February always means two things for me. Superbowl and Daytona. I already did the Superbowl blog so lets take a look back at an action packed trip to the World Center of Speed. The Daytona International Speedway.
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After lots of football and basketball during the NHRA off season, I was more than happy to be heading to Pomona to kick off the 2012 season. Lots of new drivers, teams, paint jobs and for me clients had me super stoked for the season to begin.
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With the bulk of the motorsports I shot this year being NHRA drag racing I was unable to cover as many Off Road races and NASCAR as I usually used to do. With that in mind I combined the two motorsports into my latest installment of my “Best of 2011″ series. Strap in and hold on…
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The last time I shot a drag race at Bristol was in 1991 when I was an 11 year old punk kid with an old Nikon FM2 film camera. My father Gil would put me on top of a motorhome near the finish line and only instruct me to push the button if I saw a crash or a fire. Well the last time I was here it was for an IHRA drag race and funny car driver Richard Hartman would have a big fire in front of me. I shot a sequence of the whole thing only to find out when I handed my dad the camera to take the film out that he had forgotten to load the film for me. I was devastated and am pretty sure I cried when I found out. Well fast forward 20 years and check out my return to Thunder Valley!
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The highlight of May every year for me is knowing I will be in Indiana shooting the greatest motorsporting event in the world, the Indianapolis 500. With 2011 being the 100th anniversary of the first race it was guaranteed to be a big deal. Little did we know, those of us in attendance would also witness one of the most exciting 500 finishes ever.
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One thing I am always keeping an eye on in my job is the next up and coming superstars. Getting good quality images of athletes before they’re famous typically will lead to sales of the images for many years to come. About a year ago I read a story about a high school baseball player, Bryce Harper, who appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated. After reading the story I made a mental note to cover him before he went to the majors.
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While most of my friends on the east coast are still busy digging out of the snow in early March I have the pleasure of being able to drive to several stadiums around the Phoenix area to shoot the boys of summer as they prepare for the upcoming season with Cactus League spring training. Continue on to see a few of my favorite images from this year.
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Every year I promise myself I am going to go nuts with baseball, do multiple remotes at every game all season and produce some great images but something always happens. I get lazy! Well heres a look at my best baseball photos of 2009 before motivation departed and laziness set in.
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With the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in their playoffs, also known as the Chase, it is now time for me to shoot less football and now focus on lots and lots of NASCAR. My first of seven playoff races I will be covering was at the 1.5 mile Kansas Speedway. While it is not one of my favorite tracks, it is a nice facility and (most importantly) its a less than two hour flight from my home in Phoenix.
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Every year the cars and stars of the NHRA converge on Firebird International Raceway to test out their cars in preparation of the 2009 season which begins in two weeks. Preseason testing usually is the best time to get images of the drivers due to the small crowds and great access. Continue on to see my first motorsports shoot of the new year!
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