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On The Road
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#3 Gasoline Alley Smoke ...
While roaming through the infield maze of hauler's, RV's
and Sprint Cars I found this mechanic taking a cigarette
break on the gas tank of his race car before the feature
race. I asked if I could take a picture to which he replied,
"Have at it man." Nikon D2Xs, ISO200, 1/20 at
f6.3, Nikon 12-24mm Lens, WB 3000K Two remote Nikon SB800
Speedlights (tandem) with Warming Gels and power output
of +1.7 held off camera by Justin Stailey, Nikon SU800 Commander,
Lexar 8G Flash Card. |
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#4 Leaning in the Turn ... The
Sprint Cars literally fly around the dirt track and are purposely
driven into a power drift in the turns. The available light
is low and so I used my Elinchrom Ranger RX Speed AS battery
power pack with one sport strobe to illuminate a section of
turn 3. Nikon D2Xs, ISO400, 1/20 at f5.6, Nikon 200-400mm
G VR Zoom Lens, Rear Curtain Sync, Pocket Wizard Multi Max
Transceivers, Elinchrom Ranger RX Speed AS battery power pack
and one sport strobe with sport reflector, Bogen Magic Arm,
Lexar 8G Flash Card. I secured the single Elinchrom sport
strobe with sport reflector using a Bogen Magic Arm to a race
track light pole about 50 feet from the inside guard rail
of turn 3 and illuminated a section of track about 25 feet
wide that extended across the track at the apex of the turn.
The slow shutter speed gave a sweeping motion to the car while
the flash from the Ranger RX Speed AS strobe froze the car.
One of my favorite images of the weekend. |
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 Image
#6 Sundown at Susquehanna ...
Photographing at a venue a fraction of the size of Daytona
allows the photographer to see the horizon instead of massive
grandstands. So I kept a close eye on the setting sun and
positioned myself to photograph this car leaving the race
track with a blown engine as the sun met the horizon. Nikon
D200, ISO100, 1/500 at f10, Nikon 12-24mm Lens, WB 10,000K,
Lexar 8G Flash Card. |
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 Image
#7 Night Thunder ... The ability
to get very close to the race track provided great opportunities
for pictures. The available light at Susquehanna was even
less than at William's Grove ........ just what I needed to
do another slow shutter, rear curtain pan/flash image. I again
secured an Elinchrom Ranger RX Speed AS power pack and sport
strobe to a race track light pole and lit up a section of
track similar to the way I lit turn 3 at William's Grove the
night before. This time the sport strobe was about 40 feet
from the inside rail. Nikon D2Xs, ISO100, 1/13 at f5.6, Nikon
17-55mm Lens, WB 4400K, Pocket Wizard Multi Max Transceivers,
Elinchrom Ranger RX Speed AS power pack and sport strobe with
sport reflector, Bogen Magic Arm, Lexar 8G Flash Card. Several
photographers at both race tracks used large on camera flash
units with an 8-12 inch reflector. Those on camera flash units
definitely light up the cars and get the job done but I think
it is the use of off camera lighting that gives the image
more drama and more viewer appeal. |
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 Image
#8 Flat Out ... These Super
Modified race cars make great action shots especially when
illuminating them with the Ranger. The power drift position
in the turn makes it look as if the car is coming straight
at me. The action is easy to follow with the Nikon 200-400mm
G VR Zoom Lens. Nikon D2Xs, ISO400, 1/100 at f4, Nikon G VR
Zoom Lens, WB 6300K, Elinchrom Ranger RX Speed AS battery
powered pack and sport strobe with sport reflector, Bogan
Magic Arm, Pocket Wizard Multi Max Transceivers, Lexar 8G
Flash Card. This is the same sport strobe set up as the previous
image but this time I used ISO 400, a shutter speed of 1/125
at f4 and waited for the car be directly perpendicular to
the strobe flash. The strobe easily freezes the action and
reveals the driver behind the wheel. |
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Image
#1 Behind the Wheel
... The Sprint Cars at William's Grove Speedway defiantly
kicked my adrenaline into high gear. I had never mounted
a remote camera to a race car before but seized the opportunity
to do so with Sprint driver Frankie Herr and his #99 car.
