Landracing Forum
Bonneville Salt Flats Discussion => Bonneville General Chat => Topic started by: bubruins on June 17, 2014, 02:07:08 PM
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I visited Bonneville for the 1st time last year with a friend from work. He had been to Bonneville several times before that so it made things easy for me. I thought I’d pass along some of the advice and my opinions. I know that many of the topics I’m about to mention have been covered in years past on this forum, but I thought it would be nice to have a consolidated list for people in prime “I’m thinking about flying in to Bonneville” timing this year. We flew in, rented a car in Salt Lake City, and drove to the bend in the road where we set up camp.
Things to bring from Home:
Big hat – Most people at the salt don’t wear baseball caps unless they are red, blue, or black. Pretty much everybody else is wearing something closer to what a farmer or crocodile wrangler would wear. You want something with a big brim to keep the sun off of your face even when it is low in the morning or evening.
Lot’s of sunscreen – the sun shines bright every day and is reflected up by the salt like a mirror. Be sure to apply sunscreen to the bottom of arms, nose, and ears. If wearing shorts, apply lots of sunscreen to legs. Women (or men, I suppose) wearing skirts beware that you might find some pink inner thighs at the end of the first day! . If you’re one of those people that says “I never burn, I’ll be fine”… this will be your opportunity to join those of us who are more pigmentally challenged.
Sunglasses: Those $200 name brand sunglasses you packed will be worthless once you see how well the sunglasses work that are sold on the salt. I’d highly recommend spending the $20 or so earlier in the week than later. I think the name of the shack is something like “Squint Sunglasses” and it will be in the vendor area near the food. Look at all the people who look like experienced racers… see what they are wearing. Yep, $20 glasses.
Shoes: a lot of people show up in flip flops… I don’t find this a good idea. The salt sticks to EVERYTHING and will dry out your feet something terrible after a day or two. Not to mention the fact that your feet are plopped down horizontally all day catching the suns desert rays… sunburn and salt is not a good combo!
Camera: Inevitably you’ll see something you want to take a picture of (Whether it’s a controversial flathead ignition system or a dog in boots…). I’ll post a “lessons learned taking pictures at Bonneville” thread closer to the event date.
Chair: Bring it for camping and take it to the salt with you. You’ll do plenty of walking as spectator cars are not allowed in the pits… but you can walk through the pits – which stretch over about three miles. You’ll be glad you have chair to plop on between rounds of walking back and forth.
Popup Tent: a popup makes a nice shady place to sit and “holds” your basecamp spot for viewing the racing. The winds can get nasty on the salt at times, so if you bring a popup bring plenty of stakes and a hammer ( the salt is slightly softer than concrete ) and bring weights and ropes to tie it down too. If you’re leaving it unattended for a while, take the top off and tie it up. There are chairs and tents strewn across the pits every year, and occasionally blown across the course. Don’t be that guy! If you don’t have a good way to get a popop tent there (i.e. a local racer to is taking a trailer) then don’t worry about this. Just plan on spending more time in the econo-box rental car you got.
Tent & camping supplies: Some people sleep in their rental cars, some people spend $300+/night for hotel rooms, some bring RVs, and some people bring tents. I like the tent option the best. Be sure to bring all of the associated junk (air mattress/mat, PILLOW, etc…). You can camp at the Bend in the Road, and another camp site just down the road for free… find your own space and set up. There are generally Honey Buckets in these areas. Be warned… if you camp close to the hoard… it can be quite noisy at night… and sometimes ALL night. If it rains and you are camped in the lower campground on the east side of the road, plan on not getting out easily. From what I’ve heard the dirt is like silt and turns into extremely slick mud. Camping on the west of the road on the hill is advisable for the sensible campers.
Shower/Baby Wipes: you can get a shower at the truck stop on the corner for a couple bucks, but it can be quite a wait during busy times. You can pass your wait time by eating at the Mexican restaurant in the truck stop… also a long wait at times.
Regardless of the shower option, bring plenty of baby wipes… salt gets in, on, and around everything and it can make your skin sting a little… especially once your first layer of sunburn sets in. Sunscreen is sticky and it sure feels nice to take a quick baby wipe bath and get all the salt off your skin, which is now stuck in the five layers of sunscreen you have on.
Cash: Bring some cash with you so that you can pay for admission at the bend in the road, they don’t take credit and they don’t take checks. Also, cash is a fast and easy way to pay for food on the salt. If I remember correctly, most vendors didn’t do many coins for change, everything was a round dollar price or close to it.
