Tom S. Loc: Hillsboro, Ore.

On Labor day weekend I covered the Springfield Mile motorcycle race at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. I love races run on horse tracks because the sight lines are often better than at car tracks. Tracks built just for cars usually have too many fences and barriers. This track runs horses and cars, so it's kind of a mash-up that way, but there are still spots where you can get a clear view. This oval is the fastest track on the AMA Pro Flat Track circuit. The turns have a broad radius, which allows higher speeds on the straights. The bikes shown going straight in these photos are traveling between 120-130 mph. In the corners I believe they're going a bit shy of 100 mph. I was between 10-75 feet away. The weather was overcast in the am, and cleared a bit in the afternoon.

Canon 7D, shutter priority, 1/320, various ISO and f-stop settings, WB "cloudy", servo AF, single-point. EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM and EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L II.

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Jay Pat Loc: Round Rock, Texas, USA

Great action and well captured!!!
Pat

Marionsho Loc: Kansas

Fantastic action shots. Well done. Thanks.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Same thoughts - really great!

OnDSnap Loc: NE New Jersey

Some great panning...ya nailed it.

redpepper Loc: Central NY

Nice series. I especially like the last image. I photograph high school cc and track and love capturing the shots as they round the bend.

NikonKnight Loc: Owings Mills, MD

Outstanding action capture!

JC56 Loc: Lake St.Louis mo.

very good action shots.

AP Loc: Massachusetts

Great story telling photos Tom! Your pan focus and held sharpness shows your experience doing this type of photography, you knew exactly what to do, where to position yourself, how to set your camera, and use the correct lens in the making.

Perfectly cropped and showing a panned outstanding image ! Take notice of the wheels showing movement. Photos are professional made. GREAT JOB TOM ! Your future motor cross images will only pronounce and farther your ability. AP

bcheary Loc: Jacksonville, FL

Good action shots. :thumbup: :thumbup:

Stevieboy Loc: West Palm Beach, Florida

Excellent photos.

juicesqueezer Loc: Okeechobee, Florida

Very nice!

Tom S. Loc: Hillsboro, Ore.

Thanks for the kind comments. Hopefully with more practice and study I'll progress past my current junior-varsity skill level.

A few of my photos have been published. I wish more were. Flat track racing is a sport that doesn't get a lot of press coverage. A truly remarkable photo might get printed alone, though that's rare.

If you want to see your shots in print you need to be able to write the race report and take the photos to go with it. There are a few people who are really good at that and they work on assignment. Gathering the info to write a 3,000-word article with interviews and getting great shots to go with it and submitting it on a very short deadline is an incredibly difficult task.

But I'll keep submitting my shots and hope that something gets picked up. There are two more pro events this year and I will cover them both.

In the meantime, I'll continue to self-publish my photos and stories I've written on my Facebook page, Northwest Track Shots. It's been a fun project for the past couple of years.