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Baltimore Grand Prix anyone?

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jeffthecyclist

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Baltimore will be hosting its inaugural Grand Prix this weekend. This will be my first time at something like this. I have no idea what to expect. I have top row stadium seats. I plan on taking the 7D and 70-200 2.8 II and 300 2.8. Is anyone else from here going?
 
I was really hoping to get to go, but it doesn't look like that's gonna happen. :|
jeffthecyclist said:
Baltimore will be hosting its inaugural Grand Prix this weekend. This will be my first time at something like this. I have no idea what to expect. I have top row stadium seats. I plan on taking the 7D and 70-200 2.8 II and 300 2.8. Is anyone else from here going?
Click to expand...
 
I'm on the "other" coast, but I know a couple (two or three) that are going.

Do yourself a favor, go Friday or Saturday check out your seat, and figure on "one" lens.

If it's anything like the Long Beach Grand Prix....it'll be packed with people...much like an ant farm..! People will be shoulder to shoulder with you. So unless you like your stuff getting banged into...pick one lens and make the best of it.

I was in your area last year when they were redoing the streets and sidewalks in preperation for the race. The normal tourist crowds you have on the weekends...will look like no ones around, compared to on race day.

Have fun.
Post shots when you get home.

Mike
 
Thanks Mike. I will be there tomorrow and will pre-scout my seating location. I may find that the 300 is just too much lens for that position and leaving that beast at home would significantly lighten up my load as I hope to do some walking around as well. As of right now, there is a 40% chance of rain on race day. I don't pay much attention to forecasts this far out though.

Jeff
Mike said:
I'm on the "other" coast, but I know a couple (two or three) that are going.

Do yourself a favor, go Friday or Saturday check out your seat, and figure on "one" lens.

If it's anything like the Long Beach Grand Prix....it'll be packed with people...much like an ant farm..! People will be shoulder to shoulder with you. So unless you like your stuff getting banged into...pick one lens and make the best of it.

I was in your area last year when they were redoing the streets and sidewalks in preperation for the race. The normal tourist crowds you have on the weekends...will look like no ones around, compared to on race day.

Have fun.
Post shots when you get home.

Mike
Click to expand...
 
jeffthecyclist said:
Baltimore will be hosting its inaugural Grand Prix this weekend. This will be my first time at something like this. I have no idea what to expect. I have top row stadium seats. I plan on taking the 7D and 70-200 2.8 II and 300 2.8. Is anyone else from here going?
Click to expand...
I might go to the ALMS race on Saturday but I can't attend the IRL race Sunday. My longest lens is a 200 f/2.8L but if I had a 300 f/2.8L like you do, that would be the one I would take with me. If you're content to take all your photos from the stands, you'd probably be okay with your 70-200 lens but if you're going to be walking around at all, I'd go with the 300. For safety reasons, spectators are kept at quite a distance at most race tracks so the more reach you have the better (unless you have a good friend or relative who can get you a press pass and you can get really close access like the pros do).

Anyway, maybe I'm wrong but that's the lens I would bring. Perhaps you could bring a monopod to lessen the load a bit. They're not to hard to walk around with (even in crowds) once you collapse them down. I've never actually shot an auto race before but I've shot bike races, track and field, and softball/baseball and the one thing I always wished during many of those shoots is more reach.

Enjoy the race and PLEASE post some photos here once you get back!! :)
 
I live in the area (within an hour), but I won't be making the trip downtown. I would, however, like to see the shots you can get without a press pass.

JT
 
Ok... I have one picture so far... lots to go through. Sorry for the small pic below but I don't post large images here. Had a great time out there today. I took both the 300 2.8 and the 70-200 2.8 II. Until I go through the pictures, i'm not sure what I'll take on Sunday. After today, I sure don't want to have to carry around both. It's real tough shooting out there. I visited numerous grandstands and very, very few have an unobstructed view (fence or two or three) of the course. If there is an unobstructed spot, it is very brief and I saw no possibility to pan. Most of those type shots were nearly head-on. There are a couple of ground spots where you can get a good view, nearly unobstructed. Mainly, right at turn 4. All of the areas where you can walk over the track are totally covered with sponsor ads. Forget seeing anything there. There is an overpass by Harborplace where you can get a decent view down Pratt Street but there are a dozen guards and they will not let you stay there and shoot. They are, however, reasonable. You can stop and take a shot or two... but they will quickly move you on if you linger. Press pass people will do well. Somebody with a good aerial balcony should get some amazing pictures of the whole track and harbor area. Possibly from atop Federal Hill. I am on duty at the fire department tonight so I won't get to work on many pictures but here's a teaser. Just note shots like this will be few and far between on this course. Many thanks to Holmatro for being a sponsor of the race and for providing me with today's ticket! Now... how about a press pass for next year??? Much more to come...

