RFMsports...i have to praise you!

[timmyquest]

Since i've joined these forums i've grown to like you for a few reasons...nuff with that, but the reason i went ahead and broke down to buy a digital camera was pictures you took of the CART cars.

i saw thim in this thread
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=706117

(dont bother reading the BS that took place in that thread)

Anyways your talk of the race boats made me click on the link in your sig, alas i've already been there :-D

[CyberDyneSystems]

RFM Gains another devoted follower!

And you are right to suggest we NOT read the BS in the thread.. :roll:

[defordphoto]

HAH! I had not read that thread. I don't even frequent that forum but I do over at Speedguide.net and that's where they found my galleries. 7 pages worth of posts! It's soooo funny reading them argue and then one guy eats crow after he sees the rest of my galleries.

It's interesting to see how many people think that photography is just so easy. I put up a price sheet for my photos for the boats and one team chimed in, "All I wanted was a photo for a business card."

I told him I wasn't going to try and justify my costs to him but when he runs 4-6 60-second runs the entire day, my wife and I stand out there 8-10 hours a day with one 30 minute break and with $30k of equipment that probably cost more than his raceboat. So yeah, you want a professional picture on your cards? Then you're gonna pay the price. Otherwise, break out your P&S and have at it.

So, anyway, thanks Timmy! It's just such a joy shooting these guys, botch cars and boats and it defintiely helps when you have the right equipment, but some of those guys on the forum think that just because they have a hammer in their hand they can build a house. Not so. They may as well be holding a butter-knife.

I have learned from some of the best, am ALWAYS learning everyday and don't mind sharing. Another member here on this forum is local to me and we've hooked up once so far on a shoot and will definitely be shooting together more in the future.

[CyberDyneSystems]

I can't get over that guy that said "It's the camera, not the photographer. Give anyone a good camera and set him on the sideline and you'll get the same shots." (roughly quoted)

lol,... I guess this guy is pretty much doomed!

[defordphoto]

I can't get over that guy that said "It's the camera, not the photographer. Give anyone a good camera and set him on the sideline and you'll get the same shots." (roughly quoted)

lol,... I guess this guy is pretty much doomed!

I think that's the same guy that had a crow feast later when he got onto my photo server and saw all my stuff. Not just motorsports stuff. Either way that's obviously someone who knows little of what it takes to create art with a camera. It's hilarious! :lol:

[CyberDyneSystems]

loo,. i just read more,. they al seem to be 18 or under AND the guy with the 400mm f/2.8 and 10D is only a Jr. in High School????

Who are these guys,. "The O.C."????

If you added up the cost of everthing I had ever owned from the day I was born untill I had graduated from High school and finally saved enough for my first car,. and I mean everything INCLUDING the cost of the first car (and the second for that matter)

..it would NOT equal the cost of that Juniors camera kit!!!!!

I am a few short years from 40... and it took me three years to get up the nerve to spend the dough on a DSLR! ( i coveted the D30 and D60.. but couldn't bring myself to do it untill the 10D and it's lower price tag)

Wow.... Kids these days.

[IndyJeff]

RFM nice shots there. As someone who does the same type of photography I know how difficult it can be to get good shots.
2003 at Kentucky Speedway was my first chance to get on the outside wall and shoot the cars coming at me. I knew it would be hard but damn LOL. I did get some great shots and a little nervous a time or two. Let me tell you, when most cars are passing by 10-15 feet in front of you at 200+ MPH and then all of a sudden a new car comes on the track and is running a different line and you are watching him thru the camera and he just keeps coming, well I didn't have to change my pants the first time because it happened so fast it was over before I knew it. If I remember correctly it was Alex Barron and he was maybe 4 feet from me when he passed me. The only thing between us was a fence on top of about 12 inches of reinforced concrete. I am damn glad he didn't make contact because I would have been injured by flying parts, no doubt. After that I kept a real close eye on him as he approached me.

