Best Euro GP to attend with focus on photography

[Phil]

Hello everyone,

As some of you know, I'm a passionate photographer. I don't do this professionally, but I do take it very seriously (to the point one could think I do this professionally). Back in 2011, I was fortunate enough to visit the Belgian GP and even was lucky enough to win paddock tickets that enabled me to get a close-up view of the cars. Most of my best shots however were taken from Eau Rouge when the cars are at speed and you can capture them in movement.

Some of my pictures (I mainly do landscape photography) can be found on my website (conceptics.com). Some specific shots of the Belgian Grand Prix are these two:

Images are clickable:



Anyway, since 2011, my skill and equipment has improved greatly and I am considering visiting another GP this year with the aim to take some good pictures. Living in Switzerland, there are 3 that are easily within reach:

- Hockenheim
- Monza
- Spa

From those, I think Monza might be the easiest to attend. I'm inclined to scratch Spa from that list because I've seen and done that already. Taking pictures of F1 cars in motion poses a great challenge. They are extremely fast, so you need to be good at focusing, especially when they are moving towards you. Lighting is also important too. This adds to the overall challenge that vantage point is also very important, with little time to do any scouting in advance.

So my question to you, is if you have any experience or ideas on which of those GPs might be the best to attend and which location points might be beneficial? If you are a photographer and have any experience, this of course would be great. EIther way, if you have experience in attending any of those GPs, it would be greatly appreciated to know which location points would be good.

I personally think General-Admission tickets is the way to go. Also, preferably, I'd be using a 105mm lens, so the distance to the cars should not be too great.

Any ideas?

[santos]

I think that if i wanted to take pictures at a Grand Prix, i would choose the A1-Ring. But i love landscape. From the 3 you choosed, i would pick Spa with rain.

[Sieper]

Not what you asked for but I feel Baku is quite fotogenic. You might also be able to get quite close to the cars there as the attendance is not too hot.

[dans79]

I'd say Hockenheim as turns 2, 6, 8, & 12 will give you a good chance of getting a lot of shots of the cars in focus because they are slower turns. If you feel up to it then you could try turn 10 will they will be flat for sure this year.

[rscsr]

105mm might be way too short. I shot some photos from south west and start-finish grandstand at the Red Bull Ring and I got the cars to fill the picture with a 300mm lens. So a 200-250mm would be about right for decent photos. I doubt that you could get significantly closer than that. (I shot with an APS-C camera, so your lens could be right with a smaller frame)

[Phil]

I think that if i wanted to take pictures at a Grand Prix, i would choose the A1-Ring. But i love landscape. From the 3 you choosed, i would pick Spa with rain.

Yeah you're right. With rain that would surely be amazing. When I was at Spa, I had tickets at Eau Rouge and besides the paddock and the inside of La Source I didn't see much and sadly didn't traverse the other parts of the track. Spa is just huge though... I'm sure there would be amazing spots, like after Eau Rouge on the Kemmel Straight.

I'd say Hockenheim as turns 2, 6, 8, & 12 will give you a good chance of getting a lot of shots of the cars in focus because they are slower turns. If you feel up to it then you could try turn 10 will they will be flat for sure this year.

Thanks! I'll definitely check this out!

[Phil]

105mm might be way too short. I shot some photos from south west and start-finish grandstand at the Red Bull Ring and I got the cars to fill the picture with a 300mm lens. So a 200-250mm would be about right for decent photos. I doubt that you could get significantly closer than that. (I shot with an APS-C camera, so your lens could be right with a smaller frame)

Yeah, you are right, it probably is. When I was attending Spa, I had a 70-200mm lens (f/2.8 ) which was excellent. To my surprise however now that I am back at reviewing the shots I took from Eau Rouge, it seems 125mm was enough for the type of composition I was going for. Using Google-Maps, I estimate that from where I was seated, the distance to the cars must have been around 30m.

If I am reading your post correctly, with your 300mm lens on a APS-C camera, you must have had an effective focal length of around 450-480mm? How far away were you from the track?

I'm using full-frame btw - so what I use is what I get. With a resolution of 36MP I do have some margin to crop, but I would prefer not to. My intent of using my 105mm lens is because the lens is very very sharp (much sharper than the 70-200) and the VR (vibration-reduction) is quite good. But it is rather short I suppose if I am too far from the track.

I guess the shots I am hoping to go for would not be too close to the cars, but definitely from the side or at an angle to get a lot of motion blur. Back when I was at Spa, I used a fixed shutter time of 1/200s to get the cars adequately sharp. If I am not mistaken, the F1 cars must be doing around 200kmh as they accelerate up the hill.

Now that I review those pictures, I am guessing I could do with a slower shutter-speed to get even more motion blur and isolate the car from the background while keeping it hopefully sharp enough...

PS: I absolutely love some of the shots Darren Heath does. i.e. he took this shot at Abu Dhabi:



Sure, it's a very unique shot with the sunset in the background and the perfect location for it - and I know this shot would be impossible to replicate from Monza, Spa or any other GP during the day, but I just wanted to link to it to show the general kind of shot I was going for: Maximum motion blur, isolated car from the background etc.


EDIT: Here's another one from Monza last year:

[dans79]

Now that I review those pictures, I am guessing I could do with a slower shutter-speed to get even more motion blur and isolate the car from the background while keeping it hopefully sharp enough...

