Utah Grand Prix

[John Thawley]

Well, we survived the heat and dust... and in the end, it was a pretty spectacular weekend. The track is long... maybe too long. Four and a half miles, 23 turns. The drivers seemed to love it. The facility was UNBELIEVABLE. Personally, I was not wild about the "stadium" layout to the track. EVERYTHING is laid out in front of you. So, other than the surrounding mountains, the track tends to lack signature features. If you pan a car, you have perhaps a mile of background which may or may not include, tv towers, porta-toilets, flag stands, buildings, lightposts or any other number of obstructions. The thing that sneaks up on you is these distractions are in layers.

The other issue is the distance we shot from the track. For the most part, there isn't really a head-on shot to be had. Even the guys with 600mm were struggling with that.

That siad, though... the track forced you to think through your shots and challenged you mentally on how to tell the story. I chose to pull back on a lot of shots. Shots that I couldn't reach took on a completely different look once I stopped trying to reach.

So.... here are a few. I'll get to a few more later. Hopefully, before leaving for Portland.

JT



1. http://community.automotivephoto.net/photopost/data/507/IMG_6250.jpg

2. http://community.automotivephoto.net/photopost/data/507/IMG_6038.jpg

3. http://community.automotivephoto.net/photopost/data/507/IMG_6023.jpg

4. http://community.automotivephoto.net/photopost/data/507/IMG_9058.jpg

5. http://community.automotivephoto.net/photopost/data/507/IMG_8832.jpg

6. http://community.automotivephoto.net/photopost/data/507/IMG_6158.jpg

7. http://community.automotivephoto.net/photopost/data/507/IMG_6559.jpg

8. http://community.automotivephoto.net/photopost/data/507/IMG_6283.jpg

9. http://community.automotivephoto.net/photopost/data/500/IMG_7810.jpg

10. http://community.automotivephoto.net/photopost/data/500/IMG_7705.jpg

[Jeff Kapic]

Nice work. I like 3,4 and 10 the best. It seems what you are saying, is a comon theme with other photographers. The racers seem to love it, while the photographers are having to work a bit more to get the shots they want and that's not always possible.

[Todd Corzett]

I LOVE #2... the silver is just screaming out at me... awesome! Great backgrounds in #4 (even though it's "just" sky - note to others, sky can be a background) and #10. Really nicely done from what I can see is a somewhat barren landscape.

-Todd...

[John Thawley]

I LOVE #2... the silver is just screaming out at me... awesome! Great backgrounds in #4 (even though it's "just" sky - note to others, sky can be a background) and #10. Really nicely done from what I can see is a somewhat barren landscape.

-Todd...


Thanks, Todd.

I'm somewhat torn between #2 and #4 as my favorites for the weekend. #2 for the painted desert coloration ... and #4 because I'm blown away by how edgy minimal can look.

Thanks,

JT

[Chris Clark]

I absolutely LOVE #4 :eek:

Very nice. #'s 2,4,5,7 & 10 really jump out at me. And I like your choice of backgrounds (I think thats what I'm looking to say). The shots really tell a story of where you were, and can't be mistaken for another track. I like that.:)

Looks like a beautiful place. Nice work.

[Jeff Boerio]

I think #4 also goes to the personality of MMP. It's big. It's open. And there's mountains.

Good stuff, John!

- Jeff

[Matt Daniels]

John,

It was great meeting you this weekend and thanks for sending me to this site. Hope you didn't mind me looking over your shoulder in the media center in awe of your photos. :-)

Here is one of my better ones from the weekend (my apologies if it's sized too large). I'll be putting more online this evening.

http://www.getoutanddrive.com/images/misc/alms-miller-001.jpg

[Dennis Murray]

Prior to your post, the only photos I had seen from Miller was Wheeler's post on Fred Miranda (where is Wheeler? Did anyone invite that guy?). I was struck in his post by some of the beauty of the track and opportunity.

On TV, the track looked like it was dropped in the middle of the desert and there was nobody there. How were the crowds?

I noticed how dusty the cars looked in a lot of pictures (especially the Risi Ferrari - Jimmy's shots that Risi's PR sent out looked like the car had down a cross country drive and hadn't been washed...yours look the same here).

2, 3, 4 are stellar. Talk about clean backgrounds...you don't find anything better. Also shows you don't have to have the car fill the frame for a great photo.

8 is also a great background.

Now for a question...I've heard how racing drivers prepare for a new circuit or a circuit they haven't visited. Some watch tape, some play video games, but they certainly walk or bicycle the circuit when they arrive to get more detail. How does a photographer scout the track? What are you looking for or thinking about? How much time to you put to it? Or do you just get out and start shooting?

[John Thawley]

Prior to your post, the only photos I had seen from Miller was Wheeler's post on Fred Miranda (where is Wheeler? Did anyone invite that guy?). I was struck in his post by some of the beauty of the track and opportunity.

On TV, the track looked like it was dropped in the middle of the desert and there was nobody there. How were the crowds?

I noticed how dusty the cars looked in a lot of pictures (especially the Risi Ferrari - Jimmy's shots that Risi's PR sent out looked like the car had down a cross country drive and hadn't been washed...yours look the same here).

2, 3, 4 are stellar. Talk about clean backgrounds...you don't find anything better. Also shows you don't have to have the car fill the frame for a great photo.

8 is also a great background.

Now for a question...I've heard how racing drivers prepare for a new circuit or a circuit they haven't visited. Some watch tape, some play video games, but they certainly walk or bicycle the circuit when they arrive to get more detail. How does a photographer scout the track? What are you looking for or thinking about? How much time to you put to it? Or do you just get out and start shooting?


Dennis: Thanks for the comments. I was actually late in arriving to Miller and did not have an opprotunity to shoot the promoter's test day. I got to the track around noon Thursday and immediately dropped my gear off at the media center then Rick Dole, Phil Abbott and I took a shuttle for a full loop of the track. Personally, I looked for elevation change, sun location, barckgrounds and the distance between the armco and the course. To be honest, I was not prepared for the layers of "background" clutter that the stadium type layout created. There's always an opportunity for something to sneak into your background. Here, because of the lack of infield features, there were lots of opportunities.

BTW, the crowds were excellent.

JT

[Tim Adams]

2, 3 and 4. Pulling back worked fantastic. I would say #2 would make a perfect Audi ad!:D

[Keith Schoeler]

Like everyone else, gotta say #4 is an inspiring shot. Only thing I'd do is clone out the blurred poles but that may be a little less "journalistic" of the event.