Drag Race Photography: Irwindale Speedway - July 2010
 

I do some amateur photography. Took these shots last year. Thought I'd share 'em with the rest of the auto art community here. Comments and constructive criticism welcome and much appreciated. :thumbup:

http://www.hotrodders.com/gallery/da...9_Edited_1.jpg



http://www.hotrodders.com/gallery/da...9_Edited_1.jpg



http://www.hotrodders.com/gallery/da...2_Edited_1.jpg

Photography
 

Very Very nice, especially capturing the sunset with the mustang. Good job!

Thanks Artist! :D I'm waiting for the right season to start catching the failing light on these cars again. I've got bunches more and I'll post a few more soon.

This is what I do for a living most of the time, you have a great capture on the second and third pics, the first is a little soft but maybe you caught the wall a bit too much. You seem to be just abut at your final focal lenght. Some lenses have a "sweet spot" and that would be about it in the second and third. Any camera information ?? make model, lens used?

Hey Only Racing,

Thanks for the props! Photographing drag races is something I got into last year, about the same time I started doing photography. I'm a self taught rookie with a little over a year into it. In order to avoid the crowds in and around the bleachers at Irwindale Speedway (and because photography with a camera using a "professional looking lens" is not allowed from the bleachers), I do tend to stand pretty far down the strip. I shot the above photos with a Canon XTi and a Tamron 70-300 4/5.6. For editing, I used Photoscape. its free and I haven't come up with the dough for Photoshop yet. The Tamron was the first telephoto lens I bought for learning and sold it a couple of months ago. I'm in the market for a fast telephoto but boy are they pricey :pain:. I have also invested in the old Canon 1D. With a 45 point A/F and 8.5 fps, that thing misses nothing. Just haven't had a chance to go back to the strip with that one all that much.

That is pretty cool to run into someone on this forum who does this for a living. I do hope that, with enough practice, I'm able to make a little money on the side to at least support "equipment upgrades." :D

Even better we both shoot Canon, lol. Nikon is overrated and the inside flash or backlighting I think is cheating with some of the higher end models. Right now I have a 20D, 30D and 7D, where-as I started with a D30 and my partner had the 1D, which BTW has a 500 flash sync that no one realizes what a difference it makes and even at 4 MP it's one of Canons best cameras. Photography has actually gotten cheaper now with better glass and bodies. I keep a tamron 17-50 2.8, A Tamron 10-22 3.5 -5.6 and a 70-200 2.8 L second gen with a 580EXII flash and an off camera flash set for added light, the sigma 120-300 2.8 is coming along with the Canon 200-400 2.8 unless I find Sigma updates the lens they have, I love the Sigma and Tamron lenses, colors are richer and images out o the camera tend to be at least a meg larger than with Canon lenses because of the detail and color.

I'm not sure what the rules are there at the track, we are limited in Jersey a bit or at one track since it's where Kallitta was killed at E Town, other tracks are not as rigid, hell people hang over the walls which IMO is the stupidest move ever when shooting anything quicker than 10 seconds.

I feel the XTI is a bit limiting for use of making good photos without noise, even at 200 ISO it's apparent in low light situations which brings you back to glass, anything with a straight 2.8 is going to do wonders, even if it is expensive the difference between the 70-300 Tamron is night and day on both models you have. If your camera shop does rentals, try the L glass or similar 2.8 straight through, it's usually for me around 50 for a weekend, your camera store can be a big help, I have a great relationship with mine, rentals are no problem, if I need a 300-800 I can have it for the weekend. For what you want to do, please shoot in manual, AV or TV mode, all will give much better results, I shoot drag racing anywhere from 9.0 aperture at 500 shutter depending on light and drop down to 2.8 with an off camera flash filling in behind the car while hitting it from the front with flash on manual for night but have shot the 30D at night with a 2.8 and single flash but have to be close to the object and not having to go above 200ISO. The new 7D I just got will allow me to go to 1600ISO no problem if metered right and I nail it, but will still use a fill flash, the 580EXII will save you photos since the ETTL reads it back to the camera much better than earlier models, I would have gone with the 5D Mark but it didn't justify 2,000 more or getting new lenses for a full frame, I like the crop camera's just as good for what I do.

Now back to the noise issue, sometimes it's not noise you are seeing, it can be a combination of smoke and fumes wafting down track after burnouts even more prominent with a flash, I don't even bother taking the shot if there's smoke so don't blame the camera, it's the environment around the cars.

