USGP 2014!

Damn I love F1 ;D How come it can only come to town once a year? These are from Saturday's practice and qualifying. I need me some more reach, so I'm keenly awaiting the new 100-400L :D

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Roo

CR Pro
Sep 12, 2013
1,003
338
Melbourne
Mickat said:
Roo said:
Thanks for posting!! Great colour and action in the shots :)

+1
Wish I was there!

Hey Roo, what do you think chances are of getting a 400mm 2.8 into melbourne Grand Prix?
Will security at the gate knock it back? I've seen a few big lenses in there. Just wondering if they had any troubles getting in with it!

They were pretty gung ho on it a few years ago but the last couple haven't been so bad and a friend that runs one of the gates confirmed they've been a bit more relaxed (just not officially). I haven't had any trouble getting the Sigma 150-500 or the Tamron 150-600 in but they don't quite stand out as much as the great whites. You could probably get the 400 in no worries.
 
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Yeah I will give it a go, see what happens, can only say no I guess.

I did take a sigma 150-500 in a couple of years ago no problems, funny thing though I was standing next to the toilets near gate 1 and the main guy who talks over the megaphone saw it and said " you did well to get that in here, you wouldn't have gotten that in through my gate".

All 4 days I walked in through that gate. All 4 days the didn't question it, oh well. :D
 
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Thanks for the kinds words, fellas. I don't plan on shooting much today, as race day is way more crowded and I just want to soak up the race atmosphere and enjoy it. Turn 9 is a great place to shoot. It has a great vantage point of Turns 6-11, and you can see the cars flying down the backstraight from there too.

On a side note, the Ferrari-powered cars sound very strange when the turbos spool up prior to accelerating out of a corner. It reminds me of the weird noises a dial-up modem used to make back in the day when logging onto the internet. They emit a very high-pitched whine when downshifting as well. So being ugly and slow isn't their only problem :eek:

I'll go out on a limb and say Alonso will win today. Yeah right ;D

old-pr-pix said:
V-8: More reach? ... You mean you're not one of those photogs in the Roberts vests with a 300 2.8 on a strap plus a beat-up, mono-podded 600 casually slung over their shoulder like they were burping a baby? Great shots.

LOL. I try to stay as discreet as possible. Events like this are the only time I had more reach than my 70-300L has to offer.
 
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DominoDude

Certified photon catcher
Feb 7, 2013
910
2
::1
V8Beast said:
Damn I love F1 ;D How come it can only come to town once a year? These are from Saturday's practice and qualifying. I need me some more reach, so I'm keenly awaiting the new 100-400L :D
...

I saw some of those practise laps yesterday on TV, now you've made me want to watch the entire race as well. Bloody great shots - you've captured the action in an interesting way.
 
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Roo

CR Pro
Sep 12, 2013
1,003
338
Melbourne
Mickat said:
Yeah I will give it a go, see what happens, can only say no I guess.

I did take a sigma 150-500 in a couple of years ago no problems, funny thing though I was standing next to the toilets near gate 1 and the main guy who talks over the megaphone saw it and said " you did well to get that in here, you wouldn't have gotten that in through my gate".

All 4 days I walked in through that gate. All 4 days the didn't question it, oh well. :D

Funnily enough, the same gate I go through ;D

AcutancePhotography said:
I just have to say, that is some pretty good panning.

Agreed!
 
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Roo

CR Pro
Sep 12, 2013
1,003
338
Melbourne
A great drive from Lewis, especially after it appeared that Nico had turned the tables on him during quali. A poor start by Daniel was made up for by some brilliant passes during the race. I love turn one at Texas as it has so many options for lines and passes - a bit like turn one at the old Burke airport course used by CART years ago. There was certainly a lot of entertainment right up to the finish:)
 
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What a race. The side-by-side racing in the middle of the pack was incredible. There were so many passes that weren't captured on TV. I was surrounded by Brits, and hearing them cheer Lewis on was a real treat. Poor Button didn't get any love from his fellow countrymen in the crowd. I'll post the images up in batches to make them more palatable.

Here's the pre-race stuff:

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The more I watch Ricciardo race, the more I like him. His smile is even bigger in person.

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Valteri and Kimi were competing for the "Least Excited Fin" award.

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As always, Kimi wins that contest everytime ;D

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Seb insisted on driving the parade car last year too. Very cool. I've never thought he was that great of a driver, but he does seem to be a very down-to-earth dude.

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Ah, the many perks of driving for Ferrari. Even the parade cars are badass :)

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Hope to see you back in F1 next year, Jenson!

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It was great seeing all the Mexican fans in attendance supporting their driver. I felt bad for them when he retired so early from the race.

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Where's Jennifer Becks? There's plenty of room. What gives?

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The Brits in attendance really seem to dislike Nico. They're still pissed about Spa.

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Race images:

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....coming out of the esses on Lap 1. That's the most I've ever seen an F1 car lean!

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Single file up front.

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Three-wide mid-pack!

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Uh oh. I never realized how fast these safety cars are pushing the limits around the track.

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Lewis closing the gap.

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Lewis takes the lead.

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A few photogs in the crowd were feeling all manly with their big white zooms until this guy showed up. Something tells me he's well equipped in more ways than one :eek:

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Congrats to Lewis. Ten wins on the season already. Incredible!

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Turn 9 is way too far from the podium, so I had to settle for this.
 
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Post race images:

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Happy Brits everywhere. The group of Tifosi sitting in front of these folks weren't happy at all, and vanished before the race ended. Can't blame them. I love the international draw of F1. I was sitting next to a nice couple from Manchester.

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Rule Britannia, Britannia rule the waves! LOL.

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Not the typical passing zone going into Turn 11, but the inside bus made it stick despite the shallow entry ;D

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After the third Austin event, my concerns of diminishing fan attendance are starting to wane.

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The Kid Rock concert was very well attended. The Austin 360 amphitheater is a very cool venue. The whole amphitheater at a race track concept sounded like a gimmick when it was first announced, but I must admit it creates a very unique post race atmosphere.

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Just outside the main entrance. The food trucks that Austin is known serve up great but ridiculously overpriced food here.

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I'm not a Williams fan, but the Martini livery looks so cool I had to get me one of these :)
 
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