Yea the meta can yield a lot of tips.

photo 1:
Canon EOS-1D X
F/16
1/15th
ISO 50
50mm

photo 1:
Canon EOS-1D X
F/32
1/10th
ISO 50
600mm


One piece of advise I would give, is don't use auto focus. Set focus manually and then shoot in burst mode. I see a lot of people who have all kinds of problems trying to use auto focus.

[TAG]

Yeah, you are right, it probably is. When I was attending Spa, I had a 70-200mm lens (f/2.8 ) which was excellent.

That's a nice lens Phil. I think it ultimately depends on your seat and like you say what you're looking for. Given the fact that the GPs I've attended I've always had some type of obstruction, fence or a not very photogenic barrier it's best to plan for a good 70 to 200 zoom is a baseline zoom. Fortunately my Nikon AF-S 70 to 300 becomes a 105 to 450 in a DX format.



Something like this is roughly 65 meters from the hairpin in Montreal.

[Phil]

Now that I review those pictures, I am guessing I could do with a slower shutter-speed to get even more motion blur and isolate the car from the background while keeping it hopefully sharp enough...

Yea the meta can yield a lot of tips.

photo 1:
Canon EOS-1D X
F/16
1/15th
ISO 50
50mm

photo 1:
Canon EOS-1D X
F/32
1/10th
ISO 50
600mm


One piece of advise I would give, is don't use auto focus. Set focus manually and then shoot in burst mode. I see a lot of people who have all kinds of problems trying to use auto focus.

Woah, thanks! I didnt think that far to anticipate that information to be still found in those pictures! I was assuming he was using a very slow shutter, but 1/10th is really slow!

Thanks for the tip on auto focus. Indeed back in 2011, i was using auto focus and lost a lot of time as the auto focus wasnt quick enough at acquiring it fast (and accurate) enough. Especially with cars moving closer, it was rather difficult. Most shots at the time were hit and miss.

As you say, i would now focus manually and prepare my shots in advance. Focus once, if i am happy, leave it there and lock the focus for all shots from that location.


@Tag, thanks! Very helpful!

[JordanFiveOh]

I think Spa would be pretty good since it’s got some nice hills that look down on the track in spots. That is how COTA is and you can get some decent unobstructed shots.

The problem is that all your shots eventually start to look the same, since you are still somewhat limited. Panning with F1 cars can be tough, too, at those low shutter speeds. Crop zooming helps, and you have plenty of resolution for it.

A monopod of course makes it easier. I tried handheld last year and 1/60 was about the best I could muster, and my focus was still nowhere near perfect. The faster shutter ones look better but are of course less dramatic. An ND filter would have made it a little better for ideal aperture and stuff, though.





1/250 or 1/320 can still look fine, IMO, albeit sometimes with an uninspiring backdrop.

[Phil]

Thanks Jordan, that information is very helpful. Those shots are very nice too, thanks for sharing. What focal length were you using?

I think you are right about Spa, it’s probably the best of those that i listed due to the immense size and variety. I think most places are accessible too around the track if you are willing to walk the distance.

If i were to go again, i would probably find a place around the Kemmel Straight. Or maybe on the other side towards Blanchimont.

Still inclined to go to Monza though since i’ve never been and it’s by far the closest and most convinient one to get to for me. I am thinking/hoping there are some good locations where the cars are at high speed with the forest/dark backdrop. Would have to check the map.

Thanks for the tip on the monopod and ND filter. I am thinking probably something like an 3-stop (nd8) should suffice?

[zac510]

I would go anywhere but F1. I've been to Spa for the WEC and F1. The former is 6hrs, you can take your pushbike in, there are 1/100th the amount of people, fewer temporary stands and areas closed. Much better photography

[mep]

Hello Phil,
I have been to many F1 tracks and recently started with photography as well. I also live in Switzerland and there are much more tracks you can comfortably reach from here.
Your F1 pictures are really good! So I expect you aim for really high quality pictures. Generally, I find it rather difficult to achieve that at F1 races because you need a good spot without fences or people in front of you. If you have found that spot, then it will become boring soon because it always offers the same view. It is rather hard to move freely around the track when there is a F1 race. Think about going to some other events like classic races, DTM, LeMans. There you have more freedom and less people.

Monza
with general admission tickets the worst, might be ok with grandstand, but then you always have the same perspective

Hockenheim
Depends on the grandstands, for some you will have fences, I would not take corner 2, Mercedes tribune is ok, I would recommend corner 1.

Monaco
Sectour Roughe offers some quite nice perspectives and is really cheap. On Thursday the grandstand tickets are also cheap. It is my favourite track and I will go there this year as well.

Budapest
Even with general admission tickets quite good. The track is a bit in a valley and you can move around the surrounding hills, which offers many different views. Also you can visit the city of Budapest

Brands Hatch
DTM for example, you are completely free to walk around the track and it is very quick to do that. The hills offer many nice views, and there are windows in the fences to get undisturbed views.

Silverstone Classics:
Completely free to move around the track, access to all grandstands, access to the historic and new pit lane, many different cars, in the garages you can go very close to the cars, lots of time to take photos. Silverstone Six is my favourite grandstand.

LeMans
very good for photography, free to go to many different spots, lots of time and special atmosphere during the night

Rally Events
Many totally different views, possibility to do very close wide angle shots.

Regarding the lens, I recommend using a strong tele. These days I use a 70-300mm on an APSC sensor. However, I would probably prefer a 100-400mm to get even closer.

[George-Jung]

Hands down; Monaco