DC Event Photographer. Commercial Photographer. Automotive Photographer. Destination Weddings. Armin DeFiesta. » MOTORSPORTS

MISSING RACING SEASON ALREADY

Armin — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 21:00:05 +0000

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The Daytona 500 in February can’t come fast enough!

WEBSITE UPDATE | ARMIN DEFIESTA PHOTOGRAPHY

Armin — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 04:35:24 +0000

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In case you haven’t checked it out, the website’s got a new look. Clean and simple and dominated by commercial work. I will be happy to still take on a few weddings so don’t hesitate to ask! http://www.armindefiesta.com

IPHONE PHOTOGRAPHY BY ARMIN DEFIESTA

Armin — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:19:20 +0000

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Remember yesterday’s post about motorsports photography tips and the “mystery car”? Well here’s how I did it. Pretty simple actually.

This is THE ORIGINAL photo, shot with my iPhone 4. It's a toy die cast car my son was playing with and a spontaneous idea came to mind. The window light was right, and placing the phone on the green table to enhance the scope and perspective of the toy car helped add some realism. I then used one of the vintage settings in the Snapseed app. Below is the result.

The result! Pretty cool stuff I guess. The toy car is one of the animated cars from the Pixar film CARS. I think the slightly exaggerated dimensions and design of the toy car might impact a viewer's perception, provided the conditions are right. Hope you enjoyed this fun little shoot!

MOTORSPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS BY ARMIN DEFIESTA

Armin — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:13:20 +0000

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Shooting motorsports these days require long days, physical and mental stamina. Having an interest in the sport also helps a shooter get through the long race weekends. Heck, if you have a passion for racing, even better. With hundreds of sports shooters and fans with cameras at the tracks, the competition is high, and the images are abundant. It isn’t like the old days when only a handful of photographers had the coveted images for all the sports magazines and media. Nowadays, everyone has something “great” to contribute, saturating the playing field. So what keeps me wanting to shoot these high octane events? I love cars and racing, simple as that. I definitely don’t do this for big money. And honestly, I may have to limit the amount of travel for the 2012 season. I’d like to share some of my experiences and lessons learned from this year. Hopefully these tips might be useful to some of you interested in this dramatic and dangerous sport.

Race weekends are amazing. You show up very early (e.g., 7am or 8am), check in, get your creds, attend the photographer meetings, gear up and find your spots. Many places say these meetings are mandatory, I highly recommend you go everyday, even though the information might be the same each time – the biggest thing is track safety. This is one of those sports where athletes are at risk of injury or dying and they have. Spectators and photographers are equally at risk, especially photographers. Always keep safety in mind because you just don’t know what’s going to happen on the track, and things happen very fast.

NEVER cross a hot track, I don’t care who you are. For one thing, you will very likely be banned from shooting the rest of the race and weekend. No arguments about it. Ejected. And when you’re in the pits, be very very mindful of the race teams working there. You do not want to be an unnecessary problem to worry about. The pit action is fast, close, very intense, dangerous, and unpredictable.

Have a good pair of shoes for walking, because you do a lot of it. Wear footwear that provides good stability and comfort. And have good carrying gear too, makes all the difference when you’re on your feet 10, 12, 16 hours a day. Thanks to Think Tank Photo I carry my gear efficiently and safely.

There are many other details and tips I could share, but I think safety, gear management and comfortable attire are the most important things. I love auto racing, but shooting it is a very tough job. My passion for the sport is what motivates me though and I hope to continue.

This is a recent photo I took just for fun of a race car after the NASCAR season ended. I normally do not use a lot of post-processing effects, but I thought it would be nice to indulge myself. Other than the gritty and moody texture, this photo is left up to interpretation.

But what exactly is this car? Who is the driver? How’d I shoot it? Anyone? Anyone? ;)

TONY STEWART IN THE MOBIL 1 #14 CHEVY WINS THE NASCAR SPRINT CUP CHAMPIONSHIP!

Armin — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 23:37:20 +0000

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Congratulations to Stewart-Haas Racing Driver Tony Stewart taking his #14 Mobil 1 Chevy to the finish line in one of the closes points finishes in NASCAR history. Stewart faced adversity in the beginning of the race with a damaged grill that ate up precious time in pit lane. It was up to him and his team to catch up to championship contender Carl Edwards in the #99 Aflac Ford. Both drivers raced it out just points away from each other in the Chase. They tied in points in the final laps, but the driver with the most wins, in this case Tony Stewart with 5 Chase wins, takes the cup home!