As of yet I don't have a website but after visiting yours you have inspired me to get busy making one.

p.s. Who do you shoot for?

[timmyquest]

Well i have to admit i was one of those people in there sounding like an imature child...but it just bugs the snot out of me when poeple talk about thing that they know nothing of.

I just cant wait until football season starts 8) http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=22739

[defordphoto]

CDS: Yes. We definitely grew up in a different time. Many kids these days are driving around in their new $25k Hondas with $350 wheels, $250 tires, $10k stereos and at least $5k in goofy aero parts and stupid wings. And all they can do it bitch. That forum is pretty much a fitting spot for them, hence the reason I don't visit there.

IndyJeff: Thanks for the comments. Yes, shooting motorsports can be very scary at times. As you know it doesn't take too much to trip one of theose cars sideways into an uncontrollable nightmare. I've seen way too many scenes of photogs getting clipped by debris or nearly clipped. It's extremely dangerous and to the Average Joe, or in the case of that particular forum, the Average Idiot Teenager, they have no idea what we do. They see a photograph and think, "I can shoot that." Yeah well, things change when these cars speed by at 225 mph.

And those are the same twits who cheer when cars crash, sit there drinking beer all day and talk about how racecar drivers are not athletes. They have silver spoons hanging out their orifices and have no clue what makes the world go 'round.

Who do I shoot for? Me. I do not have any particular clients that I shoot for.

[Tom W]

I can't get over that guy that said "It's the camera, not the photographer. Give anyone a good camera and set him on the sideline and you'll get the same shots." (roughly quoted)


I am living proof that regardless of the equipment, terrible results can occur. :D

But all is not bad - I've surprised even myself at times, even with modest equipment.

[IndyJeff]

Yes, shooting motorsports can be very scary at times. As you know it doesn't take too much to trip one of theose cars sideways into an uncontrollable nightmare. I've seen way too many scenes of photogs getting clipped by debris or nearly clipped.

The following happened not to me but one of my best friends. Back in 99, I think it was, 2 cars get together during the Indy 500 and hit the wall. I am following the action and shooting until I burn the roll (film days LOL). As soon as I hear the motordrive rewinding I look at the track. There are now 3 more cars together and sliding by. One of the cars' gearbox has been knocked off and it is bouncing down the track and heading towards the inside. It doesn't look like it will make it to the fence. That is when I see another part, a front end suspension rod careening by, end over end. It hits the pavement in the pit access lane and then bounces up and right over my buddies head, clearing him by about 4-6 feet. It hits in the grass behind him and bounces again, taking a chucnk of turf away. It then hits the safety truck. The two guys who are in the rear of the truck are bailing out over the opposite side, BAMMMMM it hits the truck and leaves a dent in the side panel. The guys inside the truck are ducking down too.
After it was over my buddy said he was completley unaware of the suspension part but he was watching that gearbox. No doubt that if it hit him he would have been 6 feet under.

He has also had to run away from a tire at least once that I know of. He had the presence of mind to hold the camera pointing away from him over his shoulder as he ran and got some great shots of the stands.

We call him "Parts Magnet".

[defordphoto]

Good story, Jeff. And typical of the danger of motorsports shooting.

I bet old Parts-Magnet doesn't get many volunteers for shooting partner does he? ;)

[IndyJeff]

Good story, Jeff. And typical of the danger of motorsports shooting.

I bet old Parts-Magnet doesn't get many volunteers for shooting partner does he? ;)

LOL Mainly just the new guys stand near him. The old veterans stay as far away as possible. We were thinking of buying him an old Army Surplus Flack jacket and a crash helmet tho.

[Ballen Photo]

It's soooo funny reading them argue and then one guy eats crow after he sees the rest of my galleries.


LOL!!! You can tell these are kids that have "No Clue!".
This was a funny story to follow.
BTW, Your Racing shots are very exceptional.
...........Bruce

[defordphoto]

Good story, Jeff. And typical of the danger of motorsports shooting.

