On The Track @ Katukurunda ’09

Considering the security situation in the country and the direct correlation between racetracks and the military, the local racing arena has been quiet for some time. So when wind came that the Katukurunda Races were happening on the 1^st and 2^nd of August I realized I HAD to stay in Sri Lanka another few days for it. And this would be my 2^nd track racing photography experience, the first being the Singspore F1 races last year.

Put me, 2 DSLRs, a sturdy camera bag and a pit-pass and what do you get; Two whole days of sunburn, dehydration and a bunch of photographs that not only in my opinion are pretty good, but also quite memorable photographic experiences.

One of the coolest shots was of Darin Weerasinghe and Pasindu Pieris roaring down the starting stretch into the Mobitel Corner whizzing past me nothing more than 10 feet away from me. And I was telling myself ‘Now THAT should be an awesome shot’. Then mere moments later came Ashan Silva blazing by me followed by Rizvi Farook loosing control and starting a skid along the track. I have 3 shots of the entire sequence. Shooting at approx 2.5fps you see the first one here of Razvi’s white Evo loosing it. The next shot was of his car smack middle, unable to even fit into the frame at 18mm (considering it passed no more than 5-6 feet away from me). The next was of nothing but a cloud of white rubber smoke. As I dusted off the thin sand the car blew at me and my equipment all I was thinking was, ‘I SOOOO hope that I captured it’. As some of you might already have realized I like shooting at ground level; Hence most of my aiming is done on practice and judgment as opposed to using the viewfinder. After-all it’s not easy resting your face on a burning hot cement runway in the mid afternoon sun.

And on a more professional photographic note; something I really wanted to try was to capture the entire racing experience, and not just the speeding cars. So I spent an equally large time pointing my camera off the track, as I did at the track. The pits too tell a story; one about the races we would not normally see on TV or the papers. Unfortunately the Sunday afternoon heat had got the better of the spectators who were quite beaten down by midday, and not in the highest of spirits.

And the motorcycles didn’t fail to impress the spectators and make the photographers very happy with their speed and beautifully tilted cornering.

But all in all, it was yet another memorable racing experience indeed.

Product Photography

I recently got my very first food photography assignment from Red Dot Cafe, for some publicity shots of their range of servings ranging from cakes to coffees. Considering the lack of equipment and limited time it ended up being a pretty good shoot. Of course, it did have some shortcomings which I later realized and fixed in subsequent shoots, but overall it went well.

Its interesting what a simple off-camera flash, tripod and a couple of empty white cake boxes can do to control light.  One thing I did realize is, wide-angle rocks. Its just amazing how it helps emphasize certain aspects of the food while not looking like it was simply cropped out of a bigger picture.

Shooting high-key as opposed to simply using a shallow Depth of Field in my opinion gives the client more versatility and flexibility when using them, but of course there are times when the food isn’t everything, and the client wants more than just the product. For example some clients may want to show off their fancy new interior decorations along with their products. So its always best to consult the client on these matters.

So, one tip I’d give to someone who’s interested in similar styled shots, go wide. VERY wide! And another is, dont be afraid to experiment with lighting. It’s everything that makes the photograph unique!