Automotive Photography at Bonneville SPEEDWAY
Hi, We’re Dan and Teresa Larocca, founders and creative partners of Secret Weapon Art, our automotive photography and artwork company. Today WE’d like to talk about THE Bonneville Speedway STAGED WITHIN the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. ThE SPEEDWAY is an area of the salt flats marked out for motor sports, with the race track listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Bonneville Salt Flats are a densely packed salt pan, a remnant of the Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, and the largest of many salt flats located west of the Great Salt Lake. This 30,000 acre area of hard, white salt crust lies on the western edge of the Great Salt Lake basin in Utah. This is one of the flattest areas on earth, formed during the final evaporative stages of Lake Bonneville. The salt flats are one of Utah’s most iconic landscapes, which has served as the racing grounds for generations of land speed racers from around the world.
Bonneville is WHERE brave individuals COME to chase THEIR moment of glory, and push themselves and their VEHICLEs to the limit. The salt flats are about 12 miles long and 5 miles wide, with the crust nearly 5’ thick at the center, and less than 1 inch toward the edges. The vast glittery salt lake is a completely unique place with patterned cracked salt crust sparkling in the daytime. during certain times of the year less than an inch of water coverS the flats for miles at sunrise or sunset, with the mountains and sky NICELY reflected in the water. As automotive photographers and specialists in race car art, This GRAPHIC, magical LANDSCAPE creates a stunningly beautiful BACKDROP TO CAPTURE THE car photography THAT WE USE TO CREATE car art prints, and CUSTOM-MADE race car art.
OUR PROCESS:
• DOCUMENTING THE CANDID, HUMAN MOMENTS AND DYNAMIC ACTION OF THESE MEN AND MACHINES IS KEY TO SHOOTING BONNEVILLE. NICE LIGHT, BIG LENSES, PREPARING FOR THE UNEXPECTED AND A BIT OF LUCK CONTRIBUTE TO OUR SUCCESS. WE LOVE ROAMING THE PADDOCK AT DAWN, LOOKING FOR SPECIAL MOMENTS AS THE TEAMS PREPARE FOR BATTLE - UNLOADING THEIR TRAILERS, SILHOUETTED MECHANICS SHARING A CUP OF COFFEE OR WORKING TOGETHER ON THE ENGINE, CLOSEUP SHOTS OF SALT ENCRUSTED MACHINERY, ETC. THIS BEHIND THE SCENES IMAGERY IS USUALLY CAPTURED USING A 300 MM LENS, AS IT’S LIGHTWEIGHT ENOUGH TO HAND-HOLD AND LONG ENOUGH TO PICK OFF A VARIETY OF ACTION FROM A DISTANCE.
• WE PREFER A SHALLOWER DEPTH OF FIELD TO CREATE A MORE ARTFUL IMAGE BY PULLING THE VIEWER INTO THE STORY AND FOCUSING IN ON THE KEY DETAILS WHILE THE FOREGROUND AND BACKGROUND ELEMENTS BLUR OUT OF FOCUS.
• PAN SHOTS USING A SLOWER SHUTTER SPEED HIGHLIGHT THE SPEED AND ENERGY OF RACING. HOWEVER, FOR EVERY 20 SHOTS YOU MAY ONLY GET A HANDFUL THAT ARE USABLE AND ONE THAT MAY BE PERFECT. OUT HERE YOU DON’T GET SECOND CHANCES. THAT’S LAND SPEED RACING - YOU MISS IT, THEY’RE GONE.
• PREPARE BUT PIVOT WHEN NECESSARY. WE LOVE HAPPY ACCIDENTS! THE BEST RACING IMAGERY IS NAILING THAT SPECIAL MOMENT NO ONE SAW COMING.
SCROLL through our website to see ONE OF A KIND car photography, automotive artwork, AND A FINE SELECTION OF ARCHIVAL PRINTS FOR SALE. THEY MAKE A NICE GIFT FOR A CAR LOVER OR AS DISTINCTIVE PIECE OF ART FOR YOUR WALL SPACE.
For your own PHOTOGRAPHY COMMISSION OR automotive artwork, reach out to us below. THANKS!