Cheers,
Jeff



 
The stadium seating is at a low angle - it goes back more than it goes up. This means almost all seats are looking through a fence. There are some exceptions though. There are a few sections where there is a large platform area behind the top row. Very nice addition. I noticed this in section 3 and 8. I was in 27 (right in front of the Convention Center) and don't remember seeing that extra platform there. I borrowed a 28-105 from a friend to take a picture of section 7 with the harbor area behind it. This was taken at 48mm so I'm guessing there was some king of obstruction below me. Wish I could have got some of the track in... and the top of the mast:





Most stadium areas are going to yield pictures like the one below. Note that in this section (and many but not all of the ground areas), the chain link fence is several feet in front of the lowest row or access area. You won't be holding your lens up to the fence. The best you can do is use use a large aperature to reduce DOF enough to mostly make the fence disappear.



 
Sounds like it's going to be a bit of a struggle to get any decent shots without a press pass. Not impossible, but still a lot of work. I guess they have to keep spectators far away for safety reasons but all the ad banners pasted over everything has got to change. It won't though...that's how they make their money.

Anyway, there was a thread here a few months ago from someone who attended the Long Beach Grand Prix. A friend of his shoots for a local paper and was able to get him a press pass so he was shooting from behind a safety barrier and was maybe 20-30 feet away from the cars (at ground level) as they were flying by through his corner. He was actually getting hit with chunks of rubber and other debris from time to time...he was that close.

Here are some of the shots he was able to get:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1019&message=38250002

I hope you're able to get some better vantage points on Saturday and Sunday. I was going to go to the ALMS race Saturday but I'm battling bronchitis right now and I'm not really up for it. Hey, if you can't get a good shooting spot maybe just put the camera away and enjoy the race!
jeffthecyclist said:
Ok... I have one picture so far... lots to go through. Sorry for the small pic below but I don't post large images here. Had a great time out there today. I took both the 300 2.8 and the 70-200 2.8 II. Until I go through the pictures, i'm not sure what I'll take on Sunday. After today, I sure don't want to have to carry around both. It's real tough shooting out there. I visited numerous grandstands and very, very few have an unobstructed view (fence or two or three) of the course. If there is an unobstructed spot, it is very brief and I saw no possibility to pan. Most of those type shots were nearly head-on. There are a couple of ground spots where you can get a good view, nearly unobstructed. Mainly, right at turn 4. All of the areas where you can walk over the track are totally covered with sponsor ads. Forget seeing anything there. There is an overpass by Harborplace where you can get a decent view down Pratt Street but there are a dozen guards and they will not let you stay there and shoot. They are, however, reasonable. You can stop and take a shot or two... but they will quickly move you on if you linger. Press pass people will do well. Somebody with a good aerial balcony should get some amazing pictures of the whole track and harbor area. Possibly from atop Federal Hill. I am on duty at the fire department tonight so I won't get to work on many pictures but here's a teaser. Just note shots like this will be few and far between on this course. Many thanks to Holmatro for being a sponsor of the race and for providing me with today's ticket! Now... how about a press pass for next year??? Much more to come...

Cheers,
Jeff



Click to expand...
 
Hey Steve,

I hope you start feeling better. I did enjoy watching the ALMS cars. Too bad they're not racing tomorrow. I'd love to see them race today but given that it's pouring right now, I think I'm content working on some editing at home! That's ok... I think it will be televised on Versus today.

Yes, I thought the banners totally covering the walkovers was extreme. Fortunately, the indy car pics I've posted here without the fencing in the photo were taken from the grandstand seats I have for Sunday so for a split second, I have a good view without fencing. There are trees just to my left so my view is limited.





Here are some ALMS pictures for you:















 
And thanks for posting these pics...great work. I'll be watching on Versus and hoping it doesn't rain. Good luck and I hope you get some great photos!
 
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