Happy New Years! We're now 1/4 of the way through the 21st century. Being candid right now, I forgot I had to do this today, so I had some fun last night and am currently dealing with the consequences of my actions. Sorry in advance if the writeup is less than stellar this week.
All of this week's photos are from the fireworks display at the Rolex 24h last year. It feels fitting to me since it's the new year, and fireworks are such a staple of the holiday. I set myself up in the grandstands, about halfway up, between turns 1 and 6.
It's the first Wednesday of the month, and that means a new desktop wallpaper. This month's is the race-winning (and championship-winning) #7 Porsche 963. I personally prefer the livery of the #7 over the #6. The black fin just looks so much better to me and gives a great contrast between the nose and tail of the car.
This photo is the main reason I chose to shoot the fireworks from the grandstands. My original vision was to have only 1 car in frame as they carve up turn 1, but a yellow flag at 9:53 (only 7 minutes before the fireworks started) meant that everyone was queued up and close together. Despite that, I think the photo works with everyone nose-to-stern like this.
1/80s, 70mm, f/4, ISO1600
The yellow flag had everyone slow, meaning I only got about 2 chances per car to get the photos I wanted. But it wasn't all bad news. The slow speeds meant I could really slow down my shutter speed and make the fireworks look extra special. This photo was at 1/15s and it really made the fireworks fill the frame,
1/15s, 70mm, f/4, ISO800
Last year, the fireworks were almost exclusively gold and white. Very few colored charges, which meant I had to rely on the sponsor boards and the campers in the infield to add the color separation I wanted. On the plus side, yellow cars like the Corvettes were complimented by the firework colors beautifully.
1/15s, 107mm, f/4, ISO800
I also want to add a note here and say that all the photos in this post were shot horizontally and cropped vertically, so the focal length in the notes is not accurate at all. Just something for you all to note if you want to try these yourself in a few weeks at the Rolex! (I'm so excited. I miss racing)
Get them Here! (only available until 1/8)
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