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Is This the Bravest or Dumbest Photographer You’ve Ever Seen?

Sep. 7, 2012 10:45pm Liz Klimas

Drift racing is a motorsport in which the drivers are forced to skid the rear end their car sideways to make a turn. You may have actually drifted yourself, inadvertently, during wet road conditions. It was scary though, right?

Suffice to say, being a drift racing spectator in Poland looks dangerous too, but even more so for a photographer who was hoping to capture the oncoming action and stepped a touch too far onto the track.

At the DMP Touge Drift Karpacz event at the Polish Drift Championship, the vehicles can be seen drifting down the course and right toward a photographer who had hopped the meager barrier separating onlookers and the speeding cars.

Jalopnik points to a picture by driver Paul Trela, who had his Go Pro camera running and captured a head on shot of what he saw as he was drifting around the turn.

Photographer Nearly Hit by Speeding Car in DMP Touge Drift Karpacz Race

(Photo: Paul Trela via Facebook)

One his Facebook page, Trela wrote of the incident (translated via Google translate):

“Here’s how irresponsible people can be! This is the view from my go pro in training stint with the loaves. If not for hand in good time that the engine was not my biggest problem today. Embarrassing lack of imagination!”

There is even video of the photographer. You can see him in this clip — barely — between the two cars around 0:08 and from a different angle more clearly later in the footage. He seems pretty calm with what he’s doing though, standing up and walking off the track after the vehicles pass:

Here’s a shot of the scene shot from higher up:

This story has been updated since it’s original posting.

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Comments (84)

BehindBlueEyes
Posted on September 8, 2012 at 5:57am
Some day he may be a star in the next Jackass movie.

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- PJ62
  Posted on September 8, 2012 at 1:28pm
  If he survives his own stupidity.
  
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- Ballot_Box_Revolution
  Posted on September 8, 2012 at 1:39pm
  It’s called picking up on a pattern…something dems and repubs have a hard time doing…..Is there risk….sure……but if you know the physics of the game you can see the boundaries better than most.
  
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- Guckerts
  Posted on September 8, 2012 at 3:38pm
  @Ballot LOL you think your patterns matter when human error is involved. You think these cars are on a slot track? I hope more photog’s like this idiot and news people get a dirt nap for being stupid.
  
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- Mad Mike
  Posted on September 10, 2012 at 1:51am
  I’m not going to defend the sanity of anyone who was watching this race at such close distances but ANYONE standing on the inside curve was infinitely safer than those on the outside curve. Even with the concrete barriers, if a racer loses control and crashes they are likely to get crushed or worse, they might get gasoline spewed on them and become enflamed. Some adult supervision is recommended…
  
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KingCanon
Posted on September 8, 2012 at 5:28am
Neither.

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Longslide7
Posted on September 8, 2012 at 4:54am
Box of rocks

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- sak
  Posted on September 8, 2012 at 8:28am
  The people watching are not much smarter. They appear to be in harms way as well.
  
  Report this comment
- oicu814me2
  Posted on September 8, 2012 at 9:36am
  The only difference between him and a box of rock is the box..
  
  Report this comment
- GotMullet
  Posted on September 9, 2012 at 5:08pm
  I agree with Saks. All of them seem to think they’re immortal.
  
  Report this comment
NoExpectations
Posted on September 8, 2012 at 4:18am
He needs to upgrade his kit lens

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- DK77
  Posted on September 8, 2012 at 4:06pm
  Haha! Unless he’s going for a wide-angle closeup. :D
  
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NOT A CRAZY
Posted on September 8, 2012 at 2:15am
Question: Did you hear about the Polish man that locked his keys in his car?

Answer: He had to use a coat hanger to get his family out.

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NOT A CRAZY
Posted on September 8, 2012 at 2:14am
Is this a Polish joke?

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Slowman101
Posted on September 8, 2012 at 1:35am
His I.Q. is about as high as Obamas!

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- Ryan147
  Posted on September 8, 2012 at 1:58am
  tru tru
  
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lel2007
Posted on September 8, 2012 at 1:20am
He was in a safe position on the curve as long as the drivers are good, though I’d be 40 feet back from the road.

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szabla
Posted on September 8, 2012 at 1:09am
The entire crowd is not as safe, look at what is keeping any of the cars from going over the concrete. One-accident and shrapnel, tires, etc will hit all spectators in its path.

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Look4DBigPicture
Posted on September 8, 2012 at 12:32am
I vote dumbest.

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- blackyb
  Posted on September 8, 2012 at 2:09am
  I vote dumbest, as well.
  
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THX-1138
Posted on September 8, 2012 at 12:30am
A calculated risk for a good picture. BUT, he could have distracted the drivers and caused a wreck. Leaning a tripod out over the rail might have been smarter.

I’ve taken a few risks for interesting pictures but not by putting others at risk.

I vote very rude, sorta dumb…

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gregjackie1
Posted on September 8, 2012 at 12:29am
I am a sports photographer and I photograph marathons and triathlons as well as other events. I can say that this photographer was dumb. Even in a marathon we never jump out in front of the racers. We are positioned off to the side. This photographer should be charged with endangering the racers.

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Cruelnunusual
Posted on September 8, 2012 at 12:06am
I’ll bet the cops have hell catching those guys.

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- banjarmon
  Posted on September 8, 2012 at 12:38am
  If that guy gets creamed…it would be a waste of a good camera!
  
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- THX-1138
  Posted on September 8, 2012 at 12:42am
  And a shiney bumper…
  
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SIXFRIGATES
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 11:55pm
Drifting is the dumbest of the entire story. What a lame sport. “Look at me!! I can make my car go out of control but just to the edge where I don’t kill anybody!!”

