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sirsloop
15th of June 2009 (Mon), 23:16
Made the 5 mile drive over to Raceway park for my annual NHRA Supernationals trip. Man... if you have never been to one of these races... you HAVE to see it. I've seen these cars many times now, and its still unbelievable. Its SOOO ****ing loud!!! Anyways, I was loaded up with my 50D, 70-200/2.8L + 1.4x teleconverter. Figured I would post up some key shots.

http://tmp.smugmug.com/photos/563661798_U22NG-X2.jpg

http://tmp.smugmug.com/photos/563702469_zaVv3-X2.jpg

http://tmp.smugmug.com/photos/563729032_RpxYE-X2.jpg

http://tmp.smugmug.com/photos/563687445_xbNzb-X2.jpg

http://tmp.smugmug.com/photos/563710007_cz7PL-X2.jpg

The day ended with another near tragedy. Last year the DHL car went off the end of the track and and Scott Kalitta passed. This time a Top Alcohol car lost its chute at 260mph... probably hit the sand at 100mph. The car flipped, but the driver was ok. Everyone was freakin out for a moment cause of what happened the past season. Notice car upside down on the big screen! I was looking through my photos from 06 and there was YET ANOTHER car that went off the track that year! Nuts!

http://tmp.smugmug.com/photos/563753675_rEQuB-X2.jpg
sirsloop
15th of June 2009 (Mon), 23:25
Any NHRA fans... here's Scott's last pass last season, ever.

http://photos.tallmanphoto.com/photos/317192898_SXvfw-X2.jpg

So wierd to think about it... but he had seconds to live when this was taken.

http://photos.tallmanphoto.com/photos/317191906_AQvRo-X2-1.jpg

Look familiar? I drag race at this track... a mushroom cloud is the last thing you want to see. Scary!

http://photos.tallmanphoto.com/photos/317192312_oHxYb-X2.jpg
rumplepigskin
16th of June 2009 (Tue), 00:19
Great shots... could have done without the one of Force... he's an egotistical control freak... and he doesn't take a good pic...lol
StanNJ1
16th of June 2009 (Tue), 05:39
I enjoyed looking at your photos and website. We probably live a few miles from one another. I've posted some E-town pics here as well. Maybe we'll bump into each other next time.
Stan
JS300
16th of June 2009 (Tue), 15:25
Awesome shots! I haven't been to E-town in years.
jimken61
16th of June 2009 (Tue), 18:40
Great shots and commentary. That was very tragic about Scott last year and people like John Force have been very instrumental on improving safety, John is the man!! LOL
sdo
16th of June 2009 (Tue), 20:58
Fantastic shots! Exceptionally well done.

My shot's of Scott's last run are in this gallery:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdowen/sets/72157605784026379/

Incredibly sad. This shot was taken about 0.15 seconds before his engine blew.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3199/2605525251_38f3815526.jpg
sirsloop
16th of June 2009 (Tue), 21:28
WOW!! Man... that's freaky as heck.
rabbs
16th of June 2009 (Tue), 23:08
Great shots, I love that pan of yours. Well done.
williamsr815
16th of June 2009 (Tue), 23:22
Amazing shots, what were your settings for the pan shots?? I love your pictures catching the tires crinkle under the torque thats just amazing.
NTHEWIND
17th of June 2009 (Wed), 09:17
Nice work. I liked the way you chose to mix up some people (driver) shots in the mix.



Later,
snyderman
17th of June 2009 (Wed), 11:02
Incredible. Have any 'go-to' settings you can share. Looks like complete, midday sunshine as well. Super job. Loved 'em.

dave
Nemesismachine
17th of June 2009 (Wed), 15:44
When this happened we all were waiting for the pictures, not to be fascinated with the loss of life but for posterity's sake. Such an amazing tragedy for everyone involved and drag racing as a sport. Great photos, it's a shame such great photos tell such a terrible story.
sirsloop
17th of June 2009 (Wed), 16:58
Amazing shots, what were your settings for the pan shots?? I love your pictures catching the tires crinkle under the torque thats just amazing.

The DHL car panning shot is 1/200th. ISO100 with the camera set to TV is the easiest way to get that consistently. Higher shutter for more "hit rate", lower is riskier but you get more effect.
sirsloop
17th of June 2009 (Wed), 17:01
Incredible. Have any 'go-to' settings you can share. Looks like complete, midday sunshine as well. Super job. Loved 'em.

dave


For action I try to keep the shutter at at least 1/1000. I had a telecoverter on my 70-200/2.8L, so thats F4... but I stopped it down to f/5.6. Adjust your iso to achieve the desired shutter in AV mode. That's my standard sports setup. If it gets really dark I'll first remove the teleconverter, then open ip the aperture, then max out the ISO, then set to TV and shoot at a minimum of 1/500th.

For panning see ^