After a wild and crazy weekend of NHRA in Phoenix it was on to Vegas for NASCAR. Driving up to the shoot I thought to myself it was going to be very tough for Vegas to top Phoenix. Boy was I right. Try not to fall asleep during this blog!

As soon as I arrived to the track Friday morning it was straight to the Nationwide Series garage to get my quota of Danica Patrick photos for the day.

Below, Danica is framed by crew chief Tony Eury Jr (left) as he talks with father Tony Eury Sr following Nationwide practice.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 1250iso, f4, 1/320th, Aperture Priority

A crowd of adoring fans anxious for autographs to sell on ebay surround Danica as she makes her way from the garage to her hauler following the practice.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 500iso, f5.6, 1/1250th, Manual

Following the Nationwide practice we jumped into Sprint Cup Series practice where I saw something as rare as a unicorn…..

….a pink car actually driven by a man! I guess Mike Bliss, below, has an excuse (kinda) as the car was sponsored by everyones favorite socialite Kim Kardashian, more on her later!

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 100iso, f8, 1/640th, Aperture Priority

Above the garage on the teams hauler, crew chief Chad Knaus peers over a computer monitor as he follows his driver Jimmie Johnson around the track, below.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 500iso, f6.3, 1/4000th, Aperture Priority

Every once in awhile and I mean once every few years, I am lucky enough to get a giant fireball coming from the exhaust pipe of a car as excess fuel ignites when a driver cranks the engine. For some reason I would get three of these events in one day. The first big flamer of the day was Greg Biffle, below.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 800iso, f4, 1/8000th, Aperture Priority

Evidently Tony Stewart (below) has a headache as he walks through the garage.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 200iso, f2.8, 1/500th, Aperture Priority

Midway through the practice I spotted a small congregation of photographers at the entrance to Jeff Burtons garage. Figuring that it was odd anyone would wanna shoot Burton I headed over to investigate. What I found was a fan had a Burton die cast car and a sharpie hanging from a fishing pole as he attempted to get an autograph, below.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 200iso, f2.8, 1/640th, Aperture Priority

It secretly made me laugh (ok it wasn’t a secret I really did laugh) when Burton went out a side exit completely missing the chance to sign the car. Below, the frustrated fan reacts as burton heads the other way.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 200iso, f2.8, 1/800th, Manual

After practice was Sprint Cup qualifying.

Below, Juan Yawn Pablo Montoya hangs out on the grid waiting his turn to run.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 2000iso, f4, 1/5000th, Aperture Priority

Dale Earnhardt Jr (below) smiles as he stands alongside his car prior to having a pretty good qualifying lap.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 1250iso, f4, 1/4000th, Aperture Priority

While shooting Mark Martin (below) I was lucky enough to catch another photographers flash which gave some great light on his face.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 1600iso, f4, 1/5000th, Aperture Priority

Big flamer number two would be Matt Kenseth (below) as flames poured from his exhaust pipe as he pulled into the garage following his qualifying lap.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 1600iso, f4, 1/5000th, Aperture Priority

A few minutes later flamer number three would be Kyle Busch as his car trickled flames when he pulled into the garage following his qualifying lap.

Below, NASCAR officials attempt to kick out the flames to no avail.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 1250iso, f2.8, 1/2000th, Aperture Priority

The only way to put the flames out is by restarting the engine which quickly burns the excess fuel.

When Busch turned the engine on it shot a huge flame from the side which made for my favorite image of the weekend.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 250iso, f2.8, 1/2000th, Aperture Priority

Kyles big brother Kurt Busch (below) would end the day on top of the qualifying order.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 1250iso, f3.2, 1/8000th, Aperture Priority

On to Saturday.

Saturday began with Sprint Cup practice. Since I didn’t get any cool pics lets just skip to the Nationwide Series race.

Prior to the race some of my good buddies and I posed for a wacky group photo prior to heading to our shooting spots.

Below, (from left) Steven Barry, Dustin Snipes, Justin Kase Conder and Me.

Photo by Robert Butterfield

The Sams Town 300 Nationwide race had the significance of being Danica Patricks last NASCAR race for four months while she will be focusing on her real job as an Indy Car driver.

