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Indy 500 crash photo question
Joe Lorenzini, Photographer
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Flower Mound (DFW) | TX | USA | Posted: 10:55 AM on 06.04.10 |
->> I'm looking at the latest SI and it's got the amazing shot of Mike Conway crashing into the fence, taken by Larry Papke of Reuters.
The question I have is if this was on the last lap of the Indy 500 then what was Mr. Papke doing inside turn 4? Wouldn't he have been closer to Victory Lane?
Unless this was taken by a remote I'm really curious about the thought behind his location at this point in the race.
It's an incredible photo, I'm just trying to learn as I don't know that I would have ever thought to be in this location at this time.
Thanks for any insights!
Joe
PS. Followup question: If this did happen in front of where you were standing, do you stay with this event or do you get the heck over to VL to get the jubo shot? |
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Will Lester, Photographer
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Ontario | CA | USA | Posted: 11:02 AM on 06.04.10 |
| ->> At major events such as these wire services, large newspapers, etc, staff these events extensively. The sole purpose of many of these photogs in the corners is for crashes. They have others on staff who will be in VL. |
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Bob Nichols, Photographer
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Tipton | IN | USA | Posted: 11:14 AM on 06.04.10 |
->> Joe,
What Will said is right on target. The wire services and larger papers (Indy Star) have staffers assigned to cover Victory Lane with a very limited number of credentials.
When I covered the race for the AP in the early 80's, I was one of about 100 "stringers" assigned a specific spot on the course. I was expected to have a full roll of 36 exp. film ready to go at all times. My assignment was to cover crashes. Period.
I was also a stringer for AFP in the early 90's and they had about 20 - 30 stringers if I remember correctly. Staff photographers covered Victory Lane. |
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Geoff Miller, Photographer
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Portage | MI | USA | Posted: 12:06 PM on 06.04.10 |
->> LP's a friend of mine and we stay at the same friend's house while in Indy. We both string for Reuters (me in the pits, and Larry out in Turn 3). What Will and Bob say are correct, though the numbers of photographers has been reduced in recent years.
VC was covered by Reuters staffer Jeff Haynes. The total "team" was probably about 30 people with 5 of them being staffers or contract shooters. Jeff had a long weekend as he had to work Stanley Cup Finals Game 1 in Chicago Saturday night and then make a beeline for Indy. Somehow he managed to get a couple of hours of sleep before heading over to the track! |
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Joe Lorenzini, Photographer
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Flower Mound (DFW) | TX | USA | Posted: 12:18 PM on 06.04.10 |
->> Thanks all! I appreciate the explanations.
I have not been part of a large team like that before. Looks like it really paid off for Mr. Papke as it's just an incredible photo.
For those who haven't seen it, check it out here:
http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?articleId=USRTR2EL2U
Joe |
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Michael Granse, Photographer
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Urbana | IL | USA | Posted: 1:30 PM on 06.04.10 |
| ->> Great shot! So, is that $50 to Reuters ($25 to the shooter after the 50% split) or has that not started yet? |
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Bob Nichols, Photographer
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Tipton | IN | USA | Posted: 3:57 PM on 06.04.10 |
| ->> Re-read my post and I listed the wrong years for AFP. I was a stringer for AFP at the 2002 and 2003 race working under the leadership of Jeff Haynes, not the early 90's. |
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Robert Scheer, Photographer
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Indianapolis | IN | USA | Posted: 6:38 PM on 06.04.10 |
->> Yep, ditto, ditto, ditto. I am a shooter at the Indy Star. In case you're interested, here's how we cover this race each year:
Police escort leaves around 8am, and takes us right to the track, avoiding the several mile line of cars to get in.
Pits: Four staffers (usually where I am), plus six to eight freelancers, and three or four card runners/water bringers. Our during-race money shots are key pit stops, pit lane mishaps, or rarely, if something blows up.
Front stretch: Three or four staffers in various spots, plus maybe a stringer or two: Roof shooting pits, in the stands, drop gate (start of race shot), flag stand, outside the fence in case Helio wins and climbs it.
Rovers: Some combination of staffers/interns/stringers totaling six to eight people to do things like work the crowd, hang in the garage area, run to the track hospital/helipad after crashes.
Turns: A small army of crash specialists (can number in the dozens) who sit in the turns watching cars for us all month and on race day. Most are retired folks, or gearheads with nice cameras who take vacation time to work this. We get them a credential, and pay them if we use a crash photo. We couldn't do it without them and most have been with us for years. We also have a guy who's only job is to get on a moped and blast out to get cards as crashes happen.
Our guys do a great job for us. Here's our gallery o' crashes: http://tinyurl.com/2gy5z3b
Editors: Normally three or four at the track, plus more at the office. Most of our images are shot on cards. We do a little cradlepointing, but it's a crapshoot, with all the signals bouncing around.
Before the race it's all about the fans/celebrities/driver intros, setting up remote cameras and getting time lapse equipment up. After the race, it shifts to reax, pressers.
We do the same basic setup for the NASCAR Allstate 400 and a very stripped down version for Moto GP.
Last person leaves around 8pm, either to head to a sensory-depravation chamber, or to crank out extra multimedia, or work on galleries back at the office/home.
