MOTORSPORTS Thread - Post Your Fast Paced Action Here

Robstar1963 · May 23, 2020

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Robstar1963 · May 24, 2020

‘Multitasking’ G9 + PL200

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Kae1 · May 26, 2020

Just finished editing another meeting from last year. This time the BSB round at Oulton Park in May using the EM1 mk1 and Olympus 75-300. Whilst most of the photos were between 75mm and 200mm I have been pleasantly surprised at the IQ of the lens and shows (to me at least) how a bit of editing improves the SOOC. :doh:

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Robstar1963 · May 26, 2020

Kae1 said:
Just finished editing another meeting from last year. This time the BSB round at Oulton Park in May using the EM1 mk1 and Olympus 75-300. Whilst most of the photos were between 75mm and 200mm I have been pleasantly surprised at the IQ of the lens and shows (to me at least) how a bit of editing improves the SOOC.

Some great shots there @Kae1 - great to see some more bike (and BSB) shots
I also found the Olympus 75-300 to be a good sharp lens including at its full 300mm
Agree with regard to the editing - you can get more ‘pop’ with a little work on PS even with jpegs
I’ve never been to Oulton - must get there one day for BSB or perhaps Thundersports if my stepson makes it back there at some point
What’s it like for vantage points for photos ?
Regards
Rob

Kae1 · May 26, 2020

Robstar1963 said:
I’ve never been to Oulton - must get there one day for BSB or perhaps Thundersports if my stepson makes it back there at some point
What’s it like for vantage points for photos ?

Thanks for kind words (and inspiration).
Last year I spent the majority of the year comparing different lenses/cameras in order to improve the IQ. For me the problem was all the "better" gear improved IQ but at greater cost and weight! In my mind I had been "rubbishing" the IQ of the 75-300 so I was surprised that I could get one or two decent shots with it (which meant it was me and not the gear). If I'd edited earlier I could've saved some money!
For me Oulton is a joint favourite track with Cadwell. (GP circuit at Brands used to be there too - pre catchfence out the back). I first went there in 1968 and to be honest the circuit today isn't that much different. There's plenty of elevation changes and lots of opportunities for different shots (very much like Cadwell). There is the odd bit of strategic catch fencing on some corners but in the main the majority of the track is free of the stuff. Apart from head on shots you are fine using up to 200mm. Sharp elbows required at major races but I'm sure you'd enjoy it.
Regards
Ken

Kae1 · May 31, 2020

Just finished editing another meeting. The only other BSB round I got to visit in 2019 was Donington Park in May with the Olympus EM1 and 75-300. Because you can't get as near to the track, it showed up the limitations* of the lens at longer lengths, or my technique when using the longer lengths (*that's what I told myself as justification to spend some more money!).

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Robstar1963 · May 31, 2020

Kae1 said:
Just finished editing another meeting. The only other BSB round I got to visit in 2019 was Donington Park in May with the Olympus EM1 and 75-300. Because you can't get as near to the track, it showed up the limitations* of the lens at longer lengths, or my technique when using the longer lengths (*that's what I told myself as justification to spend some more money!). View attachment 826574

Love that first shot of Irwin on the Honda - great action shot with the front wheel in the air @Kae1 ? Was that inside of Redgate ?

Kae1 · May 31, 2020

Robstar1963 said:
Love that first shot of Irwin on the Honda - great action shot with the front wheel in the air @Kae1 ? Was that inside of Redgate ?

Yes that's right. They are all in that area. It can get busy at the apex but you can usually find a bit of standing space further down and then move back when the superbikes have finished.

Bagrphotography · Jun 1, 2020

Sniff.
I used to know the names of the Riders/Teams/Bikes in BSB...but no more.

Heck, I used to know them in the WSB.... but still no more. <shrug>

The long hair behind the rider of 57/Triumph (A 675?) reminds me of the Japanese riders of the 250cc GP days... when Rossi was Rossifumi.

Robstar1963 · Jun 1, 2020

Bagrphotography said:
Sniff.
I used to know the names of the Riders/Teams/Bikes in BSB...but no more.

Heck, I used to know them in the WSB.... but still no more. <shrug>

The long hair behind the rider of 57/Triumph (A 675?) reminds me of the Japanese riders of the 250cc GP days... when Rossi was Rossifumi.

