Harris Hill Road 5/8/2010

[Bill Jurasz]

Another weekend at Harris Hill Road in central Texas. I spent some time at a few different locations and I think my track day photography is progressing in the right direction. All C&C welcome.

1
http://mercphoto.exposuremanager.com/scripts/expman.pl?rm=view_photo&photo_id=20100508_4155_13_3&dir=galleries/13/3&file=20100508_4155_medium.jpg

2
http://mercphoto.exposuremanager.com/scripts/expman.pl?rm=view_photo&photo_id=20100508_4174_13_3&dir=galleries/13/3&file=20100508_4174_medium.jpg

3
http://mercphoto.exposuremanager.com/scripts/expman.pl?rm=view_photo&photo_id=20100508_4377_13_3&dir=galleries/13/3&file=20100508_4377_medium.jpg

4
http://mercphoto.exposuremanager.com/scripts/expman.pl?rm=view_photo&photo_id=20100508_1402_13_3&dir=galleries/13/3&file=20100508_1402_medium.jpg

5
http://mercphoto.exposuremanager.com/scripts/expman.pl?rm=view_photo&photo_id=20100508_1484_13_3&dir=galleries/13/3&file=20100508_1484_medium.jpg

6
http://mercphoto.exposuremanager.com/scripts/expman.pl?rm=view_photo&photo_id=20100508_1642_13_3&dir=galleries/13/3&file=20100508_1642_medium.jpg

7
http://mercphoto.exposuremanager.com/scripts/expman.pl?rm=view_photo&photo_id=20100508_2775_13_3&dir=galleries/13/3&file=20100508_2775_medium.jpg

8
http://mercphoto.exposuremanager.com/scripts/expman.pl?rm=view_photo&photo_id=20100508_4032_13_3&dir=galleries/13/3&file=20100508_4032_medium.jpg

[Jim Copp]

Hi Bill
Great set of shots! My fave would have to be #3. It says in no uncertain terms... Racing. Nice work.
Jim

[Travis Rhoads]

Hello Bill.
#6 has the most potential, tells the most story, has good context.
#4 shows a cool setting for the track, feels remote, but the cluttered background kills it.
The 1st, 2nd, and 8th, too much of the car is missed in frame, and for no apparent reason.

[Bill Jurasz]

Thanks guys. Travis, your remarks remind me that I need to shoot more loosely. For whatever reason, I like the tight crops. I was trying this weekend to get more shots like #6 (and I did get a lot like that).

Number 4, I kinda thought the background helped the shot (the car rocketing past the paddock) rather than killing it.

Numbers 1, 2 and 8 were all shot from the flagger's pier, and as a result I was quite a bit closer than normal to the cars. The problem I was having was the distance to the car would closer very rapidly and I was not attempting to zoom out as they approached. As a result, I should probably start my shots wider and let the car fill the frame as they approach.

[Blake Blakely]

Bill, I can see what you're trying to achieve in #4. I don't think it's a cluttered background. You're trying to tell a story there and maybe just need to think about the perspective. Try moving around a bit and see how the look changes.

I think you've figured out the issue with clipping the ends from your last paragraph. You've got to preset the zoom to where the cars are going to be. Not where they are when you start to pick them up. I think tight crops are tricky though. It's not easy making them work and have any impact.

Take a look at JT and Regis Lefebure's tight crops from the LGPB galleries on JT's Sportscarinsider.com.

[Bill Jurasz]

Bill, I can see what you're trying to achieve in #4. I don't think it's a cluttered background. You're trying to tell a story there and maybe just need to think about the perspective. Try moving around a bit and see how the look changes.

I think you've figured out the issue with clipping the ends from your last paragraph. You've got to preset the zoom to where the cars are going to be. Not where they are when you start to pick them up. I think tight crops are tricky though. It's not easy making them work and have any impact.

Take a look at JT and Regis Lefebure's tight crops from the LGPB galleries on JT's Sportscarinsider.com.

More on #4. A lot of that shot is limited by simple geography (where I can safely stand and still see a section of the track) and by landscaping (i.e. they had not mowed in a long time, with tall grasses obscuring many angles of view).

I see what you mean about the tight crops and how tricky they can be. Here is a shot from that same vantage point, btu on the approach:

http://mercphoto.exposuremanager.com/scripts/expman.pl?rm=view_photo&photo_id=20100508_4328_2_9&dir=galleries/2/9&file=20100508_4328_medium.jpg

I would follow the car on the approach, to right in front of me, to an away shot, but I would not adjust the focal length during the sequence. Hence the tight crop in those middle shots. And probably need to re-think how I'm hitting the shots here. But does the above shot "work" either?