Photographing racing cars is one of my great passions. I’m particularly fond of historic racing cars. The sound and the wide variety of makes and models are unique. Capturing the racing cars on the track at speed is just one aspect of this.
The work in the pits is another, thoroughly exciting area where you can capture some beautiful still lifes. The subjects are often more varied than on the track. There are so many beautiful cars there, waiting to be moved, or situations where work is being carried out on the cars, and much more. In the pits and the pit lane, there is often little space because hardly any team has the pit to themselves, so tools are scattered on the floor and body parts are leaning against the walls. Everything looks a bit chaotic, but there is an abundance of subjects.
To bring a little calm to the subjects despite the organised chaos, I use a photographic trick. I usually shoot in the pits with a wide aperture to focus the image sharply on the desired area.
It can be particularly effective to render the foreground of the photo out of focus. A wheel, the curve of a body panel, the roll bar or the rear wing on the monopostos – all of these can serve as the ‘out-of-focus’ foreground. Reducing the depth of field automatically draws the eye to the detail that matters most at that moment.
I also use this technique when photographing details of the racing cars. It has its pitfalls and requires a lot of patience and practice, but the results are usually very impressive. Such subjects are, of course, exceptionally beautiful when backlit, when the camera lens creates a lovely ‘bokeh’.
It is, of course, helpful to use a medium telephoto focal length for this type of photography; my preferred lens here is the 70–200 mm with an aperture of f/2.8. However, significantly longer focal lengths can also yield interesting perspectives.
You can see a few examples in this image gallery. Enjoy viewing them.
