Bettws Banger Racing by Alpha Whiskey Photography
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Bettws Banger Racing

  • Aug 29, 2017
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  • 26 Photos
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Bettws Banger Racing

Natalia and I had an absolutely thrilling weekend in the company of my dear friends Nat and Rob up in mid-Wales, especially at this local demolition derby event. We were joined by Frank, Isobel and of course, young Harry. I haven't been photographing much lately owing to a busy schedule and the necessary rest after intense volume in the gym. But this was a great opportunity to experience and shoot some vehicular carnage.Mud and dust were whipped up and hurled at us in the frenzied race as cars that looked like something The A-Team constructed after being locked in a shed careened around a dirt track, fenders and bumpers flying off all over the place. Wheels detached as axels twisted, and shards of metal and splinters of headlights littered the track. The incessant and glorious revving was matched by the dust clouds in their wake, some so thick that cars smashed and rolled in the fog. Hopefully the pictures below will do more justice than mere words. Most of were taken with my Olympus mirrorless gear, namely the EM-5 with the 40-150mm F/2.8 mounted to it. Some were taken with the DSLR and 70-200m F/2.8 as the phase detection autofocus proved useful in certain moments. Overall, however, the EM-5's contrast detection did a fine job keeping up with the cars. Cameras were set with burst shooting in shutter priority at around 1/500secs, occasionally using 1/80secs for panning shots. The main difficulty was finding decent positions to capture the action in, and a few wooden posts had to be cloned out of the images. I processed the images with simple contrast adjustments, using a desaturated or B+W treatment to emphasise the swirling hurricanes of mud, itself often as much a character as the cars. Tribute must be paid to the excellent drivers and organisers for hosting an excellent and enjoyable event. To be honest, I could have volunteered my own car in the races and it wouldn't have looked much different! Many thanks, too, to Nat and Rob for their kind invitation to see this event. 

Aug 29, 2017
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Bettws Banger Racing

This post has 26 photos Aug 29, 2017Comments (2)970 views
Natalia and I had an absolutely thrilling weekend in the company of my dear friends Nat and Rob up in mid-Wales, especially at this local demolition derby event. We were joined by Frank, Isobel and of course, young Harry. I haven't been photographing much lately owing to a busy schedule and the necessary rest after intense volume in the gym. But this was a great opportunity to experience and shoot some vehicular carnage.

Mud and dust were whipped up and hurled at us in the frenzied race as cars that looked like something The A-Team constructed after being locked in a shed careened around a dirt track, fenders and bumpers flying off all over the place. Wheels detached as axels twisted, and shards of metal and splinters of headlights littered the track. The incessant and glorious revving was matched by the dust clouds in their wake, some so thick that cars smashed and rolled in the fog. Hopefully the pictures below will do more justice than mere words. 

Most of were taken with my Olympus mirrorless gear, namely the EM-5 with the 40-150mm F/2.8 mounted to it. Some were taken with the DSLR and 70-200m F/2.8 as the phase detection autofocus proved useful in certain moments. Overall, however, the EM-5's contrast detection did a fine job keeping up with the cars. Cameras were set with burst shooting in shutter priority at around 1/500secs, occasionally using 1/80secs for panning shots. 

The main difficulty was finding decent positions to capture the action in, and a few wooden posts had to be cloned out of the images. I processed the images with simple contrast adjustments, using a desaturated or B+W treatment to emphasise the swirling hurricanes of mud, itself often as much a character as the cars. 

Tribute must be paid to the excellent drivers and organisers for hosting an excellent and enjoyable event. To be honest, I could have volunteered my own car in the races and it wouldn't have looked much different! Many thanks, too, to Nat and Rob for their kind invitation to see this event. 


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Comments

Sabrina RaymondAug 29, 2017 08:06 AM

Alright, this looks like fun. How did you keep your camera clean? Great set of photos.

Alpha Whiskey PhotographyAug 29, 2017 11:40 AM

I didn't keep it clean, Sabrina! Had to wipe it all down with some wet-wipes at the end! Many thanks! :)

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