Circuit of the Americas|SVRA Event

SVRA or Sportscar Vintage Racing Association was at COTA or Circuit Of The Americas this weekend in Austin, TX.  I was able to attend Saturday's all day event with my friends Jeff, Barret, and Nathan.  It was overcast most of the day,

We were able to move freely to almost most parts of the track...except to those areas nearer to the track reserved for media journalists.  It's for safety reasons, as they go through much training and it's for those who cover sports for legitimate commercial endeavors.  I wanted to try a new technique I've wanted to try, but never got around to it.  Panning.  It's an aid in composition that can give a real perspective of an image in motion.  Some of these cars are in definite motion.  Here is an example of a high shutter speed on a beautiful Porche going how fast???

You can't tell if its parked or what.  I've picked a shutter speed that completely stopped the action.  It doesn't relay the speed of the car which is integral to the image.  ISO 200 f4.0 at 1/2000th of shutter speed.  The car would have to be going incredibly fast to create any motion blur at this shutter speed.  If I just shoot a slow shutter speed and don't pan, you get a blurry car and a terrible image.  What you're trying to achieve is a moving background/foreground/wheels, with a steady car.  This gives a better impression of speed.

It's shot at ISO200 f9.0 and shutter at 1/160th of a second.  Not a great example, but for my first "panning" project, I settled.  I couldn't get slower without getting camera blur.  It just takes practice.  Lots of practice.

Here are a few of my favorites from the race.

If you want to see all my photo's click here or go to my Events Gallery.  http://www.zenfolio.com/michaelbarker/p983610132/edit