With that in mind she would once again be my focus for the weekend.

Below, NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Danica Patrick (7) passes high as Michael McDowell (81) crashes during the Sams Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 800iso, f5.6, 1/4000th, Aperture Priority

The weather forecast on the day was not too promising as rain was all over the radar around Vegas. Below you can see the dark and stormy clouds in the sky over the speedway.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 500iso, f2.8, 1/5000th, Aperture Priority

SHooting on the roof I had my good friend Dustin Snipes standing alongside me. Below we BS with each other during a boring part of the race (note the pop up flashes up on both our cameras).

Photo by Steven Barry

Of course while we were joking around a crash occurred. And that crash involved Danica Patrick. Luckily I have a fast reaction time so I was able to turn and throw the camera and get a few frames and she slides alongside Michael McDowell (the same car she barely missed crashing with earlier).

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 1000iso, f5.6, 1/1000th, Aperture Priority

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 1000iso, f5.6, 1/1600th, Aperture Priority

While the crash wasn’t all too bad it was still enough to knock Patrick out of the race. Below, she makes the left turn into the garage area.

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 1000iso, f5.6, 1/1000th, Aperture Priority

Shortly after the crash the rains came. Surprisingly they only lasted for 10-15 minutes. Not wanting to be stuck on the roof in the event of more rain I headed to the inside of the track….

…..where I found everyones favorite prop comedian. Carrot Top!

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 1250iso, f3.5, 1/250th, Aperture Priority

He was working on pit road for the Mike Wallace team. Since Danica was out of the race he was the only thing left worth shooting.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 1600iso, f2.8, 1/800th, Manual

Before heading to a different shooting location I had the honor of getting my photo shot with him. Guy is so scary looking that my stupid G10 didn’t wanna focus on us, below. Hmmm, oh well.

Out of Focus photo by Mark J. Rebilas

Below, NASCAR Nationwide Series driver James Buescher sparks as he grinds to a stop in his pit box after hitting the wall during the Sams Town 300.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 1250iso, f4, 1/500th, Manual

The race should have ended well before dark but due to a few rain delays and several cautions the race would eventually head into darkness, below.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 1600iso, f2.8, 1/640th, Manual

All through the day it was Kevin Harvick who led the race, night was no different as he would hold on and win the Sams Town 300 by a large margin, below.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 3200iso, f4, 1/500th, Manual

In victory lane he would let the coke fly. (not the overabundance of coke many of you may envision in Vegas)

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 1600iso, f2.8, 1/250th, Manual

On to Sunday.

Prior to the race I caught word that Kim Kardashian would be in attendance so by some quick sleuth work I found out that she had a brief sponsor apperrance at one of the team haulers prior to the race. With that in mind I spent about 45 minutes of my life waiting there to shoot her. And as with most women, she showed up rather late! She did not disappoint though once she did show up, below.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 1600iso, f2.8, 1/1250th, Aperture Priority

I happened to know the photographer who was documenting her day at the track so after she finished up here appearance I got my photo with the socialite, below. Thanks Juan!

Photo by Juan Campo

For the race I would once again start off on the roof of the track.

Following the National Anthem (actually off timing and right in the middle of it) the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds did a fly-by above the speedway, below.

Nikon D700, 14-24mm, 100iso, f2.8, 1/5000th, Aperture Priority

As the field got on track and made their pace laps you can barely see the Thunderbirds flying in formation in the below photo in the top left corner.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 200iso, f6.3, 1/3200th, Aperture Priority

Pole sitter Kurt Busch and second place qualifier Jeff Gordon lead the field to the green flag past a packed house, below.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 200iso, f6.3, 1/1600th, Aperture Priority

It didn’t take long as the caution flag quickly came out as Kevin Conway in the Extenze sponsored car lost control and spun out in turn two. If that product is supposed to make you last longer, spinning out on lap one of a 400 mile race probably isn’t the best sales pitch.

