[bildo]

As some of you may record, earlier this year I picked up a DSLR for the first time. Needless to say, 'caught the bug' would be a massive understatement and getting to various events ended up dominating my year.

I know some people were enjoying my interest and asked for me to keep them updated, so I decided on a 'megathread'. If this is against any rules then please let me know!

Thought I'd put up my progress and show you where I started right up until my most recent event in pictures. Completely understand it's not everyone's cup of tea and most likely too picture heavy!

Any feedback is appreciated, crit is also well received and will only help to improve in future (providing it's productive! )

You can follow my progress on my Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/EyedeaMedia/

Anyway, if you don't like dirty cars, look away now! :doublesho

Here's where it started, BDC Round 1 - Lydden Hill 13th/14th April, first time out with my new 'zoom lens' which I had very little idea of how to get the most out of. Still came away a happy chap though!


Wallpaper by Eyedea Media, on Flickr

The bug was caught, so it was on to Truck Racing and Formula Ford:


035 by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


DSC_0268 by Eyedea Media, on Flickr

70-200 f2.8 lens was purchased, and it was all downhill from here! I was on a quest to get to every event I could. I knew British Super Bikes would be a good test, so headed to Brands:


BSB Brands Hatch by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


British Supersport Championship - Brands Hatch by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


British Superbikes 2013 (BSB) - Brands Hatch by Eyedea Media, on Flickr

On the same day I got offered my first media pass for that evening at a local track, which was an oval one which proved to be fantastic panning practice:


King of the Ring - Arena Essex by Eyedea Media, on Flickr

Back to Brands the next week for more practice and Formula 4 (and Support):


Formula 4 & Support - Brands Hatch by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


Formula 4 & Support - Brands Hatch by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


Formula 4 & Support - Brands Hatch by Eyedea Media, on Flickr

Then BDC returned, this time it was Round 4:


British Drift Championship - Round 4 by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


British Drift Championship - Round 4 by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


British Drift Championship - Round 4 by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


British Drift Championship - Round 4 by Eyedea Media, on Flickr

Then it was back to Lydden for a drift practice day:


Drift Practice Day - Lydden Hill by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


Lydden Hill Drift Day 17-08-13 by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


Lydden Hill Drift Day 17-08-13 by Eyedea Media, on Flickr

Back at Lydden for Mayhem (Rallycross/Drift event)


British Rallycross - Mayhem - Lydden Hill by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


Dan Firmager - V8 Volvo - Lydden Hill by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


Drifting - Mayhem - Lydden Hill by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


Rallycross - Mayhem - Lydden Hill by Eyedea Media, on Flickr

Having secured a media pass for Lydden I went to as many drift days as I could there:


Lydden Hill Drift Day 14-09-13 by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


Lydden Hill Drift Day 14-09-13 by Eyedea Media, on Flickr

Santa Pod for National Finals:


Time warped shooter - National Finals - Santa Pod by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


Playing catch-up by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


National Finals - Santa Pod by Eyedea Media, on Flickr

More drift days at Lydden:


Lydden Hill - Drift Weekender by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


Lydden Hill - Drift Weekender by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


Lydden Hill - Drift Weekender by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


Lydden Hill - Drift Weekender by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


Lydden Hill - Drift Weekender by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


Lydden Hill - Drift Weekender by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


Lydden Hill - Drift Weekender by Eyedea Media, on Flickr

Which brings me to my most recent event, Drift Matsuri at Angelsey Circuit:


Drift Matsuri Sunset by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


Drift Matsuri by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


Drift Matsuri by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


Drift Matsuri by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


2013 Lamborghini LP550-2 (1 of 50!) by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


Drift Matsuri by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


Drift Matsuri - Night Fight by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


Drift Matsuri - Night Fight by Eyedea Media, on Flickr


Drift Matsuri - Night Fight by Eyedea Media, on Flickr

Thank you for looking!

 

[GrantB5]

Quality pictures!

