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Posts Tagged ‘SCCA’

Event, Photography, Sports | 0 comment

Race Cars – Summit Point, WV

©TimeLine Media - racing at Summit Point Raceway

I have a date with the dental chair today, so I cannot stay long online. There were some orders that I needed to place, and this event was just adjacent to them, so here you go! Some race cars on the track at Summit Point Raceway. Periodically, I take photos when at the track to see family or friends racing. The assignment is similar to ballroom dancing – lots of skill, action, and color – perfect for dynamic photos!

Porsche during a race at Summit Point Raceway ©TimeLine Media
Porsche during a race at Summit Point Raceway ©TimeLine Media

Photo Technique

On this occasion, I practice the technique for panning the camera. At this time, the sun was very bright at the track. So I could have used the fastest shutter speed to capture the cars on the track. However, this would result in photos that would just look like cars parked on the track. For example, if you take a photo with a very fast shutter speed, the tires and the background would be completed sharp. If you lower the shutter speed, and pan the camera as the cars go by, you can add some sense of motion to the photos. Let me know what you think about these -enjoy!

©TimeLine Media - racing at Summit Point Raceway
©TimeLine Media – racing at Summit Point Raceway
©TimeLine Media - racing at Summit Point Raceway
Racing at Summit Point Raceway ©TimeLine Media

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

Event, Personal, Photography, Sports | 0 comment

Day at the Races

It was a late night of dancing at the Salsa-Bachata Throwdown last night. And it’s an early call this morning at the races! At this time, I am out getting some video and photos at the racetrack. I’m getting some good video for a personal project. The red car below was built and raced by my father in law. It is a beautiful convertible that resembles a Shelby Cobra. I particularly like the peal red paint. It is easy to find as his group zips around the track.

TimeLine Media logo on my father-in-law's car that he races at Summit Point Raceway
TimeLine Media logo on my father-in-law’s car that he races at Summit Point Raceway
Entrance wristband for a day at the races
Entrance wristband for a day at the racetrack

Since this is a large racing facility, you cannot see all the track from any vantage point. With this in mind, you need to pick certain areas and stay in that area for the entire race. Although you cannot see everything, there is nice access to exciting curves around the infield. I plan to have a short video to share with you soon. It’s a beautiful day to be outside! Hope you too are enjoying the weather.

Camera on a tripod for a video shoot at Summit Point in West Virginia
Camera on a tripod for a video shoot at Summit Point in West Virginia

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

Event, Photography, Sports | 0 comment

SCCA Racing

SCCA racing photo, www.timelinedc.com

Auto racing is another challenge to capture in photographs for different reasons that ballroom dance. In ballroom dance, there is a limit to how far you can change the background in the photo. Better photos have cleaner backgrounds. If you have an entire racetrack to choose from, you should find a spot without too many distractions. For these photos, I did not have any special credentials to shoot the track. So I had to find accessible areas in the spectator sections that would be clean enough for photos.

Summit Point, West Virginia

The distractions around the track include spectator stands, safety tires piled by fences for safety, and unpaved track. This is difficult to do completely. So I look for spots where these are minimized. Then I pan the camera as the cars go by to blur the backgrounds, keeping the cars sharp. It always takes a few tries to get into the rhythm of following the cars this way. In the top photo, you can see two of the wheels of the Corvette off the ground as it goes through the apex of its turn. I tried to get this shot 4 times before one finally came out where everything was sharp, and the wheels were in the air.

In this next photo, the fuel mixture was a little “rich” with excess fuel being expelled as the car downshifted through the turn. The flame would show in the braking at this turn for approximately 2 seconds. I used the motor drive on the Nikon D4 to catch the flame at the tailpipe. This was the best of the attempts. In the other photos, the flame was either too small, or I just caught the smoke left after the flame dissipated.

SCCA racing photo, www.timelinedc.com
SCCA racing photo, www.timelinedc.com

If you pan the camera along with slowing the shutter speed down, you can keep the car body sharp, but blur the wheels keeping the sense of speed on display. Having too high of a shutter speed will freeze the wheels making it look like the car is just parked on the track. This is similar to ballroom dancing for me. I love to see motion in the faces, and the costumes of the dancers. Capturing motion in a still image is more challenging, but holds my attention much longer.

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208