur then at the end of the exposure BANG the flash captures the subject, ive been down as low as a 20th and got good sharp results i recon that in the right light you could go as low a 2 perhaps 3 seconds it would look the tits, you would instantly be able to see what was going on. this is one of my favorite pics only for the reson that somthing i tryed actualy worked, its brett on the exit of coram at snet, i dont know what speed he was doing but i amagine 90mph wouldent be far wrong, the settings are. 1/30 f11 rear curtain flash. ] does anyone else find capturing twin drift a total bastard? this has turned into a bit of a boring essay now, sorry im glad martins still around, he does take a dam fine picture. Last edited by Ross : 24-06-2005 at 15:54.

24-06-2005, 15:59	#15 (permalink)
Mrs P Rug Killer Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: UK Posts: 469	I am quite a critic sometimes [ESPECIALLY with my own pics!!!!!] but it does mean that when I say something's good.... I really mean it! A LOT of credit has to go to photographers such as ross, "junior", someone on this forum called "ninjaman" and paddy - all of whom take photos i envy! Having said that, even people that aren't pro's take excellent shots...morf, for example has a keen eye. I have only tried doing drifting photography...er....5?.....times now, still have a fair way to go but I think I'm improving. What I want to ask is has anyone tried getting the side of the car to blur? It's something I've always aimed to do - but getting the feeling of speed, side of the car blurred but front in focus....is a PAIN! Only about 1 out of 20 pics will come out how I want. I find a setting that works for one car...then suddenly the same setting won't work for another car. Below is a pic I took at my first silverstone day, it's one of the pics which is pretty much what I'm after. However, I was after a much longer blur to really get the impression of a slide. Am I going on a hopeless mission, have people tried it before? Is it worth pursuing?? Thinking I may give up on it [for now] because as I said above, only one in about 20 pics will be like it. The other 19 could've been sharp and sell-able! Last edited by Mrs P : 24-06-2005 at 16:20. Reason: daft spelling mistake

24-06-2005, 15:59	#16 (permalink)
Paddy PIMP Snapper Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Waterford, Ireland Posts: 1,038	REF: Tsuiso Yea, Definitely, although in saying that theres a few drivers here I know that when they go out, they'll get right up the arse of the lead car so it makes life easier. Most are usually two far behind and if you pull the zoom back the shot gets too boring with one car at either side of the frame. I used a super wide angle before but wasnt too fond of the results .. I'd like to know how to do that curtain flash but I have found out a trick on my Fuji for night shots, Just need to find some cars willing to dori at night ... I'm dreading this new camera for a reason that I'll need to re-learn everything I've learnt so far which It'll make it feel like a huge setback for me. I'm going fomr a compact Digital to a full on Digital SLR, I hope it'll be easier than I think its going be (V. Hard) EDIT: @Mrs P Maybe the shutter speed is too long or you may not be panning enough ? I know the feeling about playing it safe, I have to deliver 200+ shots a round that are usable and rather bland IMO as opposed to going all out to get 30 or 40 perfect and interesting shots ... Last edited by Paddy : 24-06-2005 at 16:02.

24-06-2005, 16:23	#18 (permalink)
Ross CQB 241 Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 1,010	i like the fish eye shot i bet you were bloody close to the cars though, this is one of my only efforts with wide angle its a sigma 15mm and if i took my hand off the camera it felt like i could have touched bens bumper. i wouldnt worry to much about the new kit,if you can shoot like you do with a compact youve done the hard part and you know what your looking for, so learning the new camera epecialy a canon you'll piss it. have a look in the flash menu when you get your new camera rear curtain or slow sync flash should be in there. i know what you mean laura. its a bloody difficult shot to get, i think the superlong exposure with flash thing might work other than that i havent got the foggiest, perhaps a low power burst at the start of the exposure followed by a full fat one at the end might work???? heres a couple of my fav pics. is this the type of thing laura? dont know who took them i found em on a aussie site. Last edited by Ross : 24-06-2005 at 16:58.

24-06-2005, 00:05	#3 (permalink)
Chris You poo face Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bristol Posts: 1,340	this is my new cam: Konica Minolta Dimage Z2 got it yesterday, gunna test it out at gtbattle

24-06-2005, 00:19	#4 (permalink)
Paddy PIMP Snapper Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Waterford, Ireland Posts: 1,038	You get it online ? What Megapixels etc ? @James I think it can depend on the track aswell, Watergrasshill here has a good corner to capture the drift but Rosegreen is There's too many rounds there I suppose, gets very hard to come up with new angles ...

24-06-2005, 00:26	#5 (permalink)
Chris You poo face Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bristol Posts: 1,340	only 4mp got it cheap at jessops, as my sister was there and she knew the guy who sold it so he gave us loads of discount. i must take her shopping with me more often.

24-06-2005, 00:27	#6 (permalink)
yeager San Francisco, CA Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 2,344	Sorry for slight offtopic, what happened to Martin Williams?

24-06-2005, 00:28	#7 (permalink)
Paddy PIMP Snapper Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Waterford, Ireland Posts: 1,038	Who ?

24-06-2005, 00:34	#8 (permalink)
ant R32 GTR-S Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: drugby Posts: 2,868	hes still alive si, was talking to him last nite , hes coming to gt battle aswell and can hopefully get a media pass he took this pic which it rather good

24-06-2005, 00:43	#9 (permalink)
AnimalityRacing spl dori master Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: dublin,ireland......the home of crazy car insurance! Posts: 400	im running a pentax optio s4 digital.. it is 4 mega pixels, time lapse video mode, panaramic shoot and a whole lot else... but the best part about it, is that it is smaller than a pack of cards! the best shoots in my opinion, are taken from on the car itself, IE: a pic taken from above the headlight pointing backwards.... twin drifting makes for some great photos.....

24-06-2005, 15:13	#12 (permalink)
Paddy PIMP Snapper Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Waterford, Ireland Posts: 1,038	I really like the last one, the car doesnt really have to be in the centre of the frame, it looks well off centre ! I'm in the same boat as you bud, I'm only a novice trying to cram as much into my head as I possibly can, I love motorsport of all kinds and I love photography so its a nice in-between hobby

24-06-2005, 15:34	#13 (permalink)
Brooksie AJP V8 POWAAAA Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Wearing a lid, keeping my head down, running and wanting to come the frick home Posts: 1,647	not stills but sort of along the same lines I press the big red button that says record .. and then i panic like frick trying to keep the cars in focus .. yes i could focus on infinity but thats gay (for film i mean) so i prefer to make it as hard as possible for myself I use a couple of different cameras, we have a pair of DSR570's and a Cannon XL1 .. also got an old PD150 which sits on top of the jib arm. some nice images on this thread gents ..

24-06-2005, 16:53	#19 (permalink)
Colonel K dorifto kingu! Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: High Wicky-waa-waa-Wycombe Posts: 1,466	Thanks for the Compliment there paddy, I was only really trying to show the Cameras capabilities TBH. Im still convinced Im pretty Carp at these things..... but then I dont get much practise! Worst of all Ive mislaid my Tripod for GT Battle Oh well, nevermind!

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