I've been fortunate in the last few years to undertake in-car rally photography
and this is something that really interests me. It's lucky for me that the
high speeds aren't a worry and I'm quite happy to be thrown around in the
car as I work the camera. Peugeot 106 and 206, Mitsubishi Evo V, VI and VII
Group N rally cars and Super 1600 rally cars have all been exhiliarating experiences
for me. Surprisingly it's not the speed as such that enthralls you from inside
the car; it's the driving skill involved that I just find absolutely stunning.
Rally photography
eBooks,
a great way to learn |
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"First and
foremost let me thank you for sending the e-books, which
incidentally are probably the best pieces of photographic kit I have bought..."
H.Jones UK |
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I have had just one attempt behind the wheel of a rally car at a rally
school, not on an event. Despite trying as hard as I could, I was completely
useless! I just didn't have the fast reactions required to change gear
at just the right moment, to turn the steering wheel at just the right
moment, or do anything at the right time come to think of it! I was great
at spinning the car on the loose gravel but that was about it.
The cars I would really like to work with as a photographer are the classic
Ford Escort Mk II and a World Rally car. I was due to photograph from
inside a Hyundai Accent WRC car a year or so ago but the car broke down
before we had a chance to do anything! The most interesting in-car experience
was photography in a Group N Mitsubishi Evo VII in the snow and ice. The
ruts in the snow and slush were huge, the ice was like polished glass
(you could hardly stand in places, never mind drive) and this Evo absolutely
flew. The driver was absolutely fearless and just hammered along as though
we were driving over dry asphalt. That's about the only time I've been
a passenger in a rally car driving at full tilt where I've looked at the
stage ahead and thought, "We're going to crash". We didn't,
and I was left wanting more!
 For
in-car photography I use 1600, 3200 or even 6400 ISO settings depending
on the lighting (you can't use flash) and I'll use a focal length of around
28mm or wider. You need a nice wide-angle lens in such confined spaces,
and I'll use an aperture of around f16 because it's unlikely that you'll
be viewing and framing up each shot through the viewfinder - you'll be
relying heavily on autofocus and you need lots of depth-of-field to compensate
for any focus errors. Light metering is also an issue particularly when
you are shooting frames from the rally car floor pan upwards. You experiment
with lots of shutter speeds and metering techniques. Always keep looking
for approaches that produce the most consistent results.
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