I don’t know them all but those I do know I tend to recognise from their Helmet colour scheme rather than from their numbers

Bagrphotography · Jun 1, 2020

Kae - a query if I may?

Do you do a white-colour balance on your images? I ask because it seems as though the images vary in look - most of them appear to have a blue-tint to them.
Do you use an ND filter or polariser on your lens?

Cheers

Kae1 · Jun 1, 2020

Bagrphotography said:
Kae - a query if I may?

Do you do a white-colour balance on your images? I ask because it seems as though the images vary in look - most of them appear to have a blue-tint to them.
Do you use an ND filter or polariser on your lens?

Cheers

Thank you for the Feedback and observation - it is good to get another pair of eyes looking at things.
Nothing too technical. It's just since I started editing I've been trying to put "sharpness" into pictures which weren't necessarily that sharp in the first place! I've been using shadows, highlights, contrast, a bit of sharpening, noise reduction, colour saturation and then a bit of blue (the cold photo filter). It could be that I'm over processing and I did wonder. As I've still got 90% of 2019 still to review / edit I'll knock it off when tweaking my adjustments and do some comparing.
Thanks again.

Bagrphotography · Jun 1, 2020

Thank you sir.

I was processing some of my images and saw.. "ugh! how could I have done that"?

Here is an image from earlier this year as I initially processed it. It didn't turn out quite as I recalled it: https://scontent.fper6-1.fna.fbcdn....=e789a2c198741fe6f26808a6338af9fd&oe=5EF9C8F4
(I hope it works, it links to a closed area in facebook).

And then this was after some advice/critique: https://scontent.fper6-1.fna.fbcdn....=94358ffb75baa10f1575776c75d6e79b&oe=5EFB5C79

far less 'green' in the whites and more natural/closer to as I recall the action.

All down to white-balance. I don't get it right all the time though

Even now me relooking at the white fiesta above, I think I could have bumped the exposure a smidge (upwards) - the images were shot with a Hoya Polariser.

Kae1 · Jun 1, 2020

Bagrphotography said:
Even now me relooking at the white fiesta above, I think I could have bumped the exposure a smidge (upwards) - the images were shot with a Hoya Polariser.

I've only tried a Polariser for landscapes but know that it could cut the reflections off the bodywork, windscreens etc. although I suppose with the lenses I've got I need the extra light in the first place

.
Even at 66 I don't know everything and am still happy to try and learn things. During lockdown I've started editing and using settings on my cameras which I knew were there, but didn't think I needed - so there have been some positives out of this experience!

Bagrphotography · Jun 1, 2020

I primarily use the CPL as a 2-3stop exposure control for my 'buggered sensor' G85. (I say buggered because.. well, long story short is that there is a mess after about f9/f10 which makes it unusable after that point.)

I don't often use the f2.8 lens at f2.8 unless the light is low (or I have a head-on shot/dirty shot etc, see the Falcon above, or or or.. etc).

I am frequently at f6.3 or higher during the day purely to drop the shutter speed down below 1/250th of a second. I would love to be able to hit 1/10 during day time but that is an ND filter that I don't have. Ah well.

Robstar1963 · Jun 3, 2020

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Robstar1963 · Jun 3, 2020

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Kae1 · Jun 4, 2020

Couple of very nice shots, Rob. I specifically like the Cooper though. I just love the simplicity (on the outside at least) of late 50's/ early 60's racing cars. No wings, aerofoils, or massive tyres and, as an afterthought, just a bit of tubing for safety protection!

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Kae1 · Jun 9, 2020

Finished editing a couple more meetings, and have concentrated on the ones where I used the Olympus 75-300mm. I think I've learned that shutter speed and tracking before release are critical and that whilst 300mm doesn't give the best IQ, even in my hands, it is possible to produce some acceptable images. The weakest links in my equipment were probably the AFC on my EM1 and G80 but manual focus got round that. So in summary I would give the lens an overall 8.5/10 for IQ and 10 for weight and can't wait for some racing to start again and try with my G9.

Here's a few from WSB at Donington and British GP at Silverstone mainly at 300mm but one at 300mm plus Panasonic ETC and one of Lewis with manual focus.