Photography Tips – Introduction
Photography Tips – Part 1 – Planning
To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms which give that event its proper expression.
Henri Cartier-Bresson – “The Decisive Moment”
Not only is Cartier-Bresson a great photographer, but also he is a great writer. The 14 pages of text in The Decisive Moment contain more perceptive insight and instruction than all the other photography books I have read put together. What he stresses, is his belief that to capture “the peak of the action”, that instant when all the elements come together perfectly, is the at the very heart of photojournalism.
It goes without saying that in motor sports photography, the ability to capture this “peak of the action” moment is essential. Although the subject is fast, dynamic and full of action, conveying that quintessential character of the sport is surprisingly difficult. Take this shot below, it features the Ralt of Luis Perez Sala at the 1986 Birmingham Superprix, and at first viewing seems a reasonably competent action shot, the rain streaming off the tyres indicating speed, and power.
Luis Perez Sala - Birmingham Superprix
He had lost his nose cone earlier in the race, and was leading at the time. Good enough, you might think, but as I stood there at the side of the track at the exit to the Halfords Corner, I noticed that on the exit of the corner (which was actually a roundabout on Birmingham’s street circuit) the camber of the road fell away, which was having an interesting effect on the cars.
The inside front wheel of the quicker cars was lifting off the ground as they turned right down the hill past the Mosque. It was only about 10 metres away from where this first picture was taken, and I could see that capturing the cars at this point would result in a much more dramatic action shot. In reality I had spotted this opportunity earlier in the meeting, during dry practice, and made a mental note to visit this location during the race. The result was this next shot, which I think you would agree, has much more drama and impact that the first picture.
The Peak of the Action
I had visualised this shot the previous day, when I first noticed the way the cars reacted to the road, and as this was a new circuit, and the first time I’d taken pictures at a street track, I had no idea that such a photo would have been possible before my first visit to the venue. With cambers designed for a different purpose than on dedicated racing tracks, there turned out to be several other places where the same kind of feature affected the cars.
Another valuable lesson learned.
To understand how Cartier-Bresson went about distilling that peak action moment, it is interesting to study his approach to photography. He considered himself the hunter, and the subject of his pictures, his prey. He went to extraordinary lengths to keep himself private, never allowing himself to be photographed, and even disguising his Leica cameras with black tape. He did not want his prey to spot him before he went in for the kill.
Like a hunter, he also lurked in the shadows, carefully observing his subjects, watching their movements, and identifying the perfect moment in which to strike. While this kind of covert approach was ideal for Cartier-Bresson’s subjects, how does this relate to taking pictures of racing cars, you might be thinking?
Just as HC-B carefully observed and analysed his subjects, so a motor sports photographer should develop an intimate and instinctive understanding of the drivers, cars and their habitat. You should also be able to predict, with reasonable certainty, that something potentially interesting and worthy of recording as an image is about to happen. This is a skill which can only be developed through years of watching and studying as much of the sport as you can.
Ken Tyrrell once marvelled at Jackie Stewart’s uncanny ability to spot trouble, and react before it is too late to avoid an accident. Jackie had been entering a blind, flat out corner, and had lifted off the accelerator before the corner, avoiding hitting a stationary car in the middle of the track at the exit. Ken asked him about this incident after the race, and Jackie told him he had noticed a smell of freshly cut grass as he approached the corner, and instinctively understood that someone had left the circuit ahead.
Jackie Stewart - An uncanny understanding of the sport
It is this kind of deep understanding of the sport, to which every serious motor sports photographer should aspire, and develop to the best of his or her abilities. One method I developed in the early days was to review videos of race meetings, with my finger poised on the freeze frame button on the remote. As I watched the race unfold, I tried to identify when something exciting was about to happen, and attempt to freeze the action at the peak point of the incident, and imagine I’d just captured the image. With the clunky old VCR technology of the time, you needed a little imagination to appreciate the results, but this kind of training would work well even today.
I must stress that this is no replacement for getting out there at the track, or on the rally stage and experiencing things at first hand. The sounds and indeed as Jackie Stewart proved, the smells of the event can give you as many clues as what you see in the viewfinder. Go to as many meetings as you can and study the action. Any form of motor sport will provide the opportunity to hone your skills, from karting to motor bikes, rallycross and grasstrack. Try and visualise where the peak action occurs, move round the venue and try and find the best places to capture this action. You don’t need a camera, in fact at the start of your apprenticeship, it is better not to have one.
Look, listen and learn.
The next step is to apply this same intelligence gathering skill to individual cars and drivers. Back in the early 80′s a photographer was covering the Austrian GP, and was stationed at one of the very fast, dipping corners that made this circuit so exciting. He was shooting the cars as the went down the dip on the entry to the corner, with a very long lens, and noticed that Andrea deCesaris was getting closer and closer to the limit. Knowing that deCesaris had a history of finding the limit, but failing to recognise that he had found it, the photographer realised that something exciting could happen soon, so he put down the long lens, and changed to a zoom lens which gave him more options, should the inevitable happen.
Sure enough, the next lap, it did, as you can see in the clip above. The photographer captured a series of spectacular images of deCesaris barrel-rolling down the grass towards him, which were taken by news outlets worldwide in the following weeks. He made a small fortune from that incident, as he was the only one who caught the moment.
Because the photographer had mentally joined up the dots of the situation, the high speed, the characteristics of the corner, and most of all the past history of the driver, he managed to get some of the best pictures of the year. None of the other photographers at the corner had anything usable.
These days, this kind of scoop is exceedingly rare in Formula 1, as the growth in the popularity of the sport has meant a massive increase in the number of photographers covering the sport. Today’s photographers are much more professional and enjoy a huge equipment advantage over the guys around in the 80′s, which means the chances of getting exclusive images of a major incident are almost nil.
In conclusion, to capture the peak of the action, the most important skill you should learn and develop is not technical, or equipment related, but an in-depth understanding of the sport, the drivers, and the cars and how they react.
Copyright © 2010 by Brendan McFarlane, all right reserved. If you wish to use any of these images, or content on a motorsport community website, a watermarked version can be made available, please notify me first.