The virtues of cheap gear.

Tonight I went out to take some photos of a car cruise a mate of mine was running. As usual I was running a bit late, but our plan had been to catch the tail end of the cruise and then head off to take some long exposure shots.

When we caught up with the crew, I naturally set up and started shooting. Now, when I'm shooting with a tripod, I always use a remote control, and for the last 3 years or so, that has been an eBay sourced Aputure remote. I've previously had to fix a dodgy cable, after about the 6th late night photo mission. Since then, I've been trouble free, until tonight.



After about 5 photos, the remote stopped telling the camera to close the shutter. This is again something that I may be able to fix, but maybe not. After initially kicking myself for not having a genuine Canon remote, I had a bit more of a think.

I've owned that remote for about 3 years now, it's only let me down once before today, and I was able to fix that myself for free, there's no guarantee the Canon would not have done the same thing, as the failure was a break in one of the wires inside the cable to the camera, and probably as much due to my handling as it was to the cheap cable used.



I now find myself faced with the decision of whether to spend $300 on a genuine Canon item, $70 on a pair of replacement eBay units, so that if one breaks, I can keep shooting, or just to repair the one I have.

At the moment I'm leaning towards the second option, while attempting to repair the old unit as another spare.

(updated the morning after: I just had a closer look at the remote, and the button was stuck down. After a firm smack, the button released, and the remote works as normal now. However, I'm still thinking about buying spares, just in case.)

Boxing Day Nitro Funny Cars Are Coming!!

Well, we're about half way through the drag racing season here in Perth, which means only one thing. The Nitro Funny Cars are coming! At 6pm tomorrow, the four fuel floppers of Ricky Steffans, Fergie Donaldson, Damien Harris and Mark Sheehan will hit the track for the first of two meetings this season.



Mark Sheehan is a well known name to many WA race fans, holding both the ET and speed records in Top Alcohol Altered. This team is well and truly capable of running a 4 second pass if the conditions are right.



West Australian Damien Harris campaigned a Top Alcohol Funny Car before getting the call up to drive Paul Shackleton's Queensland based Nitro Funny Car. Harris is the only Australian Funny Car driver to dip into the 4 second zone so far, having run a 4.98 second pass at Willowbank in June, and the team will no doubt be looking to back that up with another 4 second pass on the other side of the country.



Allan and Cheryl Greene's (now red) Greene Machine was driven by famous WA driver Allan Dobson for many years before he decided to move across to a regular Top Fuel drive with Santo Rapisarda Racing. Dobson helped to train Fergie Donaldson to take over driving duties in the Greene Machine, and late last season Fergie was awarded his Nitro Funny Car drivers license. This is Fergies first race meeting, and this team is certainly one to watch.



Rod and Ash Bailey's Queensland operation is another team well known to West Australian race fans, as the loyal Nitro Funny Car racers were well known for keeping the sport alive (along with the Greene's) during it's darkest days, when there were only 3 cars regularly racing. The Greene Machine and Bailey's Chemical Warfare were regular competitors for many years, and the Baileys would usually bring another car as well, driven by Ricky Monserrat for many years, and lately by Ricky Steffans. Steffans stepped back from driving Funny Cars after the Boxing Day round in 2008, to concentrate on wife Christine's Supercharged Outlaw career, however business commitments for Ash Bailey mean that Ricky has been called back to active duty, stepping into Chemical Warfare for this meeting, as well as 2 meetings at Willowbank in the new year. (Ricky Steffan's Nitro Freak is pictured below)



Gates open at the Perth Motorplex at 11am tomorrow, and the first Nitro Funny Car pass is set for 6pm.

Top Fuel @ Perth Motorplex - Day 2

Top Fuel @ Perth Motorplex, originally uploaded by High Octane Photos.

Congratulations to Martin Stamatis on winning the first of 2 rounds of ANDRA Pro Series Top Fuel Drag Racing at the Perth Motorplex this season. Stamatis dedicated his win to West Australian racer and engine builder Bob St Lawrence.

Top Fuel @ Perth Motorplex

Top Fuel @ Perth Motorplex, originally uploaded by High Octane Photos.

Tonight was the opening night of the first of 2 ANDRA Pro Series rounds for Top Fuel at the Perth Motorplex this season. Phil Read grabbed the Top Qualifiers spot with a 4.69 followed by a 4.68.

Racing continues tomorrow, and more information can be found at the Perth Motorplex website

Armadale Auto Parts Open Day

AAP Open Day, originally uploaded by High Octane Photos.

Armadale Auto Parts held their annual open day today, and one vehicle that certainly grabbed my attention (and that of many others) was this Excelsior motorcycle. I'll be the first to admit that I know very little about this bike, but I'm certainly very impressed with the restoration on this example.

The full selection of photographs will be on High Octane Photos shortly.