It’s been a long racing season for me and I hope to be involved in more motorsports work next season! Bring it on 2012!

THINK TANK PHOTO SPEED FREAK V2 REVIEW

Armin — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 21:13:35 +0000

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The 2011 Baltimore Grand Prix for IndyCar and American Le Mans Series was an inaugural motorsport event where city streets were turned into high speed straights and technical corners. Professional drivers like Dario Franchitti, Bill Auberlen and Danica Patrick sped their way around Inner Harbor, Camden Yards, and the Baltimore Convention Center in an effort to take victory lane.

Photographing on assignment for Eye On Annapolis required me to be mobile at all times. I needed a solution that would be lightweight, easy to manage, and comfortable for a full day of photography. Like many event and sports photographers I carried both cameras around my shoulders, one with a wide angle lens, the other with a telephoto. This method ensures you’re ready to shoot anything, because in motorsports, you’re a reactive photographer since the action is fast… about 180 mph fast! While I typically favor the one-body-lens-switching method I felt the two-camera solution would give me an edge letting me focus on being ready for the moment (hey, that’s Think Tank Photo’s slogan!).

So I needed a shoulder bag that would double as a lens bag AND a camera bag. My current Boda lens bag is great but limited to just, well… carrying lenses and accessories. It’s not designed to carry a camera body. But the Speed Freak V2 fills that gap with mostly good features that meet my requirements.

On Friday’s practice session for the drivers, I opted to start with this setup––

Think Tank Photo Speed Freak V2 shoulder bag/beltpack
Think Tank Photo R U Thirsty (absolutely a necessity at an event like this, stay hydrated!)
Think Tank Photo Lens Changer 75 Pop Down (a good solution for belt carry of long telephotos like the 70-200 or 100-400 with lens hood attached)
Think Tank Photo Lightning Fast (easy to carry your speed light in a pouch for quick access)
Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Autofocus Lens (perfect for getting close when you can’t, and it’s lightweight with great image quality)
Canon EOS 7D SLR Digital Camera (Body Only) (at 8 fps, good for action and sports)
Canon EOS 5D Mark II Digital Camera (Body Only) (the obvious choice when you want the full frame look)
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Lens (great for capturing the scenes at big events like a grand prix)

Photo of me with all the goodies on Friday––

Think Tank Photo Speed Freak V2 bag – a great solution for sporting events.

Another iPhone pic of me with the bag.

The construction quality and no-nonsense design is top notch as usual from Think Tank Photo. Designed by professional and experienced photographers FOR professional photographers.

The Speed Freak V2 is not only a shoulder bag, but also a belt pack. It includes concealable belt straps you can easily deploy for added security and support. The belt straps have the Modular rails so you can attach Think Tank Photo’s Modular or Skin components to increase gear carrying capacity as needed. Hence why I attached my R-U-Thirsty water bottle pouch, Lightning Fast speedlight pouch, and Lens Changer 75 Pop Down pouch. The 75 was great when I needed to briefly “holster” my camera with telephoto in the event I needed to take some of the weight off my shoulder. The “Pop Down” part is a simple expandable bottom that you can drop out for added length of longer lenses, clever indeed.

Inside the Speed Freak V2 I carried all the basic essentials a photographer needs such as CF cards, AA batteries, SLR batteries, pens, business cards, ibuprofen, bandaids, gum, speedlight sync cord, wallet, iPhone.

The Speed Freak V2 does the job well and then some. It is comfortable to wear and easy to work from since you can carry your SLR with a wide lens attached inside the bag, plus one or two extra lenses. The top hinges open, up and away for rapid access. Close it up and there’s yet a clever full length zipper on the “lid” for more discreet access. The Canon 100-400 compresses down to the length and size of a Canon 70-200 so it was easy to put it away inside the Speed Freak V2 at the end of the day.

The Speed Freak V2 definitely delivers on its promise as a shoulder bag with the versatility of a belt pack. It also meets my requirement of having a rigid shoulder bag that carries my camera body AND lenses together. Sure my Retrospective 10 bag could do this to, but that’s more geared toward casual use in most situations (e.g., travel, vacation).

