The Olympus OM-D E-M1 shoots the Le Mans 24 Hours
If you follow me on social media you may have noticed that I was over in France to watch (and photograph) the Le Mans 24 Hours; a race held every year in (oddly) Le Mans. It's a race that tests the drivers, the cars, the designers and the engineers. But let's not forget that we as spectators often stay up for the entire duration of the race too!
This was my 3rd Le Mans 24 hours and one of the most exciting yet. The photography, as well as the racing, was a lot of fun. I was also at Le Mans in 2013 and 2015 (missing a year because my son was born only a few months earlier).
Every year the race takes place in mid-June, starting on a Saturday at 3pm and finishing 24 hours later on the Sunday. My good friend and fellow photographer Neil Graham and I once again stayed up from sunset to sunrise to watch the race through the early hours of the morning, capturing some great shots along the way. Whilst naturally, owing to there being more light; the photographs I made during the daylight hours are cleaner. They were also easier to make because of course you're free to use a wider range of settings. Throughout the night and after the sun has set the challenge becomes all about your ability to pan smoothly using the settings that let the most light into the camera. That means f/2.8, higher ISO's and the lowest possible shutter speed.
In previous years I've focussed on the photography during the daytime and have (in my opinion) always ended up with a good number of clean, sharp images. Just take a look at 2015's Le Mans gallery to see the comparative results. To be honest, in good light it's relatively easy to get good images. Especially at Le Mans when you have an abundance of time (24 hours!). That's why at this years' race I focused more on the racing action after the sun had gone down and the darkness of night had truly set in.
Equipment and Settings
All of the images you see here were made exclusively with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 and the Olympus M.ZUIKO 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO. I've included all my settings and information below each image as well for those of you that may be interested.
I did make use of the 1.4 Extender as well whilst I was track-side, but in truth; at night time f/4 (which is the maximum aperture when you use the extender with an f/2.8 lens) was just not letting enough light into the camera. The other consideration was that for the most part we were close enough to the track so it didn't require that extra reach. 300mm was plenty!
Technique
Traditionally I would have encouraged anyone panning for long periods of time to do so with the aid of a tripod, or preferably a monopod for that extra manouvaerability. However, within the E-M1 and the 40-150 I just don't feel the need. The setup is so light that I don't believe it warrants it for me. This is one of the advantages of shooting with such a smaller system. The fact that I have up to 300mm worth of reach on such a small lens (the Olympus 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO) , whilst maintaining f/2.8 throughout that zoom range is a revelation for me.
So, with all that in mind here are a selection of my favourite images from Le Mans 2016. If you have many questions about the images drop me a comment at the bottom of this post or get in touch via email, as always, at: michael@rammellphotography.com
Note: You can click / tap on all of these images to view them at a larger size to inspect the detail
Camera & Lens: Olympus OM-D E-M1 & M.ZUIKO 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO
Settings: ISO: 1600 | Shutter: 1/80th | Aperture: f/2.8
Camera & Lens: Olympus OM-D E-M1 & M.ZUIKO 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO
Settings: ISO: 1600 | Shutter: 1/80th | Aperture: f/2.8
Camera & Lens: Olympus OM-D E-M1 & M.ZUIKO 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO
Settings: ISO: 1600 | Shutter: 1/80th | Aperture: f/2.8
Camera & Lens: Olympus OM-D E-M1 & M.ZUIKO 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO
Settings: ISO: 1600 | Shutter: 1/80th | Aperture: f/2.8
Camera & Lens: Olympus OM-D E-M1 & M.ZUIKO 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO
Settings: ISO: 2000 | Shutter: 1/80th | Aperture: f/2.8
Camera & Lens: Olympus OM-D E-M1 & M.ZUIKO 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO
Settings: ISO: 2000 | Shutter: 1/80th | Aperture: f/2.8
Camera & Lens: Olympus OM-D E-M1 & M.ZUIKO 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO
Settings: ISO: 2000 | Shutter: 1/80th | Aperture: f/2.8
Camera & Lens: Olympus OM-D E-M1 & M.ZUIKO 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO
Settings: ISO: 2000 | Shutter: 1/80th | Aperture: f/2.8
Camera & Lens: Olympus OM-D E-M1 & M.ZUIKO 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO
Settings: ISO: 2500 | Shutter: 1/125th | Aperture: f/2.8
Camera & Lens: Olympus OM-D E-M1 & M.ZUIKO 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO
