Anyone have any "close calls"

[GMosher]

Any of the motorsports guys/girls out there ever capture any 'near misses' or 'close calls' while on location?
Was going through a rallycross event from march and had forgot about this one...We were possibly a little closer than we should have been, especially given track conditions. This little geo metro was making his rounds and I had realized i was soon in need of a CF card change..changed out the card and turned to watch him come near us only to realize he'd taken the corner a little more aggressively than he should have...cone went flying, along with a lot of snow, ice and rock..no time to compose, i trew my finger to the shutter button for a quick instant before I turned and coverd JUST before the spray hit us...the other photog didn't come out of it as good as i did unfortunately as you can imagine...lol.
http://www.pbase.com/garett/image/43491665.jpg
Just thought it would be fun to trade "battlefield" stories.:)

[sixshot]

Ouch!

[Belmondo]

Wow....great capture!

I always wonder about these situations. Personal safety notwithstanding, it seems this would be hard on equipment with all those flying rocks.

[kenyc]

I almost got dinged by a fouled-off softball this past weekend, but that's a normal occurance. :)

KAC

[dod]

got this at the weekend

http://premium1.uploadit.org/scottydod//closecall.jpg
http://www.hardmuirstables.co.uk/pictures/closecall.jpg

[danccooke]

Being a race marshal I would have to say dumb place to stand (the first picture in this thread), personal safety has to come above the photograph. Last year at Brands Hatch we had a car flip at Druids resulting in a wheel missing us marshals by about 4 foot but missing a well known photographer by about 1 foot as it went past him then about half a foot as it came back of the catch fencing.

As a Marshal our priorities are to:
1) Yourself
2) Your fellow marshals
3) The Driver
4-99) Other important stuff
100)Photographers

Get great shots just don't put yourself in undue risk, motorsport can be risky enough.
Basically we don't like picking up bodies or bits of bodies, if you or anyone gets killed officially it should be the end of the day as the track is closed till the coroner opens it again.
I don't mean that to sound like a kill joy, Just be safe is what i mean, get good shots and post them so i can see them, being a marshal you inevitably miss all the good bits as your watching up the track :(

[photoshooter]

i wasnt so lucky i was shooting a roll over contest and a first time driver missed the ramp and freaked never stopped and hit me at about 30 mph thru me in the air about 10 ft they say they have a video of it which i havent seen yet landed head first on the black top crashed camera and lens i jumped up and the first thing i ask was wheres my camera as they were loading me in the meat wagon i was back at the demo derby before the feature with a lump the size of a softball on my head and road rash on my arms but no broken bones or any thing

[GMosher]

I'm still REALLY new to shooting motorsports...and I'm gonna tell you, even behind two layers of 1 ft or so thick concrete and a whack of hay and tires(i get SUPER access at the local motorsports park) I never turn my attention away from the track, not even for a second. If the cars are running, nothing else in the world even exists.

As for when I'm not behind a barrier...well lets just say I'm even more cautious.
"Never turn your back on a hot track"

One of these days I'll work up the nerve to post some of my motorsports pics here...They're not quite up to par around here.

[GMosher]

got this at the weekend

http://premium1.uploadit.org/scottydod//closecall.jpg
http://www.hardmuirstables.co.uk/pictures/closecall.jpg

LOL WHAT WAS THAT GUY DOING?????

[PhotosGuy]

As an ex-driver, I can confidently suggest that you NEVER trust us to miss you!:D:D:D;)

[KennyG]

Too many to count over the years. I have had the barrier move back faster than I did when it was hit at over 100mph. I have been drenched many a time by smelly stagnant water from tyre walls. I have picked gravel out of my clothing when arriving home from a busy day catching visitors to the gravel traps. I have been showered with bits of broken CF and GRP body parts and I even had a tyre come off a car and bounce over my head. It is all part of the job and I sign my life away every time I do it, relieving the circuit of any responsibilty.

As a driver I was only really worried about staying on the black stuff and getting ahead of anyone in front. Any idiot photographer that took risks only had himself to blame :) As a photographer I am just there to do a job and accept the risks.