A Photographer's Notes | Capturing the Fast and Furious on a Drift Track

Born out of the winding mountain roads of Japan in the 1970s, drifting gained international attention in the 1990s through the Japanese manga "Initial D" and later through movies such as "Tokyo Drift." It has since become a popular driving style worldwide.

In 2024, through my work with Red Bull, I was fortunate to be part of a major drifting project. It made me fall in love with this crazy style of driving. Unfortunately, I hadn't had the chance to shoot drifting again since then.

That was until I was invited to a local drifting event at the Mobara Twin Circuit in Chiba by a friend whose husband, Shu-san, would be participating. After a 4:30 AM pickup, we headed to Chiba to see what kind of photos I could capture at the event.

Safety First

Since safety is a top priority at these events, I didn't know just how close I would be able to get to the action. So I made sure to bring my two longest lenses: the Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6 and the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8. I knew that with these lenses, no matter how far back I had to stand, I would still be able to capture some great shots!

Since Shu-san would be participating in the event as a driver, we arrived very early. This was actually great, as it gave me plenty of time to wander and allowed Shu-san to help me find the best angles around the track. Like any sport, there are peak moments when the cars are drifting that look best from certain angles. It was great to get his insight on both the best — and safest — places to stand.

After a while, more and more cars began to arrive, and I was introduced to several of Shu-san's friends who would also be participating as drivers. Although this was a local event in Japan, it was designed for both Japanese and non-Japanese drifters to compete together. About half of the drivers were from outside Japan. It was interesting to talk with them — their enthusiasm for drifting was amazing to see.

Non-Stop Action

Once the event began, it was basically non-stop drifting from that point on. It was extremely loud, smoky, and full of constant action all day long. This was great for me, as I was hoping to get plenty of practice photographing these amazing cars and drivers.

Photo Tips

A few notes on photographing moving cars for those interested: When shooting action like breakdancing or skateboarding, I usually use a high shutter speed (1/1000 or faster) to freeze the motion. However, this isn't ideal for photographing moving cars. Using such a high shutter speed would freeze the wheels as well, making the car appear stationary on the road and completely losing the sense of speed and movement.

This is why I used a shutter speed of around 1/250 for most of my action shots at this event. This not only allowed for the wheels to have motion blur, but I was also able to achieve some motion blur in the background by panning my camera with the motion of the car.

This can be difficult at first, and I'm honestly not an expert at this type of photography. But practicing it was half the reason I came to the event in the first place.

Near the end of the day, after capturing everything I could at 1/250, I decided to see just how slow I could set my shutter speed and how cool of a panning shot I could get. This was tons of fun, but super hit or miss. In the end, I got some shots at 1/25 of a second, which is crazy slow for me. I'm extremely happy with the results and that I could make it out for such an amazing day of shooting!

Although not every weekend, these types of drifting events are held occasionally around Japan. If you're interested in seeing some incredible drifting, be sure to check online before planning your next trip!

Author: Jason Halayko

Jason Halayko is a professional photographer specializing in portraits, action sports and portrait photography. Follow him on X and Instagram.