Things to buy before leaving Salt Late City
Rental Car: Anything will work. Some people use RentAWreck because they don’t care if you drive on the salt flats. It’s a lot easier to just not tell the rental car people at the national brands that you’re going to drive the car on the salt flats. It’s best if you’re not wearing any racing apparel.
Water : Too heavy to ship, easy to throw in the trunk of a rental car. Plan on drinking 5-8 bottles of water per day per person. I’m from the south. In the south when you sweat you know it. In the desert, apparently what happens is the heat wicks away the sweat before it has a chance to drip. Don’t get dehydrated, from what I‘ve heard it still happens to several people each year.
Salty snacks: Chips, peanuts, etc… You are going to be sweating a lot (in hindsight, Gatorade would have been awesome).
Trash Bags & Duct Tape: Before this turns into an episode of Dexter, consider just how much money the rental car company will charge you if you bring back their car full of salt. Spend the time and money (don’t skimp on cheap duct tape!) and tape trash bags down on the floorboards and in the trunk. It’s best to get about 6” above the floor, too. You’ll be shocked where this stuff will migrate to.
Things to buy before leaving for Home.
SCTA Rule Book: By the time you have to leave, you’ve probably already started wondering about what it would take to get your neighbor’s Alfa Romeo out of the bushes and onto the salt flats, so you may as well spend the $10 and get a rule book to start figuring it out.
Gasoline: Seriously. If you forget to buy gasoline in Wendover, you could find yourself 35 miles into nowhere with 35 miles to go and on fumes. From experience, this is particularly bad if you have a flight to catch (ever drafted a semi at 60mph with the windows up and AC off for 35 miles in 100 degree heat?).
Car Wash: We decided to drive all the way back to Salt Lake City before washing the car. That way some of the salt build up under the rental car fell off on the drive and we only had to wash the remainder (note: kick off all the big chunks of salt while you’re on the salt flats – we don’t need any more salt leaving the salt flats than there has to be). There’s also a guy with a spray gun on the salt flats but the wait can take a long time and it’s unlikely you’ll get all the salt off there anyways). We tried a couple of truck car washes on HWY 80 and they won’t wash salt off of your car… so, you’ll have to find a pay & spray style car wash (ideally with the bendy elbows on the spray guns) and spend the time to get ALL the salt out. It’s a good idea to bring a tarp/poncho or a huge trash bag to wrap yourself up in because you’re going to be lying on the ground spraying packed in salt off the bottom of the rental car for an hour. A change of clothes and some more of those baby wipes makes for a nicer flight home after this little exercise. I’ve heard horror stories of rental car companies charging $500+ to clean cars that have been on the salt.
EVENTS YOU SHOULD NOT MISS
Drivers meeting: This takes place on Saturday morning. I have not seen a time posted yet – hopefully someone on this forum can find it. The Drivers meeting typically takes place at the starting line of course 1. They will have course maps. The drivers meeting will also provide a lot of valuable information about what will go on during the course of the week. Note: DO NOT be the person that parks their car smack in front of the starting line after the drivers meeting and then cannot be found for over an hour. If you are that person, there’s a good chance that your car is about to get the ride of a lifetime behind a 4x4 truck.
Roadsters at the Nugget Casino: Pretty much every night of the week there will be a beautiful collection of old roadsters parked outside the nugget casino. I think that Saturday is the biggest night, but you can’t go wrong by spending some time out there and checking out all of the unique rides. Most of the cars I saw were driven there (anywhere from the east coast to CA).
Places to Remember
Salt Flats Café: Mexican food at the truck stop. Long wait and it’s always packed, but the food is good.
Enola Gay Café: Mexican food on the salt. Good food, usually have a lot of shade out. This was located by the starting line of course 2 last year.
Red Flame: We only went here for breakfast, but we did it every day. I think it’s a standard grill and they do burgers too for lunch. They also have tables and shade. This was located by the vendor area last year.
Smith’s Grocery Store: There is no Walmart in Wendover. However, there is a nice little grocery store on the west side of West Wendover. If you’re coming from the salt flats you’ll travel west, get on Wendover blvd (where all the casinos are) and pass the huge cowboy in the middle of the road. It’s immediately on the left after that. They have aloe vera.
In summary, I hope that this helps people figure out if they can make it or not. It sounds like a lot of hassles to go through, but for me it was well worth the time, energy, and money spent to get out there. It was a blast last year and I am planning on coming back from Tennessee to just spectate & crew again this year. If you have any questions, post away and I’m sure someone on this forum will know the answer.
