Technique - Shooting through the fence!

locostbob

locostbob

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Hey up...

sorry if this is in the wrong place - cant see where to put it and it is very motorsport specific!

How do you shoot through the catch / crash fences? you know the stuff, looks like a tennis court perimiter netting!

i have an olympus 50-200 f2.8 with no min focus switch but 1m is about the min. i have tried manual focus, standing close to the net, lens hood off touching the net and a bit of a distance away but still cant get rid of the net blur or reduce it to an acceptable amount... :(

I have been stood next to golddeno, copied where he stod and still got the net and he didnt :(

any suggestions guys?

many thanks

Cheers

bob :)
 
You best be getting 'er wide open then! :lol:
 
To be honest mate the 100-400 is a different beast all together, don't think the aperture will help you much. The lens is about 6" closer to the fence to begin with, coupled with the min focus set at 6m, low aperture and shooting at 400mm on a crop sensor. I think its mainly the 100-400 is really a long reach only lens (i know its good for all round), with yours the min focusing and 50mm makes it much more of a walk about lens so would make the fence much more visible.
 
To punch through a fence you need three things. Firstly you need a long lens - ideally 300mm plus. Secondly you need to be able to get as close as possible to the fence - the front of the lens hood touching it if possible. Finally, you need a relatively dull day. You also need to open the lens up near it's maximum aperature.
 
Hello Goldeeno,I was hoping for your thoughts on the 100-400 mm is L f4 lens is any good? I have just purchased a 70-200mm is L F2.8 and think its worth the price but I need something with more reach.I was also thinking about geeting an extender x2 so I could get the extra reach.
Any help / thoughts would greatly appreciate.Thanks
 
srhmoto said:
To punch through a fence you need three things. Firstly you need a long lens - ideally 300mm plus. Secondly you need to be able to get as close as possible to the fence - the front of the lens hood touching it if possible. Finally, you need a relatively dull day. You also need to open the lens up near it's maximum aperature.
Click to expand...

Why would you need a dull day?

All you need is to be as close as possible to the fence with the lenses widest aperture (with a long lens obviously). Don't see why the brightness makes any difference?

Different subject - same idea.....

MG_6943.jpg
 
If you've a bright sunny day you can get light flaring of the mesh, a dull day reduces the likelihood of that happening
 
EOS_JD said:
Why would you need a dull day?

All you need is to be as close as possible to the fence with the lenses widest aperture (with a long lens obviously). Don't see why the brightness makes any difference?

Different subject - same idea.....

MG_6943.jpg
Click to expand...


Exactly what Andy said, that's why. It can work on a sunny day, but it is a bit hit and miss.

Simon.
 
On a sunny day the contrast of the subject will be much better (the fence reduces contrast). On the other hand a black card may be needed to prevent any reflections from the fence.
 
Here are the main tips....

- Open up the aperture as wide as possible;
- Use the longest focal length possible (a camera with a larger sensor format helps here);
- Get the lens as close to the fencing as possible;
- Position yourself so that the subject is further away so that (a) you need the longer focal length; (b) your focus point is way, way beyond the fencing itself;
- Watch for the light and how it is catching the fencing. If you're on the sunny side of the fence then try to find a patch with some shade on the fence and shoot through that area.
- If you are panning then blur will help make the fence diminish, but you will lose contrast. Some PP can do a lot to pep it up again.

Here are some examples shot through fencing with my 100-400....

350mm :
20100402_110255_5911_LR.jpg


400mm :
20100323_110605_4953_LR.jpg


400mm :
20080608_134707_5054_LR.jpg


Long focal length makes a big difference, but so does aperture and relative distance. The more you can swing things in your favour the better. You may even find that when you want a slowish shutter speed for panning that an ND filter used with a wide open aperture is a better solution than stopping down, simply so that you can minimise DOF and get the fencing good and soft.

Even 235mm and f/5.6 can do quite well, but care may need to be taken about exactly where you point the lens. Trying to aim through the middle of a hole will work best....

235mm :
20080425_105553_3295_LR.jpg
 
srhmoto said:
Exactly what Andy said, that's why. It can work on a sunny day, but it is a bit hit and miss.

Simon.
Click to expand...

Thanks to you both - I didn't think of that :)
 
A couple of things to look out for when panning to reduce the impact of fencing.

Make sure that any horizontal straining wires won't be in the important part of the shot.
Same thing with vertical posts (and other distracting elements, like marshalls, nettles, ambulances).
 
large aperture long focal length...get close as you can to the fence...
its a trade off i suppose
 
cheers for all the suggestions guys , much apperciated! :)


im limited to my current 50-200 so will have to compramise! but tried shooting at f2.8 with some sucess :) found panning didtn work, just a grey blur or the lens hit the fence! so head on shots, and the light was low so the f2.8 meant the shutter sppeds were down to 400th so just right for formula 3 so there not to static! [will post shot once i have sorted 12gb of photos!]

.... another reason to move to canon... the 100-400 Hum..... :)

bob :)
 
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