Been playing around with RC Photography, What do you think?

[rcTom]

Hey,

My name is Tom, i'm from the USA (Central Pennsylvania to be a little more exact). I'm a photographer who is also into RC's, so it came natural for me to try photographing RC's while at the track. A local racer told me about this site and the amazing photography that was on it, and WOW he was right.

I have to say, taking pictures of these small very fast moving objects is tough, alot tougher then i expected.
My main gear is; Canon 40D, 70-200 F2.8 IS and 24-70 F2.8

Here is a gallery the first time i tried it.
http://www.tomjanz.com/Images/pitstop/

And here is the second time.
http://www.tomjanz.com/Images/richfield/

I think i got a few great shots, but they just dont stand out like some of the photos ive seen here. I notice at first i was shooting with a very fast shutter speed, in hope to not havea blurry car (since its moving so fast) but then i realized i didnt like the "froozen" wheels and i wanted the car to have more movement. So ive since then started using a slower shutter speed. Ive also been playing around with close up panning, ive gotten some pretty sweet shots. Anyway, take a look and tell me what you think. Any tips would be GREATLY appreciated.

PS: My RC's are Mod B44 and Mod RC8E. 8-)

[Alfonzo]

Welcome Tom!.

You've got some good photo's there. Try speaking to Jimmy 'Mr Oople' who put this warped website together - he's the photomeister and I'm sure he'll be happy to talk cameras and stuff with you, although I think he's busy covering the Euro championships for a few days now.

[rcTom]

Awesome, i look forward to his reply. 8-)

[colmo]

I'm not a pro, so apologies if I'm teaching granny to suck eggs....

I think you've pretty much identified the issue as shutter speed - it's a tough one to get right; too fast, and the images are too static, too slow, and your hit-rate plummets.

I found when shooting the Irish GP (touring cars, so very fast indeed!) that pre-focus was mandatory - I tended to get more shots of the top drivers' cars because they stuck more closely to the racing line, upon which I was focused and waiting!

Panning is a must, and I even did a bit of zoom-panning, to give it a name - start wide, then zoom in as you pan to crop as close as possible.

One thing I found very successful was finding a chicane, to capture multi-car shots as they rounded the second bend (with the chasing cars in the background). As it was also an accident black-spot, I got some crash photos I was delighted with too!

[rcTom]

Yea, focusing is another tough thing, my lenses are considered pretty quick but its still tough. Ive been focusing in the general area that i plan on taking the picture, so its close. Then i take the shot of the car. It seems to have been working for me.

Ive seen some people use flash also, i might try this and see what the results are. Haha i can setup a speedlite off camera and try some cool stuff too. I dont know.

Feel free to CC (constructive critique) my photos.

Here's a few of my fav's: (dont mind the watermark)

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[ben]

The one of the truggy with the pebbles flying up is brilliant!

Good work!

[ashleyb4]

there all awsome.

A