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Good stuff, and pretty comprehensive. Here's some more stuff, too. It's found on the "Tech & FAQ" tab at the home page: http://www.landracing.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5&Itemid=19
Especially scroll down to see the information about first-timers - whether as a racer or a spectator.
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If you are purchasing a tent for Bonneville, it may need to withstand strong winds.
Small dome tents or mountaineering tents seem to work the best.
Use plenty of stakes, it's not much fun when your tent goes missing or collapses.
When choosing a site avoid low places where water may run.
Guess how I know this, Don :-D
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Bubruins;
Your advice for Bonneville newcomers is excellent and well-written. It should be posted on the SCTA Bonneville page as far as I'm concerned-- it's that useful.
Regards, Neil Tucson, AZ
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SCTA Rule Book: By the time you have to leave, you’ve probably already started wondering about what it would take to get your neighbor’s Alfa Romeo out of the bushes and onto the salt flats, so you may as well spend the $10 and get a rule book to start figuring it out.
Priceless!! :-D
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Thank you for the advice! I'll be flying into Salt Lake City (thank you AA for the flight voucher during a business trip) and camping at the Bend as you did. I'm flying in on Thursday and leaving on Tuesday. Not the entire week, but I'm still excited as this is my first time to the salt.
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Thanks for the feedback so far. I decided to post this thread in the first 5 minutes of that very long 35 minute car ride while drafting a semi last year.
Don - Excellent point about tents. Stake down everything. Just so everyone knows about the salt surface - it's extremely hard. It's not uncommon to see people screwing down tarps and canopies on the salt with lag bolts and cordless impact guns.
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I have a 3 ft wide panel that is the length of the popup that I put on the sunny side of the popup that keeps a lot of the sun & heat out. I take a bag of tie wraps with me and some cutting pliers to move it around. Don't forget the ground tarp and too secure it well or it will be gone with the wind, Tie your chairs to the popup legs so they don't take off too while youre in the pits. Some of this is in Jon's section online
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Regarding gas;
those that live in Utah can get gas points at Smith's.
The system can massaged when the store advertises 4X points for a limited time.
If you eat at Subway or P F Chang's {Pei wei} , buy tools and other sundries at Lowe's or Home D; you can get a reasonable discount at the Shell or Smith's.
I filled both cars Saturday and took a $.70 discount.
Many times we've been able to buy premium for about the same as reg (swamp water) in Salt ville.
They give 5 points for bringing your own sack.
That is the equivalent of spending $5.00.
If you happen to be a businessperson, the Costco card will get you 4%
rebate.
My lady complains about the monthly bill; then in Feb. when the rebate check comes in the mail, I ask her if she thinks I should spend the effort to go gather it from the mailbox. :cheers:
Jim
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Jim, how about explaining how eating at Subway gives me a discount at Lowe's - and your other examples. What'd I miss?
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"Note: DO NOT be the person that parks their car smack in front of the starting line after the drivers meeting and then cannot be found for over an hour. If you are that person, there’s a good chance that your car is about to get the ride of a lifetime behind a 4x4 truck."
That was my worry last year. We were in a rental RV and I was keen to view at the start line to see the bikes on course 3 and 4. But as we got close I had no idea where it was safe to park and certainly didn't want to end up queueing in the staging area by mistake. Back again this year so will keep an eye out where to park.
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I agree that it's difficult to figure out where to go at first. It would be really nice if the SCTA would put the course map up on their website before the event (even 1-2 days before the even would be great!).
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Howdy all...this will be my first trip to Speed Week and I am looking for a pop up shade. Do you have any brands you recommend, any colors better than others, and will the side panels help? I have some large 12" or longer nails...If I bring a 4lb hammer will they work to stake it down?
My dog (heeler) will want to come along, she will probably spend most of the day in the back of my pickup that has a topper with screened in windows. Any comments?
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I use 6" nails on our 12'x12' sunshade and so far it stays put, also a large claw hammer will help with pulling the nails.
Don
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Color? Nah, I don't think it'll make a difference. Brand? Well, we buy the cheap ones because the wind will probably damage them sooner or later, and the salt will corrode the metal in the upright legs. Let those comments guide you.
We use 1/4" or 5/16" lag bolts going through fender washers into the grommets of the ground tarp, driven by the hammer drill. We don't secure the legs for the shade/awning because we taken it down when we go to the line and for the evening. Another reason is so we can easily move it as the sun changes location as the day goes on. The side panels will catch lots of wind, so if you were thinking of taking advantage of the shade they'd provide -- get two of the canopies and move one around as the sun moves. You'll get your shade that way.
