When the big blocks run, the ground shakes and the air resonates with the sounds of brute horsepower. Went with a BW conversion to convey the feeling of an impending "storm" as early evening transitioned to night at one of the local tracks.
3 Topaz BW conversion blended with varying opacity, final tweaks and a mild vignette applied in LR5. As always, C&C welcome and appreciated. Happy 4th to everyone as our nation celebrates Independence Day!
This is wonderful! I could wonder about the pole that goes out the top of the frame, but that's a small thing for me. Great feeling of motion, grit and doom! You need a soundtrack to go with these!
The gray and grittiness makes this very dynamic! I really like that nearly obscured sun, adding to the mood. With that front car nearly bounding out of the frame, I feel like I'm there and need to wipe the grime from my face! Your motor car images are very impressive. Do you sell your work at these events? I would think people would love to have images like these!
I like the B&W almost as much as I like your color images. ( I'm partial to color.) Nicely done. The setting sun, the angle you chose, the various diagonal lines, the fence in the bg, all work to make this a strong image. I would clone out the poles. I just tried doing so, and it wasn't too difficult, though I did a quick and dirty job. I also took the liberty of slightly blurring and darkening the second car. I notice some dark spots in the sky. Are they intentional? I am enjoying your racing series.
Nice job of capturing the mood of racing under the lights. This really makes me think of my youth in Indiana, when we would go to the Art Zipps Speedway in Indianapolis (now called the Speedrome). I love the b&w gritty look.
I had two thoughts after I first thought "Great"! One was, why black and white, but you answered that immediately in your comments, and I agree with that decision. The other was, too bad that pole is there, but as others said, it's not a deal breaker, just a preference. Like it that Anita took it out. I think the car behind is blurred enough by the dust as it is in the original. The evening sun adds to the overall dusty experience. Great shot.
Hi, Randall, I like the gritty black and white a lot and I like Anita's repost also. I would remove that one black spot above the car to the left below the wire gate.
Thanks everyone for the responses, the critiques and ideas are really appreciated. Those posts bother me a bit as they show up in quite a few of my shots from that position. Anita's repost is clearly the way to go, unfortunately, I'm unable to get a satisfactory result when I try to remove them. Guess it will just take more practice.
Diane, speaking of music-I recently came across a fantastic video montage of insane racing action grounded with reggae music, amazing how well it works together!
Nancy- Promoters/track managers generally prohibit sales at venues to protect the official track photographers, which is understandable.
Cheryl-agreed, didn't realize how distracting that bit of debris is until you pointed it out.
Hazel, I too prefer the 2nd car as is, though Anita's idea will come in handy on other images.
Kerry, the Midwest is still a hotspot for homegrown racing, once it's in your blood it's a difficult habit to shake. Wish I had lived closer to these types of tracks growing up!