Night Shoot at the Indianapolis 500

Last night a few local photographers and I went to the Indianapolis Speedway to shoot some of the late evening activities the night before the Indianapolis 500.  Traditionally a fusion of alcohol, bodies, smells, colors, and sounds.  In other words, a photo rich environment.  

With my after dark photo experience I figured this couldn’t be too challenging.  I was wrong. 

First, I brought too much kit.  I really didn’t need to bring my Tokina SD 12-24mm f/4 DX lens and my tripod.  I also brought extra batteries for my Nikon SB-600 flash which was just added weight.  Secondly, the lighting was really crazy.  It was pitch black outside, but the location had all types of mixed lighting from the streetlights, lights at the track, lights from the vendor’s booths, etc.  Everything was mixed lighting and it was different every 5-10 yards.

The tripod was really not needed because there were so many people a tripod was not practical.  Also with all the people moving around any long exposure work would have been a motion-blur-a-rama.  I stuck to my Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 and my Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 lenses because I needed the wide aperture.  That’s why I didn’t use the Tokina lens.  Too slow for most of the shots.

What I did was set my camera to aperture priority, f/stop between the maximum lens aperture and up to f/8 to get good DOF.  And I hate to admit it, but I used auto-ISO.  Please don’t hate me.  I tried to keep the ISO as low as possible at first, but really didn’t have much luck.  I also used my flash for about ½ the shoot when shooting up close.  The problem with flash photography in a setting like last night is there are always people that just don’t want to be photographed.  Go figure! And combine that with alcohol, and, well you know how that can turn out.  No flash equals more incognito.  

Anyway, it was a good time hanging with a few local photographers.  I ended up focusing more on capturing the moment versus getting crazy good images.  A good decision.

Conspiracy Theory - There Were 3 Shooters

I know, lame title, but this past weekend I did something I haven't done before.  That was participate in a wedding photoshoot with 3 photographers.  That's right, 3.  The cool thing for the lucky wedding couple is that they got all 3 of us for the price of one.  It's really amazing how much easier it is to shoot a wedding with more than a single shooter, and even better than 2.  The downside of course is that you have to split the $$$, but hey, I don't do this for a living.  I've got a day job.

One tip, plan well in advance when you have multiple shooters.  We did this before the shoot and it worked out great.  We arranged what we were shooting, and where to position ourselves.  We also took turns directing the couple and their entourage.  We also took advantage of taking similar shots from different angles which will present interesting images.  Finally, split the type of shot you plan to take.  We did this by agreeing which lenses each of us were using.  The number one shooter used a Canon 70-200 F/2.8 as his prime weapon of choice.  I used, as second shooter, a Tokina 12-24mm F/4 on one Nikon and a Nikkor 24-70mm F/2.8 on a second Nikon.  The 3rd shooter, used a longer prime on her Canon.  Note to self - I'm still trying to figure out the best way to carry 2 camera bodies without looking like a complete dork but getting maximum flexibility.  I just purchased a BlackRiver dual strap...I'll give that a go.

It was an interesing experience, and I'll post photos of the lovely couple once we get through the post processing and deliver the goods.

City Shooter

Shooting a city’s skyline offers a photo rich environment.  I live in Indianapolis, so I regularly use the downtown as a subject of, or backdrop for my photoshoots.  Not a huge downtown, but still a solid photo subject.  Since I do lots of nighttime photography I often capture downtown Indianapolis after dark.  Many will agree cities take on a different look and richness of color at night.  Most major cities are over photographed, so during the day I’ll try to do something different.  I will shoot with a fisheye lens, a composite panorama, or with brooding clouds.  Anything to get a different look.

When I shoot a skyline or cityscape at night and day I always us a small aperture as I want a deep depth of field.  Normally, F/9 or smaller.  This also gives you much wider selection of lens to choose from.  Also, use a wide angle lens.  I almost always shoot cities at 28mm or wider.

At night an aperture of F/9 or smaller creates starbursts on strong light sources which I enjoy.  Bring your tripod because it’s needed at night, and I use an electronic trigger to limit camera shake.  I set the camera to aperture priority and set the ISO as low as possible to minimize noise.  I allow my camera to set the shutter speed while in aperture priority.  Exposure often end up in the 30+ second range.  If I’m not getting the look wanted I’ll adjust the exposure compensation.  That’s about it.

At day, there is nothing special to it.  On a bright day I keep my aperture as small as possible and almost always handhold unless I’m shooting series for a panorama which I stitch in Photoshop CS5.  As noted above keep your aperture as small as possible to get the depth of field you want, and set your camera to aperture priority.  Now go out and shoot your city.

Comp Work This Weekend

One of the things I’ve done over the past year for the company I work is to provide photo services on the cheap. I mean for free! We do many civic-type of events and occasional internal awards presentations. About a year ago I volunteered to shoot a few photos for the company’s use, and now I’m being asked to take photos regularly.

The nice thing about providing free photo services is I consider it the same as volunteering for the event, and we wouldn't have hired a professional photographer anyway. I’m not taking work away from a pro. I generally don’t spend lots of post processing time except for the occasional “auto” corrections in Adobe Lightroom 3. Also, I shoot in jpg. That’s right I said it, jpg.

This weekend we sponsored an electronics & cell phone recycling event at the Indianapolis Zoo. Rain or shine, and it did rain. The internal organizers arranged employees to come out in shifts and unload cars, vans and trucks of their old and unwanted electronics.

Don’t hate me but I actually shot in “P”. No, that doesn’t stand for “professional”. I figured since the photos were destined for newsletters and maybe a Facebook page, no harm no foul. All shots used diffused on camera flash using a Nikon SB-600 in TTL and a Nikkor 24-70mm at f/5.6. I also used a Tokina 10-24mm f/4 mounted on a second Nikon D300s for wider shots.

Overall, a great time with some great folks, for a good cause. Anyway, shooting photos got me out of lifting those heavy electronics out of people's cars!!