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2015/4/10 MotoGP - Curcuit Of The Americas

My friend, photographer Steve Lawrence, gave me his general admission ticket to the first day (Friday) of this year's Red Bull Grand Prix Of The Americas' MotoGP racing event. Steve scored a media pass, so don't worry about him. This is the first professional motor sports event I've ever attended, so I'm a complete newb at photographing fast moving vehicles. I have watched some races on TV, so based on that I had a plan in mind before heading over to the COTA park. As a professional driver (for a limo company) I've delivered a lot of customers to the venue, so I had a rough idea of the layout of the place. I Google-Earthed the heck out of the place the night before and decided the East side is where I needed to be. As you browse through the gallery, I'll let you know, in the captions, where I'm shooting from and which direction I'm aiming, and I'll let you know when I move shooting locations.

I had a blast shooting. I was fortunate in that I got to shoot the motorcycles in everything from pouring rain to blazing sun as the day progressed, so enjoy the visual variety as much as I did!
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  • I'll be adding info in the captions in the coming days. You can refer back to this map, because I'll refer to the turn-numbers that I shot from and which turns I'm shooting at! I can tell you right now, I worked the side of the track from Turn 2 through Turn 10.

    I'll be adding info in the captions in the coming days. You can refer back to this map, because I'll refer to the turn-numbers that I shot from and which turns I'm shooting at! I can tell you right now, I worked the side of the track from Turn 2 through Turn 10.

    0_generic_track_map

  • My first shooting location: inside Turn 6, looking at the racers coming at me. I can see under the Red Bull pedestrian bridge all the way to turn 2 which is more than 600 yards away. Most images are of the action on Turns 4 & 5, which is where this single cyclist is located in this image.

    My first shooting location: inside Turn 6, looking at the racers coming at me. I can see under the Red Bull pedestrian bridge all the way to turn 2 which is more than 600 yards away. Most images are of the action on Turns 4 & 5, which is where this single cyclist is located in this image.

    20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-1

  • You can't tell yet, but I'm shooting in a steady rain, and it's windy too, out of the north!

    You can't tell yet, but I'm shooting in a steady rain, and it's windy too, out of the north!

    20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-3

  • These 9 bikes are on Turns 2 & 3. It's the beginning of the 45 minute practice period for the Moto2 class.

    These 9 bikes are on Turns 2 & 3. It's the beginning of the 45 minute practice period for the Moto2 class.

    20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-26

  • Now I'm getting down to business with the big zoom lens. I'm shooting with an old Sigma EX 50-500mm f/4.5-6.3 HSM on a Canon EOS 7D Mark II body. My effective focal length on that camera body is 80-800mm. These bikes are about 500 yards away. I'm cropping like crazy on top of the maximum zoom.

    Now I'm getting down to business with the big zoom lens. I'm shooting with an old Sigma EX 50-500mm f/4.5-6.3 HSM on a Canon EOS 7D Mark II body. My effective focal length on that camera body is 80-800mm. These bikes are about 500 yards away. I'm cropping like crazy on top of the maximum zoom.

    20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-28

  • 20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-56

    20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-56

  • The TV cameras were on all day. This is the Turn 6 camera. I took this shot after I got up to move. I was getting dripped on because I was sitting in the mud directly below his position. I could *just* see over the fences from here!

    The TV cameras were on all day. This is the Turn 6 camera. I took this shot after I got up to move. I was getting dripped on because I was sitting in the mud directly below his position. I could *just* see over the fences from here!

    20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-69

  • 20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-80

    20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-80

  • ...And this is my view of Turn 5 from my Turn 6 seat.

    ...And this is my view of Turn 5 from my Turn 6 seat.

    20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-81

  • 20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-91

    20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-91

  • I originally marked this image for elimination, but the more I looked at it, the better it got! It's now one of my favorites of the day.

    I originally marked this image for elimination, but the more I looked at it, the better it got! It's now one of my favorites of the day.

    20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-115

  • Another impressionistic piece. This moto is in Turn 6 right in front of me, maybe 50 yards away. I was trying to pan the camera, or follow his movement while shooting in order to get him in sharp focus, which I found out is difficult to do while seated. Instead I got a lot of camera movement NOT in sync with the racer. The striations are an artifact of shooting through at least one fence. The fence wire formed a diamond pattern that shows in the image.

    Another impressionistic piece. This moto is in Turn 6 right in front of me, maybe 50 yards away. I was trying to pan the camera, or follow his movement while shooting in order to get him in sharp focus, which I found out is difficult to do while seated. Instead I got a lot of camera movement NOT in sync with the racer. The striations are an artifact of shooting through at least one fence. The fence wire formed a diamond pattern that shows in the image.

    20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-117

  • Colorful!

    Colorful!

    20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-118

  • 20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-120

    20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-120

  • When I stood up, I found much better freedom of movement, and this is the successful result I was seeking! Still raining at this point, and everyone is still in their raincoats.

    When I stood up, I found much better freedom of movement, and this is the successful result I was seeking! Still raining at this point, and everyone is still in their raincoats.

    20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-122

  • Spoiler Alert: "Dribble Dots" isn't going to make it all the way through this practice session. Maybe it's because he's racing with his eyes closed?

    Spoiler Alert: "Dribble Dots" isn't going to make it all the way through this practice session. Maybe it's because he's racing with his eyes closed?

    20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-124

  • When I pan the camera with the racer successfully, most of the fence between us disappears except for the horizontal braided cables, and everything that's not moving in the frame now seems to be racing by!

    When I pan the camera with the racer successfully, most of the fence between us disappears except for the horizontal braided cables, and everything that's not moving in the frame now seems to be racing by!

    20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-125

  • 20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-140

    20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-140

  • 20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-151

    20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-151

  • 20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-155

    20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-155

  • 20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-157

    20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-157

  • 20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-161

    20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-161

  • I love how well I picked up the racer's eyes.

    I love how well I picked up the racer's eyes.

    20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-168

  • 20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-169-2

    20150410 COTA - MotoGP - Friday Practice-169-2

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