Jonvandaal

Caval Calamity

This Mopar Pro Stocker got loose at the top end of the drag strip with the wind getting under it at around 150 mph and this was the result. The car landed on it...
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This Mopar Pro Stocker got loose at the top end of the drag strip with the wind getting under it at around 150 mph and this was the result. The car landed on its roof and slid to a safe stop with the driver, Richard Caval unhurt
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Canon EOS 7D

upload_date

May, 2016

Views

1128

Likes

+33

Awards

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Peer Award

Magnificent Capture

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Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken at the X Champs at Sydney Dragway in Sydney, Australia

Time

This was taken at around 4.30pm

Lighting

The sky was overcast and pretty the light was pretty low at that time.The exposure was 1/500th at f4.

Equipment

This was taken with a Canon 7D and Canon 300mm f2.8 lens. The lens was supported with a Manfrotto Monopod.

Inspiration

I have been a drag racing photojournalist for over 30 years. I was covering the event for an online magazine called Drag Racing Online and this driver was racing on a qualifying run when a side-wind got under the car and lifted it into the air. Despite the ferocity of the image the driver was able to walk away from the incident, as the most stringent safety measures are in place.

Editing

The only post processing I did with this image was to lighten it slightly. It was taken in low light conditions at 800 ASA

In my camera bag

I have a complete Canon system. This consists of a 7D mark 2 and 7D bodies. I have a number of zoom lenses that are great for racing documentary photography. These include Canon EF 8-15mm f/4 L USM Fisheye, EF-S10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM, EF 24-70mm f/2.8L, EF70-200mm/f2.8L and EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L lenses. My other passion is gig photography so I have Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM and EF 85mm f/1.8 USM lenses for low light.Additionally I also have a Manfrotto Tripod and Monopod as well as a carbon fiber tripod too. Being a night sport I use a lot of flashes including two Canon Speedlite 580EXs as well as four YONGNUO YN560 III YN-560lll Wireless Speedlites with a YN-560 TX Wireless Manual Controller that can turn night into day.

Feedback

While one would think that capturing such a photo would be extremely hard to record but in fact the action all takes place in front of you and it is just a matter of having a high enough shutter-speed and the right aperture to correctly capture it. This was just one of five accidents I caught that weekend.. The other thing is that you don't have to have a press pass to record such images. Drag Racing usually has crowd bleachers or mounds on either side of the track and it is easy to follow the cars and bikes down the strip. That is how I started with an image from my very first roll of film (in a borrowed camera) catching a car "imploding". This was published widely in Australian magazines and won a photo contest in America - I was off and running. The majority of images published on the sport are taken with a 70-200 mm lens. Though I have one I always try and do something competely different to everyone else and thirty foot long dragsters are perfect for wide angle and fisheye lenses. Unlike most motorsports it is free to enter the pits and there is so much to photograph there as well as meet and photograph the drivers.I love drag racing because it is a real attack on the senses. It is the loudest sport on earth and when you are standing within six feet of an 8000 horsepower Top Fuel dragster your stomach vibrates, your eyes water from the nitromethane fuel and huge flames leap into the air - now try and photograph that yourselves.

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Jonvandaal

Jonvandaal

Caval Calamity

This Mopar Pro Stocker got loose at the top end of the drag strip with the wind getting under it at around 150 mph and this was the result. The car landed on it... Read more

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow Jonvandaal

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This Mopar Pro Stocker got loose at the top end of the drag strip with the wind getting under it at around 150 mph and this was the result. The car landed on it...
Read more

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