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 500iso, f5.6, 1/3200th, Aperture Priority

The roof of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway is one of the few roofs in NASCAR where they allow the fans up there. While it makes things a huge pain on the photogs as we try to squeeze in and do our jobs it also opens up a cool shot if you get elevated behind them and use them as a foreground to frame the cars on track like in the below photo of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Brian Vickers (83), A.J. Allmendinger (43) and David Gilliland as they race during the Shelby American at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 640iso, f6.3, 1/8000th, Manual

Early in the race Mike Bliss driving the pink Kim Kardashian car would crash into the turn two wall putting an early end to the day, below.

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 640iso, f6.3, 1/4000th, Aperture Priority

The race, for the most part, was pretty boring so I left my perch on the roof to head down trackside and shoot some different angles of cars in the turns.

I stopped on my way down to shoot the below wide view of the tri-oval from the main spectator grandstands.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 400iso, f5.6, 1/6400th, Aperture Priority

Below, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Matt Kenseth (17) and Carl Edwards (99) lead the field into turn one on a restart.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 200iso, f6.3, 1/2500th, Aperture Priority

After the field passed me I shot them going away through turn two, below.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 200iso, f6.3, 1/500th, Aperture Priority

I made the walk to the outside of turn two to shoot some of my favorite light pocket shots as cars would pass through pockets of light between the large billboards around the track.

The only problem was it was mostly cloudy so there was not much sun to be had.

It still was a good location to shoot car shots regardless.

Below, Kyle Busch leads Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr through turn two.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 500iso, f6.3, 1/1600th, Aperture Priority

After about 10 minutes in the spot the sun finally broke through giving me the light pockets I wanted.

Below, Sam Hornish Jr races through the turn.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 500iso, f6.3, 1/2500th, Aperture Priority

While you can see the light pockets and the car is technically exposed properly the photo just didn’t do it for me. So to make it better I changed the exposure to make the photo much darker and here was the result..

Below, Jeff Gordon races through turn two.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 500iso, f6.3, 1/4000th, Manual

Just by a simple shutter speed adjustment the photo took on a much more dynamic and artsy look.

I honestly only had about five laps of sunlight before clouds took over again. Once that happened I packed up for the long walk to the inside of the track.

While walking through the pedestrian tunnel to the inside I shot the below frame.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 400iso, f4, 1/1000th, Aperture Priority

Once on the inside of the track I did a quick transmit before heading out on pit road to get positioned to shoot the finish of the race.

With the nice skies overhead I went wide (below) to incorporate the sky into the shot as cars race down the front stretch towards turn one.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 400iso, f4, 1/3200th, Aperture Priority

Jeff Gordon led nearly the entire race until just before the finish when teammate Jimmie Johnson (below) would pass him for the lead and win.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 100iso, f6.3, 1/250th, Aperture Priority

As I have grown accustomed to the last four years I got another Johnson burnout to add to my already gigantic pile of #48 burnout photos. Joy!

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 400iso, f5, 1/2000th, Aperture Priority

For victory lane I went with my two camera setup. (And by setup I mean simply holding one camera in each hand)

Wide shot:

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 400iso, f4, 1/3200th, Manual

Tight shot:

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 400iso, f4.5, 1/2000th, Manual

Horray for Jimmie!

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 400iso, f4.5, 1/2000th, Manual

After a quick sprint to the media room I was able to move the burnout and initial celebration shots before hustling back out there for the champagne shot, below.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 320iso, f4.5, 1/2500th, Manual

What he didn’t spray all over the place he ended up drinking.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 320iso, f4.5, 1/1600th, Manual

Back in the day when I was growing up rarely would I ever miss the Arizona Nationals in Chandler, AZ. The track was only 12 miles from where I lived so it was always a must attend. As I have gotten older and been busier with work the years began to go by that I haven’t been able to attend my home town race. Finally this year I decided I was not gonna miss the race. All I can say is I am glad I made the 2010 Arizona Nationals……because I doubt they will ever race at this track again. Put on your seatbelts, its about to be a bumpy ride!

One of the main reasons I haven’t attended the Arizona Nationals in nine years is the race always seems to fall when I am stuck doing NASCAR races. Since I hate the race in Fontana, CA that was going on the same weekend I decided to stay home and do NHRA instead.

Lets get started with Fridays action.

The weather forecast for the weekend wasn’t very good so I kicked off the first professional qualifying session by shooting up at the starting line. The starting line is a great place to get a wide variety of cool photos, however you always run the risk of missing action down the track (who would have known this would be the only session without crazy action going on).

