Races are not always run on bright sunny days, sometimes they race at night. Events such as the 12 Hours of Sebring, the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, some races in the American LeMans Series and even local drag and oval track races include occasional night races.

Caption: This image of a racecar made during a night race at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca has an exposure of 1/80 sec at f/5.6 at ISO 800 and an on camera flash was used. In this case, I “dialed down” the Canon 550EX flash by minus one and one-third stops, reducing the impact of the flash.

One of the problems of using flash at a motorsports event is that if you’re not careful you will produce a static-looking image that looks like the car is parked on the track, instead of going fast. That’s why in addition to using flash, you’ll also want to pan the camera using the kind of techniques covered in my post “At the Track.” Sure, using panning and slow shutter speeds can produce a slightly blurry photograph but the car will look as if it’s in motion, not stationary.

How much flash you should use under these conditions is not just a matter of applying a formula and depends on many factors including ambient light, camera’s ISO setting, lens used as well, as the speed and reflectivity of the car itself. As in much of sports photography, experience will be your guide. Start by using the flash at full power and then lower the output after reviewing the results on your SLR’s preview screen. If you can adjust the flash output, use the flash’s diffuser panel (if it has one) to spread the light.

Caption: Why you would even want to make flash photographs of night races? This photograph was made during the night portion of the six-hour American LeMans Series race at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca. The cars use reflective decals and the additional combination of headlights, dark backgrounds, and flash produce drama. Exposure with a Canon EOS 50D and EF 75-300mm lens was 1/250 sec at f/4 and ISO 800 with an EX 550 flash.

Safety Tip: Shooting at any racetrack especially at night can be dangerous. You should only make photographs in designated areas and if you use flash make sure that you only fire it at the side of the racecar. Using flash when a car is coming directly toward you is not only foolish but places you and the driver in serious jeopardy. He or she has enough to do without being blinded by your flash.

If you enjoyed today’s blog post and would like to buy Joe a cup of Earl Grey tea ($3.50), click here.

Along with photographer Barry Staver, Joe is co-author of Better Available Light Digital Photography with new copies are available from Amazon for $21.450 and used copies starting around six bucks.

No matter what kind of camera you use, photographing race cars on the track can be a challenge. The typical recipe mixes high ISO, fast shutter speed, and a long lens with a large aperture. Toss in a high frame-per-second continuous shooting mode and with a little practice you can make great-looking photographs of fast-moving cars. That’s the kind of advice that makes me crazy. You can photography anything you want using whatever gear you have as long as you’re aware of its capabilities and limitations.

You can always stake out a location and use a fast shutter speed and stop the car dead on the track, but that makes it look as if it were parked, not doing 160mph. So use the event’s practice time for you to practice panning. Keep both eyes open so you can see the car coming and frame the car before snapping the shutter. Follow the car until it’s where you want in the viewfinder, tripping the shutter as you continuously pan the camera. Don’t stop after you click the shutter! Follow through maintaining a smooth motion so the camera isn’t jerked at the end of the exposure to ruin the effect.

Some race photographers prefer to shoot panning shoots using manual focus. As you get more experienced you can lower the shutter speed to increase background blur and shooters that photograph drag races use shutter speeds as low as 1/15 sec or even slower to create “jiggle shake” that adds to the ground-shaking effects that Top Fuel Dragsters or Funny Cars produce.

Cars moving toward you are a different story and fast, accurate autofocus lets you capture sharp images on tracks, such as Laguna Seca’s aptly-named “Corkscrew,” where not only are the cars slowing for twists and turns but it provides a place where slow-moving cars are overtaken by faster ones, which provides opportunities for photographs involving more than one car.

For some of the other tight places on the track, I used high shutter speeds, such as 1/2000 sec to capture action that is obvious in the car’s position relative to one another. Whatever you do, use race practice to stake out these spots to find out where you want to be during race day. Some car shooters use manual focus in these places as well or select the main, center AF point, for autofocus, but I used the old fill-the-frame rule and let the camera take care of focusing.

Just a reminder: Podcast #3 is live now on my YouTube channel, Joe Farace’s Videos, featuring a look at the Leica Z2X and my experiences shooting 22-year old Agfa color film in a 40-year old Canon SLR, plus some information on where I get my ideas for blog posts!

As the 2022 racing seasons begin to kick off down, here are some ideas to kick around, maybe, for this new season. After all the 2022 Rolex 24 at Daytona was on Saturday, January 29, 2022, so race days will be here before you know it.

Some of following suggestions about photographing motorsports may seem obvious to some of this blog’s readers but if you follow them I’ll guarantee that it will result in your capturing better images because there won’t be any non-photographic distractions:

Park your vehicle in a designated parking spot. The last thing you need to hear when you are getting ready to photograph a championship event is the race announcer calling “will the owner of the orange Gremlin, please move your car or be towed.”

Remain behind safety barriers at all times. But safety barriers are not set up everywhere around a track so use your judgment when choosing a place to photograph the race. If you’re not sure about the location that you’ve selected, chances are a safety worker will shortly arrive and ask you to move. Be nice to them; they have a tough enough job.

It may not be hot at the track but it surely will be loud. Be sure to bring a pair earplugs. If you don’t have a set, most track’s concession stands sell inexpensive earplugs but plan ahead and make sure to have several pair in your camera bag. They are easy to loose but are inexpensive to replace. Be ready to share your extras. As Emeril always says: “Make a friend.” Share with someone who forgot theirs.

