Immediately after the trip to King of Nations Round 1 in Fujairah, UAE, we headed to Muscat, Oman to continue the King of Desert series.
With Round 1 of King of Desert taking place alongside King of Nations, many drivers were keen to attend both rounds to achieve as many points in the competition as possible. I’d been told that this would be a night-time event beforehand, and as most photographers will know, drifting and night-time events often cause an immediate panic that there’s going to be less than sufficient lighting! Having shot several night-time events in the past, I prepared myself for the worst.
Once we arrived, the first thing I noticed was that there was a few floodlights placed in each corner of a very large open area, which wasn’t very ideal for photography. After looking around the area to look for some of the best shooting locations to work with the light, I noticed that a truck had entered the car park filled with floodlights. Thankfully, it proceeded to the outsides of the track and provided more than enough light to be able to shoot at comfortable ISO’s!
What might seem small to some people had completely changed the game and I was now looking forward to the event. With streetlights glowing in the far distance, it made for some great shots which enabled my 300mm f2.8 lens to really pop the bokeh.
I had the opportunity to witness some of the craziest builds I’ve ever seen in the Middle East, also a really passionate love for drifting. Considering how young competitive drifting still is in the out there, the level of driving is incredible.
After shooting here and the event going smoothly, with some of the biggest crowds I’ve seen to date filling the stands, it was decided that it would also be an ideal location to also host the King of Desert Final here. This is therefore a collection of my favourite shots from both of the two rounds combined, including a couple of sights that we got to see in Muscat before we headed straight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for King of Nations Round 2!
