Dos and don'ts... - Page 4

Hubble · 20 Apr 2008, 11:39 (Ref:2182014)

Quote:

Originally Posted by redshoes

Both, they swapped positions after a few minutes.

Then I stand corrected....

Muppets.....it's behaviour like that that gets us photographers a bad name

MikeHoyer · 20 Apr 2008, 11:51 (Ref:2182021)

Yeah, problem is, there's no real system to ensure this sort of thing doesn't happen, or is prevented. Seems like anyone with the right contact can "blag" a media pass, with no real idea what's involved.

Piglet · 20 Apr 2008, 13:08 (Ref:2182092)

Jacquie Groom has (in my experience) always been interested to hear of problems and to see photo's of things not going well, it might be worth dropping that photo across to her.

Hubble · 20 Apr 2008, 13:21 (Ref:2182108)

Are you not working today Mike? I saw JB and a few other familiar faces there in the pits and on the grid (on TV of course), and I did wonder if you were there too

zac510 · 20 Apr 2008, 13:46 (Ref:2182125)

Seen worse than that pic at national events in Europe.

JimW · 20 Apr 2008, 14:24 (Ref:2182154)

My best memory of a photographer was at Crystal Palace in about 1972. He had a brand new TV camera which had something special about it. (Probably then it did not weigh 50kilos and had a telephoto lens instead of a rotatable turret with four separate lenses, or some such.) It cost a fortune and was very new technology.

We told him not to lie in the gap with the lens sticking out beyond the barrier - oh how we told him.

But did we laugh when a car slid along the barrier and dismantled his new toy? Oh yes we did. And we left him to collect up the bits and slink off to explain himself.

Jim

Hubble · 20 Apr 2008, 14:39 (Ref:2182163)

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeHoyer

Seems like anyone with the right contact can "blag" a media pass, with no real idea what's involved.

When I was at Le Mans in 2005, I saw a young lad - could only have been about 16, with (presumably, as they were holding hands) his girlfriend, who was about the same age. Both had media vests, and had only the one camera between them - a tiny point and shoot! They seemed to spend more time chatting and larking about than watching or photographing the race, in the space between the speccy fencing and the concrete wall at the end of the pits on the outside of the circuit....

It was a tad frustrating to me, as I had about £10K of kit with me, but had to shoot through the mesh.... :-(

redshoes · 20 Apr 2008, 15:19 (Ref:2182184)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hubble

Then I stand corrected....

Muppets.....it's behaviour like that that gets us photographers a bad name

Sorry, I should have made it clearer when I originally posted.

Both looked quite young and you could immediately tell from the body language that they weren't experienced regulars. I'm a little surprised the marshal standing next to them didn't say something.

Piglet · 20 Apr 2008, 16:05 (Ref:2182205)

Marshals tend to leave accredited media alone, they've signed a declaration, someone has given them accreditation so if they don't ask for guidance and advice it's their own look out!

Plus as a practical point in your picture the marshal is on his own so if he's trying to deal snappers who want to argue the toss he's not watching the track and doing his job plus, without anyone to watch his back he's putting himself at risk which is back to my main bugbear about punters and rogue snappers!

redshoes · 20 Apr 2008, 16:37 (Ref:2182218)

Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that the marshal should have done/said anything. After all if the snappers want to kill themselves that's their lookout.

I know from experience that the guys and girls in orange have a much better idea of what is and isn't safe, and a quiet "you don't want to be standing there mate" isn't unusual.

MikeHoyer · 20 Apr 2008, 20:20 (Ref:2182320)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hubble

Are you not working today Mike? I saw JB and a few other familiar faces there in the pits and on the grid (on TV of course), and I did wonder if you were there too

Nope I was shooting Formula Renault and Pickups (which are surprisingly awesome!) at Rockingham. Probably a good thing, with the visibility being what it was...

Piglet · 20 Apr 2008, 20:27 (Ref:2182326)

Silverstone didn't look like a great shooting opportunity!!

minimangler · 20 Apr 2008, 22:01 (Ref:2182405)

Yeah, I saw those "jokers" a few times, they certainly didn't seem too clued up. Can I point out i wasn't in the pits in the GT3 race

(and my hat was blue and white)

I did see one guy nearly get run over (and he did look rather experienced!) in the GT race, but not too many idiocies. If anyone did see me do something stupid- please let me know!

PS: the shots i've got aren't too bad...