As for making money, you have to be dedicated, and of course track photographers will have issues with you stepping on their turf, meet the track owner, be polite to the other photogs and definitely don't critique them, they hate it since most of them are holding 5 grand worth of stuff in their hand, of course they know more than you and you're a new guy which makes it harder. I don't sell my photos at all and don't even own a printer, too much work for me, I make them available for file downloads at minimal prices, have been published in many magazines both large and small scale but doesn't pay well in any respect.

What I have found is racers like pictures of their cars, soft, in focus, out of focus, terrible glare and more, they just want a picture of their car, better if you get it right obviously too but these guys are not picky. Go out on the street and practice, a car going 50MPH is similar to a launch and will give you information for focal length, shutter speed aperture and lighting, shoot anything, since it's digital it's simply practice and basically costs nothing but your time. I still haven't found a reason for RAW images unless I feel it's just a bad day at the track and the images are suffering, JPG large in any of your camera's are going to be JPG's at some point when finished, it saves me on workflow allot.

Now lets get to "Being Different", look at any racing gallery and you see the standard "For Sale Shot" this is usually the car dead on, nothing around it launching and so on with a long lens, around 300 or so, usually the "Spray and Pray" group tend to overuse that 9FPS to "Not Miss It" again, cheating IMO. Compose a shot, wait until the right moment and take your best, refocus and give it another. Sometimes you need to do the "For Sale Shot", with sometimes upwards of 3 qualifiers, you have a chance to get three different angles, at least make one more interesting by having the crew, or composing the shot with onlookers or stands that have people in there, magazines and tracks love this. Empty stand shots are detrimental to the race itself so they hate them. Take a look at the cars on the return road, I began this years ago, and have had photogs really find sales increase with these simply because NO ONE ever takes them, dummies. The crew towing back after a record pass is something they cherish which is what photos are for. Panning shots are some of the most lost in the bunch, from the stands you can go to 20 on the shutter and track it for a few bursts, nail it and it looks like 500MPH, lol.

If by chance the track has no photographer on certain days, make yourself available and keep in mind they will like the idea as long as the official photographer isn't freaking out about it. Look to find access by shooting FOR a website with a letter of recommendation possibly; have the administrator call the track for access and so on. Once on the track and you produce, they will see the benefits of having you.

Hope some of this helps you on your way, this is from my own experience, We've published over 600 galleries, shot some of the most interesting races, shows, models and sports, yet I'm not in it for money or glamour, it's more about the racers and we had the outlet for them and it was appreciated by them.

Sincerely Mark

Lol! I ended up in the Canon camp purely by chance; some guy was selling his 300D for $220 last year to pay rent and I picked it up. Wow, you've got quite a few bodies. It is interesting you've got the older 20D and 30D. They are very solidly built bodies. Do you find that they do well when photographing fast-moving subjects? I ask only because I've never used them and was personally considering the 40D as my next "upgrade" (I am ultimately shooting for a 5D, no pun intended) . The 1D I have is awesome. Its very sturdily built and the 4MP is very misleading. But it is loud! I was asked to photograph a play in a very small room and it was like a machine gun going off!




I am glad you brought up the fact that you use Sigma and Tamrons. They are looked down upon by the L-series and brand snobs. My first investment after buying the 300D was the Tamron 75-300 and the 28-85 set. I originally used the telephoto for photographing the moon but I soon made my way to the track. For the price I paid, it performed very well. I am looking into buying a 70-200 2.8 L. It seems like its got a solid combination of range and speed. Do you use a tripod for it, btw? Or is it light enough for a day of hand-held shooting?




The rules at Irwindale basically say "no fancy-looking cameras" in the bleachers. but they are ok away from the bleachers area and behind the fence. Rumor has it one photographer has got some kind of a deal with the track so he's the only one with the pass to get up close. I also tend to go to Auto Club Speedway They aren't uptight about photography and are willing to give a pass to get closer to the staging area.




The XTi is quite limited in terms of focusing and definitely suffers from noise issues. Nut it is a workhorse. I never thought about using a flash. Im not even sure if its allowed, to be honest. You are definitely shooting at much higher shutter speeds and aperture than me. I am always shooting in manual, havent tried the AV or TV at the track yet. You do bring up a good point about owning crop-sensor lens and then buying a full-frame camera.




Never thought of that. But I am usually too faraway for any smoke to get in the way. Glad you pointed it out.




Luckily, I haven't run into any dedicated photographers (yet) to be of any nuisance to them. I did buy a gigantic Canon photo printer but I am also considering using an online gallery like Smugmug when I feel confident enough that my work is worth selling (or buying).




