Racer Faces; On-Course Close Ups

Galleries 9

Collections 0

Groups 1

This group holds subgroups of galleries for each race series with a selection of faces of racers on course, doing race things, and reacting (or not) to the course and events. My goal was to create Action Portraits of racers.

The selections are arbitrary in the sense I went through all the race galleries for the 2020-21 season and picked what seemed to me to be the most expressive faces. That eliminated many faces hidden beneath masks. Since my purpose was showing faces, I decided it wouldn't be interesting to show faces that couldn't be seen, although I often included masked racers whose eyes are visible, even faintly, behind goggle lenses. Mirror or very dark lenses and masks therefore eliminated some people from inclusion. Next season, when no one is masked, perhaps we can repeat the exercise, and there can be a broader selection. So, if you were masked, please be patient. I don't want to second-guess eye-wear selections: racers need to do whatever it takes to protect their eyes and maximize vision in different conditions. But being able to see racers' eyes helps a camera focus (my R5 can focus on visible eyes, my 1DXII less so) and makes selection for media exposure more likely (Sports editors like to see competitors' eyes). Mirror and very dark lenses make a neat fashion statement, but at some potential collateral cost.

These images are usually highly cropped and many were taken in darkish or adverse conditions. As a result, very large images will often lack the quality I strive for, and I've consequently restricted purchase options to smaller prints and files. These would be okay 5x7s or maybe 6x9s, and a few could be larger, but not many. If you really, really want a larger face, email me and I can check to see what is possible. And, as always, the main goal is displaying racers on course, not making sales.

By the way, I decided to create these "Face" galleries because I had been blogging my thoughts about the intersection of racing and racing photography, and I realized blogging could not adequately present enough racer face images.