Can you go to a trackday just to watch??
Discussion
As I have a few days to spare after my exams and before Le Mans I was considering heading over to Donington Park to watch some on track action. It seems like there are a few trackdays and general test days going on:
Like these www.donington-park.co.uk/competitors/
and I was wondering if it would be possible for me to go along simply as a member of the public (by public transport as well
) and simply watch the cars going round. I always like to see nice machinery and was wondering if it is possible to go and watch.
Would it be best just to ring the circuit and ask what their general policy is or would this be a no-go for health and safety reasons??
Like these www.donington-park.co.uk/competitors/
and I was wondering if it would be possible for me to go along simply as a member of the public (by public transport as well
) and simply watch the cars going round. I always like to see nice machinery and was wondering if it is possible to go and watch. Would it be best just to ring the circuit and ask what their general policy is or would this be a no-go for health and safety reasons??
Never been to Donington just to view but I can't see any reason why not (there are regulars who turn up at Oulton!). On a general track day you will probably have to access the circuit via the main gate into the paddock area. Have a good day!!! let us know how you get on.
(You could always ring the cicuit and pretend your doing a school/college project or somthing just to see if it's on that day before getting on the bus!)
>> Edited by wilbo on Saturday 14th May 22:21
(You could always ring the cicuit and pretend your doing a school/college project or somthing just to see if it's on that day before getting on the bus!)
>> Edited by wilbo on Saturday 14th May 22:21
Yep I thought that may be the case. I will give the circuit a phone call before I set off to make sure I ain't making a wasted journey.
Not sure which will be more interesting though, the General test day or a normal car trackday. I have been to the circuit both on track and to watch when there have been standard trackdays on and seen some very nice and very cool cars. However would a general test day yield more interesting race cars and full on racing vehicles rather than just road cars??
The General test is next week so I will probably pop along if it's feasible - will take the camera as well
Not sure which will be more interesting though, the General test day or a normal car trackday. I have been to the circuit both on track and to watch when there have been standard trackdays on and seen some very nice and very cool cars. However would a general test day yield more interesting race cars and full on racing vehicles rather than just road cars??
The General test is next week so I will probably pop along if it's feasible - will take the camera as well
agent006 said:
One thing to consider is that certain testing days and some trackdays have automatic copyright ownership on the photos you take there.
I don't know the finer points about legal copyright but I've never heard of someone else owning the right to images you have taken with your own equipment and film! - this really goes against what I understand to be the basic rules - if you're not allowed to take photos, surely they will just make sure you don't take a camera in with you?
I'd be interested to find out more if you have details?
Anna
AFAIK if you take the photograph
you have the copyright to it unless
you assign it away by prior arrangement
(you still may be able to get a license
to use the image in certain ways for certain
periods).
But certain venues do ban cameras unless you
are accredited.
In that way they will have come to a 'copyright/license to use' arrangement with the photographer.
you have the copyright to it unless
you assign it away by prior arrangement
(you still may be able to get a license
to use the image in certain ways for certain
periods).
But certain venues do ban cameras unless you
are accredited.
In that way they will have come to a 'copyright/license to use' arrangement with the photographer.
Thanks elderly, I've always understood ownership of artwork to be fairly straightforward as far as photography is concerned - i.e. if you took the photo with your own film and equipment then it's yours!! end of story! not even a grey area..... the confusion seems to be where 'performance' & licensing rights are in place..... I can see this potentially may be the case under racing conditions where licenced photographers use vantage points but not for a smelly old trackday!! as a Media Student at Uni, I often used to go & photograph racing events & never had a problem. It is the trackday aspect I was particularly surprised about! Certainly at all the trackdays I do there are loads of people taking photos of their mates etc....
KateB said:
We have a trackday at Donington on Monday 23rd May. You would be most welcome to come along and take photos! We have several cars available for hot lap rides too, so if you get bored of just watching, you can always hop in a car for a bit of fun for just £25.
Sounds very cool to me, may just be able to get there
Meeting at a service station might even save you the transport costs 
s2rr Kitty said:
I'd be interested to find out more if you have details?
Suffice to say it's an exceedinly grey area. It's not so much that you can't take the photos in the first place, but what you can do with them afterwards. It's quite vague as to whether they can be displayed on a website or not. Definitely can't be sold in any form. In addition to this, there's the blurring between officially signed on press and a regular punter. Mallory have a congtract with a single photographer so are even stricter on everything.
Most relevant thread:
www.ten-tenths.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61838
Gassing Station | Track Days | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff