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EYB (End of Year Bash) 2025 /  by Matt Pham

The last event of the 2025 season. How fast it came and went. I really feel like it just started and here we are at the end of 2025. The Nintendo 3DS made its return for the last event. The bright sun made it hard to see, I just had to take a guess and hope for the best. The 3DS will return in 2026!

I had a bit of a rough start to the day. It took me a longer than usual to get into the groove. You couldn’t have asked for better weather on Saturday. I used a 3 Stop ND filter on all my lenses and 1/20th of a second for my shutter. Aperture and ISO changed as the light did.

Losing the flag stand for years. I lost being able to photograph from a slightly higher elevation. Until I stumbled on to something while I was walking around. It’s a bit further out from where the flag stand once was but the vibe is similar. I hope that it stays around to use for future events. It has a lot of potential but I need to spend more time there to figure things out.

I didn’t stay at the new shooting location for too long. I had to get back down and chase the sunset before the track gets cold for night. I wait all year for this kinda of light.

I between the last event and EYB. I bought a Hoya Sparkle 6X 77mm filter to use. It’s similar to the Hoya Star 8X filter that I used last year. But the flares are more controlled compared the the star filter. Besides that it’s pretty much the same besides the number of points. They both soften the image a bit. A part of why I love EYB so much is because I get to use fun filters like this. It’s the only time we get to shoot sunset and night photos.

After about an hour or so of using the sparkle filter, I ended the night using the black mist filter to finish the night. I didn’t want to over do it with the sparkle filter.

Just like that, EYB and the season came to an end. Time to head back to the drawing board and see what I can do for the 2026 season. So many ideas and things to try before the next EYB!

NODRFT Krewe de Femme Ladies Day 2025 /  by Matt Pham

After taking a small break, I have returned back to the track to cover Krewe de Femme’s Ladies Day again!

I started using a different “camera” to test out at the drivers and media meeting. The “camera” in question is my old Nintendo 3DS with a 0.3 MP sensor. I wanted to join in on the retro tech/low res trend with the 3DS. I grabbed some candid photos with it and recorded part of the meeting. Unfortunately, I didn’t use it after this point. But it’ll be brought back out for future events. It seemed to be a hit among everyone! That’s why I enjoy trying different things, even if it’s going back in quality and technology.

After the meeting, it was time for the parade lap and the group photo before the track goes hot.

For the first time in a long time, I was able to get sequence panorama photos again.

I was really surprised by the number of sequence photos that I was able to get from the day. Especially since I didn’t intentionally try for sequence photos. I’ve also forgotten how time consuming it can take.

Part of the goodie bag provided to the media was a personalized vest. Like last year, I had to do something to show it off!

Link to the rest of the Facebook album

EYB Lite V2 Highlights /  by Matt Pham

Another drift season comes to a close with the biggest event of the year! Two days and one night of drifting. Here are some highlights from my Saturday coverage and the full album can be found in the link below.

EYB LITE V2 Full Album

Not the perfect composite sequence but the best I could get from the photos taken. I think bumping up the shutter speed would have given me a better result. It’s been such a long time since I’ve done one and forgot how challenging it can be. I want to challenge myself to try them again in 2025.

Once it got dark, I wanted to do something different since it’s a rare photograph opportunity. I packed two specialized lens filters to use at night. I bounced between a black mist filter and a star filter. They are two very different on how they impact the image. The black mist provides a nice glow and it’s subtle like there is no filter at all. While on the other end, the star filter is very noticeable what it does to the image. Not something I would all the time but fun to throw in time to time.

EYB LITE 2023 - Sunday Coverage /  by Matt Pham

EYB Lite or End of Year Bash hosted but NODRFT at NOLA Motorsports Park. EYB started on Friday and ended on Sunday. I was only able cover Sunday but everyone still going full out. It’s my favorite event of the year since everyone tends to go all out 100% and people from out of town come to drift. We had a crazy weather shift, Saturday was rather hot for this time of year. But Sunday was much different and more what you think of as winter temps. Not only was it cold but it was extremely windy that I had to fight when using the big lens.

It’s always a good time to catch up with everyone and meet new people. I hope with every passing year the EYB continues to grow bigger and bigger! These are some of my favorites from the day’s coverage.

The diverse types of cars and driving styles kept things interesting all day!

A lot of makes and models was represented.

What I was waiting for capturing images during sunset. Only during this time of year can I capture drifting during sunset and I had to make the most of it.

Return to drifting and No Problem Raceway /  by Matt Pham

It’s hard to believe that the last drift event I went to was EYB 2019. Fast foward to near the end of 2021 and drifting is back…at a different track. No Problem Raceway is where I got my “start” so it has a special place in my heart. I had to re-familiarize myself with the track and photographing drifting again. All of that didn’t really matter cause it felt good to be behind the camera again!

Shaking off the rust means using the down to practice even if its the street sweeper cleaning off the track.

After years of not shooting here, I had to re-familiarize myself with the track. I didn’t have a lot of locations to choose from so I picked one that gave me the most options. The 200-400mm was enough to cover most of the track. I’ll need to pick up more ND filters because I couldn’t find the one for the 70-200mm.

This was also the first real opportunity to push the limits of the D5. The D800 is a great camera but the higher frame rate of the D5 is hard to beat. I don’t think I would’ve captured this dirt drop sequence on the D800.

Variety is what makes it interesting for me. Drifting Corvettes are on the rise but aren’t too common like a 350z or S chassis. But one car that is completely unique is a Lexus LS430 drifting. That’s something you really don’t see getting sideways.

Got to show the people behind the cameras as well.

Here I end with my favorite image of the day. I can’t wait for more drifting in 2022!