where's there a will, there is a way... ;)
I know there are a lot of people that love the races, but I am not one of them. To pay big bucks to sit in a 14" space for 5 hours or more to watching a string of cars go around in an orbit and listening to 10,000 people scream and holler, is not exactly my idea of a fun day. All the best to you who do! :)
I used 100-400 zoom from atop an RV at Pocono many times. Lots of elbow room and could shoot the 3rd and 4th turns pretty well. For several years a shot of Sterling Marlin on the Kodak car was my business card.
So become a press photographer. Ask your local newspaper to take you on as a stringer. It will help if you have a some good photos of a local event-Mayoral election, county fair, Presidential visit, or such-when you approach the newspaper editor. Having a press pass can also get you into concerts free, and back stage to see the stars up close. Also set up in business as a Photographer, and get some business cards. They can get you travel, hotel, tour bus, etc, 'Professional Discounts'.
That's more of a "we won't get any royalties" out of it more than a security threat! MONEY HUNGRY!
From the good old days - large lenses at the Indy F1 race, 2004:
If you only have a bleacher seat for the Indy 500, leave you big stuff at home. If you really want to get good pictures, go to the IMSA, NASCAR, or Indycar road races. (Avoid the street courses, you're limited to bleachers again) Your one ticket gets you everywhere except pit lane. The garage area, the paddock, the entire perimeter of the track, inside and outside. There may be a few physical limitations due to terrain, but otherwise you can go anywhere. Do an event like Lime Rock or Watkins Glen and you have almost unlimited photo ops.You get close to the cars, the people, and the action. The tracks can be pretty long. This means you do a lot of walking, but you don't notice it due to the photo ops you get.
There's only one answer to this debacle; don't go.
timepass wrote:
I just read online their not allowing any "pr... (
show quote)
I find that watching it on television suits me just fine.
If you have lenses and cameras like that, who could afford anything but bleacher seats.
Afford? If you have a cell phone and talent you can shoot anything.
Ansel Adams sais something to the effect, "If you had 12 great shots this year, it was a good year."
rmalarz wrote:
I think 14 feet is a bit much for seating at the event. Are you sure about your dimensions?
--Bob
I saw that, but that's about how much I actually need!
Jer
Loc: Mesa, Arizona
This is not an uncommon practice. Usually it just that the event want their photographers to take official photos with quality equipment. It's more about protecting their brand than anything else. Many events a have the "dollar" rule or some comparable. The length of you lens can't exceed the length of a dollar. I was turned away from a regular season college softball game because of my 24-70mm lens. So now I just take my Sony a6000 with me rather than my 5d or 1dx. However, I still follow the "dollar" rule with that camera.
Set back and enjoy the race with a small bridge camera that has a 52x electronic zoom before they ban that one too.
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