American Le Mans Testing / John Thawley

[John Thawley]

Wheels Down Winter Test for the American Le Mans Series at Sebring:

1. http://gallery.johnthawley.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=108052&g2_serialNumber=1

2. http://gallery.johnthawley.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=108036&g2_serialNumber=1

3. http://gallery.johnthawley.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=107994&g2_serialNumber=1

4. http://gallery.johnthawley.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=107992&g2_serialNumber=1

5. http://gallery.johnthawley.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=107978&g2_serialNumber=1

6. http://gallery.johnthawley.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=107946&g2_serialNumber=1

7. http://gallery.johnthawley.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=107938&g2_serialNumber=1

8.http://gallery.johnthawley.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=108054&g2_serialNumber=1

[LaSarthe&Back]

Love no 1!!

[canonrebel]

SOme really nice shots on show

[JSJR4]

great shots

[Croasdail]

Are the French actually bringing the car over for the series, or did they just have it over for testing?

[John Thawley]

Are the French actually bringing the car over for the series, or did they just have it over for testing?

Definitely Sebring 12 Hour. I believe two cars are entered.

JT

[smcclelland]

Superb shots as always John, I grow more envious with each photo! Anxiously awaiting the Le Mans series to return to Mosport and the snow to clear up so the motorsports season can begin again.

[PhotosGuy]

Sunlight!!! Nice ones, John!

[Lowieken]

Niiice ! Love Nr. 1 Is a perfect poster :D

[Pete]

Gorgeous, crisp shots. Particularly like the driver portrait.

[John Thawley]

Gorgeous, crisp shots. Particularly like the driver portrait.

Thanks. The aperture on the portrait dropped to 2.8 and caught his hair.. so the image is a bit soft. But, I felt it had a pretty cool feel to it.

JT

[Bosscat]

Love the last one. What were you riding in when you shot it ?

Who is that in the Dyson Porsche in number 2 ? I don't recognize the helmet.

[John Thawley]

Love the last one. What were you riding in when you shot it ?

Who is that in the Dyson Porsche in number 2 ? I don't recognize the helmet.


I was actually strapped to the rear cowling of the Audi R10. Nice ride actually.

LOL - Kidding... I was in the back of a van.

That's Franchitti in the Dyson car. He has replaced Andy Wallace.

JT

[klippe]

Very nice series. There's something about wide angle, single-car shots that work for me.

I love the lighting in shot three.

Cliff

[low orbit]

#3 does it for me ... beautiful lighting.

Cheers.

[See-Fu]

I like #8. awesome angle!

[John Thawley]

I like #8. awesome angle!

These shots are always fun. Thanks,

JT

[SE Smith Jr]

8.http://gallery.johnthawley.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=108054&g2_serialNumber=1[/CENTER]

Just curious, how'd you get that shot?

[speedgod]

I love #8, wicked!!!

[Alexajlex]

#8 as the best as mentioned.

Has the proper car angle that is pleasing to the eye.

[John Thawley]

Just curious, how'd you get that shot?

It was shot "car-to-car."

The driver follows behind the back of another vehicle carrying me. Pace is about 60mph... I shot with a 17-40mm at 1/80th. We did two drivers a lap apiece. Figure about 300 frames per lap. More editing than shooting. But, ain't that the way it always is? :)

JT

[-MasterChief-]

awesome shots as always JT. im a big fan of your work!! :D

[Ian_H]

Another great set of images, I like the last one in the set and would love to try and capture something similar.


Cheers
Ian

[nwagirl]

Awesome! =)

[morningview369]

Love the last one, gives a good sense of speed/movement. Would have been even cooler if you could have panned it a little more. Can't wait for alms to come to lime rock!

[John Thawley]

Love the last one, gives a good sense of speed/movement. Would have been even cooler if you could have panned it a little more. Can't wait for alms to come to lime rock!

Panned?

I'm lying on my stomach in the back of a van doing 60+MPH on the track. There's no panning.

First, don't let anyone kid you... there is a tremendous amount of luck in this type of shot. Not luck from the standpoint that you absolutely need to know what you're doing, but luck in having everything come together at once.

Sebring doesn't have many features that will portray the blur of your motion. Given it's tough enough to handhold without tremble anyway... imagine the camera shake lying on the floor of a vehicle doing 60 mph. And Sebring is one rough track. I was shooting at 1/80th.

You need the race car driver to cooperate. You need the van driver to cooperate. You have all sorts of variables happening in your backgrounds. The sun is all over the place (remember, you're traveling in what amounts to be a circle) ... you get every type of lighting in one lap. You have the back of the van open... so the door is overhead throwing a lovely shadow all over the pavement. And, you are getting thrown from one side of the van to the other braced only by your feet spread eagle on the floor.

Point is, I shot about 350 frames per lap and driver. About 700 in all. I got about 40 nice shots. Then there are the nice shots with the Budweiser bridge overhead. And the Audi bridge in the background. Then there's the client who wants to see the side of the car more than the front. It goes on and on... BUT.. I love doing these shots.

This one got posted because Mazda has it on their site. It's not my first choice... but it is what they want.. and that's what counts. But the other's have not been released. You'll see another in Mazda promo stuff shortly.

I'll start another thread with some rolling shots for comparison.

JT