If anybody's interested in covering this crazy mess, we get visiting shooters on occasion, especially from other Gannett papers. Shoot me an email, no guarantees, but I'll pass it along to the bosses. |
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Jeff Barrie, Photographer
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Indianapolis | IN | USA | Posted: 11:25 PM on 06.04.10 |
->> Robert....a police escort? Man you need to come in with us turn stringers at 4am.
I am one of the stringers that stand out in the turns, no victory cirlce for us.
Just so happens I too know Larry and stood close to him for quite a few years. In the last few years I have been a little deeper in the turn so that crash was well behind me but still got some shots of it. They are up on my member gallery page but, nothing like Larry got or Ruddick (from the IndyStar) or the Miller brothers (from AP).
In turn 3, where the crash began and Larry stands, there are about 30 of us who are there year after year. This was my 16th race shooting and believe it or not, I am a low man on the totem pole of seniority out there. A couple of the guys have been out there since the late 60's and early 70's. |
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Jeff Barrie, Photographer
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Indianapolis | IN | USA | Posted: 11:30 PM on 06.04.10 |
| ->> Joe to answer your follow up, you don't just get the heck over to VL from turn 3 at Indy. Literally on a good day (when I was younger of course) a walk from turn 3 to the Pagoda would take at least 10 but probably closer to 15 minutes.People who have never been there have no clue as how big this place really is. |
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Robert Scheer, Photographer
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Indianapolis | IN | USA | Posted: 11:31 PM on 06.04.10 |
->> Jeff,
4am? Dang! That's news to me. Thanks for working these races! See you for the Brickyard? |
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Jeff Barrie, Photographer
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Indianapolis | IN | USA | Posted: 11:36 PM on 06.04.10 |
->> Yeah 4am, it used to be earlier. I have been in there as early as 2am. Try to get some sleep and wake up about 5am and wait for the race LOL which was still 6 hours away. Now that the public gates don't open until 6 instead of 5 we go in a little later.
Yeah I will be there but probably won't see you unless it's in the Media center at lunch. Come on out to the turn, ask Griffo for a couple hours out there. |
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Andrew Fielding, Photographer
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Los Angeles | CA | USA | Posted: 5:55 AM on 06.05.10 |
| ->> Wow, i must say I'm amazed at the scale in which an event like this is covered, really amazing to think that there are 20-30 people working for just one outlet to try to get "the shot." |
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Michael Pina, Photographer
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SF Bay Area | ca | usa | Posted: 12:13 PM on 06.05.10 |
->> It amazes me how the number of photog's continue to shrink but the coverage continues to be competitive. I am one of those "cover it all" guys and trek all over the track to make it happen. The elite media service do a great job and it is in the media center when you get to experience all the great talent. Working with them is only part of the dream, getting the money shot is what it takes to stand above them all.
Robert, I am open to pursuing my passion in motorsports photography. Please let me know how i can be a part of your team.
Michael
P.S. I arrived @ 5am this year and the gates were open-The Pagoda looked awesome early in the morning. |
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Joe Lorenzini, Photographer
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Flower Mound (DFW) | TX | USA | Posted: 12:27 PM on 06.05.10 |
->> Robert, thank you for detailing what goes on to cover such a huge event. I honestly can't express to you how interesting it is to hear these kinds of details and setups. It's facinating!
If I can follow up with a question: I can't imagine how many photos you end up with by the end of the day!?! Are all the photos taken by the group kept in one place and archived or what exactly happens to them all?
And Jeff, yeah, I'm sorry. I do know how big Indy is and still made that silly comment. I had a buddy who lived in Speedway and we'd ride our bikes to the track every year to watch the race. I also know what you mean when you say "traffic" as I've never seen anything on the scope of trying to get to that track.
Joe |
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Geoff Miller, Photographer
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Portage | MI | USA | Posted: 3:07 PM on 06.05.10 |
->> Robert, I agree... police escort! Nah, the "secret" route works like a charm. Kessler to High School to 25th to Georgetown. I got at the track at 6:30 AM and would have driven in non-stop had it not been for the 10 minute wait on Georgetown about 200 feet from 9A as they halted traffic for the marching band buses! People like Jeff and Larry get their extra early because if they get there before the gates open to the public they can park their cars right near the gate to walk into 3.
Joe, race day I took about 300 images. That includes the pre-race on the starting grid, pit stops during the race, the checkered photos, and post race. The cards are "sucked" into one of about three laptop in the media center. Thumbnails are sent to our editor in Canada, he selects images he wants and has the full files uploaded to his laptop for editing and transmission. It's a pretty wild process. |
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Jeff Barrie, Photographer
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Indianapolis | IN | USA | Posted: 5:59 PM on 06.05.10 |
->> Joe I didn't realize that you had been there but, people who have never been there are in awe when they come under the tunnel for the first time and see how big it really is.
"Yeah lets walk to the pits or garage area" is a statement I have to really think about these days. How bad do I really want to go that far?
Geoff your right about that, getting in early and parking right up in the first couple of rows of cars with easy access to the gate makes a heck of difference in how well your day goes. Coming in after the public gates open and you may not even get a parking spot in the turn you want to be in. |
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