Still feels pretty odd to be missing the Daytona 500 for the first time since 2006 but no way in hell I will miss the one NHRA race of the season where I can sleep in my own bed. Anyone who travels for a living knows how incredibly nice it is to spend time in your own bed! Its the little things in life people… on to the days action!
Last week in Pomona I was supposed to do a portrait shoot of John Force with daughters Courtney and Brittany but the craziness of the first race ensured it would not happen.
Earlier this week I would schedule an exact time to do portraits of NHRA’s first family of racing, the Forces.
Canon 1Dx, 24-70mm, 125iso, f8, 1/250th, Manual
NHRA funny car driver Courtney Force (left) with father John Force (center) and sister Brittany Force pose for a portrait prior to qualifying for the Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway.
Most Force portrait shoots last seconds, as they are an incredibly busy (and in demand) team of racers. For this shoot I would end up with a few minutes of solo time with each driver along with a few minutes of group shots. It really made for some good pics.
Canon 1Dx, 24-70mm, 125iso, f8, 1/250th, Manual
NHRA funny car driver Courtney Force poses for a portrait with a Wally trophy during a portrait shoot in the tower suites at Firebird.
Special thanks to stat guy Lewis Bloom for sharing his studio area with me and to Jason Zindroski for his help assisting on the shoot.
With the stress of the portrait shoot behind me it was time for the easy part of my job. Taking pics of loud race cars!
Canon 1Dx, 300mm, 320iso, f7.1, 1/1600th, Manual
NHRA pro stock driver Mike Edwards does a burnout in his awesome looking Camaro during qualifying for the Arizona Nationals. Edwards would take the pole with a stunning 6.49 track record pass.
Canon 1Dx, 70-200mm, 500iso, f8, 1/1600th, Manual
Check out the awesome artwork on the inside of the roof hatch for funny car driver Alexis DeJoria. Up close it looks super bad ass!
Canon 1Dx, 70-200mm, 500iso, f8, 1/1600th, Manual
Robert Hight does a smokey burnout as he passes my position on the starting line during the first round of pro qualifying.
Canon 1Dx, 70-200mm, 500iso, f8, 1/1600th, Manual
NHRA funny car driver Johnny Gray does a burnout in his awesome looking Pitch Energy car. The car was awarded the “Best Appearing Car” at last weeks race in Pomona.
Canon 1Dx, 300mm, 250iso, f5.6, 1/4000th, Manual
NHRA top fuel driver Morgan Lucas does his burnout as the car of Bob Vandergriff Jr comes through my foreground during qualifying.
For qualifying round two I would make my way to the bridge that goes across the top end of the track. Every year we hear rumors of them banning photographers from the bridge so I always spend a lot of time shooting from this angle as it provides a unique angle you can only get at Firebird.
Canon 1Dx, 600mm, 500iso, f5.6, 1/1600th, Manual
NHRA funny car driver John Force (left) crosses the centerline taking out the timing blocks alongside Alexis DeJoria during qualifying for the Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway.
Canon 1Dx, 600mm, 1250iso, f5.6, 1/1600th, Manual
Flames come from the header bank off NHRA top fuel dragster driver Khalid Albalooshi following a small fire during qualifying for the Arizona Nationals.
Do you ever get the creepy feeling that someone, somewhere is watching you?…. Me either.
Canon 1Dx, 600mm, 1250iso, f5.6, 1/1600th, Manual
Morgan Lucas appears to have spotted me in my secret position atop the bridge as he coasts beneath following an aborted qualifying pass.
Canon 1Dx, 600mm, 1250iso, f5.6, 1/1600th, Manual
Just five days following his incredible 300mph crash, NHRA top fuel dragster driver Antron Brown was back behind the wheel of his Matco Tools dragster. Antron would finish out the day in the top qualifying spot.
Day one of the Arizona Nationals is in the book. Two more days of action to go!
8 Responses to “10 Spot / NHRA Phoenix Friday”
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Check out my Facebook page devoted my photography where I routinely share my favorite photos from each shoot as well as favorite photos from the past. Click the below banner to check it out. Be sure to "like" the page so you can be kept up to date on all the events I am doing!
Great Work Mark! I always enjoy looking at your work on NHRA weekends! It is great to look at before the actual Broadcast! Occasionally I will share some of your Pics. and get great feedback from friends! I call Shirley Muldowney “The First Lady of Drag Racing” and you are “The Fastest Artist with a Camera” Have a Great Weekend Mark! God Bless!
Gotta love those pearly white chiclets on the Force gals…long in the tooth equals DNA wisdom from a proud pa-pa !
You have the most stunning photography.
Great shots Mark. Love the Al Balooshi shot especially, so much to see in it.
I don’t know how you cover so much ground at each event but keep it up as we all enjoy the result of your work.
BME will be back in action when the NHRA gets to Las Vegas. Be sure to get him in action. He’s one of the sport’s true gems.
Great way to come BACK from a Horrific Crash!!!
Herm
Sorry , but I just cannot concentrate on the photos with that watermark .
Shame I have been a big fan of your for many years , but with that right across the detail of the shot it is so off putting , I can no longer appreciate your fine work . Let me know when you’ve changed to a right click disabled , or something …..
With going to the much higher quality images on the blog it was something that had to be done. In the old blog the images were smaller with lower quality so at the end of the day if someone stole the low rez, they would be severely limited in what they could do with the file. With these large retina optimized files, a good quality poster print could be made off the images. I enjoyed having you as a fan. Thanks