My mate Jamie goes to a lot of the drifting events and he's always at lydden hill

 

[Derekh929]

Loving these , the guy in the e36 his face is brilliant and the e30 touring loving that :thumb:

 

[S63]

For someone only starting out I'd say you're doing an excellent job. My criticism is a generalization and not really aimed at you personally as many fall foul of it. The cliche panning shots of a race car or the classic shots of a car roaring up the hill out of Paddock get very samey, everybody seems to do it, difficult to execute to perfection technically and something you need to prove to yourself and peers.
However, start scrolling through your photos and I find myself taking more time looking at individual frames particualry the drag bike pic, had you reversed the idea (focussing on the foreground bike instead of the bike further away) that would have been a gem of a pic. I also like the pic of the guy under the bonnet of the truck.

Look forward to more of your work.:thumb:

 

[bildo]

Thanks for taking the time to look and post guys, it's much appreciated.

Quality pictures!

My mate Jamie goes to a lot of the drifting events and he's always at lydden hill

Thank you for your nice comments! I assume it's Jamie Rolls then?

Loving these , the guy in the e36 his face is brilliant and the e30 touring loving that :thumb:

Thanks for taking the time to look Derek! Did love the E36 shot, a bit of a classic moment, certainly got a few laughs from him and his mates! :lol:

For someone only starting out I'd say you're doing an excellent job. My criticism is a generalization and not really aimed at you personally as many fall foul of it. The cliche panning shots of a race car or the classic shots of a car roaring up the hill out of Paddock get very samey, everybody seems to do it, difficult to execute to perfection technically and something you need to prove to yourself and peers.
However, start scrolling through your photos and I find myself taking more time looking at individual frames particualry the drag bike pic, had you reversed the idea (focussing on the foreground bike instead of the bike further away) that would have been a gem of a pic. I also like the pic of the guy under the bonnet of the truck.

Look forward to more of your work.:thumb:

Thank you for your time, I really appreciate the feedback, both the good and the bad!

As for the shots you're referring to, I've only had two car events at Brands since starting out, in all honesty I went for the 'samey' shots intentionally, at that point it was more of a way of proving to myself I could try and get the same shots 'they' do, and then work on it from there.

I found it easiest to pick up the basics based on what I'd seen from other people, I left this in order intentionally as I hope you can see my own personal style creeping through as it gets towards the end.

Based on what you said about taking more time to look as you went on, I hope I succeeded there. Where at first it was all about 'that' shot I got in focus that I was happy with, over time it's becoming more 'those shots' where I can pick and choose which ones have an excitement/interest element to go with it.

On the shot with the two bikes, I spent ages trying to do this, and each time it'd go horribly wrong. One bike would be way ahead of the other, this, that, everything, there was a million different scenarios and this was the only one I felt truly happy with. Whilst it's not perfect, admittedly, it was my only time shooting drag racing this year and my first time at Pod so there was a lot to take on at once.

Glad you liked the pic of the guy working on the truck. Pit shots/static shots are something I really want to work towards for next season. Now that I feel a lot more confident in my action shots it's time to grow some balls and head to the pits!

Thanks again, really helpful feedback guys!

 

[s29nta]

Great pics mate:thumb:

 

[Andrew Goacher]

Great pictures , like no.4 (Buildbase) as thats who i work for and the riders are often in store buying bits and bobs! Good Capture :thumb:

 

[Maggi200]

Lydden Hill Drift Day 17-08-13 by Eyedea Media

My absolute favourite pic!

 

[Andrew Goacher]

My absolute favourite pic!

Drivers face is a picture alone :lol:

 

[jason status]

Amazing pics! I've had a dslr for 4 years and my pics are nowhere near as good. Nice work!

 

[LSpec]

amazing pictures :thumb:

 

[bildo]

Blown away by the feedback, thanks guys!

My absolute favourite pic!

I think quite a few would agree with you there, never fails to put a smile on my face!

Amazing pics! I've had a dslr for 4 years and my pics are nowhere near as good. Nice work!

Get yourself out there dude, if I can do it, anyone can! Thanks for the kind words!

amazing pictures :thumb:

Thanks buddy! :thumb:

 

[nbray67]

Amazingly crisp pic's but this is my favourite, what car is this bildo? Ignore that, just seen the Citreon badge.

 

[bildo]

Amazingly crisp pic's but this is my favourite, what car is this bildo?

Liam Doran's Citroen DS3, nearly 600bhp if I remember correctly.

Got on the receiving end of a stone he flicked up right after this shot, smacked me right in the chest and I knew about it for a fair few days after!

Serious beast, the hardest car I've ever shot and the craziest thing to be that close to!

