Fast N Steady Media

As someone usually strapped into the driver’s seat at autocross events, I decided to try something different recently: capturing the action from behind the lens. Trading my helmet for a camera felt strange at first, but it gave me a whole new appreciation for the sport.

The Gear and the Idea

My trusty companion for this adventure was a Canon T6i, bought from a BRZ owner. Getting the camera from someone within the community made the experience even better, as they gave me some initial pointers on how to use it. It has been the perfect camera for me to learn on and experiment with. The idea sparked from watching other photographers at previous events and admiring their work. I thought, “Why not give it a shot myself?”

I’ve always enjoyed seeing so many different driving styles and car setups tackling the same course, making me excited for each car passing by.

Initial Concerns and Unexpected Successes

Honestly, I was worried about capturing cars in motion. I imagined blurry blobs and missed opportunities. However, after a few trial runs and adjustments, I was pleasantly surprised with the results.

Lessons Learned: Challenges and Discoveries

Of course, there were challenges. Here are a few things I learned along the way:

• Finding a good spot: I realized I didn’t move around the course enough. Staying in one spot limited my angles and lighting options. Next time, I’ll explore different vantage points to get more varied shots.
• Focus, Focus, Focus: My camera sometimes struggled to lock focus on the moving cars, especially when they were approaching head-on. Surprisingly, I found that hand-holding the camera, rather than using a tripod, helped me track the cars as they approached and passed a cone and maintain focus more effectively. Just setting up and shooting as they were at the cone resulted in many shots being focused on the cone itself.
• Landscape and Crop: Shooting in landscape mode and cropping later gave me more flexibility in framing the shots and highlighting the key elements.

I’m already looking forward to the next event, but this time I’ll get some runs in myself!