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Thanks for the input...I like the reasoning for just buying the cheap ones, and I'll get a tarp to fit the bottom and skip the sides.
:cheers:
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If you are the type that gets hooked on things, stay the hell away from the SALT. I went there in 1997 just to watch and help a friend that was racing. As soon as I saw the place, I said,"I gotta do this." The rest is history.
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If you are the type that gets hooked on things, stay the hell away from the SALT. I went there in 1997 just to watch and help a friend that was racing. As soon as I saw the place, I said,"I gotta do this." The rest is history.
Good Advice.
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Some people have some sort of new-fangled cordless electric drills that screw lag bolts into the salt. Looks too easy for me.
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Kinda like a fiberglass roadster body huh Stan? :-D
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If you are the type that gets hooked on things, stay the hell away from the SALT. I went there in 1997 just to watch and help a friend that was racing. As soon as I saw the place, I said,"I gotta do this." The rest is history.
I haven't even seen the place yet and I'm sick with salt fever. :-D :cheers:
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Smith's is part of Kroger's. Those points work at any of their stores.
Will Willis
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If you are the type that gets hooked on things, stay the hell away from the SALT. I went there in 1997 just to watch and help a friend that was racing. As soon as I saw the place, I said,"I gotta do this." The rest is history.
I'm already trying to figure out how I'm gonna put my 500Hp Ford 460 into my cousins '73 Karmann Gia, or lower and build some ground effects for the '67 F100 it's in. I've ordered a rule book, but I'm just gonna watch the first time.
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That's my man. Any guy that loves dogs and Fords just has to be way cool. :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :-D
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I thought they handed out site maps at the entrance gate.
DW
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That's my man. Any guy that loves dogs and Fords just has to be way cool. :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :-D
Thanks...I don't know if I'm cool...just easy going with a need for speed.
Is it a good idea to bring along a couple of cruiser bikes for me and my woman? I'm thinking they may be nice since I'm expecting everything to be spread out.
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Hi Speed Freak Fellows...
Don't know about you all, but when I stepped in the shop at the Wendover West gas station looking for shades, being from the Alps in France, I headed straight to try the orange or yellow ones.
Basically, for my eyes, black shades don't work on the snow, it's just too dark... I figured out must be the same on the salt and bought a pair of orange flip adds ons to slip over my prescription glasses for less than $10.00, best buy so far...
Yellow tint are the best for keeping a 20/20 perfect perspective, orange not far behind... Same if you drive at night and are prone to headheakes due to lights of incoming traffic... Yellow's the word...
See you soon, the time is near!!!
Patrick
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My preference is for neutral density shades-- essentially colorless.
On a long road trip from WV to WY a long time ago, I ran out of gas in Denver. I knew I was close to empty but I was waiting for the red warning light in the gauge to come on before refilling the tank. I drifted to a stop on the shoulder of the road, took off my green shades and there was that red warning light staring me in the face. No more tinted shades for me.
Regards, Neil Tucson, AZ
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One year we had a blue tarp from Harbor Freight stretched over the metal framework of my pickup.
The two of us found it effected our eye sight. The previous outing we had a green tarp over the frame work and no problems with the eyes.
Nick
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The shades that the squint place on the salt sells have an orange/red tint to them. They claim they block out the harsh blue uv light. It kind of messes with your eyes for a minute when you take them off later, but they work great for the whole day on the salt.
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bub, I have to agree with you on the shades. I bought some last year that look like the ones my grandfather wears, but d@mn they work good. The only thing I can add is BRING WATER. As the old saying goes, "If you're thirst, you're already dehydrated." We always have a big water jug in the truck and just use it to fill our water bottles. Trust me, the headache the next morning from being dehydrated all day will make you wish you had a hangover.
My only experience with any other protection from the sun is to be comfortable and bring some good sun block. A good friend of mine was covered head to toe last year. Long sleeves, long pants, and a wide brimmed hat. He looked a bit like Daktari, but he didn't get burned. Myself, on the other hand, wore shorts, white t-shirts, and a ball cap. Plenty of sun block and I was good to go.
Did I mention, bringing plenty of water...
