One of the challenges we grappled with at the Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival during the TDS Action Photography Workshop was how to show the speed of these beautiful cars.

How to get this type of shot? Slow shutter speed, panning, and a little luck to capture this Mustang in motion. Photo by Derrick Story. To see more images from the racetrack, visit the TDS Flicker Gallery.

As we reviewed the results from the day, the winning combination was often slower shutter speeds combined with good panning technique. Although this seems counterintuitive to normal action photography with a long telephoto lens, the results can be very exciting.

"It seems foolish until you see it work," commented Carl Short. "If you want to convey the motion of motor sports, you have to find a way to show it," added Rohith Thumati.

We had great access at the speedway, and across the board, everyone in the workshop produced terrific images. "You have to allow the motion to happen," added Brad Parrett.

I couldn't agree more.

To see more images from the racetrack, visit the TDS Flicker Gallery.

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