GPgirl · 20 Apr 2008, 23:23 (Ref:2182447)

Hi Minimangler,

Just had a look at your flickr, you have some really good motorsport photos IMO...

brands · 21 Apr 2008, 10:16 (Ref:2182744)

I have to say that I've never seen so many "amateur" types with media vests on as I did at Silverstone on Sunday. It would have been a joke if several had blagged their way in to a club event but an international FIA one !!!! I did think they must have been giving them a way free at the gate and we arrived too late

However the worst practice I saw was from a "proper" pro, who was shooting by numbers with a 1D series.....as a group of cars approached the corner, infield side of Farm, he would press the shutter button and count one thousand and one, one thousand and two, one thousand and three and release, wait 5 seconds and repeat. Just as well there was mist falling to cool his red hot shutter.

Spray and prayer, machine gun mode at it's very worst

Tim the Grey · 21 Apr 2008, 10:23 (Ref:2182752)

Pity his poor Photo Ed...

Another reason I don't dig 8 frames a second mentality.
If that's what you want, get a VIDEO camera?

MikeHoyer · 21 Apr 2008, 10:27 (Ref:2182757)

Depends what his assignment is really. If he needs lots of shots of several cars, well I'd rather "spray and pay", and GET paid, rather then having to explain that I didn't get anything...

minimangler · 21 Apr 2008, 12:28 (Ref:2182860)

Firstly, thanks GPgirl- nice to know i did ok

second, i did do some of this machine gun shuttering, and all it's done is waste my time

Tim the Grey · 21 Apr 2008, 23:26 (Ref:2183497)

You can NEVER say "Thank You" too much?
Especially for those who drove over 4 hours, so you didn't have to take the train.

Nice shots, btw...

minimangler · 22 Apr 2008, 11:03 (Ref:2183816)

Well yes, of course, thanks. Was the wine not enough?

I'm pretty pleased, loads of positive feedback coming in, so i guess mission accomplished for now

Hubble · 22 Apr 2008, 18:03 (Ref:2184261)

Quote:

Originally Posted by brands

Just as well there was mist falling to cool his red hot shutter

On a 1D it doesn't have a traditional shutter - it turns the sensor on and off for the exposure. One of the benefits of the CMOS sensor technology - CCD just hasn't caught up yet

It's also possible he was having AF trouble due to the foggy conditions, where the camera is likely to struggle to recognise contrast easily, and this is what it relies on for AF. So prefocussing and firing bursts may have been the only way to get the shot he wanted. Like Mike says, it all depends on his assignment.

When I've been on assignment in the past I have used the 8fps on the 1DmkIIN in bursts of 2-3 frames, as this can give a higher number of pin sharp shots - essential if you are required to provide a large number of different shots for a number of drivers. Once you know you have guaranteed results you can the crack on with more 'arty' shots, which may or may not work

Hubble · 22 Apr 2008, 18:11 (Ref:2184268)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim the Grey

Another reason I don't dig 8 frames a second mentality.
If that's what you want, get a VIDEO camera?

So if you were under pressure to deliver you would rather submit soft images than fire bursts at 8fps? Just because it's set on 8fps doesn't mean you have to fire 8 in a go.....2-3 max for me except in the event of a crash, where I would fire a longer burst to get the maximum number of shots of the incident unfolding

If Pro's didn't demand high fps rates, the manufacturers wouldn't invest so much time and effort in achieving it

minimangler · 23 Apr 2008, 09:10 (Ref:2184668)

Looks like you got shot down, ttg :S
I run D200 and D50, and i had no trouble with focus, unless I personally was being an idiot.

So a pro with a canon should not complain about "adverse conditions", should he/she?

timtime · 23 Apr 2008, 11:00 (Ref:2184752)

What an interesting thread this has become for many reasons. MM it sounds like you were incredibly lucky if you had no problems at all with autofocus in those conditions. (Some nice pics by the way) The mechanics of autofocus were a suggested reason for burst shooting not a definitve and if you have never had problems with focus searching in low light at motorsport events I am sure you will one day.

With regards to Hubbles latter posts I think this defines the working knowledge of a pro as opposed to an amateur with aspirations. The depth of experience gained over the years being utilised to its full advantage to get the job done and to ensure the employer gets what he wants.

Tim

**bella** · 23 Apr 2008, 11:05 (Ref:2184758)

Quote:

Originally Posted by timtime

With regards to Hubbles latter posts I think this defines the working knowledge of a pro as opposed to an amateur with aspirations. The depth of experience gained over the years being utilised to its full advantage to get the job done and to ensure the employer gets what he wants

ding - spot on. once you've got the job done you can arse around getting pretty pictures and play about seeing what happens.

and the same for hubbles remark about accidents - of course you shoot as many pictures as your camera can manage. isn't that how a lot of semi-pro/aspiring pro photographers get their first work in autosport, through the capturing of accidents and unusual incidents?

there seems to be a lot of self-righteousness here from people who are in glass houses and thus aren't entitled to throw stones