Vic State Racing in 0.303 Of A Second

In the time it takes you to read this sentence, I would have already taken each photograph in this article. Of course, that doesn't include the time it took me to walk to my shooting location, choose the camera's settings, frame the shot and edit it, but it's a good indication of the minuscule amount of time the shutter is open for.

Just a tenth of a second, for us photographers is slow. Without a tripod, a photo with that shutter speed might be blurry. But to you, a tenth of a second is faster than the blink of an eye.

Racing drivers however, look for milliseconds upon milliseconds, to improve lap times and be faster than the competition. It's both an obsession and their job once inside the cockpit.

Both photography and racing takes an abundance of concentration. It entails hard work, and becoming one with the camera and/or race car.

You need to push to the limits of both yourself and your equipment to get that perfect shot and/or quickest lap time.

Milliseconds, all of a sudden, become of great importance.

Sometimes, as photographers, we need to slow down a bit. Not by much, but enough to differentiate between a still, and a pan. 

Racing drivers have to slow down to get as much grip in the corners. Even this they do as fast as possible. Too slow around a corner, and you've lost tenths of a second. Too fast however, and you're into the kitty litter. ​

This isn't to say that photography and racing is quick and easy. I have total respect for those who spend their time racing or shooting every weekend. It's a long, grueling process. But the rewards are awesome.

I want to say thanks again to Luke O'Callaghan who helped me get Media Credentials for this event (his car above), it certainly was an awesome day of shooting.

Bonus Gallery (The Final 0.128 of a Second)