Daryl,
I looked over the photos and to me they are as good if not better than the
pro's. I especially like the panning shots, much more snap to them. I'd
keep in touch with the media director at the track and you may have the job
next year.
After reading this thread, I thought I'd share an experience I had with the
local asphalt track "pro" a few weeks ago. I've known this guy casually
for about 5 or 6 years. We work at a volunteer event for a week or so, once
a year, but that's about it. He has an OM-2n and a couple of cheap lenses
mostly Sears and JC Penny brand and he started hanging around the track
right after they built it and took some pictures of the cars for the
drivers and owners. Last year after looking over some of his prints,he
asked my advice on what he might do to improve his night shots. The fastest
lens he had was a Sears 135 f3.5 and that is what he used for his action
shots. I loaned him one of my Tamron 80-200 f2.8's and told him to try the
faster lens and explained panning with the cars to give them a sense of
motion. He was happy with the info and went on his way.
One year later. Haven't heard a word from the guy. I show up at the first
meeting before our annual volunteer event and lo and behold there he is. He
walks over and apologizes for keeping the lens all year, then proceeds to
tell me he'll bring it tomorrow because he doesn't need it anymore. He's
gone digital...Nik*n D1x...80-200 f2.8 autofocus...35-80 f2.8
autofocus...dedicated flash...laptop to process images...total cost
$13,000. I was floored.
Said the track had given him photo access and he was selling 8x10 prints
for $7.00 apiece.I asked him how many he had sold and he said 10 or 12 in
the last 3 weeks.
The next day he brings the lens back and as we are walking to my truck,
starts telling me he is waiting for Metz to come out with a D1x module so
he can buy the new Metz 50MZ flash to get better pictures at night. The
Nik*n flash didn't work to good in auto mode. According to him, the cars
were almost always washed out and over exposed. He couldn't understand why,
because the flash was supposed to automatically expose the shot. Yet
everyone one of his was overexposed. He thought the Metz and the dedicated
module would fix the problem.
I said Phil...did you try setting the flash to manual instead of automatic
so the camera doesn't try to expose the dark sky in the background? Blank
stare. What's the GN of the flash? Blank stare followed by...what? The
guide number of the flash, Phil. Again, blank stare, then...I'm not sure I
know what you are talking about. I explain GN to him,but he looks confused.
Then I say if you think you need more flash why don't you get a CT-60 or a
Vivitar 285 and just use a sync cable and shoot manually. Again blank stare
followed by if I do that will I still need the Metz module? That's when I
realized this idiot had spent $13,000 on camera gear to sell $7 prints and
he didn't even know what a Guide Number or sync connector was. He didn't
know the sync speed of the D1x. If it wasn't fully automatic he didn't know
what to do.
I guess he thought if he bought all that gear, his pictures would all be
perfectly exposed and he would be transformed into a SI photographer
overnight. That afternoon he went to the top of my idiot list.
Oh yea... the reason he sells his prints for $7. The other photographer at
the track shoots film and sells his 8x10's for $10 each. His plan is to
undercut the guy and take all the business at the track because digital is
cheaper and better. Good Luck!
later,
mike m.
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