Photographer Talks Shooting 12 Hours Of Sebring On 112-Year-Old Camera

The 12 Hours of Sebring — the second round of the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship — was held on Saturday and, like a lot of endurance races, there's a lot of time to fill from a broadcast point of view.

Sure, there are going to be tons of on-track battles, but there will also be some downtime, so the Peacock crew needed some interesting things to cut to in the event of a lengthy caution or something, and they had a good one that totally blew my mind to pieces.

Now, whenever you watch a race, you'll see tons of photographers snapping away trying to get some pictures. They usually have some pretty high-tech equipment because, if you think about it, photographing a speeding race car is kind of a tough thing to do.

However, when they talked to Josh Paul, a photographer who also specializes in shooting Formula 1, there's something you'll notice immediately.

That his camera is pretty damn old.

In fact, it dates back to 1913.

That's cool (I was a little disappointed it didn't have the little sheet to hide under), but what I thought was even cooler was why Paul said he has been shooting like this for 20 years.

"Images are so disposable," he said. "You take a picture of a race, you throw it on Instagram or throw it away. When you see these pictures, you'll be confused about when they were taken. So, it'll feel like the ‘50s or '60s, or even the ’40s with these old lenses. 

"I'm trying to make lasting images that you're not going to just flip through on Instagram or throw it away, that you might want on your wall regardless of what race it was, when it was taken, [or] who won or lost."

Now, I understand there will be a bit of irony that I'm going to show you these images on Instagram, but check out the photos he has taken.

That's incredible.

Photography is kind of a lost art since we all have cameras, but Paul is doing some impressive stuff.

I also like what he said about how he works. He doesn't just shoot thousands of images in hopes of snagging a good one.

"I'll shoot maybe 100 or 200 all weekend," he said. "And there's something to be said for showing restraint. If there's a picture, I take it. If there's not a picture, I watch and enjoy it."

Forget photography, I think that's a pretty great way to live life.

Just awesome stuff, and hats off to Peacock for shining a spotlight on Josh Paul and his work.