Shooting the Indy 500 (Practice & Qualifying)

I was hired to shoot photos at the centennial Indianapolis 500 practice days and qualifying by a marketing firm I do a lot of work with, BPS Marketing, and their client, the American Dairy Association of Indiana. The ADA is a long time sponsor of the race. Everyone knows the winner of the race drinks milk in victory circle, right? They also sponsor the Fastest Rookie program, which is celebrated with a luncheon for the rookies that qualify for the race. The photos I took (along with two others who shot with me) were used in a slideshow that was played as the luncheon guests entered the facility prior to the start of the event and also while they were eating lunch. Two of my photos were also used to create eight foot tall posters that were on display. A third poster, measuring 24" x 36" was framed and given to fastest rookie JR Hildebrand. That poster contained a photo from each of the three of us. I also created motion graphics for the driver introductions, a few animated titles for other parts of the show, and shot some video that was played of the two dairy farmers that were selected to hand the bottle of milk to the winning driver.

The posters created from my photos.

That was the culmination of my work, but the fun part was the work itself! I've shot at IMS (Indianapolis Motor Speedway) once before with a pit and garage pass that allowed me access to those areas. This year was different however. I had a media pass, which granted me access to those areas again, plus gained me entrance in to the media center, specifically the second floor, which is where all of the still photographers congregate. On three of the five days I was there shooting I also had an over-the-wall pass. In the pits there is a concrete wall which separates the area where the teams pile tires, set toolboxes, and set up their computers. On the other side of the wall is where the cars are worked on. A select few get access to this area - IMS has a pretty strict policy for the over-the-wall passes, as you have to pay attention all the time to what you are doing. You have to stay out of crew members way, be sure not to get run over by a car traveling 60 mph down pit lane, don't step on, trip over, or touch anything, and, oh yeah, get your shots. It's great fun being that close to the action. I was literally standing between cars in the pits and the cars driving through pit lane getting shots. You're as close as you can get to the greatest smells in the world - race exhaust and hot rubber.

It was very exciting, as I thought to myself and reminded myself several times how fortunate I was to get this opportunity. You are standing right next to the drivers, team owners, and crew members - some extremely friendly and some not so much. I wanted to make sure I made the most of it by getting different kinds of shots using multiple lenses on my Nikon D300 - mostly a 24-70mm f/2.8, a 70-200mm f/2.8, and my 10.5mm fisheye. On the final day I also hijacked Hannah's Nikon D60 and mounted my 18-135mm lens on it to get some regular wide angle shots. Having two cameras - one with a wide angle lens and one with a telephoto lens is almost a necessity. I did okay with what I had, but I know I missed shots because I didn't have the right lens at times.

Needless to say, I already have several things I want to try next year. Yes, I've already begun talking with BPS Marketing about doing it again next year. Hopefully everything works out so that will happen. I don't want my motorsport photography to begin and end with the Indy 500 every year though. On that front, I've started a new website (not just motorsports but all sports) to showcase and promote my photography, and hopefully attract some new customers as well. I had been struggling with whether or not I should keep my photography generalized or to specialize in something. Sports is a natural fit, and to be honest, I can't believe I hadn't thought of it sooner. I will be working towards that goal going forward. The new website isn't totally ready yet, but you can go there and see a small sampling of some of my sports photography. The website is rcsportsphotos.com.

Don't fret - I still plan to do lots of nature and landscape photography, as I love that as well. I'll shoot whatever looks interesting or people bring to me - I'm not going to limit it entirely to sports at this point. Shooting those other types of photography give me creative ideas to try in other instances where they might not normally be done, which will help my work be unique.