One of the special features we did at the community newspaper where I worked for over 20 years, was to highlight tourist attractions in the area throughout all four seasons. One of the stories for the summer issue included a national motorsport event held at a local drag racing track.
Now, in the best scenario when it comes to photographing any event, the person for the job is obviously someone who knows and understands what they’re covering. They know where the action is going to be and what to look for.
As not a sole on staff had ever even attended a drag race, the publisher decided if my car-loving husband was game we’d send him along. The hope was that in the media pit he’d be able to get some great shots despite his lack of photography experience.
And he actually did. They were in fact quite surprisingly good. But what made that fact even more fun was his telling of walking in with the little Canon Powershot to stand beside the guys from the dailies with their thousands of dollars worth of equipment, including gigantic telephoto lenses.
Given the opportunity to have the right stuff to capture auto racing and not leave it to luck and a love of the sport, there are a number of online forums discussing what are the best lenses for the job. And these sites offer some great tips to help you get some terrific action photos at the track:
wikiHow Photograph Motor Racing
Digital Photography School Tips for Photographing Auto Racing
Motor Racing Photography Tips from Exposure Guide
PhotographyMad How to Photograph Motorsport Events
Digital SLR Settings for Photographing Sporting Events
Lightstalking Beginner’s Guide to Photographing Motor Racing
How to Photograph Motor Racing
PhotoShelter How to Photograph Motorsports
