I must remember to work the security guards whenever I'm out at events
like that.
What works best, charm or bribery? Bear in mind that I'm not very
charming, but even less wealthy.
Good luck on getting the autographs, BTW.
-- Walt
On 8/19/2011 12:57 AM, John Francis wrote:
I haven't really shot enough races for it to get to be mundane
(probably around 50-60 professional events over the years), and
nowadays I'm only going to one (or sometimes two) events a year,
and just shooting from the publicly-accessible areas at that.
In the interests of full disclosure, the shot of Scott Dixon
was taken from a vantage point where I wasn't really supposed
to be, but all the other shots were taken from positions where
anyone could be if they had purchased the appropriate ticket.
This was a return to the track where I rekindled my interest
in motorsports photography back in 1993 (when I was shooting
with an MX or a Super Program, and the M80-200/f4). I got a
pretty good photograph of the start of the race (courtesy of
a helpful security guard, who let me sneak up to the fence
and grab a couple of shots). It showed the field bunched
up in turn four, approaching the green flag at the start.
I took a mounted 8x10 print of that shot with me the next
year, and managed to get it autographed by both the drivers
on the front row (Nigel Mansell and Raoul Boesel), and by
one of the drivers on row two (Paul Tracy). I don't recall
why I couldn't find the third-place driver (Scott Goodyear).
Nowadays Scott works as a TV commentator for ABC, who were
the network covering the race. So I took that old photograph
with me this year, and managed to get Scott to sign it.
Security is a lot tighter now, so without an official photo
pass I couldn't get to the same spot to get a new version
of that start shot. But a DX sensor and a 60-250 zoom lets
me get similar shots from a lot further away. The old 1993
shot has a bit more impact (it's taken from a lot closer to
track level), but this year's shots taken from the back row
of the grandstand are technically better than anything that
I could get with the film and lenses I had back in 1993.
The M80-200/f4 is a pretty good lens, but it's not as good
as the DA* 60-250/f4, and the current Sony sensors perform
better than the 35mm colour negative film I used back then.
I'm probably going to get a print made of one of this year's
shots (probably the one from the first restart), and go to
the race next weekend at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma (aka
Sears Point) to see if I can get that one autographed too.
On Thu, Aug 18, 2011 at 11:58:19PM -0500, Walt Gilbert wrote:
Great set, John.
I don't know if it ever gets to be mundane after shooting so many
races, but I would've loved to have been in your shoes.
-- Walt
On 8/18/2011 11:45 PM, John Francis wrote:
This is my first attempt at using the Photoshop online galleries feature in
Elements.
It shows a selection of photographs taken at the IndyCar race in New Hampshire.
http://www.photoshop.com/users/johnf/albums/ffc5b1acd6fa4909b2f80f01b67aeb85/slideshow
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