NODRFT Krewe de Femme Ladies Day / September 25, 2024 by Matt Pham

This event was catered to the ladies that drift and learning to drift. It was the fist event to do so here and the turn out was great. People come far and wide to drift since this was the first half of the drifting weekend.

As I was driving in, there was heavy fog and scattered rain. But as I got closer to the track, the conditions looked much better. I usually arrive early to prepare for the day and lately have been trying to add more of the human element to events. Everyone is busy preparing for the start allows me to capture candid moments.

I was able to scratch that itch of doing some product/lifestlye photography with some of the shirts being sold. I’ll have to remember to grab merch early because by the end of the day, everything was sold out.

With the drivers/media meeting out the way, time to start the event and start drifting! I wanted to start off to test shutter speeds at 1/5th of a second. What I didn’t realize that a 3 stop nd filter would not be strong enough. I had to stop down f20 but my biggest mistake was no cleaning the lens after taking it out the bag again. There was so much dust that appeared in the images. A 6 stop ND filter is on my list to buy for the 24-70mm.

Using such a slow shutter speed was a challenge. It got a bit better as the day went on but there were more jittery photos than not. In hindsight, I should have waited until later in the day as drivers are more familiar with the course and new their car set ups. Before I knew it, it was time to make the track cold for the raffle and group photo.

For the group photo, I had to do a composite to get everyone in the photo. I was worried that photoshop wouldn’t be able to handle the stitching. In the end it turned out pretty well. I requested a tall ladder for the next event!

Prizes raffled off and group photo done. Time to make the track hot again!

I changed my lens from 24-70mm to 200-400mm. It took some time to get used to using the big lens again. I haven’t used that lens for a few events. Also changed to 1/10th of a second and the keeper rate was better. Some of the guys were able to sneak in some laps during some down time.

Before wrapping up, shout out to everyone involved! Congrats on the successful event, now the tough part is raising the bar for the next one. While I wasn’t able to get a shirt at the event, I did get a bucket hat in my media goody bag. It was a nice gesture of appreciation!

Camera Bag Modifications: Strap Management / April 14, 2024 by Matt Pham

I have a lot of camera bags but there are a few things that bother me about all of them. I recently found solutions to those annoyances. While these solutions aren’t new or innovative to some but a big improvement for me.

The problems

Loose straps
Monopod security

The Solutions

Reusable Strap and ITW Web Dominators : Keeps the straps out the way but can still allow for bag adjustments on the fly. Combine it with the elastic strap keepers found on most bags and those straps will be locked in.

Multipurpose Fastener : This should be able to secure the monopod down better than the straps that were provided. It should also be fast to attach/remove the monopod from the bag.

What's In My Bag: Len Filters / March 26, 2024 by Matt Pham

The first part of a series of things I carry in my bag.

ND filters are staple in my bag especially for capturing drifting. They help achieve the lower shutter speeds in bright conditions. There is only so much you can do before a ND filter is needed. ISO can only go so low and lenses can stop down so far. This is where the ND filter comes into play, it limits the amount of light hits the sensor. Think of it like window tint on a car, the darker the tint the less light can be transmitted in.

For drifting application, I recommend 3 to 6 stop ND filters as the initial purchases. While I had a variable ND filter, I would recommend against them. They were more of headache than a convenience for me. I had a higher end variable that still suffered from the “X” pattern and shift positioning. While not the biggest issue at the end of the day. It just inconveniences that I didn’t want to fool with. But things may have changed as glass techniques advances.

To save money, don’t buy a filter for every lens. I recommend just buying the filter for your most used lens and step up rings for the rest of the other lens. Don’t put cheaper glass in front your expensive lens. Invest in high quality filters that has minimal negative impact on the image quality. Because you can only do so much in post.

While ND filters have a practical use, I have a few specialized filters like the star filter above. I like having these to change things up and keep things fun while photographing. I try to mix these in to have something different. It’s a nice change of pace and can add a little extra wow factor. It’s something I try to sprinkle in when and where I can but not to over do it.

What I use

EYB LITE 2023 - Sunday Coverage / January 10, 2024 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.