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October 28, 2007
Adrenaline At A "Buck Eighty"
I had a great time when I visited Virginia International Raceway for a day of practice runs with a group of Superbike road racers that primarily ride Ducati bikes.
I have a bunch of pictures up on the OffWing Flickr group, click here to view.
The phrase, "buck eighty," was used at the early morning track briefing referring to the speed (180 mph) that some folks hit on the straight away section of the track. The safety briefing went over issues from the previous day and helped me get acquainted with the track.
Preparation for the shoot started about a month out from the day at the track. I first checked with the raceway for any limitations or special access that I would be required. Because they were just practice runs red-tape was at a minimum.
The next steps were typical preparation that I go through for a shoot:
- Image Research: Go out there and do an image search on the topic of your shoot. I will look at the wire services, Getty Images, Photoshelter, etc. Because of the specialty subject in this case I also checked out Flickr.
- Are there special lighting issues?
- Do I need special equipment?
- What angles and techniques do I like?
- Are there special lighting issues?
- Equipment Inventory: What do I need for this assignment? I also make sure that everything is in good working order.
- Shoot List: I get very excited in the moment, so I need to prepare beforehand by creating a shoot list of things that I want to try on the assingment.
I also wanted to take advantage of the fact that this was a practice day for both myself and everyone on the bikes. So I decided to experiment a lot in the morning followed by a break when I would review the pictures and learn what worked, what didn't, and what I liked. The afternoon was then spent focused on using what I had learned and again trying new things that I might have come up with after shooting for several hours earlier.
Here is what I learned:
- Location matters (of course). There were spots along the track that I liked more than others.
- The morning was bright without any clouds so there was a lot of contrast in some corners. The afternoon became cloudy turning the sky into a giant softbox that evened out the light and made getting even light much easier.
- Some locations and shots that I had pre-visualized just didn't come together how I thought they would. Other spots turned out to be pleasant surpises.
- I also kept experimenting with different locations so that I wouldn't get bored or too mechanical in the way I was shooting. With nothing on the line, now was the time to experiment.
- The morning was bright without any clouds so there was a lot of contrast in some corners. The afternoon became cloudy turning the sky into a giant softbox that evened out the light and made getting even light much easier.
- Technique: I didn't like the stop action shots, it works for hockey and tennis, but not in racing. Panning while shooting provided a nice sense of movement by bluring the background.
- If I had a lot of money, no wife, no children, and some extra time I would probably buy a Ducati.
Posted by Allen Clark at October 28, 2007 12:55 AM
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