sergiohm

My first Formula 1 race! Well, it wasn't the day of the race, but one day of practice, the cars are not competing but are being adjusted during the runs.
I've never photographed any car race ever, so no experience, bear that in mind and be kind!
I decided on taking the Olympus OM-1, because I've just received it from Adorama, and it is still the most comfortable grip of all the cameras I have and it recognizes autos/cars.
I brought 3 lenses but only used one, the superb Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-45mm f/4 PRO Lens. I still can't believe such a tiny lens is so sharp!
The race cars go super fast and due to my angle of view I could not see them coming, so I opted for Single-AF,

Drive : Silent + High-speed Sequential SH1 (5frame) - first set of car sequence (where you can see umbrellas)
Drive : Silent + ProCapSH1 (15frame) - second car sequence (cars are seen far and from behind)
Drive : Silent + High-speed Sequential SH1 (110frame) - third car sequence (Shot through a guard rail fence)

Why not C-AF? Well, the cars zoom so fast it wouldn't matter.
The OM-1 is a superb camera, it had no trouble recognizing the cars (the focus box, adjust the size automatically depending on how far the car is and shows the focus in the car) and keeping up with them at breackneck speeds!
A friend of mine saw the photos and asked me how I could take photos so precise when the cars were at high speed. I gave all the credit to the camera, it allowed this poor, not-so-good photographer take great shots!

Now Formula 1 is an expensive event, $1K is the cheapest ticket if you wanted to see it from the stalls. Since I haven't won the lottery yet, I opted for the $300 GA ticket, that is why my field of view was always obstructed when the cars were racing. My apologies.

As always there are many more photos in the You tube link, just click on the link below

https://youtu.be/CvqBY-n8shw

The day was extremely hot and you had to walk a lot, go up and down stairs, I survived, not bad for a 50+!

Enjoy!

Event map, the place is huge!

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One of the many places to eat and drink, they offered free water refills

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The race track was built around the stadium, inside the stadium they built another set of stalls just for the interviews!

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The white tents were housing race cars

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A photo from the first set of photo sequence - I was far from the track

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A photo from the second set of photo sequence - cars are seen from behind

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Do you like Ferrarri's?

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A photo from the third set of photo sequence - shot from the fence, super close to the track

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mr1492 Loc: Newport News, VA

Nicely done! While the camera helps, it's the eye behind the shot that really counts! Good work and nice compositions.

Phil

Earnest Botello Loc: Hockley, Texas

Very good series, Sergio.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

whfowle Loc: Tampa first, now Albuquerque

Just a few pointers from someone who has been shooting auto racing since 1968. Shooting a road course race is always tough especially if you have never been to the track before. I like practice days because they allow you to move around and hunt for the best locations when there are usually very slim crowds. I never buy a stand seat because you are fixed in one location and every shot has a similar view. General admission is always the cheapest price and it gives you freedom to scout the whole course. A press pass is always better as it allows you to get to the holes in the fences but at big races like a formula 1, nearly impossible to get. I like the way you didn't just shoot the cars but also the general atmosphere of the whole event. You have a story to tell and not just a bunch of unrelated car shots. Sometimes the people are more interesting than the race. Glad you got to experience it.

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

Very nicely captured - excellent series!

rdarlington43 Loc: Charlotte, NC

Wonderful experience! In October 2021, as a college graduation present, I took my grandson to the F-1 race in Austin, TX. Our first F-1 race but hopefully not our last. A conflict kept us from going to Miami this year. Four great days in Austin including two Billy Joel concerts. In some ways I hate to admit that I almost exclusively used my iPhone 12 Pro Max (instead of my Canon 80D) on video because the cars were going so fast. Very polite international crowd. I have been to many NASCAR races where the crowd was not a good experience. Overall just a great time. Love your pictures.

sergiohm

I’m so glad all of you enjoyed my pictures.
Whfowle thanks for the pointers, you’re right telling the story is paramount.

Thanks everbody!

PAR4DCR Loc: A Sunny Place

You did very well for your first time sergiohm. Even at the prices your mentioned the sponsors that put on the race lost money!

Don

topcat Loc: Alameda, CA

Interesting photos. Must have been a good day.