Recents from Circuit of the Americas

[gckless]

Hey folks, wanted to throw a couple up here I've shot recently. Normally I don't like to post as many, it's a burden to write C&C for, so maybe pick a couple favorites and toss out C&C for those? Honestly picking my favorites is one of the hardest things for me. Sometimes there are clear winners, but a lot of times for me I can't decide. These were shot at Circuit of the Americas during a track time event. They were all shot with a D7200 and either a Sigma 17-50mm or Nikon 70-300mm VR.

1.


2.


3.


4.


5.


6.


7.


8.


9.



I think I'm starting to get better. I'm trying to pursue gigs doing this, maybe published or just the photog for the event, but I'm not quite sure I'm good enough just yet. Any thoughts? I do know that I'm a bit better than some around here that do get paid for it though. Comes back to the "who you know" thing, which I'm discovering is big in this industry.

Anyway, I love cars and racing and I just wanted to share. Was just out at COTA flag marshaling for the Pirelli World Challenge all weekend, and that was a good time. No photos, had another job, but I did recover a couple cars

 

[pixmedic]

exposures look good, panning looks good..
overall i would say its a nice set.
I especially like #4. while you dont get a great idea of the movement in relation to the stands or other cars, it looks like a fantastic
"product shot" for the car/driver.

 

[tirediron]

Agree; #4 is an excellent panning shot. Overall this is a nice set, but the one niggle I do have is that the cars are all going away rather than coming toward the viewer.

 

[runnah]

Agree; #4 is an excellent panning shot. Overall this is a nice set, but the one niggle I do have is that the cars are all going away rather than coming toward the viewer.

Nothing wrong with a nice view of a car's backside.

 

[pixmedic]

Agree; #4 is an excellent panning shot. Overall this is a nice set, but the one niggle I do have is that the cars are all going away rather than coming toward the viewer.

Nothing wrong with a nice view of a car's backside.

eh...
while i can certainly appreciate a good backside, im more of a frontside man.

 

[gckless]

exposures look good, panning looks good..
overall i would say its a nice set.
I especially like #4. while you dont get a great idea of the movement in relation to the stands or other cars, it looks like a fantastic
"product shot" for the car/driver.

Thank you. You think the grass, tires, and paint scheme behind it are not enough to show movement? I agree it would be better with some stationary object, pretty much like you put it, not a "great idea". Also not sure if that's a bit too tight. I didn't crop it though if I recall correctly, that's how it was taken, so there's no expanding that one unfortunately.

Agree; #4 is an excellent panning shot. Overall this is a nice set, but the one niggle I do have is that the cars are all going away rather than coming toward the viewer.

Thanks. I did notice that as well posting these. I do have a bunch coming towards me, but those weren't as good, or maybe I just kinda selected these somewhat randomly, not super critically. I think my panning wasn't as sharp or shutter speed was faster or some other small issues I saw. But I was limited for this event as far as access, so I really only had a couple locations I could shoot from, which means a lot of things looked the same. Kinda like #6 and #7.

 

[astroNikon]

ahhh .. Formula 1 # 4 .. looks like one of the 1996 - 2000 cars
love #1. Wish the "Fer" was more in focus though.

 

[gckless]

ahhh .. Formula 1 # 4 .. looks like one of the 1996 - 2000 cars
love #1. Wish the "Fer" was more in focus though.

That's actually an F3000 car, and I think '02? If I remember right. And at first I missed the "love #1" part of your response and I spent like 15 minutes trying to find the "Fer" in #4 lol.
But yeah, I could have closed the aperture a bit, might have been better.

 

[LarryLomona]

Very nice!

 

[gckless]

Very nice!

Thank you sir.

 

[Didereaux]

They are certainly as good as most of the photos in the car mags (not the ads). Now you just have to be there at the right time and get that 'action moment' shot that they will pay for. get a couple of them under your belt and you will start getting assignments. It's all timing!

 

[astroNikon]

ahhh .. Formula 1 # 4 .. looks like one of the 1996 - 2000 cars
love #1. Wish the "Fer" was more in focus though.

That's actually an F3000 car, and I think '02? If I remember right. And at first I missed the "love #1" part of your response and I spent like 15 minutes trying to find the "Fer" in #4 lol.
But yeah, I could have closed the aperture a bit, might have been better.

The focus on the stars & stripes endplate is nice. Being a Ferrari enthusiast though is why I mentioned having the "Ferrari" letters in focus as Ferrari evokes an Italian passion. LOL

I used to have a Den with a bunch of Ferrari stuff back when I used to work with them. Back when I traveled there I recall being woken up at 730 by the roar of the F1 cars on the Fiorano test track. I didn't realize but the track was at the end of the street where I was staying.

 

[gckless]

They are certainly as good as most of the photos in the car mags (not the ads). Now you just have to be there at the right time and get that 'action moment' shot that they will pay for. get a couple of them under your belt and you will start getting assignments. It's all timing!

Well thank you! I've realized that those action moments you're referring to are what I need to get, and I think #2 and #5 are along those lines. Fire out the back like that isn't all that common. I actually went back this weekend to another event and talked to the guy driving it, and he said he'd be interested in the photos because that's not supposed to happen, the car wasn't running right (the reason for the flames, excess gas in the exhaust) and he has since tuned it.

The biggest problem is getting access. Have to be on assignment from media outlets to even get access to most bigger events. So that's just step 1 in trying to get those shots! But I'm pursuing things.

ahhh .. Formula 1 # 4 .. looks like one of the 1996 - 2000 cars
love #1. Wish the "Fer" was more in focus though.

That's actually an F3000 car, and I think '02? If I remember right. And at first I missed the "love #1" part of your response and I spent like 15 minutes trying to find the "Fer" in #4 lol.
But yeah, I could have closed the aperture a bit, might have been better.

The focus on the stars & stripes endplate is nice. Being a Ferrari enthusiast though is why I mentioned having the "Ferrari" letters in focus as Ferrari evokes an Italian passion. LOL

I used to have a Den with a bunch of Ferrari stuff back when I used to work with them. Back when I traveled there I recall being woken up at 730 by the roar of the F1 cars on the Fiorano test track. I didn't realize but the track was at the end of the street where I was staying.

I see where you're coming from. And that's the thing about what we do isn't it, everyone likes something different.

What did you do with them? That's one thing I want to do one day, camp out during a 24 hour race. Go to sleep and wake up to racing. I camp on the track here regularly when I marshal, but we're up before hot track.

 

[jennings_w]

I like No. 2, though wish it was cropped in tighter. It looks like a 993, which I always thought had the best lines of the 911 series.

 

[gckless]

I like No. 2, though wish it was cropped in tighter. It looks like a 993, which I always thought had the best lines of the 911 series.

Yep, a '95 RSR in fact. He totally rebuilt it, he's got $10k in the intake manifold alone. That was already cropped a bit, so I didn't want to go too much farther, noise would start showing up. Or at least more than I like.