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368.85 m.p.h., 1 kilometer at exactly 369 m.p.h., and in the process actually exceeded 370 m.p.h.
Even so. the “Red Lion” was apparently far from “wide open.” for the roar of the motors told us plainly that Cobb was still accelerating all through the measured mile. Actually tires seem to be the limiting factor. The tires used were built for a speed of 360 m.p.h., and at 370 were being strained perilously close to their limit. With sturdier tires, it seems certain that “Red Lion,” with no mechanical changes, could attain 400 m.p.h., or better.
Making The Pictures
Photographing either stills or movies of the actual speed run is complicated by the precautions necessary to assure the safety of both the spectators and the racer himself. Not only the general public (nearly 10,000 people came to watch Cobb’s run this year) but photographers, the driver’s crew, and even the official timers, must be kept at a respectful distance from the track, so that in case the driver should momentarily lose control of his speeding monster, he would have room enough to maneuver safely.
With a car moving at that speed, if anything happens, it happens fast: a car travelling a mile in ten seconds covers 528 feet in a second ! Therefore the authorities insist on keeping clear a 1000-foot lane on either side of the actual track — “just in case!”
This means we photographers must work exclusively with telephoto lenses. In my own case, that meant a 135mm. objective on my Contax — and the
image on the negative was smaller that I wanted, even so.
Minicam Advantages
Using a minature camera in photographing these speed trials is, I beleive, a definite advantage. The telephoto lenses used on a minicam naturally give far more depth than any comparable objectives for bigger cameras. Moreover, with a minicam, much slower shutter speeds are possible, which means you can stop down farther for increased depth, and still “stop” the motion of the speeding car. Even when Cobb’s car roared across my picture at better than six miles a minute, I was able to stop the motion in my tele-shots at the relatively slow exposure of 1 /500th second.
The speed of Agfa Supreme negative was helpful in the same way, for it, too enabled me to use any necessary shutter speed, and yet stop down for greater focal depth. In more routine pictures made of the various people involved -Cobb, AAA executive A. C. Pillsbury, oil-man Earl Gilmore, Designer Reid Railton. and others — the same factor aided in getting crisp, well-defined pictures.
There is another thing for which I believe the film deserves a world of credit: the way it performed under the abnormally contrasty light-conditions. Out there on the salt Hats, the sunlight is intense, and most of the landscape is an expanse of glaring white salt, a perfect set-up for contrasty, “soot-and-whitewash” pictures. In spite of this I found that Supreme, wi'.h or without filters, had so much latitude that it gave me genuinely pleasing results — pictures that have a brilliant sparkle without being overcontrasty.
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