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"If you're thirsty, you're already dehydrated." A bunch of years ago the chief M/C inspector would visit each of us in the line and ask "When's the last time you went to pee?" If the answer he got was anything more than a couple of hours -- he'd hand us bottles of water and have us drink them right then and there. It's a good thing to drink lots of water out there, and that's one way to gauge if you've had enough.
Nancy and I take a 2 1/2 gallon cooler jug with us each day. I fill it about half way with ice and the top it off with Gatorade. We buy the G-ade in the bulk powder cans (it costs less than half as much than bought liquid) and mix our own. I make it extra strong to make up for the dilution by the melting ice. I also enjoy making it from powder because I can play chemistry experiment and mix the colors a bit. if you ever come to our pit and see me drinking from a bottle full of what looks like diabetic pee -- well, that's part of the fun of mixing it ourselves. I can give you the recipe for mud-colored drinks, too. :evil:
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Slim, with regard to when did you pee last, just go over to the rookie line on the short course, all of us had to pee before the run. It was the only place that had a line at the porta potties.
I took water and bought more twice on the trip, never guessed we would drink so much.
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I wear my prescription sun glasses and a pair I bought on the salt on top of them. Wear as much white as you can, even shoes. You might think grey is close enough but it isn't. Anything not white is like wearing a portable heater around, black shoes especially. Some of the Harley bike racers wear all black I guess as a testament to their toughness, Im not that tough any more
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bub, I have to agree with you on the shades. I bought some last year that look like the ones my grandfather wears, but d@mn they work good. The only thing I can add is BRING WATER. As the old saying goes, "If you're thirst, you're already dehydrated." We always have a big water jug in the truck and just use it to fill our water bottles. Trust me, the headache the next morning from being dehydrated all day will make you wish you had a hangover.
My only experience with any other protection from the sun is to be comfortable and bring some good sun block. A good friend of mine was covered head to toe last year. Long sleeves, long pants, and a wide brimmed hat. He looked a bit like Daktari, but he didn't get burned. Myself, on the other hand, wore shorts, white t-shirts, and a ball cap. Plenty of sun block and I was good to go.
Did I mention, bringing plenty of water...
Joe, what happens if you drank the night before?. Is the headache even worse, like a double dose???. :-D
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...I took water and bought more twice on the trip, never guessed we would drink so much.
It isn't just the heat that makes you drink so much, it is the low humidity also. In this area our humidity is normally well below 20%. Lately we have been averaging about 7%-9% mid day. You are breathing dry air and besides what you are sweating you are loosing moisture on every breath.
Also you might not feel you are sweating much there compared say to home if you come from back east, but you are, it is just going immediately into the air. So if you come from someplace that is more humid you will be loosing a lot more water per hour than there,
Sum
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I've described the sweating out there like this: You sweat heavily while you're outside, and when you go into an air conditioned place - building or vehicle - it takes a few minutes for your body to cool enough that you don't sweat so profusely. Until that happens you'll look and feel like a character in a cartoon -- with water all but squirting out of you in every direction. All too true. :-o
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Slim, with regard to when did you pee last, just go over to the rookie line on the short course, all of us had to pee before the run.
It must just come with the territory when doing a big, exciting event.
Eddie Sachs was asked prior to the '64 Indy 500; "What do you do before you strap in?"
Answer: "Try to relax, make small talk, walk around and pee a lot."
He was a great guy.
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Yup - bodily comfort is important to a racer - no matter what kind of racing. I know that I visit the green room before runs, and so does Nancy, and so do one heck of a lot of the other racers.
But - relief is now at hand (if you'll pardon the pun). for the last couple of years we've not only been putting a potty out around the 6 1/2 mile for the course watchers to use, but also on around the 5 or so for racers that are in need of a relief whether 'cause they forgot at the start line -- or the had such a run that they're almost peeing their pants. 8-)
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... or you could just install a "relief tube". 8-)
Regards, Neil Tucson, AZ
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Are any of them wheelchair accessable???? :| :| :|
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Yes. We get a few "ADA" units and put one somewhere near registration, one at the line, one somewhere down the pits - about half way - and also one near the impound/vendor area.
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I almost forgot!!!
The most important thing to do on the salt, is go to the Red Flame Grille and get a breakfast sandwich and a cup of coffee.
Best way start the day!
Every year about this time I start to crave those darn things.
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Another neat trick with water is buy a few gallon jugs of spring water at Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, etc.
Drink a little out to make some space; then freeze it solid.
Use this in your cooler instead of store ice.
Melts slower than other types and then you have ice water to drink as it melts.
Also less of a mess when the sandwich slips to the bottom of the cooler.
