On July 15-17, the 2022 NHRA Mile High Nationals will be coming to Denver, so today’s post about drag racing seemed appropriate.

I’m often asked about how I crop images or even if I actually crop my photographs, so here’s the deal: After capturing images and then processing them, I seldom crop, preferring to do it in-camera in order to extract the maximum image quality from the minimum number of pixels. This is especially true with the 18×13.5mm sensors that are found in my Micro Four-thirds cameras but I make an exception to this rule for some of my drag racing photographs.

One thing that you’ll notice at the track is that there are lots of people—spectators, crew, and safety staff—who inevitably will walk into your frame. That’s when I crop but when I do I try to maintain the image’s original aspect ratio. Aspect ratio is the relationship between the height and width of the image and is usually expressed as a comparison of two numbers. Traditional 35mm film cameras and full frame digital SLRs use a 24x36mm (3:2) format but these days many cameras shoot in different aspect ratios, including the widescreen 16:9 HD video ratio.

The way I typically crop my car photographs it is to set Photoshop’s Crop tool using the original proportions of the photograph by looking at the numbers in the Image Size (Image > Image Size) command.  Photoshop CS6 (and CC) gives you the option of maintaining the “original ratio” or you pick a bunch of others. My philosophy has always been that by using the original ratio the cropped image maintains the same look as the original photograph and doesn’t look “cropped.”

Some of my photographer/friends like to kid me about this approach because I am nowhere near a purist in any of the rest my work. The most important part of the last sentence is this is the way that I like to do it. Since this is not a “my way or the highway” blog, you should crop your photographs any way you like.

My book, Creative Digital Monochrome Effects  that has a photograph of an Allard on the cover is available from Amazon for $21.90 with used copies starting for less than two bucks. This is a heckuva deal and if you bring a copy to any one of our Cars & Coffee PhotoWalks, I’ll be glad to sign your copy.

There is an old racer’s expression that says: “There’s no substitute for cubic inches.” Translating that into advice for photographing drag racing turns it into “There’s no substitute for millimeters of focal length.” My guess is that some of your best action images will be captured with zoom lenses that have a 200-300mm maximum focal length and maybe sticking a 1.4 extender in your pocket is not a bad idea either.

The above image was photographed at Bandimere Speedway. Camera using a Canon EOS 50D and an Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD lens with an exposure of 1/60 sec at f/18 and ISO 200. (I could have used a faster shutter speed but wanted to capture the tire smoke.)

But there’s more to drag racing than just making photographs. Unlike other forms of motorsports, you can sometimes get close enough to the action to photograph it with a wide-angle lens. For images in the pits bring a wide-angle zoom; I use the EF 16 – 35mm f/2.8L II USM lens but you can use whatever works with your camera system. The key word when shooting in the pits is safety, so pay attention to what’s happening around you and listen!

Camera using a Canon EOS 50D and an Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD lens with an exposure of 1/400 sec at f/11 and ISO 200.

Photographing any sport requires at least a rudimentary knowledge of the rules so you’ll know what’s going on and in what sequence to be able to capture the peak of action. You can photograph drag racing without knowing the difference between a “Christmas tree” and a Chanukah bush but you’ll get better pictures if you do a little research or ask a friend about the sport before trying to make any images. Visit the National Hot Rod Association’s website for information about the sport and read their publication National Dragster.

The essence of drag racing is head to head competition between two cars going full tilt down a quarter-mile of straight smooth track. That object on the pole in front of the cars is called a “Christmas tree” whose colored lights count down to begin a race. For action shots at the Christmas tree, I usually shoot a short burst of images using the camera’s continuous mode. Exposure is critical because there’s no time for bracketing so right before a race I to shoot a test shot and make exposure adjustments all day long by looking at the histogram.

All,

We wanted to send a note to all photographers to remind everyone to be aware of your location at national events.  I spoke to several of you in Gainesville and wanted to follow up with just a couple pictures sent in by our fans.   We know the role you play is very important in building awareness for the sport of NHRA and recognize the value that brings to the sport as a whole.

With that said, we want to make sure you’re aware of your surroundings and realize that our fans are behind you trying to watch and enjoy the racing action.   When you are down at the track shooting, please respect our fans and their desire to watch racing.   We believe we have a great system in place to accommodate both the needs of the fans and the needs of the photographers and don’t want to be put in a situation to change it any time soon.

Thanks, in advance, for your cooperation.