The bag includes concealable belt straps you can deploy for added security and support. It also includes Modular rails where you can attach Think Tank Photo's modular or skin components for added carrying capacity.

Pro Speed Belt, Lens Changer 75, Lightning Fast, and camera straps. I only used the LC 75 and Lightning Fast on my Speed Freak V2.

The bag is designed to carry your SLR with lens attached, plus 2-3 more lenses depending on the size. The Speed Freak is the "mid-size" one, as there is also the slightly smaller Speed Demon and slightly larger Speed Racer. The Speed Freak will carry a normal size SLR, but I decided to try it with my 5D battery grip attached and it fit fine, although snug, It also made getting the camera w/grip in and out of the bag a chore through the zippered top opening. Once I removed the grip and used it as advertised, working through the convenient zipper opening worked well.

The only complaint I have with the Speed Freak was that after 8 hours or so at the race, my left hip was feeling the weight and pressure (the bag rests on my right hip, or slightly in front of it). Concentrated weight on one side of the body is bound to result in some discomfort on the side that’s balancing the load. Perhaps a slightly wider waist strap or optional wider and padded insert can help distribute the weight balance better. One of the ways I alleviated this pressure was to simply put away the belt straps and let my shoulder do the work. Of course, I sacrifice the functionality of the modular rails. Otherwise, this bag is awesome and will continue using it for events and even as a lens bag that can also carry my SLR when I need to put it away. Currently, I use my Boda Lens Bag when I shoot weddings or events, but I feel the Speed Freaks V2′s ability to carry my SLR as well gives it the edge.

So was this the only bag I used for the Grand Prix? NOPE! On Saturday and Sunday I brought out the Think Tank Photo Shape Shifter backpack and Pro Speed Belt with Modular Set. Scratching your head are ya? Well keep watching out for this blog, subscribe, so you can see my next review. I’ll answer the why, what, and how I shot the Baltimore Grand Prix using Think Tank Photo gear. Don’t forget that if you order through MyPicDaddy Think Tank Photo banners and links you’ll get a free gift with your purchase. In the meantime, check out my work blog with some race weekend pics from the IndyCar and American Le Mans Series.

AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES PHOTOS | BALTIMORE GRAND PRIX 2011

Armin — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 22:52:35 +0000

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The American Le Mans Series in Baltimore was an incredible experience where cars raced around M&T Stadium, Oriole Park at Camden Yards and the Baltimore Inner Harbor. Reaching speeds of up to 160mph, the experience can be exhilarating. As a team owner once said, “You can teach them how to race, but you can’t teach them how to go fast.” I think what he meant by that was while you can learn the technical skills, vehicle dynamics, and engineering of racing, there has to be an innate ability or an extra nanosecond reaction time to drive faster than the next driver. Fractions of a second count in racing. So many factors involved that make this one of the most exciting sports around.

Besides the IndyCar Series, the American Le Mans Series was one of the main racing events at the Baltimore Grand Prix. This series consists of four classes of racing – Grand Touring cars GT and GTC classes, and Le Mans Prototypes LMPC, LMP1 and LMP2. Thousands of racing enthusiasts and petrol heads descended on Baltimore to experience the thrills, the rush of serious horsepower tearing up the streets in one of the most talked-about race circuits this season. The inaugural event’s success is no secret thanks to the promoters and sponsors and the City of Baltimore for putting together a great show.

Camera gear:

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Telephoto Zoom Lens (well of course this will be with me!)
Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Autofocus Lens (perfect for getting close when you can’t, and it’s lightweight with great image quality)
Canon EOS 7D SLR Digital Camera (Body Only) (at 8 fps, good for action and sports)
Canon EOS 5D Mark II Digital Camera (Body Only) (the obvious choice when you want the full frame look)
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Lens (great for capturing the scenes at big events like a grand prix)
Think Tank Photo Speed Freak shoulder bag/beltpack (Friday practice session – great bag, but my left hip was tired after 12 hrs straight)
Think Tank Photo Shape Shifter Backpack (Saturday and Sunday race days – I found this to be the most comfortable)
Think Tank Photo Bum Bag (pretty much carried miscellaneous stuff on my Pro Speed Belt – gum, ear plugs, mic, CF card holder, business cards, etc.)
Think Tank Photo R U Thirsty (absolutely a necessity at an event like this!)
Think Tank Photo Lens Changer 75 Pop Down (a good solution for belt carry of long telephotos like the 70-200 or 100-400 with lens hood attached)
Think Tank Photo Lens Changer 50 (a great solution for belt carry of a wide angle lens with hood)
Think Tank Photo Pro Speed Belt (didn’t think I’d need it but glad I got it to help distribute the weight of belt carried gear)
Think Tank Photo Camera Straps (instead of neck straps over each shoulder, these attached to my backpack’s shoulder straps and carried my cameras, thank goodness!)