This was something new for me and I learned a lot from the
experience. Nikon D2Xs, ISO100, Aperture Priority (1/80
at f5.6), Nikon 10.5mm Fisheye Lens, WB 6700K, Pocket Wizard
Multi Max Transceivers to fire the remote D2Xs, Nikon N90
M3 pre release trigger cord, Bogen Super Clamp, Gitzo Ball
Head, Kirk "L" Bracket, Two Bogen Magic Arms,
Lexar 8G Flash Card. I used the Bogen Super Clamp to clamp
the D2Xs to the roll cage and used 2 Bogen Magic Arms clamped
to the Kirk "L" Bracket and wing struts for extra
camera stability and safety. We were allowed to mount the
camera to the car only for a few warm up laps but that was
enough for a solid image from behind the wheel. I especially
like the way the setting sun reflected off of Frankie's
face shield and illuminated the dashboard gages. 
Image
#2 Night Roar ... It's Friday
night at William's Grove and the Sprint Cars are roaring.
I protected my ears with head phones that I had used while
shooting a book on NASCAR some years ago but had forgotten
how blocking out sound can tend to make me forget my dangerous
surroundings. Justin Stailey was a great help to me with
this picture. He not only managed to grab my shirt collar
and yank me out of the way of this Sprint Car making a
fast departure from Gasoline Alley but continued to aim
my two SB800s at the car so I could still get the shot.
Thanks Justin for Multi-Tasking. Nikon D2Xs, ISO200, 1/5
at f5.6, Nikon 12-24mm Lens, WB 3600K, Rear Curtain Sync,
Two remote Nikon SB800 Speedlights (tandem) with Warming
Gels and a power output of +2.3 held off camera by Justin
Stailey, Nikon SU800 Commander, Lexar 8G Flash Card. 
Image
#5 Power Turn ... On Saturday
we went Susquehanna Speedway. The Super Modified cars used
a similar approach to the turns at Susquehanna that the
Sprint Cars used at William's Grove Speedway the night before.
That being a power drift that faced the cars towards the
inside rail. With the sun getting low in the sky Bill encouraged
me to get closer to the qualification race and so I used
a Nikon 17-55mm Lens and held it out over the rail and let
the auto focus do it's thing. Nikon D2Xs, ISO400, 1/1000
at f4, Nikon 17-55mm Lens, WB 6300K, Lexar 8G Flash Card.
I'm not sure how fast these cars power drift through the
turns (maybe 75 mph ?) but when you are only 15 feet away
and they are pointed straight at you ... Well, it feels
like they are going 200 mph. This was a great experience for me
and a wonderful way to spend a weekend with Bill Anderson and
Justin Stailey. We had a blast, learned a lot and made some terrific
pictures. No photographer should ever equate the size of a sporting
event with the potential of making great pictures. This was not
NASCAR but I found it engaging and exciting. Often times it is
a smaller hometown venue that offers more access and better pictures
than a mega stadium. Many thanks to Michelle and Justin of William's
Grove Speedway, and Rhonda and Todd of Susquehanna Speedway for
being so supportive and running these first class events. And
a special thanks to Bill Anderson for paving the way for Justin
and I to attend these races and experience the Speedway Thunder
of Pennsylvania ........ Thanks Bill!
Well, I hope you all enjoyed this edition of On The Road...............
See you next time On The Road, Adios. Dave
WORKSHOPS and PRESENTATION ScheduleSeptember 21-25 ... Rich Clarkson's Adventure Photography Workshop
in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. www.richclarkson.com
April 14-22, 2009 ... Photo Quest Adventures, The Netherlands. www.photoquestadventures.com |
September,
2008 (click here)
Olympians, Weather and Workshops
August,
2008 (click here)
Camp Life
July,
2008 (click here)
Lightpainting the Southwest
May,
2008 (click here)
A Southwest Tour
April,
2008 (click here)
The Endless Winter
March,
2008 (click here)
PMA Show in Las Vegas!
