I was invited to ride along in an amateur rally cross event today out at the Washington County fair grounds in Hillsboro. The driver I rode with, Tristan, has been into rally cross for several years now and was racing his red Eagle Talon that he picked up from a fellow racer. Normally, Tristan drives with his wife Sarah, but she is in her second trimester with their first child and had to understandably sit this one out.
The weather was great for the race but the sky was clear which left shooting conditions of harsh sun and dark shadows. My camera settings jumped around quite a bit depending on the time of day, position, and what I was trying to capture at any given moment.
I stuck to using my two zoom lenses which are the 17-85mm EF-S and an older 100-300 F5.6 L. I used these instead of my prime lenses (non zoom) so I could move around and shoot different turns in the course from one or two locations. The tail end of the course proved to be a real good spot for grabbing shots of the cars. The dust that was kicked up by the cars dissipated quickly and wasn't a real big issue as far as affecting my camera.
The Oregon Trail Rally which takes place in mid May will bring in several big name pros to compete at PIR and out at Hood River. I was at the event a year or two ago and it was quite the show. I would like to go again this year but the event conflicts with my work schedule so it probably won't happen. The next event at Hillsboro will take place on May 30th.
You can check the Oregon Rally Group website for more information.
Here are a few pics from the event that I have uploaded to my Flickr acct. These shots are straight from the camera. I have more shots that need some adjustments that I hope to post later. Until then, enjoy!
