A favorite of mine...

Every now and then someone asks me "What's the best photo you've ever taken?" Well, I like to think that I've yet to take it! I could hardly pick an absolute favorite anyway, although I might could narrow it down if I started putting photos in categories such as best burnout, best launch, etc. How about the category of "luck"? Take this picture for example. Funny thing is, even though I was specifically trying to get this shot, I still feel lucky whenever it happens. I like to give stuff names, and I've always called this technique the "flowing parachute shot". It's the moment when the parachute first begins to exit the car. The window of opportunty opens and closes for an instant, and I've always thought there was something cool and special about the way it looks on film. This photograph is far from the "most beautiful" I've ever taken. Color saturation isn't magnificent, and the focus is even a little soft in places. Still, it goes down as one of my all-time favorites, especially when I think back to what I was using in the way of "equipment".


The year was around 1993, and I was shooting a Saturday qualifying session of mountain motor Pro Stock at Bristol. My camera was a manual focus Nikon N2000 that I rescued from a pawn shop. The camera did have a motor drive, but we called it "film advance" back in those days. Modern digital cameras of today have the capabilities to reel off 8 frames per second. This Nikon with 1980's technology, however, was lucky to spit out 1 frame per second, and that was with fresh Energizers. In other words, you better make your "one shot" count because that's about all this camera would do - especially when your subject happened to be a pair of Pro Stocks traveling around 200 mph! Other than the obvious, another reason I like this picture is because Charlie Garrett (near lane) seems to have drifted to the center line, and the cars are incredibly close to each other! Pictures come and go, and I've forgotten plenty of them, but this picture will always be a favorite of mine.