I noticed some block ice available the other day at "Fresh Market".
Same may be true for Dan's as they are now both owned by the same outfit.
The special cool clothes now being advertised on TV really work well.
Jim
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Yes. We get a few "ADA" units and put one somewhere near registration, one at the line, one somewhere down the pits - about half way - and also one near the impound/vendor area.
hey Slim.......is Honeybuckets still the vendor??
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Another neat trick with water is buy a few gallon jugs of spring water at Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, etc.
Drink a little out to make some space; then freeze it solid.
Use this in your cooler instead of store ice.
Melts slower than other types and then you have ice water to drink as it melts.
Also less of a mess when the sandwich slips to the bottom of the cooler.
I noticed some block ice available the other day at "Fresh Market".
Same may be true for Dan's as they are now both owned by the same outfit.
The special cool clothes now being advertised on TV really work well.
Jim
I always freeze a bunch of the smaller water bottles, for the same reason. dual purpose to keep cooler cold and drink the water as it melts.
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Yes, HB will be the toilet/sink/ADA bathroom vendor once again. If you're asking because you want to rent one (or more) unit for your pit you should contact Trevor Inman at Honey Buckets. His number is 801 330 7219. The units will be dropped off at the SSS pit (front row, near the pit main entrance by registration/impound) Wednesday the 6nd of August. He'll give you price information when you call to make your reservation. Oh, yeah -- if you want one he'll even provide a padlock for the door so you can keep your bathroom private. Snooty, yes, but also it's nice to know that yours isn't full of somebody else's poop.
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Hi
Looking forward to your “lessons learned taking pictures at Bonneville” when you get time to post. My first visit and I'm looking for photo tips!
Thanks
T
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Lakepipe, thanks for reminding me about the “lessons learned taking pictures at Bonneville” deal I talked about. I’m going to write this from the perspective of an amateur photographer that’s had a few things published online, but with little professional experience. I took my camera to Bonneville purely for my personal enjoyment.
Here’s a list of the gear I brought to the salt flats last year:
Canon T2i (550d) DSLR camera
Canon 70-200mm f4L lens
Canon 50mm f1.4 lens
Canon 18-55mm kit lens
Rokinon 8mm lens
Extra batteries, memory cards, and filters
I thought this was a good setup, but I did find myself wishing I had more zoom sometimes. This year I’m packing a 100-400mm lens and enough NV filters to work on all the lenses (except the 8mm).
If you don’t have a long lens and can’t spring for a nice one, consider renting a lens. There are several places online that will ship you a VERY nice lens at a fraction of the cost to buy one. Even better, in many big cities there are local places to rent lenses from. If you enjoy photography but only go to a few events like this a year, I’d recommend renting if you are comfortable with it. I owned my 70-200mm last year but sold it because I rarely used it. Now I rent big, humongous, way nicer than my old stuff lenses when I want them.
As far as taking care of your gear – some photographers on the salt flats are very picky about not changing lenses because they claim the salty air will contaminate the sensor and lens, etc… I never had a problem with this, but most of the times that I changed lenses were in the car. Of course, make sure you always have some kind of filter on the front of your lenses. I didn’t drop a lens on the salt, but I can only imagine that it would scratch up the front element because of all of the rough salt crystals everywhere. In my opinion even a $2 Chinese UV filter from eBay is better than nothing.
From my whopping 1 year of experience at Bonneville, there are 2 kinds of photography at Bonneville: Static and Moving. Some general photography principles apply to both:
Bring NV Filters or some way to cut down the glare. I used an NV and a circular polarizer with good results last year. The contrast was much better and more lifelike in my experience. I think that the sheer amount of light on the salt overpowers what most camera sensors are designed for. 90% of the pro photographers I saw on the starting line were using some sort of dark filter.
Try to get above the horizon. What I mean by this is that it looks best to have the whole vehicle appear with the salt as the background and then have the sky above that. So many pictures from the salt flats show the horizon cutting through the vehicle, but having the whole vehicle with the salt behind it looks much cleaner IMO. The opposite of this is also true if you shoot from below and can make the whole background the sky.
Talk to everyone. I can be an introvert at times and have found that it’s easy to hide away behind the camera lens. At Bonneville pretty much everyone has a story to tell. If you are standing on the side of the course spectating and a stranger is standing beside you just start talking about cars – especially the ones that are running down the course. You never know what crazy stories you will hear. While this isn’t exactly a photography principle like the golden ratio or anything that artsy fartsy, I think it’s important to know the stories behind what we’re photographing even if it’s not from a professional perspective.