 

[nbray67]

Liam Doran's Citroen DS3, nearly 600bhp if I remember correctly.

Got on the receiving end of a stone he flicked up right after this shot, smacked me right in the chest and I knew about it for a fair few days after!

Serious beast, the hardest car I've ever shot and the craziest thing to be that close to!

It's the whole pic, the stance of the car coupled with the dirt and gravel being thrown up makes it a great shot. Hats off to you bud.

 

[cossierick]

Amazing pics! I've had a dslr for 4 years and my pics are nowhere near as good. Nice work!

Ha ha, had my dslr around the same time aswell.

Wish my pics were this good.

Some cracking shots mate, very jealous .lol

So give some of us armatures some of your secrets !! What camerea lens are you using , what sort of editing are you doing/

rick

Supose the main reason mine arnt that good im just not putting in the time with the camera

 

[bildo]

It's the whole pic, the stance of the car coupled with the dirt and gravel being thrown up makes it a great shot. Hats off to you bud.

Glad you've taken the time to give it a proper look instead of just scrolling past, that's what I love, when people genuinely appreciate everything in the shot. Thank you for your feedback

Ha ha, had my dslr around the same time aswell.

Wish my pics were this good.

Some cracking shots mate, very jealous .lol

So give some of us armatures some of your secrets !! What camerea lens are you using , what sort of editing are you doing/

rick

Supose the main reason mine arnt that good im just not putting in the time with the camera

Thanks a lot bud.

Start with learning the basics of photography properly, learn the exposure triangle, practice on anything and everything you can find to begin with (at least that's what I did.) I've found that it amazed me how I thought learning some things would be useless that have become incredibly handy later on.

I read about 4-5 books when I first wanted to learn, wrote my own notes and took them with me in case I ever got stuck to save scrolling through books.

I started off with a Nikon D5100 with a 18-55 kit lens and purchased a 70-300. After a few events I decided to upgrade, I got myself a D7100 and a Nikon 70-200 f2.8. After that I also purchased a D7000 to use as a second camera with a Nikon 17-55 f2.8 to use as a shorter lens.

Editing varies massively, sometimes I can edit quite a bit, other times they're pretty much straight out of camera. I try to use as little clarity/sharpness as possible as it just makes it too vivid and fake.

If you've got any specific questions, feel free to send me a message and I'll help where I can

 

[cossierick]

Thank you very much , appreciate it.

I love motor racing so when I'm at the track if I don't get the pics I'm wanting I get fed up and just watch the racing , I feel I miss it when I'm taking the pics as I'm consentrating on trying to take the pic.

I think I just need more time with the camera , I also blame the camera lol , I've got a canon 450d with the obvious 18 55 kit lense and a canon 70 300 and sigma 10 20 wide angle.

 

[GrantB5]

Yeah jamie rolls thats the one lol

 

[bildo]

Thank you very much , appreciate it.

I love motor racing so when I'm at the track if I don't get the pics I'm wanting I get fed up and just watch the racing , I feel I miss it when I'm taking the pics as I'm consentrating on trying to take the pic.

I think I just need more time with the camera , I also blame the camera lol , I've got a canon 450d with the obvious 18 55 kit lense and a canon 70 300 and sigma 10 20 wide angle.

Anytime dude, the offer stands if there's anything I can help with, I'm more than happy to share my methods/techniques, it's just not something I have the time to write out in-depth at the moment I'm afraid.

All I can say is practice and practice some more. Photography is mainly trial and error, and you'll have some irritating as hell moments on your journey.

One thing I will say, I was told this when I started, and it's something I feel I can now verify. You either go to an event as a photographer or a spectator. Any event I go to I have the camera to my eye for literally 80% or more of the time just waiting for 'that' moment. If you haven't got your camera there in anticipation, you'll probably miss something. Unless you can get used to watching an event through a viewfinder then just take a few snaps until you get one you're happy with and keep one or two as a memento from the event.

I assume you're using the correct focusing methods? I don't shoot Canon so I'm not entirely sure but look up the motorsport photography basics to double check. If you're not using a tracking method you'll have your work cut out!

If the Canon 70-300 is anything like the Nikon one, it should be a decent lens.

Keep at it mate, or just get to the events and enjoy your passion!