Road America

A few weeks ago, my wife, in-laws, and I went on a road trip. Our first stop was Milwaukee. Second stop on the docket was Road America. My father-in-law is big into racing and I’ve accompanied him a couple times in the past to both Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville and Watkins Glen in Upstate New York; the four of us went out to see some loud cars. I photographed, my father-in-law interviewed people, and my wife and mother-in-law watched the races.

I was taking photos for Vintage Racecar magazine which means I got a press pass, meaning I got to go where most people couldn’t. I still had to stay behind fences, but could get much closer than everyone else. Most of the time I was at either the beginning or end of a long straightaway so I could see the cars coming at me and then screaming around the corner away from me. I also went out on the platform that overhangs the main straightaway—where the races begin and end—to get cars crossing the finish line. This was, to put it mildly, loud. I went out in short spurts to save my ears so if I do this again, I’ll be wearing ear plugs.

I also tried a number of panning shots. They’re a lot of fun if you can get steady enough and I’ve found that even if the image doesn’t turn out perfectly sharp, you can still get some very good results. That being said, I trashed a pile of shots that really didn’t work out at all.

When I went to Watkins Glen a while back, I rented a 2x extender. For this trip I borrowed one from my friend David. It really helped in all aspects since my 70-200 can only get so close; doubling the focal length really makes a difference, even with the added weight.