Below, I set the camera down on the ground to get a low angle as crew members lowered the body on the funny car driven by Ashley Force Hood.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 250iso, f2.8, 1/1600th, Aperture Priority

By shooting directly behind her car I got a different look of her burnout, below.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 100iso, f5, 1/800th, Aperture Priority

Below, NHRA funny car driver Ron Capps sits strapped into his car as he waits to make his first qualifying run for the Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 2000iso, f5, 1/640th, Aperture Priority

Back in the staging lanes top fuel dragster driver Antron Brown reflects off the side of his tow vehicle (below) as he gets all suited up for his qualifying run.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 500iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Aperture Priority

Once strapped in his car, Brown is the face of intensity, below.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 400iso, f2.8, 1/1600th, Aperture Priority

For the second qualifying session of the pros I made the long walk down to the top end of the course to shoot parachute shots as well as any action that might present itself.

The action didn’t take long to arrive as in the first run of the pro stock session longtime Arizona racer Gordie Rivera got loose and made a hard right turn rolling over his car at 200mph…..

Nikon D700, 600mm, 640iso, f4, 1/2000th, Aperture Priority

……Rivera slid across the track and made hard impact with the right side wall……

Nikon D700, 600mm, 640iso, f4, 1/2500th, Aperture Priority

……after hitting the wall his car continued down track on its roof……

Nikon D700, 600mm, 640iso, f4, 1/2000th, Aperture Priority

I was shooting with a 600mm lens for all the above images but as the upside down car began getting closer I dropped that body and grabbed the camera on my shoulder with an 80-200mm lens to shoot the car as it slid up close and personal a few feet past me, below.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 400iso, f2.8, 1/8000th, Aperture Priority

As the car slid past me you can see the cockpit filled with sparks and smoke as Riveras wild ride grinded to a slow halt.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 400iso, f2.8, 1/5000th, Aperture Priority

As always, the NHRA safety safari where quickly on the scene, below, and escorted Gordie to an ambulance to be checked out.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 400iso, f2.8, 1/2000th, Aperture Priority

Gordie would be fine after the accident, the same could not be said for his car (below) as it was taken off the track on a flat bed tow truck.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 640iso, f4, 1/1600th, Aperture Priority

I put together a few layouts of images from the crash sequence. With todays fast cameras you get lots of photos very fast so what you see below is actually every other frame in the sequence.

First sequence is the images from my primary body with the 600mm lens.

Now here is my images with the proverbial “oh shit camera” as he slides by at close range.

After the clean up from the crash we eventually got underway with more qualifying action.

Below, funny car driver Paul Lee pics up the 7-10 split as he mows down the finish line timing blocks.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 640iso, f4, 1/1250th, Aperture Priority

Below, funny car driver Matt Hagan bounces the back end of his car following a qualifying run.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 2000iso, f4, 1/640th, Manual

After the sun set top fuel dragster driver David Grubnic did his best impersonation of the sun as he lit of the night sky with a big explosion alongside Steve Torrence, below.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 4000iso, f4, 1/500th, Manual

Grubnic brought his flaming car to a stop a few feet from my shooting position, below.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1/500th, Manual

The subsequent clean up following the fire took long enough that the track was just way too dark for me to be shooting top end so I made the long walk to the starting line to mess around with some shots up there.

Below, fans hang out in the grandstands as darkness consumes the Arizona sky.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 4000iso, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual

Nothing is more impressive than shooting nitro cars at night, the giant flames shooting from the cars really makes it impossible not to get some awesome photos.

Below, Cory McClenathan (left) takes on Troy Buff during qualifying.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 2000iso, f2.8, 1/100th, Manual

Tony Schumacher (right) races alongside Morgan Lucas as they make their qualifying pass on Friday night.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1/60th, Manual

When I shoot at night on starting line I am one of the few photographers it seems who isn’t using a flash on the camera. One thing I learned many years ago is on camera flash typically looks like crap, plus with the amount of photographers shooting with flash I almost always will catch other peoples flashes from different angles which makes for more dynamic looking light.

