Vegas pictures
Discussion
Not wanting to derail the other thread i thought it best to start this. There's some amazing pictures which i thought some of you guys may like 
http://markjrebilas.com/blog/2008/11/a-300mph-driv...
http://markjrebilas.com/blog/2008/11/a-300mph-driv...
I often read this forum but I have not felt compelled to become a member until now. These photos are absolutely fantastic. To the many photographers on here, I suggest studying these photos for composition and technique because I know I will be and it would be great to see people producing shots to this standard of English Drag Racing.
Hi DJ and welcome to the forum.
First of all may I say that the photographs taken by Mr Rebilas are top class and that
applies to all the other sports he covers, not just the drag racing.
But there are a few things I'd like to point out if I may.
A quick calculation shows he is using about £20,000 worth of cameras/lenses. Two of his
lenses cost over £6,000 apiece, the above "monster" shot is taken with one of them.
The superb portrait shots are helped enormously by using the "Alien Bee" light box and
of course a friendly helper to cart it around and position it for him.
I would suggest that most of the very impressive "long" shots taken from the end of the track would be impossible to take at the Pod (assuming anyone here could afford the lens
in the first place). Why ?, well the Pod is flat, so no looking down view and the finish line gantry would probably get in the way.
Also I note the unfortunate comments that day two was very boring waiting for crashes
or explosions ! and not to forget that it's a "smaller" sport in his words. (not much point inviting him over here then !)
Another huge advantage was the amount and quality of the light, sunsets and cloud
variations rarely found in the UK of late and even rarer when a fuel car is running.
So I would like to think that there are several UK photographers that given the
opportunity could muster a similar amount/quality of photos from three days of an NHRA event.
How many Pro car/bike runs were made in that time compared to the two weather affected
FIA events in the UK ?. Much more opportunity for practice/experimentation.
Just to prove my point look at the gallery on Eurodragster.com that Roger Gorringe has provided taken at the same event, first class photos in my opinion,
(and unless Roger has won the lottery, using considerably less expensive gear).
Congratulations again to Mark Rebilas on his excellent work.
First of all may I say that the photographs taken by Mr Rebilas are top class and that
applies to all the other sports he covers, not just the drag racing.
But there are a few things I'd like to point out if I may.
A quick calculation shows he is using about £20,000 worth of cameras/lenses. Two of his
lenses cost over £6,000 apiece, the above "monster" shot is taken with one of them.
The superb portrait shots are helped enormously by using the "Alien Bee" light box and
of course a friendly helper to cart it around and position it for him.
I would suggest that most of the very impressive "long" shots taken from the end of the track would be impossible to take at the Pod (assuming anyone here could afford the lens
in the first place). Why ?, well the Pod is flat, so no looking down view and the finish line gantry would probably get in the way.
Also I note the unfortunate comments that day two was very boring waiting for crashes
or explosions ! and not to forget that it's a "smaller" sport in his words. (not much point inviting him over here then !)
Another huge advantage was the amount and quality of the light, sunsets and cloud
variations rarely found in the UK of late and even rarer when a fuel car is running.
So I would like to think that there are several UK photographers that given the
opportunity could muster a similar amount/quality of photos from three days of an NHRA event.
How many Pro car/bike runs were made in that time compared to the two weather affected
FIA events in the UK ?. Much more opportunity for practice/experimentation.
Just to prove my point look at the gallery on Eurodragster.com that Roger Gorringe has provided taken at the same event, first class photos in my opinion,
(and unless Roger has won the lottery, using considerably less expensive gear).
Congratulations again to Mark Rebilas on his excellent work.
there are several issues with doing this in the uk
The first being that both the tracks are flat this isn't a issue at shakey ill explain in a moment. How ever peter is right the gantry is going to cause a whole heap of issues at the pod unless they let us stand in the field on a set of steps and shoot back up the track, some how I think this wont be happing.
I spent several hours sat up in the weeds at the top end of the track at Shakey this year (non msa events) with a 600mm lens how ever the length of the track and run off coupled with the warm track resulted in a hazy mess, how ever that being said it is do able if we have a cold weekend .
Issue number three I believe I am correct in saying the the msa wont allow any one photographers down the bottom end of the track (I could be wrong but Im pretty sure this is correct) So the only time you would be able to do bottom end shots is when its a non msa event so your going to have 8 rounds max of cars where the shot would work, not alot of time!
you also have to bare in mind that mark was shooting for fun and so could pick and choose what he shot and when, which is a bit diffrent to shooting for publication as you cant wait for the good light to come to you its all about the action. To see what i mean go and look at what he does at his day job shooting nascar. http://markjrebilas.com/blog/2008/10/talladega-day...
Just my 2cents on the matter
Dom
The first being that both the tracks are flat this isn't a issue at shakey ill explain in a moment. How ever peter is right the gantry is going to cause a whole heap of issues at the pod unless they let us stand in the field on a set of steps and shoot back up the track, some how I think this wont be happing.
I spent several hours sat up in the weeds at the top end of the track at Shakey this year (non msa events) with a 600mm lens how ever the length of the track and run off coupled with the warm track resulted in a hazy mess, how ever that being said it is do able if we have a cold weekend .
Issue number three I believe I am correct in saying the the msa wont allow any one photographers down the bottom end of the track (I could be wrong but Im pretty sure this is correct) So the only time you would be able to do bottom end shots is when its a non msa event so your going to have 8 rounds max of cars where the shot would work, not alot of time!
you also have to bare in mind that mark was shooting for fun and so could pick and choose what he shot and when, which is a bit diffrent to shooting for publication as you cant wait for the good light to come to you its all about the action. To see what i mean go and look at what he does at his day job shooting nascar. http://markjrebilas.com/blog/2008/10/talladega-day...
Just my 2cents on the matter
Dom
I didn’t mean to be disparaging towards photographers over here, I just found the collection very inspiring. I was impressed with his strobist approach and his apparent attempt to photograph drag racing as a whole rather than just the cars. It would of course be impractical to replicate many of these shots over here, but it was more the way he seemed to concentrate on always looking for the best possibly angles to create a great composition that I was complimenting.
Admittedly, a camera that can shoot well at 4000ISO, top end lenses, great weather and an ample supply of pro cars would make things easier for anyone.
Admittedly, a camera that can shoot well at 4000ISO, top end lenses, great weather and an ample supply of pro cars would make things easier for anyone.
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