A couple weeks ago, I went to take pictures of the PCA GGR Autocross in the old Alameda Naval Base. An autocross is a circuit marked by traffic cones that you have to go through as fast as possible without touching any cones. It’s a very safe way to drive your car at its limits (or at your limits) with very low risks. The course is setup at the old Alameda Navy Base, on the old runway. There is plenty of space for you to spin out of control without touching anything (except your ego).
The view from there is fantastic, you are on the other side of the bay, with an unobstructed view of San Francisco:
Here is a view of a car going through the course:
Most cars are unmodified cars, no extra security except you have to wear an helmet, you are not driving that fast but you have to turn a lot. It’s all about acceleration, keeping your momentum, and following the optimal trajectory.
Like any cars or motocycle pictures, if you increase your shutter speed to get a sharp image, you freeze the action, like this image:
It’s a good image, especially because of the background, but you can’t tell that the car is moving, can you? You could replicate this image with a parked car. In order to show speed, you have to reduce your shutter speed and move your camera in sync with the car. By doing so, you blur the background but the car is still tack sharp. This technique is called panning. With this technique, to get a keeper image, you have to pan at the exact same speed than the car, otherwise the car will also be out of focus. In the following image (same car), the shutter speed is set to 1/60th of a second.
It takes practice to get good images with this technique. Plus it’s a lot easier if the car doesn’t accelerate or deccelerate at the spot you are trying to pan. In my first couple test shots, I could not get the car sharp at all. Suddenly, I start looking at where I was shooting and the drivers were braking hard to make a tight right. There was too much speed variation, I couldn’t pan at the same speed, therefore I had only blurred images.
I moved a little more along the track, until I found a sweeping left turn, where the drivers would maintain speed and then I started to get some keepers.
I have included a complete gallery for the participants (I think I have only the first group).