Advice for Static photography:
I wound up using the 18-55mm kit lens most of the time I was at the starting line. For being out in the middle of nowhere, the starting line is surprisingly crowded and it makes it difficult to use anything longer than 70mm. Many of the pro photographers will be standing on the course just beyond the starting line. Try not go get in their way. However, there is usually a spot designated for spectators to stand somewhat behind the pro photographers (at least on course 1). If you have a longer lens this can be a cool place to stand because you get to catch the cars leaving the push truck or out by themselves as they start the run.
(http://i.imgur.com/ApuLgXQ.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/HIcu8cL.jpg/)
In the pits I found myself using my 70-200mm lens the most. The pits are spaced out over a couple of miles so things are far away. Using the 70-200mm I was able to get a lot of neat candid shots of people wrenching on their vehicles. I particularly like walking through the pits at sunrise. It’s a fascinating sight and I think that it shows what the real spirit of land speed racing is about. As if people aren’t already crazy for bringing a race vehicle thousands of miles from home into the middle of nowhere, they wake up before dawn and begin preparing for the runs ahead.
(http://i.imgur.com/93fJKLG.jpg)
We camped in the bend last year and will be camping in the bend this year as well. There will be tons of cool vehicles throughout the campgrounds. I was fortunate enough to find this beautiful ’29 Ford Model A show up beside us one night. We started talking to the guys and wound up hanging out for hours. I asked if they brought a nice camera to take pictures of the car with. They said no. I took a few pictures that night and then talked the owner into taking me to the salt in the morning for a quick photo session. Not bad for a $350 camera, $50 kit lens, a cooler to stand on for perspective / tripod duties, and a Maglite for a flash at night. The point here is: go talk to everybody and don’t be afraid to try anything to get some cool shots. Taking pictures of this car was one of my most enjoyable parts of the trip (and yes, I emailed the owner all the pictures).
(http://i.imgur.com/5t2ee5K.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/foIejax.jpg)
Advice for Moving photography:
I think that any lens that’s at least 200mm in length is sufficient for a crop sensor camera like my T2i. The hardest part about getting good images at speed is the focus. Even at a neutral aperture (8-11 on most lenses) it’s still hard to get in focus because the distances are so extreme (you can see for miles). Pro’s get around this problem by using $3,000 lenses. My $400 used 70-200mm f4L lens worked well, but even I had problems sometimes (streamliners and motorcycles are REALLY small when they are far away and going 200+ mph). What I would up doing sometimes was by bracketing my shots in a certain area. For example, I’d set my lens to focus for when cars passed directly in front of me and only shoot then. The bad part of that is that you’ll probably miss it when cars spin or wreck.
Remember that thing I said about bracketing shots? That’s going to be the best advice you read in this little article. While the pictures you’ve seen of the salt flats show a huge empty place with a blank horizon as the background, it turns out that there are support vehicles, timing trailers, and timing lights scattered through the background on the salt flats. These can be difficult to see on the little lcd screens on your camera. The best advice I have is to find a place to shoot on the course that has nothing behind it. This will provide the purest pictures of the vehicles flying down the course. Of course the longer the lens you have, the better the choice you will have for finding an shot without any obstructions.
(http://i.imgur.com/eBncXso.jpg)
I suggest using the “tv” mode on a DSLR (at least Canon’s…) to select exposure priority. Try a few different exposures and see what is working for you. In my opinion, the best look for a car in motion is when the body is perfectly in focus, the background is blurred as it flies by, and the wheels are still visibly moving. Cars of different speeds will require different exposures to get the same look. Experiment with it – that’s ½ the fun of lugging around an SLR.
If you find yourself photographing a wreck my advice is to keep shooting as the action is happening. That might sound crazy, but for documentation I think it’s the best strategy. Once the wreck is over, stay where you are and let the emergency teams handle the situation. I captured pictures of one bad wreck that had me shivering afterwards. At the event I only showed these pictures to the person I was traveling with and with a tech inspector that found out that I had pictures. After the event I found the owner of the car’s contact information on this forum and said that I could send him the pictures. He accepted and was glad to see that there were pictures of it as it happened.
Hopefully this advice will help newcomers create better pictures on the salt. I really enjoyed snapping away pictures last year and I can’t wait to get back to the salt this year.
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"... I captured pictures of one bad wreck..."
