The first time I shot a race with an iPhone, it was a stunt. I just wanted to show that it can be done (for instance). Since then, I shoot with an iPhone every time I go to the track. I like the results.
More often than not, however, the tracks that I go to are dragstrips where you can get very close to the action if you've got media credentials. Road courses are different beasts altogether. Even with credentials, you often can't get particularly close to the cars on the track.
Trans Am cars racing through the Roller Coaster down to the Hog Pen. Virginia International Raceway, 29 September 2013. [Click on the photo to see a larger version.]
I spent part of the weekend watching the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association races at Virginia International Raceway [VIR]. VIR is one of my favorite tracks, in part because it's beautiful and the people who work their are great. To be honest, I also like it because you can get reasonably close to the action, even without credentials. "Reasonably close" doesn't mean dragstrip close, but it doesn't mean far away either.
I like the photo above a lot. It's from Sunday's Trans Am race that was held in conjunction with the vintage events. I'm always impressed with what the iPhone can do -- even my obsolete iPhone 4. (I cropped it and adjusted levels in Photoshop.)
Later this week, I'll post more iPhone images on my racing blog.
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iPhone camera is really a powerful tool, when you consider the portability and ease of sharing. Certainly has downsides in terms of abilities compared to more extensive setups. Glad to see the happy experimentation.
Posted by: MattFriedrichs | 01 October 2013 at 05:13 PM