Below, I caught someones flash in front of the car to the left as Larry Dixon did his burnout.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1/100th, Manual

For the below launch shot I didn’t need a flash as the giant header flames from Dixons car was more than enough light to make a pretty sweet shot.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1/100th, Manual

Dixon was quickly up in smoke so I changed to the far lane to shoot Antron Brown as he drove away, below. I caught another photographers flash to my left which lit the side of Antrons car, also a nice flash from the crowd added another element to the photo that I liked.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1/100th, Manual

For Saturday I would spend the entire day down at the top end shooting parachute shots. The day actually got off to a late start due to rain so NHRA cancelled one of the professional qualifying sessions which only gave us one round.

Since it would be a short day with less chance for photos I decided to mount a remote camera on the bridge way down past the finish line to give me two angles of the cars.

Below, you can see that I simply clamped a remote camera with a 300mm f4 lens attached.

ESPN also had a video camera mounted on the bridge, below is a wide shot from track level so you can see where I was set up at.

To most people a 300mm lens would be considered “big” but in the world of sports photography (especially with the cameras having full frame sensors) a 300mm lens is tiny. The view the camera gave was much wider than I wanted but I had no other choice. Cropping would be the only thing I could do to get good pics from it.

Below is a good example of the cool angle the bridge gives for photos as NHRA top fuel dragster driver Steve Torrence (left) slows down alongside Shawn Langdon following their qualifying runs.

Nikon D700, 300mm, 1600iso, f8, 1/3200th, Aperture Priority

The last professional category on the abbreviated day would be Pro Stock.

In one of the more odd things I have ever seen in drag racing, Vinnie Deceglie (below) would have a nearly identical crash to the one Gordie Rivera had the previous day.

First up are some images from the bridge remote, below.

Nikon D700, 300mm, 1600iso, f8, 1/4000th, Aperture Priority

Nikon D700, 300mm, 1600iso, f8, 1/4000th, Aperture Priority

Nikon D700, 300mm, 1600iso, f8, 1/4000th, Aperture Priority

Now here are images from my handheld camera with the 600mm lens.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 640iso, f6.3, 1/2500th, Aperture Priority

Nikon D700, 600mm, 640iso, f6.3, 1/3200th, Aperture Priority

Nikon D700, 600mm, 640iso, f6.3, 1/2000th, Aperture Priority

Nikon D700, 600mm, 640iso, f6.3, 1/5000th, Aperture Priority

Just like with the previous days crash, once the upside down car started getting closer to me I put down the long lens and grabbed my shoulder camera with a wider lens to shoot the car sliding on its roof past my position, below.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 500iso, f4.5, 1/4000th, Aperture Priority

Goodyear Tires gets a nice advertisement in the below frame, although I don’t see their marketing department using that image to promote their tires!

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 500iso, f4.5, 1/8000th, Aperture Priority

As Deceglie slid away from me a fire developed under the car, I lowered the wider lens and once again grabbed the 600mm lens to shoot tight as the car slid further away from me, below.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 640iso, f6.3, 1/4000th, Aperture Priority

The car eventually slid to a stop with heat waves filing up my frame from the burning fire.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 640iso, f6.3, 1/5000th, Aperture Priority

As with Rivera, Deceglie would be completely fine following the crash.

Below is every other frame in the sequence from my handheld camera.

Pro Stock crashes are typically very rare, you might have 2-3 in an entire season. Having two in one weekend, especially two from the same place in the same lane with the same exact results is just ridiculous.

On to Sunday.

After early morning rain storms (again) everything got off to a late start. But in a few short seconds the delays of the race would mean nothing compared to the tragedy that would unfold.

(For the record I seriously debated not posting any photos from the incident but after realizing ESPN showed the accident numerous times in much more detail than my photos I figured it would be a disservice to my readers to just act like nothing happened)

In the final pair of top fuel during round one Antron Brown took on Troy Buff.

Just off the starting line Antron Brown experienced severe tire shake. The shake was so bad that the left rear tire became detached from his car and as Brown lost control and made a slow roll, the tire hit the side of his car and shot into the air like it was fired out of a canon, below.

