popmonkey photo: 0007 wsbk2000 @ laguna seca

[wsbk 1] [wsbk2] [750] [henning hiside] [250] [rothwell]

this year i went armed with a bit of experience from my 1998 visit to laguna seca. i knew what to expect and more importantly, where i could get better shots from.

one thing i learned from 1998 is that if you spend your entire time taking pictures, you won't enjoy the races. and the races were fantastic. my man haga-san dominated the weekend with a 1st and 2nd place finish in the world superbike races, including an incredible pass on ben bostrom on one of the last laps.

here are some notes for amateurs shooting at laguna seca without the benefit of a press pass that lets you onto the actual track. get into prime position before the race starts, otherwise you'll be elbowing yourself in while the action happens. the best shooting spots on the track are turn 9 (for shots down onto the rider), from below the corkscrew (no shit :), right at the apex of turn 3 where there's a little parking lot that cuts into the fencing and lets you get no more than 50 feet from the track. turn 7 is difficult because the bikes are moving so fast, and turn 4 has too much fencing blocking it. i also got an interesting shot through a photo window at turn 11 (a window in the fencing) but the lighting was pretty bad.

keep in mind that the spots that are best for spectators aren't always the best spots to shoot from. for example, the grandstand view is excellent for viewing the start and finish of the race, and it's exciting to see the bikes fly by at 180mph, but the fencing is always in the way here, and frankly, you won't be able to catch those bikes on film at those speeds.

and don't use velvia... in fact, next time i go i'm not going to shoot chrome at all, the minor exposure mistakes were just too drastic in the final images.

i shot on velvia and astia using my eos-3 mounted with the 75-300 mm is lens.

[wsbk 1] [wsbk2] [750] [henning hiside] [250] [rothwell] this year i went armed with a bit of experience from my 1998 visit to laguna seca. i knew what to expect and more importantly, where i could get better shots from. one thing i learned from 1998 is that if you spend your entire time taking pictures, you won't enjoy the races. and the races were fantastic. my man haga-san dominated the weekend with a 1st and 2nd place finish in the world superbike races, including an incredible pass on ben bostrom on one of the last laps. here are some notes for amateurs shooting at laguna seca without the benefit of a press pass that lets you onto the actual track. get into prime position before the race starts, otherwise you'll be elbowing yourself in while the action happens. the best shooting spots on the track are turn 9 (for shots down onto the rider), from below the corkscrew (no shit :), right at the apex of turn 3 where there's a little parking lot that cuts into the fencing and lets you get no more than 50 feet from the track. turn 7 is difficult because the bikes are moving so fast, and turn 4 has too much fencing blocking it. i also got an interesting shot through a photo window at turn 11 (a window in the fencing) but the lighting was pretty bad. keep in mind that the spots that are best for spectators aren't always the best spots to shoot from. for example, the grandstand view is excellent for viewing the start and finish of the race, and it's exciting to see the bikes fly by at 180mph, but the fencing is always in the way here, and frankly, you won't be able to catch those bikes on film at those speeds. and don't use velvia... in fact, next time i go i'm not going to shoot chrome at all, the minor exposure mistakes were just too drastic in the final images. i shot on velvia and astia using my eos-3 mounted with the 75-300 mm is lens.
	haga stretches haga leads pretty much from the getgo, seen here entering turn 3
	guareschi lowsides in turn 3 on the 5th lap troy corser
	edwards leads bostrom and corser in turn 3 edwards on the back straightaway between turns 6 and 7

	wsbk race 2, lap 1, turn 4 yanagawa in turn 9
	bostrom in turn 9 bostrom, haga, edwards, and corser in the corkscrew
	haga out of the corkscrew aaron slight braking for turn 10
	interesting view of the final straightaway from turn 11 edwards showing off in the pits
	haga, the bad boy haga the king
	corser's victory lap awards ceremony

	team suzuki time keepers near turn 10 race winner hopkins coming out of turn 9
	hascovec out of turn 9 call out of turn 9
	sewerd, more, reilly in the corkscrew bowerman out of the corkscrew
	buckmaster in turn 9 hayden in turn 9
	henning's hiside in the corkscrew. note the skidmarks. you can see exactly where the rear tire stopped skidding and caught again to throw him off. he was unhurt, in fact he ran over to the bike, push started it, and rode it back to the pits.



	first lap of the 250 as seen from turn 4 race winner rich oliver in turn 4
	groot in turn 4 piz goofing around after the race

	as usual, the crazy man gary rothwell put on an amazing show. i actually got onto the track for these shots, the race "police" looked the other way. gary did a couple of stoppies right next to me. here's the punchline tho, i ran out of film and only got these 6 shots :( ARGHHH!