I have been shooting in RAW so far, but that's going by the advice I read online. Thats a very good technique you bring up about practicing on the street. I definitely need to get my "sweet spot" down, along with panning.




You got me on the "Not Miss It" strategy; Im very guilty of that. but I guess for me its more because I like capturing wheelies :D . but I know what you mean about pictures with the pit crew setting up on the cars returning. I have photographed them but never gave them much thought until you pointed them out.




Good tip Mark! I think the Auto Club Speedway might be the way to go on this. Irwindale is covered.




Mark, all this information is extremely helpful and you have obviously put quite bit of work into it. I, or anyone else who reads, can never thank you enough. You should seriously consider doing a sticky post of this info so other members are more likely to find it and read it.

Again, thank you so much for sharing all this! :thumbup:

- Moe

great thread
 

Great thread. I enjoyed reading all that was said. Now, can you translate into english!

Lol! Save $4000. Buy good camera. Buy excellent fast lens with enough focal range. Practice practice practice. Find your special technique to be unique. Get cozy with track owners. Market yourself. Make moola. :D

English
 

Easy for you to say (Ha)

You should say: " Says the guy who has yet to do any of this!" Lol! :D

Basically, if you ever shot film, even with a standard 35mm style body, it all translates back to the digital camera's in many ways, ISO, F stops and apperature, there's no amazing points to make with the comparisons only that digital gives you instant looks, is 1,000X cheaper and of course the ability to fix a picture in a computer. I still love film and know photogs that use it for "Night Of Thrills shows" and such since film doesn't react to the burst of light and so on. Shooting fire with a digital is an art form IMO if you get it right.

Digital is simply fast and efficient, film is probably still one of the finest art forms out there, when put into a slide on 35mm, it can be an amazing image and not overdeveloped.

Nikons are just as loud, just watch the president making an announcement and all those big nikons blasting away at 8 frames with a flash, you think these guys can't take a single picture, lol. I will never part with either of my older bodies, even though outdated I still use them quite often with different lenses on each. Both are well capable of catching a 230 MPH pro mod on the top end on the wall, just a problem for one of these is file size, which is where the 7D comes in. Pretty soon you will be finding a 40D - 50D prices dropping like flies, unlike glass, camera's are like computers, they just fall fast, glass is always high as Canon and others usually update their bodies on a two year schedule. I know I have more than 40,000 clicks on the 30 and has never had a problem, I also have a friend that uses the 50 which gives great results also but has that autofocus deal involved, I hate it and will just keep it on center point. You will do nice portraits with a 5D, but for sports or fast shooting, it's not the camera, you either do the 7D or go to the pro camera's like the big Marks. The one thing I do like about any of the higher or later bodies is instant on once you lift it, it's ready and I mean fast. I can have any of these idle and lift / shoot in that amount of time.


There are two vesions of the 2.8, one is USM and the other isn't, both in the early versions are relatively cheap now but solid as a rock. The newest version is simply amazing but again cost would be a factor, pricey yet you won't find a better lens in this range. It's fairly heavy but comfortable, I have one hanging on my neck all day. I don't shoot with a mono or tripod though i would recommend it for slow panning from the stands which BTW, I have never heard a rule of no fancy camera's in the stands ( complete BS ) IMO, I don't know what is up with that but you paid to get in, it's a public area, and you have the right to contest that as a spectator. Again make sure you check your camera store for rentals, it's well worth it for the price if needed,going to a car show, get a 10-22 and see some awesome shots afterwards, rent a 70-200 and see how much weight you can take for a day, I don't mind it, but moving to the sigma 120-300 would be like having a barbell on your neck but one of the fastest peices of glass there is.


Then go there, the racing is probably just as good and if invited, be polite, stay out of the way of ticking off the track owners or staging crews and you will be welcomed back



As with any camera, theres a time to flash, and a time not to. I have head all the stories of drivers not liking a flash going off, which is false unless it's a bracket style race, yes they will stop after they redlight and jump the wall to beat the daylights out of you, not so with the pro classes. The pro classes use a heads up tree either .400 or .500 so they have just about enough time to mash the pedal and when the staged light is on, they hit it. Unlike the braket racers, one may leave before the other so it comes down to who leaves last if you intend to flash, never flash the first to leave, you may cause the driver in the opposing lane to leave early and again have the living daylights beat out of you. Once it comes to night shots, mny photogs are now tring the "No Flash" high 1600 and more iso settings with upwards of 1.4 prime lenses. I personally like the look since most of our racing is Pro Mod, Outlaw 10.5 so when the nitrous comes on you catch the flame action real nice without blowing out the flames. The only other way of doing the same with a flash is using 2'nd curtain flash sync but that will soften the backs of the cars a bit.