Settings: ISO: 2500 | Shutter: 1/125th | Aperture: f/2.8
Camera & Lens: Olympus OM-D E-M1 & M.ZUIKO 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO
Settings: ISO: 100 | Shutter: 1/250th | Aperture: f/3.5
Camera & Lens: Olympus OM-D E-M1 & M.ZUIKO 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO
Settings: ISO: 100 | Shutter: 1/125th | Aperture: f/13
Camera & Lens: Olympus OM-D E-M1 & M.ZUIKO 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO
Settings: ISO: 100 | Shutter: 1/125th | Aperture: f/8
Camera & Lens: Olympus OM-D E-M1 & M.ZUIKO 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO
Settings: ISO: 2500 | Shutter: 1/60th | Aperture: f/2.8
Camera & Lens: Olympus OM-D E-M1 & M.ZUIKO 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO
Settings: ISO: 200 | Shutter: 1/100th | Aperture: f/2.8
Camera & Lens: Olympus OM-D E-M1 & M.ZUIKO 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO
Settings: ISO: 2000 | Shutter: 1/100th | Aperture: f/2.8
Camera & Lens: Olympus OM-D E-M1 & M.ZUIKO 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO
Settings: ISO: 2000 | Shutter: 1/125th | Aperture: f/2.8
Camera & Lens: Olympus OM-D E-M1 & M.ZUIKO 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO
Settings: ISO: 2000 | Shutter: 1/125th | Aperture: f/2.8
Camera & Lens: Olympus OM-D E-M1 & M.ZUIKO 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO
Settings: ISO: 1600 | Shutter: 1/125th | Aperture: f/2.8
Camera & Lens: Olympus OM-D E-M1 & M.ZUIKO 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO
Settings: ISO: 1600 | Shutter: 1/125th | Aperture: f/2.8
Camera & Lens: Olympus OM-D E-M1 & M.ZUIKO 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO
Settings: ISO: 1600 | Shutter: 1/60th | Aperture: f/2.8
Camera & Lens: Olympus OM-D E-M1 & M.ZUIKO 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO
Settings: ISO: 1600 | Shutter: 1/60th | Aperture: f/2.8
Camera & Lens: Olympus OM-D E-M1 & M.ZUIKO 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO
Settings: ISO: 1600 | Shutter: 1/60th | Aperture: f/2.8
Camera & Lens: Olympus OM-D E-M1 & M.ZUIKO 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO
Settings: ISO: 1600 | Shutter: 1/60th | Aperture: f/2.8
Camera & Lens: Olympus OM-D E-M1 & M.ZUIKO 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO
Settings: ISO: 1600 | Shutter: 1/100th | Aperture: f/2.8
What do you think? Were you at Le Mans this year? What's your favourite image from this gallery? Drop me a moment below!
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A Photographer's Preview of Le Mans 2015
In just under a week I'll be making the drive down to the French town of Le Mans to watch the world-famous Le Mans 24 Hour. A race that is widely acknowledged among fans of motorsport to be the penultimate test of both the car manufacturers and drivers!
I don't perhaps know the ins-and-outs of the world of endurance motorsports as much as I'd like, but this trip to Le Mans is as much about photography as it is racing, engines and good times with good friends.
As much as the cars and drivers are put to the test, this spectacle challenges us photographers too: changing weather conditions, changing light (and of course nearly no light overnight!). This is all with cars travelling at incredible speeds. The great news is you have lots of time to perfect that panning technique and to find a great spot around the track to get your photographs of these amazing machines battling it out.
Last Year
I didn't actually go to Le Mans in 2014 as my son Adam was born just a few months before. My wife was on maternity at the time and so we decided to tighten the purse strings. It was a great race though with the eventual winners being Team Audi once again, retaining their Le Mans crown from 2013 (a year I did go!)
This Year
This year I'll be back. I'm our nominated driver for the road trip and I'm armed with an entirely new camera system. 2013 saw me at Le Mans with the incredibly sports-capable Canon 7D (mk1) and an array of Canon lenses, including my old jewel the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 IS USM II. This combination proved to be perfectly suited to the racing on offer.
This year (2015) will however see me carrying a much lighter setup in the Olympus OM-D range, including the diminutive OM-D E-M1 and E-M5. I had a chance to practise with this setup at Silverstone back in April and they proved they were more than up to the task.
Looking back at 2013
I want to get something different this year. I don't think I'll know what different is until I'm at the track and making my photographs, but rather than just going for technically perfect panned frames I want something more creative. This caused me to look back on 2013's photographs, which I want to share with you today.
The full gallery is available right here on the site, but below is just a selection that tells something of a story from 2013. It was about more than just racing. Le Mans is a festival!
Please enjoy these photographs and don't forget to subscribe!