Be alert while in the area behind the pits because there will be many scooters, 4-wheelers, motorcycles, or golf carts transporting people around. Be alert for cars getting ready to enter the staging area. Race cars don’t have horns like the family jalopy but you should hear them coming—even wearing earplugs.

As with most professional sport facilities, photographers are typically allowed to make video or still pictures of the vehicles for personal use but they may not be sold or marketed without having a prior arrangement from the speedway and/or the sanctioning body. Save yourself legal hassle but taking care of this when obtaining your track credentials. Even if the sanctioning body won’t permit photo sales, that doesn’t mean you can’t sell photographs to the teams and racers—especially during amateur events.

If you enjoyed today’s blog post and would like to treat Joe to a cup of Earl Grey tea ($2.50), click here.

Photographing race cars can be a challenge no matter what kind of camera you use. Most people think that all they need are high ISO’s, fast shutter speed and a long lens with a large aperture aka “big glass.” Toss in a high frame-per-second continuous shooting mode and with a little practice you too can make great-looking photographs of fast-moving cars. Maybe, maybe not. That’s the kind of advice that makes me crazy. My feelings are that you can photography anything you want using whatever gear you have as long as you’re aware of its capabilities and limitations.

You can always stake out a location, use a fast shutter speed and stop the car—dead—on the track, but that makes it look as if it were parked, not doing 160mph. So use the race car’s practice times to practice your  panning skills. Keep both eyes open so you can see the car coming and frame the car before snapping the shutter. Follow the car with your camera until it’s where you want in the viewfinder, tripping the shutter as you continuously pan the camera. Don’t stop panning until after you click the shutter! Follow through maintaining a smooth motion so the camera isn’t jerked at the end of the exposure to ruin the effect. Some race photographers prefer to shoot panning shoots using manual focus. (I wish I could,) As you get more experienced you can lower the shutter speed to increase background blur and shooters that photograph drag races use shutter speeds as low as 1/15 sec or even slower to create “jiggle shake” that adds to the ground-shaking effects that Top Fuel Dragsters or Funny Cars produce.

Cars moving toward you are a different story and fast, accurate autofocus lets you capture sharp images on tracks, such as  Laguna Seca’s aptly-named “Corkscrew,” where not only are the cars slowing for twists and turns but it provides a place where slow-moving cars can be overtaken by faster ones, which it turn provides opportunities for you to make photographs involving more than one car.

For some of the other tight places on the track, I use high shutter speeds, such as 1/2000 sec to capture action that is obvious in the car’s position relative to one another.

Whatever you do, use practice time to stake out these spots to find out where you want to be during race day. Some car shooters use manual focus in these places as well or select the main, center AF point, for autofocus, but I used the old fill-the-frame rule and let the camera take care of autofocusing.

If you enjoyed today’s blog post and would like to treat Joe to a cup of Earl Grey tea ($2.50), click here. And if you do, many thanks.

Along with photographer Barry Staver, Joe is co-author of Better Available Light Digital Photography is available from Amazon for $21.50 and used copies starting at around eight bucks as I write this.

Every year on April First, many blog writers decide to become humorists and post what they think are whimsical musings. Not here. Although I’ll occasionally go on a rant, I try to keep this blog’s focus on practical photographic advice, as in today’s post.

I’ve been wearing photo vests for more than thirty-five years and over time have watched them evolve from just a convenient way to have a few extra pockets for storing gear into wearable camera bags.

Camera bags may be luggage but vests are also fashion and style is just one of the many different factors in choosing what photo vest is the right one for you. Here are a few more:

• Functionality: What kind of photography do you do? And how much gear do you need to carry. Pockets? You’re going to need lots of them.
• Fit: How well does the vest fit? Is it tailored to size or are there adjustment belts or tabs on the side? Some vests, like those from ScotteVest, are available in sizes from Small to XXX Large Tall.
• Construction: Is it well made? Are there buttons, zippers, Velcro? Which are the easiest for you to use in a given photographic situation, which is a motorsports situation can sometime become quite hectic.
• Style: While I am far from being a fashionista. you don’t have to be Ralph Lauren to know that different photographers need different styles and types of vests.
• Price: This last factor should matter the least, since a realy well-made vest will last a long time and the price will be quickly amortized over a number of assignments or even personal projects you shoot while wearing it.

The Q.U.E.S.T. Vest that I’ve been wearing—mine is the understated black—is packed with more features and 42 pockets. It will hold lots of photo gear and has a zippered compartment in the collar to stow the hood along with a giant back pocket to stash larger items. The Q.U.E.S.T. Vest is also available for women

The vest is made from 65% cotton and 35% nylon fabric making it suitable for temperate weather, comfortable enough to be worn indoors and can be layered with other garments for cooler temperatures like we get here in Colorado, even this time of year. (It’s a chilly and snow day when I’m writing this on Tuesday) The vest is treated with Teflon for water and stain resistance.

All those pockets will come in handy for shooting motorsports,  because carrying a large lens and monopod doesn’t leave room for schlepping a camera bag. And sonofagun the Q.U.E.S.T. Vest looks nice too, unlike the fisherman’s vest styling of others I’ve tried over the years.

If you enjoyed today’s blog post and would like to buy Joe a cup of Earl Grey tea ($2.50), click here. And if you do, thank so very much.