Toronto Photography Meetup Group

Please put me ont the waiting list if someone can't make it. I'm just starting out and would like to learn the basics including panning, composition etc.

If not this time, then maybe later in the season. I spend maybe 3/4 of my weekends at Shannonville Motorsports Park, will be at Calabogie Motorsports Park for the opening round of Parts Canada Superbike in May, and will be at Mosport for PCS in July.

To those who are interested to shoot some moving cars and would like to go out and shoot as a group and discuss pointers and techniques before hand, what's the better date for you guys:

May 18th vs May 24th

I could do the 18th but wouldn't be able to make the 24th...

I would be interested in this but I think I'm too far down the list of 5.

I do have a question for those who have been shooting at Mosport in Bowmanville.
As I live in Oshawa I plan to make it out to Mosport at least once this season. Do you have any advice on shooting races at this venue?

I know they have different tracks. I'm at least thinking of going to see the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series on June 8th on the oval track. And maybe another event but haven't decided.

I assume you recommend a longer focal length to zoom in on the cars from some distance away but to you bring wider angle lenses to shoot?
What a about flashes, to you use fill flash. I would assume that the flash may distract the drivers and would not be allowed while shooting the races?
I have 100-400, 24-105, 17-40 on 40D plus EOS-3 35mm. Plus shoe-mount flash.

If you've been to Mosport to shoot before can you get to various parts of the track or are you restricted to the seating area?

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

May 18th. I will be shooting in Alaska for 2 weeks after that.

On a side note - how important is a monopod?
And, do you really need a head on it or can you just mount the camera directly to the monopod?
I've never owned one before so I'm a bit ignorant on its usefulness and function....

I can do either days, but prefer the 24th

Turn five is nice if you never been there with the cars coming up through 5a but they destroyed that corner with the catch fence they put up a few years ago (thanks to CASCAR) so it's not all that ideal for panning when then go through the corner now. The nice thing with Mosport is that you're free to roam around (to some degree) so there are some other nice spots but I can't seem to remember anything right now lol.



Depends what you want. Wide is great if you want to capture a lot of the scenery plus the car to put things into perspective, but it isn't all that ideal for panning IMO. If you want some relatively close shots of the car with some background blur of the stands or crowds for example, a good zoom is ideal, again, depends on where you are.

I found the 100-400L to be very flexible at Mosport, in fact pretty well anywhere including Shannonville.

If you're panning, the longer the zoom lens the better. You stand back farther, the speed at which you pan will be slower vs having a shorter lens and needing to be closer and thus the faster the pan. It's like a golf swing as I mentioned somewhere else. Faster the swing, the less accurate, the slower the swing, the better accuracy - so in this case, the better the pan.

It also comes down to personal preference and what you want to get out of your photos and the choice of lens you want to use.



I wouldn't bother with a flash unless you plan on shooting at night.



Anywhere behind the fence, that applies to both inside and outside of the corner. Note that you can walk into the inside of turn five but you'll get told to leave by the marshals. And there are some areas which are completely off-limit. To shoot behind the tire wall or the ugly catch fence, you need to have credentials and sign your life away.



I find it a bit cumbersome when panning but it's handy if you got a big heavy zoom and shooting cars head on.

There is a race coming up at Mosport, Victoria Day SpeedFest, which will include the Speed World Challenge series, so this might be a great opportunity to get out and practice and watch some good racing.

Is anyone from here going then? I would be interested in meeting up and practicing some shooting there with a few people.
Friday, May 15 - $15
Sat, May 16, $30
Sun, May 17 - $35
3-Day Pass - $50 ($60 after May 13th)
Grand Prix Club - $90 (3-day pass + Raceday VIP Hospitility)

Thanks Tanner, for answering my questions.

Don't forget that if you go to Mosport you have to
buy all tickets and then get a refund for unused tickets when you leave.
For example -- if you go on Sat , you have to buy a ticket
for Sat and Sun at the gate, and then when you leave
Sat afternoon, and don't plan to go Sunday, you can get a refund
for Sundays ticket. So make sure you have aenough money with you.
Details are on thier web site.

Tim

why pay when you can just shoot at a track day that cost nothing to get in.

I'm available on the 18th; it's my cool down day from shooting at Shannonville the weekend prior to that. I won't be around on the 24th, as I'll be shooting the Parts Canada opener at Calabogie that weekend. In fact I'll be heading up there on the prior Thursday morning so that I can check the sight lines on the long track.

Dude, you don't need my ad-hoc, trust me

Thought I might help on your side of the street

that'd be awesome

I would really be interested in shooting--motorcycles especially, at Cayuga. Also, does anyone know where we could shoot horse races & maybe in the stables?

If you take a look at page one of the thread, I posted a link to the contact information for the folks at TMP (aka Cayuga). The person you would want to contact regarding track access for shooting is Vanessa.

You could try contacting the folks at Mohawk Raceway (401 and Guelph Line), if you're interested in shooting horses. I don't know what their protocols are.

http://www.woodbineentertainment.com/we ... qs.html#18

Okay I've signed up for a trackday this Wed. That's right on Canada Day.

The forecast in Belleville is expected to be rainy.

With the strike the only fireworks you'll see is probably from the backfire as the cars downshift. Or if someone's ride blows up.....

Shannonville is exactly 200km one way from my house (Markham and Steeles).

If anyone is interest in some wet shots trackside, or some onboard shots (obviously not the entire time that I'm on the track!) then tag along.

The day is scheduled for 5:30 to 9pm rain or shine.

Any other questions please ask.

If no one else goes and Flair Photo is working the day, don't be afraid to buy one of his CDs for the cheap $35.00 or whatever he's charging these days. Jack gets really good stuff.

I'd love to organize something still, but I don't have a free weekend from now until labour day.

Well I'll probably be at Mosport from Thursday through Sunday, if anyone cares to look for me. I'll be on the grid for Superpole and races though.

See you next week Rob.

Did you get confirmation of your press pass yet? So far I've received confirmation of my tentative confirmation.

I don't know. I was told to show up however, so I assume it's resolved.

I know that Lee is trying to get hold of my editor, but no idea why. He said that specific details regarding the pass would follow up later.

are you going to the eurofest this sunday? any rules or restrictions that I should be aware of?

I was at Mosport from the 16th through yesterday. No Eurofest for me.

I spent most the time at turn 4 & 5, didnt see you there.