2011 Formula Drift Round 7 Title Fight Qualifying And Championship
I’ve noticed that a lot of photographers take big photographic opportunities for granted like Formula Drift Round 7 the Championship for example. It was held at the local Irwindale Speedway better known as the Toyota Speedway or the House of Drift. Where it all started. I was able to attend both the qualifying and championship days. Why I say this is event was a huge photographic opportunity is because you get to shoot right next to very well-known motor sport and car photographers who have earned their ranks and are respected in the community. Just watching a portion of the photographers who were considered “media” was somewhat hard for me to digest. Shooting with an entry-level DSLR with auto settings is fine, if you can clearly show you know what you’re doing, but standing idle and clueless while asking others how to adjust settings is whole other ball park. And that really leads me to question the shooter’s passion. Is it really there? Or is just a task just because you want to add something to your so-called “car blog”? I really don’t know. Even Formula Drift staff admit that they must be more stringent next year when choosing media credentials. Nowadays anyone with a DSLR can claim to be a “professional” photographer and anyone can start a “car blog” for free even, but just how qualified are they? Is there skill or even passion? I don’t treat photography as a task I must do, even when I work for clients under contract, I still rush home after every event or shoot and start diving into my photos all the time. Sleeping and eating can wait. I do apologize for the rant that might come off as harsh and maybe even conceded, but that’s just my personal opinion as to where the industry is headed. I’m not here to gloat about me being the best automotive photographer out there because I truly am NOT. I’m merely stating that it’s a privilege to be able to shoot amongst household industry names. It’s the meaningless saturation that really bothers me. There must be some sort of quality control.
Wow… I managed to digress so bad, I almost forgot about my Formula D 2011 Title Fight and Fatlace Slammed Society Showcase coverage. Here it is! Once again, since I personally think that drifting has such a gritty feeling associated with it, I thought I’d go wild with the editing. And as usual, with my motor sports photos, I get a little crazier. The contrast is bumped along with the tones. Hope I didn’t over do it!
The ladies
Fatlace Slammed Society Showcase
And if you’re interested, I did attend the first round of Formula D too at the Streets of Long Beach.
Click here for the rest.
I concur with your opinion about ‘photographers’. Great job on the photos like always.
Thanks! <3
You’ve got your panning game on lock John!!!
Looks incredible! Love the shots of the Silvia!!!
Thank you! I don’t always do pans. It was my first time panning so much. My neck broke.
John without having to say so but will do so out of respect, your photography is always top tier in my opinion as humble as you may be and I see your disapproval of what would merit a media pass as often times we get denied as a majority of the time it’s on a first come, first serve basis, go figure…
Sadly so. Basically almost anyone with a “car blog” was able to go as media. But do I think a lot of them really deserved to be there? No. I would dare to say that without “those shooters” that the ones who were there with a passion and genuine interest would have gotten more quality shots, which in turn would have been more quality media for the general public. Just my thoughts.
I couldn’t agree more about your opinion of how the media pits are these days. So many people who are just there to say they’re media and don’t really understand the culture or passion of being trackside. Its a huge opportunity for those who are approved for media and they should take advantage of it.
Anyways, great shots as always man! Love your work!
Thanks a lot Andy. And to note, I do believe that with passion comes skill. If you really are passionate about something, it’ll show and you’ll go out of your way to prove it.
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Nice Pictures as always man.
Great shots man! i wish someday ill could shoot a formula d event.
I agree with your opinion, locally in my country in the circuit races and drift events that i get the chance to shoot im noticing this, it kinda shocks me sometimes.
Hope to see you trackside sometime! :)
With the risk of posing a stupid question, would you mind explaining how you got the cars in focus, but not the wheels and background? Did you move the camera with the car, having a shutter speed that’s fast enough to capture the car unblurred, but keep the wheels blurred?
Thanks!
Paul, you are correct. What you are describing is called ‘panning’ which is used with wildlife and motorsports photography a lot. The following where my settings if it helps it really depends on time of day and other conditions, so it’s not always set to these settings:
Camera: Nikon D700
Exposure: 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture: f/18.0
Focal Length: 140 mm
ISO Speed: 640
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Thanks John. What’s the reason for the high f-stop?
To balance out the lower shutter speed. Shutter speed and f-stop have an indirect relationship with one another.
But couldn’t you just as well lower the ISO to keep it from being to bright? It would allow you to lower the f-stop a little, and reduce diffraction (if you’re worried about that kind of thing).
*too bright I mean
English is not my first language :)
it’s fine, I understand you perfectly. I could have lowered the ISO and the f-stop but I run the risk of not having the car in full focus. with f/18 even if I miss focus on a part of the car, the whole car will still be in focus. But if you’re good lower ISO and f-stop is more ideal like you say.
Ah, I see. Thanks again, this has been very enlightening .
[...] days. Since the Eibach Springs Honda Meet relocated to the Irwindale Speedway (same place where Formula Drift Round 7 is held), I decided to take a day off and go to an event again. It also made sense to cover an [...]