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- THX-1138
  Posted on September 8, 2012 at 12:37am
  Don’t knock it until you try it. It’s a lot harder than it looks. Almost no margin for error. Especially in pairs with a few feet between the cars.
  
  Bing some video of Road Atlanta Drifting. I’ve been to a few of them and it’s actually pretty interesting once you dig into what they do to the cars, driving techniques, scoring, etc…
  
  Report this comment
- dogma
  Posted on September 8, 2012 at 9:56am
  Try driving in Minnesota in the winter It’s the freeway
  
  Report this comment
- RobbieTLHughie
  Posted on September 8, 2012 at 9:59am
  Hmm… That’s a pretty ignorant thing to say.
  
  Report this comment
Jas0n
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 11:52pm
Dumbest! One idiot Obastard voter behind the wheel and he’s toast.

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Tankertony
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 11:37pm
What does Ace think?

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BloodSweatandTears
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 11:26pm
His risk is very calculated. Look at the asphalt. No tire marks no danger. His position is “mapped” out.

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- Aceofshades
  Posted on September 7, 2012 at 11:39pm
  That may be true, but it only takes a bobble. A driver comes in with a bad line; something on the car breaks; the camera man could have gotten off balance; some asshat could have screwed with him and pushed him. Any number of things could have happened. It’s a risk some people are willing to take, usually not considering the other peoples wellbeing in mind
  
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- Welcome Black Carter
  Posted on September 7, 2012 at 11:43pm
  yeah. Not like he’s smoking a cigarette or something…
  
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- Jhn'1
  Posted on September 8, 2012 at 2:17am
  look at the difference between the inner edge of the right side tire and the curve of the front bumper. This is called bumper overhang or protrusion. A similar distance exists between the outer edge of the LEFT tire and the front bumper protrusion of the cars. Draw a pair of lines parallel to the movement vector through that outer point of the bumper and the tire contact patch closest to the inside of the curve. The distance between those lines would be what, ,maybe 14 to 18 inches? (actually the same reason police used Mustangs as pursuit vehicles instead of Camaros 82-90 was the problems with hitting stuff with the overhang) His left knee/elbow/shoulder is a lot closer than that to the tire marks, and thus race car mass. He was asking to be hit and seriously hurt from the initial impact, and possibly killed by his body striking the steel barrier or worse when it bounced off that barrier into the track surface where the cars were racing by.
  
  Yes, Charlotte, a serious Darwin award attempt.
  
  Report this comment
v15
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 11:23pm
lol Sounds like something Hunter S. Thompson would do if he were still alive. On a mind-bending mescaline trip and a bold determination to study the machines habits….

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DK77
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 11:06pm
Never mind his own personal danger, it’s almost selfish to put oneself in that position. Drivers have been left mentally scarred for life after hitting people in rally racing. And if the driver were to see him and make an involuntary reaction to correct, it could be very, very dangerous for the other spectators. Let the drivers to their job. If you want to get that close for a photo at least stick the camera out on a tripod or extendable stick – slightly less dumb and much less dangerous. *shakes head*

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Cataclysm
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 11:05pm
I think he wanted to win the Darwin Award.

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- Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
  Posted on September 7, 2012 at 11:09pm
  Beat me to that statement; he is a good candidate for it.
  
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commonsenseguy
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 11:04pm
better watch out if this idiot would have gotten hurt then jesse jack wagon and the commie left would want to ban the sport because it is scary looking. they need to fine the hell out of this moron and ban him from these kind of events for a long time.

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pissantno.10
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 11:00pm
europeans what do they have to live for

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- hi
  Posted on September 8, 2012 at 9:52am
  lol
  
  Report this comment
rickroland
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 10:59pm
Well, he brave and smart — until he gets taken out by one of the cars. Then, he’d be considered “dumb” and in intensive care.

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- Shasta
  Posted on September 7, 2012 at 11:08pm
  I think he is dump anyway, accident or not
  
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Mikev5
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 10:51pm
Actually I did that at races but I wanted the Hot shot sometimes being a bit crazy helps. : >)

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Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 10:49pm
Dumbest. He is going to be mad when he finds out he forgot to put film in the camera. Dooohhh.

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- John655
  Posted on September 7, 2012 at 10:57pm
  I thought I was going to agree that it was dumb, but then I watched the video and the cars are not going fast and he seems to have a good sense of the physics of the motion of the vehicles as they come around that corner. The question is does he have the proper reflexes to jump back if a car doesn’t make the turn properly? Probably yes.
  
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- ronin_6
  Posted on September 7, 2012 at 10:59pm
  Uhmmm….Cameras don’t use film much anymore. More likely he will have forgotten the memory card.
  
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- strewth_cobber
  Posted on September 8, 2012 at 12:07am
  The O, H & S memo from the photo department said, ‘for safety, attach camera to a pole.’
  
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- Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
  Posted on September 8, 2012 at 12:19am
  @strewth_cobber
  Maybe the photographer was Polish.
  
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- strewth_cobber
  Posted on September 8, 2012 at 3:00am
  Yolki Polki!
  
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- JeffScism
  Posted on September 8, 2012 at 12:58pm
  “The question is does he have the proper reflexes to jump back if a car doesn’t make the turn properly? Probably yes.”
  
  Huh? What crazy world of Time Dilation do you live in?
  
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- John655
  Posted on September 8, 2012 at 3:25pm
  @ JeffScism
  
  He would have to see them entering the turn out of position. He has a clear view as they enter the turn and he most know where they need to be to make the turn, if they are not in that position then you jump back. He is only modestly in more danger then everyone else who is standing just feet behind him with no protection. So any car that is out of control could take out more then him.
  
  Report this comment

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