There’s not much luck in photography and that’s a fact. When I hear people telling photographers how “lucky” they were to get a particular shot my stomach turns. The simple fact is that the action doesn’t alert a photog before it happens so it takes planning and skill on the photographers end to be in the right place to shoot the photos and the presence of mind to stick with stuff as it is unfolding in front of them. Mark Rebilas is one of those guys and he has done a masterful job of being in the right place at the right time to see some of the nuttiest action that the NHRA has had to offer over the last several years. His reputation and skill as a shooter continues to grow because he captured the entire double wreck sequence from last weekend at the NHRA race in Minnesota. We’re reasonably sure that no one else has ANYTHING like this.
We chatted with Mark and he gave us the green light to share some photos here and then direct you to his blog where all the photos are posted. Mark gives a pretty amazing rundown of the action and how he covered it. We dug his description of making the decision to follow one car more than the other and how it influenced the look of his sequence.
When Mark is not at the drags, he shoots NASCAR, NBA, NFL, World Cup soccer, and virtually anything else awesome and totally bad ass that the world has to offer. The combined experiences and skill sets make him one of the best shooters in the drag racing game today. The guy is a flat out bad ass.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE A COUPLE PHOTOS AND THEN HIT THE LINK FOR THE FULL SEQUENCE –
CLICK HERE for the full wreckage sequence from Mark Rebilas
I’m fortunate to be able to call Mark a friend, he’s given me lots of pointers and positively critiqued on my work, he is one of the best in the business
Seems odd that no parachutes were deployed
First…this round of racing should never have been sent down the track. It was misting!
Both drivers were very busy working the wheel and pedals hence no chute deployment. Top Dragster cars typically don’t have a one-touch release device for the parachutes due to the fact that they simply don’t get used all that often. Top Dragster and Top Sportsman are (thankfully) not required to have the Electromotion system on board for auto-deployment.
The big question in my mind is the apparent freedom of movement the driver of the blue dragster had in the cockpit. You can bet NHRA will be looking at shoulder hoop width, belt use and tightness, mandatory poured seats, and mandatory HANS device usage as a result of the injuries the driver sustained.