February,
2008 (click here)
At the Ballet
January,
2008 (click here)
One Week of Work
December,
2007 (click here)
A Look Back at 2007
November,
2007 (click here)
Traveling
with the New Nikon D3
October,
2007 (click here)
High Country Journey
September,
2007 (click here)
Walking
On The Road
August,
2007 (click here)
Speedway
Thunder from PA
July, 2007
(click here)
"Arlington National
Cemetery"
June, 2007
(click here)
"Kentucky Derby Day"
May, 2007
(click here)
"Mexico Trek"
April,
2007 (click here)
"Egypt Trek"
March,
2007 (click here)
Transit Mix
"Images From the Air"
February,
2007 (click here)
Ice Climbing in Ouray
January,
2007 (click here)
2007 Year in Review
People of Willoq, Peru
Lexington, Kentucky TREK
Training for the Mr USA Title
"The International Golf Tournament"
"Tour of Champions Documentary"
"Northern California, the FBI and Clint Eastwood ..."
"The 2006 Kentucky Derby"
"Off the Road Picture Sales"
Ladies Olympic Figure Skating
Torino Italy and the 2006 Winter Olympic Games
"Hey Dave, are you going to the Winter Olympics in Torino and What Equipment Do You Take?"
The Holiday Tea with Tchaikovsky
presented by Colorado's Classical Youth Ballet
Landscapes at Pebble Beach:
a look back at 2005
Lightpainting Landscapes
NFL Football
3 Day Photography Workshop
Gardner-Webb University, Boiling Springs, North Carolina
Michelle Kwan
International Gymnastics Camp
the Men's US Open Golf Championships
The Kentucky Derby
Nevada Photojournalism Day
John Bolin's "The Thorn"
Indoor Track and Field
UC Irvine's Paul Spittle and
the Sports Shooter Academy
with Nikon's new DX2
Broncos Football:
Denver vs Indianapolis
the US Figure Skating Nationals
Portland, Oregon
College Basketball:
Colorado State vs Air Force
Broncos Football:
Broncos VS. Dolphins
Assignment work:
Wrestling
A look back at 2004
Rich Clarkson's Photography at the Summit Workshop &
Moose Peterson's Digital Landscape Workshop Series
Whitewater Kayaking
Gymnastics and more
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games
Athens, Greece
A look back at some wonderful Olympic moments
USAFA Graduation flyover
US Olympic Training Center - Swimming and Gymnastics
Last Month the Masters, this month The Kentucky Derby......I love my job
Masters at Augusta National
The American Cup Gymnastics
NIKON COLLEGE WORKSHOP
Indoor Track and Field
Women's Freestyle Wresting
Rhythmic Gymnastics Nationals
The Glass Flower Ceiling at the Belagio Hotel in Las Vegas
College Basketball
Women's Waterpolo
Olympic swimmers on their way to Athens
NFL Football
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Finals
A look back at The Greenbay Professionals
Monday Night Football the Sports Shooter Workshop and Luau in LA
Photography at the Summit workshop
Portraits to workshops to stock image sales
Lightpainting in Banf
The World Gymnastics Championships
International Gymnastics Camp
Thunderbirds
Gymnastics
The Sports Photography Workshop with Rich Clarkson
Velodrome Cycling, More
The 129th running of the Kentucky Derby
White water kayakers
The Champions on Ice tour
PBR Rodeo
Chris Shivers and Little Yellow Jacket ride for $1 Million
Nikon's featured speaker at PMA in Las Vegas
American Cup Gymnastics
USAFA Women's Basketball
USAFA Swimming
USAFA Boxing
NCAA Fencing Championships
USOC's Titan Games
Air Force Basketball
Pro Football Pre-Superball Stock Sales
Swimmers train at the Swim Flume at the USOC
Much more!
Diving at the Air Force Academy
Denver Broncos VS. The Arizona Cardinals
Olympic Hopefuls Lenny Krayzelberg and Tom Molchow practice at the USOC