The deadly flashing while a car is staging dilema: I have seen this too many times, when guys have a camera or not enough skill to be able to catch the launch and will flash a car as it is staging. IMO, if you don't have the equipment to shoot at night, leave the line and go to the pits for some slow shutter speed shots at night on a tripod. This is one of the worst penalties I can imagine for a driver ecspecially in eliminations, on a .400 tree, they see a flash and bang, they are gone and will surely have issues because of this. This is why a fast camera and 2.8 lens is needed.

Don't kid yourself about being too far away, the smoke will hang in front of the car or underneath and move forward in alot of situations, even from far away, sometimes I'm at 1/8th mile and it is still in the image making it either washed out looking or will mess with how you metered again looking like noise.


You will soon I'm sure, they are out there and again, it's their turf and you are the newbie. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I wouldn't be so hard on myself, if I like it, it's either going to be critique'd or passed over, take a look at HDR pools on flikr, some are incredible and some flat out stink, would someone buy either, it's up to the person who is looking. My opinion is just do it, and do more than just drag racing, add in some wildlife, dogs, sunsets or sunrises to complete the portfolio, Smugmug is excellent as a way to have a photographers website at a minimal cost without the hassles of you doing printing, I hate printing anything. I'm sure California has some beautiful scenery, beaches and so on, get up early and shoot some streams, beaches, sunsets and make them available. Smugmug also has the option of tagging the whole gallery for search engines to find you, a priceless bit of SEO for nothing other than using the pro online.


Yes, the big RAW deal, I don't get it myself, huge files and so on. Lightroom does the same to a JPG without destroying it, Photoshop 3 and up has DNG or RAW capabilities too for processing, it's not like the old days when you took a .tiff image to the photolab at 44 megs, the image is just as good in a bitmap or even a PNG but you did start with a JPG which is something to consider. If I was to just shoot in RAW, it would be for HDR only, and bracket it on a tripod for about 6 shots stepping up or down .3 stops at a time then merging in an HDR program. There are also chioces for selling "stock" photos. very expensive but business's need some and will pay for a clean shot of say a business area, local tavern and so on. I found on my 30 and 20D that it loves 170mm at the track about 110 feet out, nice DOF and clear although many consider DOF to be against all logic since the human eye has infinate DOF compared to a lens, I like DOF so I stick with it, just like panning, try some motorcycles, a police parade, and so on, even dogs running which I think are awesome.


I like getting them too but won't burst unless I feel it's going bad or going on the bumper, I'm at a disadvantage when being on the track using a 70-200, once it's near you, you have to stop and catch it from behind since it's just too close at that time unless it's in the far lane. Any super stock race will give you the best wheelies you could ask for and nostalgia events. Don't give up on import events either, drifting, and so on is still pretty big, so are car shows. A good lens and some strange angles is what they like and will buy. Go to the pits, ask for a team photo of some bigger teams, well dressed, not a spot shot but prepared style, allow them time to get composed and make it look good.



Mark, all this information is extremely helpful and you have obviously put quite bit of work into it. I, or anyone else who reads, can never thank you enough. You should seriously consider doing a sticky post of this info so other members are more likely to find it and read it.

Again, thank you so much for sharing all this!

- Moe

Anytime Moe, I hope you got the PM's I sent and installed the programs. If you need tips, lemme know on setting it up or how to manage a workflow.

Moe and the others, here's a reason why sometimes the odd shot is worth doing. This months cover shot I took as i lay nearly passed out in killer heat in the pits with the Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Association, lol. I was just taking a break and happened to think that would be a neat shot simply pointed and shot, never thinking anything about it afterwards I needed to do an article on the series with these guys. It landed me the cover again, who would had thought that right? not me. I thought action, flames neat stuff like that would surely be better but they kept them inside the magazine. They put these online after a month or so, this just came out so only the cover..

I attached it to the bottom.

I cover quite a few races and publications like having an author and a photographer on hand, writing is something I like to do and it takes care of my friends in racing.

This is an online version of the Shakedown At E Town 2010 in a online flip book starting at page 16. I like the print version better since the online version does it no justice, it's almost photo quality paper, heavy weight and follows my kind of racing. I've shot this race for nine years and have had it published each year similar to this with a few covers to go with it, I stil don't consider myself a pro at any of this stuff just one who likes to capture the sport.

http://view.flipdocs.com/showbook.as...0003372_570753