Renowned photojournalist Alfred Eisenstaedt was quoted as saying “The important thing is not the camera but the eye.” To back that saying up, I once saw racing photographer Tom Riles use a little pocket camera to capture some stunning images. Of course Riles knew the camera inside and out and was able to delve deeper into its shooting menu to maximize its capability. While it’s true that you’re probably not going to capture a picture perfect poster action image with a pocket digital camera, as easy as it is to carry these little cameras to the races there’s no reason not to take the camera out of your pocket and use it. Even cell phone cameras are getting much better these days and allow you to capture images that you’ll cherish for years and perhaps even pass down to future generations of race fans.

Pit Pass
A buddy of mine Mike “Stu” Stuhler went to a lot of the Grand Nationals this year with nothing but a five-year-old Sony CyberShot 5.1 and he captured a lot of great moments in the pits with riders interacting with one another or their mechanics, the race bikes and so on. You can check out his work here. If you can get into the pits (or paddock for road racing fans) you’ll have a wonderful chance to capture great photos — check out Stu’s results. In the long run those pit photos are better able to show the personality of the riders and are often more desirable than action shots. Dean Adams rarely shot action photos, but at Superbike Planet people love his shots around the paddock from back in the 1980s and ’90s even more than a standard racing photos.

Think Stealth
I often see riders sort of go into pose mode when they see a pro photographer coming around with big cameras and lenses. They’ll sometimes even stop doing what they’re doing a photographer can lose that intimate moment simply because it’s obvious to a rider that a magazine/website shooter is pointing a huge lens at them. I find at times I can carry my little Nikon S210 in hand and no one notices. I can lift it for a quick shot, capture a cool moment and the camera was never seen.

Movie Mode
Almost every little pocket digital camera has a movie mode. Take advantage of that and capture the sights and sounds of the races. Getting the start or close finish of a race in movie mode will be really great for people to see decades from now. It will give them a different perspective on the races than still photos. Pan around get the crowd, shoot the parking lot filled with motorcycles, in the pits ask riders a question like how do you like this track or something like that and get a little snapshot movie interview. Those clips will be invaluable.

The short movie clip below captured the unique sound of the BMW flat track bike on the Vernon (N.Y.) Mile in 2008.

Capturing Action
Trying to photograph racing action is the biggest challenge with a pocket cam. The shutter lag time and screen blackout make it tough to follow the action. In spite of these challenges go ahead and try shooting action. It’s digital, so you have an almost limitless number of photos so shoot away, sometimes you’ll get lucky and get a usable picture. One tip on panning is to look on the screen to center the action and then line your eye up with the top of the camera and follow the bikes. This will help you stay with the bike when the screen blacks out while taking the photo. Also most pocket cams have a sport mode. This will stop the action with a higher shutter speed, but often I find just shooting in the standard shooting mode with its slower shutter speed produces more dramatic results.

So the bottom line is bring your pocket digicam and or cell phone to the races and use them. You’ll be surprised at how much of the atmosphere you can capture. And who knows, down the road those photos could be featured on one of the racing websites to show a unique glimpse into racing’s past.