When: June 6th 2007.

Where: This was shot at two different locations. Harrisburg, North Carolina, and on the main straight at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Charlotte North Carolina.

What: Interior of Stacy Compton’s NASCAR Craftsman Series # 9 Race Truck.

click here to get into Stacy's Race Truck

Why: A client requested to shoot a truck for one of their sponsors, Zaxby Chicken Restaurants.

How/technical details: This shot was done in two different locations. The first was shot at the Wood Brothers Race Shop in Harrisburg North Carolina. Over the past 58 years, this team ran some of the most successful drivers in the history of NASCAR. They set aside a corner of their race shop so I could shoot the interior of the truck. I have several modified tripods cut down or torn apart so I can get them into the small cockpit of the truck. Once set up, I spent about 15 minutes gathering parts of the shots running back and forth from each side of the truck since I couldn’t get into the truck, which killed my back since I kept leaning in to capture the images. I used some auxiliary lighting they had available and several tricks to capture a neutral image.

Once finished, they suggested that I blow out the windows and not worry about the background outside the truck. I didn’t like that idea and asked if they could get me into the Lowe’s Motor Speedway about 5 miles away to shoot on the track. They made a quick phone call and set it up. I ran over to the track then found a location on the track where I could see trackside banners so the shot would make it look like the truck was on the track. This was shot using a Canon 10D with a Coastal Optical Systems 185 degree 4.88 mm lens using a hacked down and shortened Manfrotto tripod.

Links:
Zoomhome.com
Lowe’s Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway
Wood Brothers Racing JTG Racing NASCAR race team