Hey bud, thanks so much for the kind words. I heavily appreciate it, esp. when it's from a fellow photographer.

Hopefully I can help you out with your questions:

1) I didn't end up shooting any of the other events prior to the race. Although, I was there, I ended up missing the media meetings for that particular day. If you don't attend the meetings prior, you don't get that pretty blue vest that entitles you to run around the track like a madman and try to not get run over or hit by debris.

2) Credentials: In short, credentials are a bitch. Plain and simple.

The hours I had to put in to get these credentials was absurd. The emails I had to write and the strings I had to pull to make it happen is nuts. I'm just fortunate enough to have done enough work with magazines / websites that I have a pretty solid amount of referrals to provide on my application to sway it in my favor. TeamSpeed definitely helps the cause though.

The board that provides credentials will ask you immediately:

- What are you doing for the race? (Photos / writing or in my case - both)
- Who are you working for?
- Are they legitimate?
- Is it a print publication or online?
- How many people view the site per month?

Or in case of magazines - how many copies does it run in its normal circulation?

Needless to say, it's pretty stringent. I wouldn't let it deter you though. I always request media credentials, most of the applications can be found online. (Check the website from the event you are looking into)

I wasn't planned to get credentials for the St. Pete Grand Prix no matter who I emailed. (I emailed A LOT of people)

I just happened to meet a very kind individual that took a particular liking to me when we were photographing the College Bowl Game for my university at Tropicana Field and thought he'd help me out. Little did I know he photographed for St. Pete and the city council / mayor specifically.

He introduced me to them, put in a solid word for me, told them I photographed primarily automotive work and races, and within a couple months got a phone call from the city asking if I'd like to shoot the Grand Prix for St. Pete and their official website. Crazy stuff.

What most people fail to realize is that these credentials don't just happen to fall in my lap. You have to diligently work to get yourself out there. My logic, asking for passes is free. The potential rewards are priceless.

3) The credentials act as your ticket to the races / event. You shouldn't have to buy a ticket for anything you're photographing. Media has some pretty good perks. At Sebring they give you a 4 Day Superpass for the entire event.

Hope that helps some! If you have any other questions, shoot them my way.

- Chris

 

I like the way you think!

I'll help with the photography, we all just chip in and sponsor one of these cars.

- Chris

 

Thanks for the feedback.

I definitely see your train of thought, I actually set up my photos in this order at one point in time.

I learned in the long run, people are impatient, many won't ever even make it to the bottom of my website or gallery.

It made sense for a while until I realized if I placed some of my best work at the bottom, many people would never even see it which would just hinder the potential exposure for my site.

Especially, with as many photos as I posted up for Sebring (67) - not everyone has high speed internet which may be hard to believe still but if they are at least going to give my website a shot and attempt to view the pictures, I'd at least like to know that they see some of my best work immediately at the beginning because they may never make it to the end.

Either way, thanks for the comments and feedback. It's always appreciated!

- Chris

 

I definitely highlyyyy appreciate that.

There is way way way more that goes into the photos than most people realize. I have many clients who can't figure out why I charge such high prices just for showing up and photographing until they go on a shoot with me. Then they change their minds quickly and sometimes end up paying me extra as a thank you because they fully appreciate photography afterwards.

Sebring is rough to photograph. It's not a pretty track, it's HUGE (3.7 miles), it's Florida and hot etc.

I put in about 8 hours photographing, 10 miles walking, 1,500 photos taken, 12 hours sorting and editing, 2 hours uploading to my site and watermarking etc. and a few more lost hours in between.

It's not for the faint of heart. There's a reason GOOD photographer's can charge absurd amounts of money. It's well deserved and earned.

I appreciate the sticky! I've sent out this thread to many of my contacts in the media field, I am doing all I can to promote the site and thread.

All outside help is always appreciated since I can only do so much myself!

- Chris

 

My son and I are amateur photogs. We often go to routine car meets and take photos. We maybe end up with 500 shots. It takes scores of hours sorting, editing and uploading. I enjoy it. But I have spent many nights burning the midnight oil getting it done. And video is even tougher. So when I see some outstanding work like your's - which is 10X what we do - I really respect and admire it.

Great job!!

 

Thanks for the response, Chris!

Speaking from my own personal experience with Sebring, you nailed it. It's ridiculous how much work it actually takes to shoot Sebring well. Being the massive track that it is, you're constantly running around and trying to find interesting vantage points to shoot from in sweltering heat with 30+ lbs of camera gear on your back or around your neck. My back literally felt like it was going to snap in half by the end of a weekend shooting there. Then if you factor in the chances for rain, you really have to be careful with your gear.

1500 shots is definitely a lot but last year I think I took something like 2500-2800 shots (which ended up being close to 65 GB worth of images) between all the races from Thurs - Sat. If you've got 2 x 16 GB CF cards, you might as well use them to the fullest each day, right?

 

dude big props......great photos!

 

Thanks so much for the comments.

The photos that looked like they were in the pits.... were in the pits!

I was pretty much smack dab in the middle of all of the traffic. I had to be on the lookout for the cars taking off and flying by the entire time. It was madness.

I almost didn't quite make it with the Vette!

Luckily, I got all of my pit photos done prior to the race beginning. All of these photos were taken immediately after sunrise which is why many of the photos have a golden hue to them. Normally, a little bit too early for my taste but it's that glorious hour during sunrise that makes for the most magnificent photos.

- Chris

 

Nice! Congrats, Chris!

 

Wow thanks for posting man...