Here’s how my carry rig looked for Saturday and Sunday race days:

My carry rig I put together, thanks to Think Tank Photo. iPhone pic by Joe Messenger. This solution was surprisingly comfortable for all day use. With the exception of one telephoto lens inside my backpack, everything else stayed within reach outside the bag on my person. When I knew I needed to switch telephoto lenses, that's the only time I'd have to remove the backpack for the lens swap. With my build, distributing the weight on my shoulders worked better than my Speed Freak V2 shoulder bag solution. I think the Speed Freak would be best where I don't have to wear it constantly.

Behind the scenes of Pit Lane.

Corvette Racing preparing for the race.

Pit Lane getting ready.

From high ground I shoot pit lane which ran along Camden Yards.

The back of the Baltimore Convention Center and the VIP Balcony where I also shot some photos from.

City Mayor Stephanie Rawlings Blake waved the green flag to start the ALMS race.

Ferrari.

Porsche.

Pit Lane action.

Corvette Racing chasing down BMW Team RLL.

BMW #55 driven by racers Bill Auberlen and Dirk Werner.

Porsche and Corvette... the timeless battle in Baltimore.

Le Mans Prototypes going at it on Light St.

View the entire photo gallery:

BALTIMORE GRAND PRIX PHOTOS | INDYCAR RACE BALTIMORE GP 2011

Armin — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 21:13:57 +0000

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The 2011 Inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix photos I took at this motorsport event are some of my favorites. You can also check out Baltimore Grand Prix American Le Mans Photos in my other blog post here – Baltimore Grand Prix ALMS pics.

IZOD IndyCars raced around M&T Stadium, Oriole Park at Camden Yards and the Baltimore Inner Harbor. It was the first of its kind ever in the City of Baltimore with tickets sold out, grandstands packed. And it was the highest rated IndyCar race viewed on VERSUS. The drivers, teams, and sports commentators had nothing but rave reviews about this circuit, the crowds, and the City of Baltimore. Some are even calling it the Long Beach Grand Prix of the East. I admit, the experience was surreal since I’ve driven and walked through these streets before. As soon as the engines started to roar from pit lane, down Lee, up Russell, onto Paca St, down Pratt St, onto Light St, then to Conway, I realized this circuit was something special. Drivers kept saying how technical the track is and noted the challenge of driving on both concrete and asphalt sections. Turns 1 and 3 seemed to be the trickiest. Turn 1 was tight and narrow, turn 3 is a hairpin. Check out this recap from Fox Sports of the 2011 Inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix IZOD IndyCar series including highlights from the race and footage from the horrific crash after Tony Kanaan struck and flew over his friend and competitor Helio Castroneves.
Video: INDYCAR: Baltimore Recap – 2011

Shooting motorsports is like no other shoot I’ve done. Being a street circuit poses its own unique logistical challenges from scouting for locations to strategizing your shots. The 2 mile circuit is really too large to be able to shoot from every possible vantage point. So you choose where you think works best and stick with it, sometimes that just might be 2 or 3 places. My VIP and Media Center access had its restrictions so I focused on shooting from where others might not, so I used the high ground. This also presented a better opportunity for tracking & panning shots with my Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Telephoto Zoom Lens and Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Autofocus Lens.

Here are some of the photos I took at the Baltimore Grand Prix:

The Convention Center had our Nikon Media Center, home base for me. They served us lunch everyday, free WiFi, writing room, and press conference room.

The crowds showed up in droves showing support and enthusiasm for the races.

Indy Lights at turn 4 going from Light St to Conway St.

Fans get to see drivers all around the circuit, including GoDaddy IndyCar driver Danica Patrick.

A candid one of Danica during a press conference.

IndyCar driver Helio Castroneves on a bike headed to pit lane.

Danica Patrick on race day en route to pit lane.

