New England Grand Prix

[John Thawley]

Somewhat of an off-weekend for me... for some reason I was really struggling. Anyway, I manage to squeak out a few... but I'm thinking I could use a break.

Comments welcome:

#1. http://gallery.johnthawley.com/albums/albup92/aao.jpg

#2. http://gallery.johnthawley.com/albums/albup92/aan.jpg

#3. http://gallery.johnthawley.com/albums/albup92/aaa.jpg

#4. http://gallery.johnthawley.com/albums/albup92/aac.jpg

[John Thawley]

#5. http://gallery.johnthawley.com/albums/albup92/aaf.jpg

#6. http://gallery.johnthawley.com/albums/albup92/aak.jpg

#7. http://gallery.johnthawley.com/albums/albup92/aaq.jpg

#8. http://gallery.johnthawley.com/albums/albup92/aar.jpg

[Drew Phillips]

I wish I was tired from shooting ALMS so much. Good stuff John! I especially like the Ferrari panning shot. You don't see many photos from there because it's not an actual photo spot, but it's a great spot if you can find a way to shoot over the fence.

[Jeff Boerio]

I would love to have this kind of "off" weekend :) #5 is cool. I like #4 and #6 too.

Being honest, John ... #1, #2, and #8 all look like things I've seen from you before. Granted, I've never achieved a reasonable #2 or #8, so they're always good to look at from a "damn I gotta get a shot like that someday." Of course, when you're covering a series on an annual basis, you're always going to have some shots similar. You need to have those sorts of pictures for selling to publications and that kinda thing.

- Jeff

[John Thawley]

I would love to have this kind of "off" weekend :) #5 is cool. I like #4 and #6 too.

Being honest, John ... #1, #2, and #8 all look like things I've seen from you before. Granted, I've never achieved a reasonable #2 or #8, so they're always good to look at from a "damn I gotta get a shot like that someday." Of course, when you're covering a series on an annual basis, you're always going to have some shots similar. You need to have those sorts of pictures for selling to publications and that kinda thing.

- Jeff

Well, honestly, Jeff.... everything can't be a home run. :) Think about it, you can watch the Olympics... everyone, and I do mean everyone, goes through thier basic routines... then they go through their basic tricks... and then they go for something spectacular. Sometimes they succeed with the spectacular and often they fail. But in the end, the judges score on how well the basics were performed. One specatcular trick can't make up for a miseralbe performance of the basics.

Trust me, this weekend at Miller will be a rat race to see who can come away with the amazing looks at the place. Then... next year, everyone will go back and try to improve upon the amzing. But even then, we still need to provide the shots that people need. Customers want certain things... then they want a feew that show where they were.

Point in case... the high banks of Daytona. Every driver wants that shot in NASCAR four to prove they were at Daytona. For me, I can't stand the shot. It's a semi arial of the car on a slab of asphalt. Regardless of how well you pan it, there's not motion blur... just nothing interesting... at least to me. But... it's "the shot" on the high banks of Daytona.

So, yeah... you'll see things that are familiar. It's just the nature of the beast.


http://gallery.johnthawley.com/albums/albuo64/aaw.jpg

http://gallery.johnthawley.com/albums/albun51/aar.jpg

http://gallery.johnthawley.com/albums/albup04/aaw.jpg

[Jeff Boerio]

Well, honestly, Jeff.... everything can't be a home run. :) Think about it, you can watch the Olympics... everyone, and I do mean everyone, goes through thier basic routines... then they go through their basic tricks... and then they go for something spectacular. Sometimes they succeed with the spectacular and often they fail. But in the end, the judges score on how well the basics were performed. One specatcular trick can't make up for a miseralbe performance of the basics.

Trust me, this weekend at Miller will be a rat race to see who can come away with the amazing looks at the place. Then... next year, everyone will go back and try to improve upon the amzing. But even then, we still need to provide the shots that people need. Customers want certain things... then they want a feew that show where they were.

Point in case... the high banks of Daytona. Every driver wants that shot in NASCAR four to prove they were at Daytona. For me, I can't stand the shot. It's a semi arial of the car on a slab of asphalt. Regardless of how well you pan it, there's not motion blur... just nothing interesting... at least to me. But... it's "the shot" on the high banks of Daytona.

So, yeah... you'll see things that are familiar. It's just the nature of the beast.


I totally understand, and thanks for the interesting perspective on "sameness." Another analogy someone mentioned to me awhile ago was being a chef. It's not about the amazing one-off dinner you create. It's about consistently recreating the a meal over and over again. So, being able to recreate the rear-end shot of the Corvette disappearing over a crest on a consistent basis is the mark of a good photographer.

I'm jealous that I couldn't be at MMP this weekend. One of my clients raced there earlier this year, and I saw some interesting concepts with the mountains in the background.

- Jeff