Evergreen Drift ProAm Round 1

PNWSGM · Apr 27, 2012

I didn't plan on covering this event, but after heading out to the track with a buddy (who was racing) I decided since I had my camera, why not? All shots were taken with a D80 with the kit 18-135mm lens, none were taken from Media Only areas.

Untitled by M.Larsonphotography, on Flickr

Untitled by M.Larsonphotography, on Flickr

All of the shots [that I liked and thought turned out good enough] from the event can be seen here: This.... is Drifting - a set on Flickr

C&C Welcome. I can do much better if I get a better lens, am I am going to look at a Tamron 70-200 f/2.8 tomorrow actually so I hope I can pick that up for the next event. And I'm still working on a watermark logo

Thanks for looking.

12sndsgood · Apr 27, 2012

Yeah definatly need something with a longer reach but not a bad set. I have been really happy with my Tamron 70-200 If one of your buddies is a driver have him get you a media pass. Allot of the drift guys have there own photographer, and that will change things allot by allowing you to get down on the field.

onehundredoctane · Apr 27, 2012

Of the ones you posted I'd have to say that pic of the S14.5 is my favorite. I love pictures with background blur when photographing moving vehicles!

bhop · Apr 27, 2012

Nice shots considering your limitations. I like the third the best. It's got some pretty good dynamics, plus I just like the car.. heh.. The last one would be my pick though if you cropped out the barrel.

cgipson1 · Apr 27, 2012

I like the last one best... but the horizon is severely tilted.. and the barrel in the foreground is a distraction. The spectators / photographers just above the car are also unfortunate.. at least they are blurred. A pretty nice shot overall! Would you mind if I post an edit?

SCraig · Apr 27, 2012

All of them are tilted to the right. Perhaps a couple of them are intentional but they are all tilted. The backgrounds are to be expected at race tracks, there is no getting away from catch fences, cones, or barrels in shots, however some of the cones and barrels could easily be cloned out.

PNWSGM · Apr 29, 2012

12sndsgood said:
Yeah definatly need something with a longer reach but not a bad set. I have been really happy with my Tamron 70-200 If one of your buddies is a driver have him get you a media pass. Allot of the drift guys have there own photographer, and that will change things allot by allowing you to get down on the field.

Well the track gives you a media pass as long as you have a website that you are going to upload them to. Plus they are free. So I am pretty set there, however if I do need to end up getting one from my buddy I'm sure it would be no problem at all.

Do you shoot any automotive sports? Just got home from a long day, which included picking up my new Tamron 70-200. Love it so far

onehundredoctane said:
Of the ones you posted I'd have to say that pic of the S14.5 is my favorite. I love pictures with background blur when photographing moving vehicles!

Love that one too. By far my favorite of the day.

bhop said:
Nice shots considering your limitations. I like the third the best. It's got some pretty good dynamics, plus I just like the car.. heh.. The last one would be my pick though if you cropped out the barrel.

Love that shot as well. I wish the barrel was just not there overall, I feel like if I crop it out it will throw the picture dimensions off big time.

cgipson1 said:
I like the last one best... but the horizon is severely tilted.. and the barrel in the foreground is a distraction. The spectators / photographers just above the car are also unfortunate.. at least they are blurred. A pretty nice shot overall! Would you mind if I post an edit?

Go ahead and post an edit! I love that photo, even with the tilt. Not sure why but I just like it a lot. I was bummed about the photographers in the background.

SCraig said:
All of them are tilted to the right. Perhaps a couple of them are intentional but they are all tilted. The backgrounds are to be expected at race tracks, there is no getting away from catch fences, cones, or barrels in shots, however some of the cones and barrels could easily be cloned out.

The second and the third have zero tilt to them. I don't think cloning/editing the barrels and cones out would do much. That is part of the sport (with the exception of the 5th picture) all of those cones/barrels represent clipping points and the finish line. Pretty important parts of the track I would say.

Thank you everybody for your input!

bhop · Apr 29, 2012

Since you gave cgipson1 permission to edit your photo, I took the liberty of doing the barrel crop, I apologize if that's a problem..
I personally think a tighter crop make for a nicer, more professional looking image. It also moves the car away from the center of the frame so that it looks like it's sliding into it instead.. a little better balance IMO...but ultimately it's up to you since they're your photos.

PNWSGM · Apr 29, 2012

That actually does look a lot better. The photographers/media in the background are still fairly distracting but it works. I don't like how small the image is now though :/