Drew Terril
Staff member
Somewhat of a digression from information overload relative to forecasting, but still worth discussing here as a “minimalist chasing” topic and equipment-related is the extent of camera and video usage. I am always torn between wanting to capture the moment and have something to show people back home, vs living in the moment and savoring the experience, without the distraction of fumbling with camera equipment, or shifting back and forth from camera to video. Or fumbling between a DSLR camera and also an iPhone so that I would have something to more easily and immediately share with family and friends back home, instead of having to wait to get back to the hotel and download the pictures/video onto my laptop. Lately I’ve been taking 90% of my pictures and video only on my iPhone, just because it’s quicker and easier, and I can use it with one hand while driving if I have to. Curious as to others’ approaches!
Throughout most of my chasing years, I've focused primarily on stills, and only get video when I can "fire and forget", meaning it's either on my dash, or I'm going to be stopped long enough to put a camcorder on a tripod and let it run for a while. I feel a lot more "in the moment" when I'm working an SLR vs trying to get video, although this admittedly might be an artifact of both my preference for photography as well as years spent getting shots at races, and the setting manipulation to get the shots I want rather than having to go in post production to get it. In recent years, I've gone back to my photography roots and shoot as much (if not more) with my film SLR as I do digital.
What video I have gotten over the years just sits on hard drives and memory cards, and I have yet to actually upload anything anywhere. Stills, on the other hand, being where my passion lies, generally do get posted. It usually takes some time for me actually get things up, and my film work is hurt by there being nobody nearby who processes film like I had available in OKC (I still have a roll of film from last year's Indy 500 as well as one from 6/25 last year that needs developed), but it usually does get shared.