I hope it isn't necessary to say so, but just in case:
If you get photos of a crash event - PLEASE DO NOT immediately spread the news via any of the social media (Facebook, etc). At Wilmington last weekend Donna Timney reminded us of this very important bit. She talked of the time when someone crashed and photos of the incident were right away seen on FB. Well, the relatives of the person driving at the time saw the news before they'd heard from the crew or that rider. And of course the FB post only showed pictures and nothing about whether the driver was okay or dead and gone. That's not a thing I'd want to do to anyone.
Please - if you get photos of a wreck - give 'em to officials if they want them, and then offer them to the team of the vehicle, and only then consider whether it's reasonable to post them so that everyone else in the world can see just how dangerous and foolish this land speed racing stuff is. We want to encourage folks to think we're crazy, right? :?
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My eyes are irritated every year at Bonneville. I have callus type things on my eyes. I always bring eye drops, liquid tears or lubricant type products. I'm from southern IL. The humidity is always high, and my eyes are used to it. Out there they dry out. The intense sun and reflection off the white salt, and the little bit of salt dust in the air compound the problem. Without drops my eyes are sore before I arrive in Wendover. My bathroom stop at the SLC airport includes putting drops in my eyes. That reminds me.. My eye doc said he would write me a scrip for something to solve my problem out there. Smiths has always had any type minor medical supplies I need.
I have a pair of the "old man" over the other glasses sun glasses that I purchsed from the vendor out there. I hate the way they look... but they are great. I have tried several other glasses, but none work for me like these do. I have a new pair of glasses with super dark photo grey that I will try this year, but the "old man" sunglasses will be along and probably used again.
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If you want the eye drops to be really refreshing, put them in the cooler with all your liquid refreshments. It's amazing how much more effective the cool drops can be. :-D :-D :-D
Pete
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I am only coming for the weekend what time does the fun wrap up on Sunday on the salt? After the fun ends on the salt bed anything to do in Wendover before we head back to SoCal?
Craig
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Craig.
Fun ends on Sunday when the last car or motorcycle runs. As for whats happening in Wendover, usually shower at the Truck Stop and dinner. We are beat by Sunday night. :cheers:
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Don't forget "Salt Talks" which is a good place to meet and converse with others while at the same time supporting this site that we all depend on. :-D :-D :-D
Pete
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Turbo Dog re bringing your heeler to Bonneville-I think she will be too hot staying in your truck. We've brought our Border Collie to the Salt for the last 5 years and have never had problems. We use Musher's Secret on her feet so the salt doesn't dry them out. We also use Doggles to protect her eyes and a collar we can put ice in to keep her cooler (the ice melts and keeps her neck and chest wet). When we are walking around the pits we put her in the shade every time we stop and make sure she has lots of water to drink. She also appreciates getting into an air conditioned car every couple of hours. See you on the Salt.
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I have my Bonneville gear stowed until the next time we go. Went to Speedweek in 2008 & 2009. Hopefully next year. What a magical place.
I'll be following the event closely. :cheers:All spectators and racers be safe and have fun!
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We usually attend WOS, but our daughter is in college then so we thought about SW without the new race car. So when are spectators allowed on the salt?
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We usually attend WOS, but our daughter is in college then so we thought about SW without the new race car. So when are spectators allowed on the salt?
Anytime the gates are open...
that would be my guess... buy a week pass and come see it all.
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We usually attend WOS, but our daughter is in college then so we thought about SW without the new race car. So when are spectators allowed on the salt?
From Thursday on you can get on the salt, but you can't drive into town and find a room like you would during WOS :cry:,
Sum
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Here's some generic information for everyone.
First of all, the diesel prices here are no higher than in SLC yesterday -- about $3.90/gallon. At Smith's it is the lowest I see in town -- $3.84.9/gallon. Gasoline is a dime or so under $4/gallon, too.
The Red Garter outside renovation looks to be all done. We're going to try the restaurant tonight and will give you our "review" later.
The police are still being strict about driving rules and infractions. Speed limits are to be observed, and stop signs mean STOP, not slow to a slow roll. Don't bother trying to get there 10 seconds earlier -- it takes longer for the officer to write your citation.
We saw a good number of wet spots in the mud along the road to land's End. Don't go out there for the fun of it - because that fun, if it ends with you getting stuck - will cost you something like a kilobuck. Yeeoowwch.
We'll try eating at the Salt Flats cafe tomorrow or the next day. I suppose that Marcello is still there with his boys and that'll mean no big changes - just good food at low prices.
Further deponent sayeth not - at least at this time. :-D