Nikon D700, 300mm, 1000iso, f8, 1/2500th, Aperture Priority

In the below photo, while blocked by heat waves, you can see just how high the rear tire cleared the retaining wall by. No catch fence would be able to stop a tire flying that high above the track.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 400iso, f7.1, 1/1600th, Aperture Priority

Once Browns out of control dragster hit the wall the car burst into flames……

Nikon D700, 600mm, 400iso, f7.1, 1/2500th, Aperture Priority

From my remote camera on the bridge I got the exact same shot, except in this shot (below) you can see the tire on the far right as it bounced down the return road towards the spectator area….

Nikon D700, 300mm, 1000iso, f8, 1/2000th, Aperture Priority

……below is my last frame where you can see the rear tire (on right) just before it went into the spectator area and unfortunately killed a female spectator….

Nikon D700, 600mm, 400iso, f7.1, 1/2000th, Aperture Priority

…..Browns mangled dragster slid along the wall on its side……

Nikon D700, 600mm, 400iso, f7.1, 1/2000th, Aperture Priority

…….before coming to a stop as an NHRA official was quickly on the scene to help, below.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 400iso, f7.1, 1/1600th, Aperture Priority

As of the time this blog is posted the incident is still under investigation so nobody is exactly sure what happened for the wheel to separate from the car.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 400iso, f7.1, 1/160th, Aperture Priority

After a few hour break following the crash as well as yet another rain storm we got back under way with round one of funny car.

Below, Tony Pedregon (right) defeats Del Worsham during the first round.

Nikon D700, 300mm, 1000iso, f8, 1/2000th, Aperture Priority

Funny car driver Matt Hagan climbs from his car after suffering an engine explosion and small fire, below. (Note the liquid from the fire bottles on his legs)

Nikon D700, 600mm, 400iso, f7.1, 1/3200th, Aperture Priority

Below is a wide view from the top end showing how beautiful of a setting that Firebird International Raceway is with some nice clouds and South Mountain in the background.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 640iso, f5.6, 1/5000th, Aperture Priority

In round two of top fuel dragster David Grubnic’s parachute didn’t open and he took a long bouncy ride through the shutdown area following his run, below.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 800iso, f5.6, 1/2000th, Aperture Priority

As the day went on track conditions seemed to get worse and worse and the Pro Stock drivers refused to even run.

To further prove that track conditions were less than adequate, Mark Gilmore, driving in the slowest class in the sport (Super Street) lost control of his Mustang and crashed into the retaining wall.

Below is the view from my remote camera on the bridge.

Nikon D700, 300mm, 4000iso, f6.3, 1/1000th, Aperture Priority

Here are a few images from my handheld camera down on the ground, below.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 1250iso, f4, 1/800th, Aperture Priority

Nikon D700, 600mm, 1250iso, f4, 1/1250th, Aperture Priority

After the cleanup from that crash darkness was once again descending on the track.

Below, NHRA top fuel dragster drivers Morgan Lucas (left) and Doug Kalitta shoot header flames from the pipes as they race during the semi finals of the Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 5000iso, f4, 1/500th, Manual

Cory McClenathan (below) appears to head straight towards me as he wins his semi final round matchup.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 5000iso, f4, 1/500th, Manual

Here is a wide shot showing the scene as the track got darker, below.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 3200iso, f2.8, 1/320th, Manual

Funny car driver Jack Beckman, below, races down track under power.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 6400iso, f4, 1/250th, Manual

With a parachute out, Beckman slows to a stop after winning his race and advancing to the final round.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 5000iso, f2.8, 1/250th, Manual

The winner of the other semi final matchup would be drag racing legend John Force, below.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 6400iso, f4, 1/250th, Manual

Following the semi finals NHRA cancelled racing action until Monday when they would run the final round in top fuel and funny car. Pro Stock would not race again on the track instead moving their elimination rounds to the next race on the tour in Gainesville, FL.

Monday.

Below, funny car driver John Force surveys the track during a Monday morning rain delay.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 400iso, f3.5, 1/500th, Aperture Priority

When they finally got the track dried it was time for the two final round races.

For the finals I always shoot at the end of the track to get the race winners celebrating. Before heading down to the top end I set up a remote camera on the tower at the starting line where I had my buddy Stan Creekmore holding one of my pocket wizards and pushing the remote button to fire the camera to get me a separate angle from what I would get at the end of the track.

