June 15, 2003
A Diet of Dust
Three hundred cars and bikes blasting through the desert generates an insane amount of dust. Nearly more than you can fathom. Choosing spots along the track from which to photograph had to take three things into consideration:
Safety
I saw scores of instances where cars were flying wide outside of turns, way inside of turns, and just off the course randomly. I gave myself a rule that I'd always keep an eye on the car, whether I was shooting it there or not. I had no interest in being run-down, even if I would get to watch the rest of the race from a helicopter.
Sun
The warm Outback sun was great, especially in the morning and late afternoon, so I was always aiming for to be between it and the driverss.
Dust
The dust clouds drift away like giant dirt zeppelins as the cars pass. As much as possible you try to find a location where the prevailing winds pushes the dirt cloud away from you, rather than over and through you. It seemed almost futile at times trying to keep my lens dust-free. I was constantly squirting it with a blower-bulb.