Baltimore Grand Prix winner Will Power.

Simona Di Silvestro and her HVM Racing team had a good run in Baltimore.

Helio Castroneves

The fastest part of the track was Pratt St. where fans watch the cars reach speeds up to 180 mph.

One of my spots for shooting was on higher ground.

A view from 330 feet showing the Inner Harbor and the Light St. part of the race circuit.

Play the entire Baltimore Grand Prix IZOD Indy slideshow, or to view the gallery, click on an image:

The racing series has a 5 years contract with Baltimore. I am looking forward to 2012! Check out my American Le Mans Series coverage on the blog as well.

Photographers – on Friday’s practice sessions I carried my gear in a Speed Freak V2 Shoulder Bag/Beltpack from Think Tank Photo. Here’s my camera gear:

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Telephoto Zoom Lens (well of course this will be with me!)
Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Autofocus Lens (perfect for getting close when you can’t, and it’s lightweight with great image quality)
Canon EOS 7D SLR Digital Camera (Body Only) (at 8 fps, good for action and sports)
Canon EOS 5D Mark II Digital Camera (Body Only) (the obvious choice when you want the full frame look)
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Lens (great for capturing the scenes at big events like a grand prix)
Think Tank Photo Speed Freak shoulder bag/beltpack (Friday practice session – great bag, but my left hip was tired after 12 hrs straight)
Think Tank Photo R U Thirsty (absolutely a necessity at an event like this!)
Think Tank Photo Lens Changer 75 Pop Down (a good solution for belt carry of long telephotos like the 70-200 or 100-400 with lens hood attached)

Here’s a photo of me wearing the bag. A separate review of this bag to come at a later date so stay tuned. Thanks for visiting the blog today!

BALTIMORE GRAND PRIX | AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES – DAY ONE, PRACTICE

Armin — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:55:02 +0000

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I completed the task of documenting some of day one of the Baltimore Grand Prix practice session as the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) teams take to the new track for the very first time. Despite the practice time delay due to installing safety fencing, the teams made the best of the situation. Unfortunately one of the teams did not get a chance to practice because of some car issues, while a TRG team Porsche suffered some major damage getting into the wall. The teams later qualified for position for their Saturday race.

With the delayed practice time I visited the IZOD Indy paddock and ALMS paddock. Also during the day I attended the press conference with Indy driver Danica Patrick of Andretti Autosport where she fielded questions about Baltimore and her transition to NASCAR full time. I also captured some shots of Indy points leader Will Power of Penske Racing driving the track with some of his team to familiarize themselves with the layout. The Indy drivers will begin practice sessions and qualifications on Saturday.

Overall I think the teams’ feedback of the track was positive. I watched the ESPN3.com broadcast of the American Le Mans practice later in the evening and really enjoyed seeing it from the POV of a race car.

5.8 EARTHQUAKE HITS THE EAST COAST

Armin — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 22:57:58 +0000

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On 8/23/11, while I was scouting locations for shooting the Baltimore Grand Prix I was on the 8th floor of the Intercontinental Hotel when the famous 5.8 earthquake hit the east coast. The hotel shook, rattled and rolled like a floating disco ball… twice. Quite an amazing and eerie feeling. Fear didn’t even set in, instead I went out to photograph the pre-race course preparations. I even captured some images of the large groups of people that evacuated their office buildings. It was an interesting day.

A view from the 5th level of the garage at the Intercontinental Hotel

Just after Turn 1 onto Light St.

Growing crowds of evacuees from the surrounding office buildings after the 5.9 earthquake hit. This is a tight view of Turn 1 where the cars take a hard right from Pratt St. onto Light St..

A wider shot of Turn 1 – hard right turn from Pratt St. onto Light St.... yes, the race cars will be racing SOUTHWARD in the northbound lanes of Light St..

A long view of Turn 1.

A view of Turn 2 down where the cars race southward in the northbound lanes of Light St..

The Grandstands

Behind the grandstands on Pratt St.. Those people are actually the evacuees from the surrounding buildings after the 5.9 earthquake that hit the east coast.

Pratt St. will be the longest straightaway where race cars will reach speeds of up to 180mph driving east from Paca St.. to the hard right turn onto the northbound lanes of Light St..

Cars will be racing from Paca St. which is way off in the distance beyond the Convention Center.