CAPTURE NEW HORIZONS

In motorsport pitstops during a race are a frantic affair, especially in sportscar racing where tyre and driver changes happen. This image was taken last Sunday at Imola during the French GT race.  The pitlane is overlooked by a viewing platform so spectators can get a good look at the action in the pits.  Clamping the Nikon D800 to the railing - there was no room to put up the tripod - I was able to capture this scene.  The exposure time of two seconds was long enough to blur the mechanics and the drivers as they performed the quick pitstop.  Handholding a DSLR for 2 seconds is almost impossible but by clamping it to the railing the camera was steady enough to capture the scene perfectly.  Because of the bright, sunny conditions I had to use an Neutral Density filter to give me the correct exposure time. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG ...

Yesterday I made what can be considered a pilgrimage to see the bronze statue in memory of arguably the world's greatest ever racing driver Ayrton Senna.  Senna was killed at the Tamburello Curve on the 1st May 1994 in what can only be described as the worst weekend in the modern era of motorsport.  The San Marino Grand Prix saw a series of accidents that started with a big crash for Rubens Barrichello, which hospitilised the Brazilian and then Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger lost his life in a high speed impact.  The following day the race start was interrupted after a major collision on the grid saw debris strewn across the track, however the race continued behind the safety car.  At the restart Senna's car went straight on at Tamburello and impacted with the wall. I remember watching the race at home and, like the rest of the motorsport world, was stunned when we heard the news that Ayrton Senna had lost his life. Tamburello Curve was reprofiled...

Most of the time the images I take are planned but sometimes an image will just jump out at you as you planning to do something else. This shot of the pedestrian tunnel under the track at Imola is a perfect example.  I was walking over the local park where the Ayrton Senna memorial is situated to get some shots and pay my respects - more on this in tomorrow's blog. The tunnel caught my eye immediately with the subdued lighting and the ribbed walls providing the perfect lead in lines.  Using the 17mm end of the 17-35mm wide angle lens the lines were  exaggerated even further. But I decided I needed a focal point at the end of the tunnel to further improve the composition.  Luckily one of the spectators attending this weekend's event walked through the tunnel and I only had to wait for him to reach the optimum point so I could take the shot.   Nikon D800 - Nikon 17-35mm f2.8 AF-S - 1/15 @ f7.1 - ISO 400 ...

The stacked Ferrari F40 statue at Imola racetrack erected by the late French sculptor Arman, pays tribute to Ferrari founder, Enzo Ferrari. Situated at the main gate this five metre high sculpture is an imposing sight but it also needs a little TLC.  While the side facing the road is OK, the image above shows the back of the sculpture and the paints is chipped and flaking.  It is a real shame because the artwork certainly draws your attention as you pull up in your car at the paddock gate to the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY CLICKING THE NEW GOOGLE ADVERTS It doesn't cost you anything to click on an advert but we get a small fee for every click thru from Google and this helps support this blog - thank you for helping ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------...