I bet old Parts-Magnet doesn't get many volunteers for shooting partner does he? ;)

LOL Mainly just the new guys stand near him. The old veterans stay as far away as possible. We were thinking of buying him an old Army Surplus Flack jacket and a crash helmet tho.

ROFLMAO! :lol:

I can see that. A new (over eager) photo-boy shows up at the track with his shiny, new gear and vest. Wants a shooting partner. You and your buddies conspire in a corner and hook him up with Parts-Magnet.

Photo-boy says, "Why does he wear that flak jacket?" You and your fellow conspirators look at each other, knowing the eventual answer, "He used to be a cop."

Photo-boy replies, "Oh. I see," and then gleefully follows his new-found shooting partner to go shoot some motor-sports photog-ra-phy.

Little does he know he may soon have a new nickname, such as "Flak-Boy" or "Gear(Box)-Head."

[Deckyon]

It amazes me how infantile the thread on "hardforums" was. But for a couple users, it is clear that none of them have even cracked their camera manuals, let alone a real photography book.

If they had even half the maturity to understand what they were looking at and commenting on, that thread would have ended with the first post. I have often thought, TO MYSELF, "why are so and so's photos getting so much attention, there is nothing flashy about them, they aren't outstanding" and then I wake up and add, "To Me!"

The average person takes pictures of what interests them. Travelers take snapshots of buildings, landscapes, monuments to remember their trips. Hikers take pictures of interesting sites on the trail. Some people take pictures of certain subjects as an experiment or project. Still others take photos of everything they can. Still others take well-thought out photos demonstraiting a certain technique they are learning. There are even those who take purposfully bad photos, technically, and call them art. There are people who take photos for money, with no emotional interest in the subject further than the bottom line in the contract.

Who among us has the right to call one photo good or bad. We can only truly say we like or dislike the image represented. For me, I do not like baby pictures, but that does not make them bad. I love astrophotos, but that does not make them good. "Good" photos are photos that a lot of people like. Does that mean no one but the photographer likes "Bad" photos? No. What is a bad photo, other than a rant-laced new thread?"

To me, ME, a bad photo is one that I find dull and uninteresting and severly technically flawed. Based on that, many will think I believe baby pictures are bad. Nope, I just don't like them. For me, photos have to draw me in emotionally or mentally, not just visually. I know of many many pulitzer prize-winning photos that, when posted annonomously, people would sa were "bad" or severly technically flawed, and yet, they convey so much emotion and mental visualization, that they draw in almost everyone who looks at them.

Again, who are we to judge "good" and "bad?" Just say "like" or "dislike." That is where the kids from that other board need to take a lesson.

[Belmondo]

Jim:
I've always held you in high regard, but now it is clear; you're a trouble-maker. I read the first couple pages of the above reference thread, and you've really stirred up a hornets nest with your gallery. :lol: :lol:

Now you stop that! :x :x

I note with some irony that the most pompous of the posters are the least experienced. Gads, do I come off like that? Did I ever? :oops: :oops:

Anyway, your fame is starting to spread, and it's well-desrved. :!: :!:

Tom

[defordphoto]

Deckyon: Excellent points. However, you, beign aphotographer, can still discern a great photograph even if it's a photo of a subject that you could care less about.

Surfing photos. I have no use for them. Will never have any hanging anywhere near my house, but I know when a great photo is a great photo regardless of the content.

Those kids on that forum don't know squat about photography. I highly doubt anyone there has ever taken a real photograph. I'm sure they've shot plenty of pictures of their buddies puking out his nose after a beer-bong shot, but no, never a photograph.

I read about 6 posts on that thread and then quit reading. I knew how the rest of it would go as they kept bantering on and on and on and on about the same thing. Obviously they have way too much time on their hands.

Tom: Yeah well, if that kind of attention would pay the bills I guess I would have won a lotto's worth of cash by now. That's not really the kind of fame I'm shooting for (hah! pun alert!), but if my photos extract that much emotion from people then I guess I have done my job.