Below, NHRA funny car driver Jack Beckman (near) races John Force in the final round of the Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway.

Nikon D700, 50mm, 800iso, f8, 1/3200th, Aperture Priority

Beckman, below, would win the race after Force smoked the tires right off the starting line.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 250iso, f7.1, 1/1000th, Aperture Priority

Below, Beckman climbs from the car and celebrates with the race winners trophy.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 100iso, f10, 1/250th, Manual, with SB-800 Flash

Beckman celebrates with son Jason following the race, below.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 250iso, f5.6, 1/1250th, Aperture Priority

Below, NHRA top fuel dragster driver Cory McClenathan (far) races Doug Kalitta in the final round of the Arizona Nationals.

Nikon D700, 50mm, 800iso, f8, 1/3200th, Aperture Priority

Cory McClenathan (below) celebrates after winning the Arizona Nationals.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 100iso, f9, 1/250th, Manual, with SB-800 Flash

That wraps up a long, wild, crazy and tragic weekend that saw more action than I have seen in nearly 20 years.

With the opening week of Daytona out of the way all eyes would be on the biggest race of the year, the Daytona 500. Oh and Danicas first Nationwide start. Both races would live up to the hype and then some.

(Warning, this blog will be short and to the point because I am several days behind on my work)

Wednesday before the race were two Cup Series practices. As usual I would spend both of those working the garage area.

Below, Jeff Gordon sits in his car in the garage prior to heading out on track for practice.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 1600iso, f2.8, 1/500th, Aperture Priority

The helmet and hans device for Kevin Harvick sit atop his car (below) prior to practice.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 640iso, f2.8, 1/6400th, Aperture Priority

After being involved in a practice crash, a crew member for driver Derrike Cope works beneath the hood of the crumbled car, below.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 100iso, f5, 1/1000th, Aperture Priority

Robby Gordon (below) reflects in the side of his car as he inspects his tires between practice sessions.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 640iso, f5, 1/60th, Aperture Priority

With the days Cup practices complete it was once again time to stalk Danica Patrick.

By standing near the door to her hauler I shot the below photo as she made an appearance with a quick walk to her car.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 400iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Aperture Priority

Below, much lesser known driver John Borneman III leans down to take a closer look at the side of his unsponsored race car.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 1600iso, f2.8, 1/800th, Aperture Priority

With some nice white clouds above the track I went with a wide lens to shoot a frame as Danica Patrick made her way through the garage towards the track, below.

Nikon D700, 14-24mm, 100iso, f13, 1/250th, Manual, with SB800 Flash

While I had gotten several good photos of Danica I was still lacking some close ups so following the practice I waited near her car so I could follow her as she walked away and hopefully get some decent shots.

After a 45 minute wait for her she finally emerged from the garage where the best I was able to come up with was the below frame.

Nikon D700, 14-24mm, 100iso, f11, 1/250th, Manual, with SB800 Flash

Below, I ruined my buddy Alex Menendez’s pic of Danica as she makes her exit from the garage. Sorry dude!

Photo by Alex Menendez

Unlike every other NASCAR race where your starting position is determined by where you qualify, for the Daytona 500 they have two qualifying races that determine that starting order. Here are some highlights from the two qualifying races.

RACE ONE

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver A.J. Allmendinger (below) slides through his pit stall as an official gets pinned against the wall by the air hose wrapped around the car during race one of the Gatorade Duel at Daytona International Speedway.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 500iso, f4, 1/4000th, Aperture Priority

Below, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Terry Cook spins through the tri-oval grass during race one of the Gatorade Duel at Daytona International Speedway.

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 500iso, f5.6, 1/2500th, Aperture Priority

Below, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Michael Waltrip (51) crashes into the inside wall coming off of turn four.

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 500iso, f5.6, 1/2500th, Aperture Priority

The finish of the first 150 mile qualifying race came down to a close drag race between Jimmie Johnson (48) and Kevin Harvick (29). As you can see in the below photo, Johnson barely nipped Harvick for the win.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 640iso, f5.6, 1/1600th, Aperture Priority

Below, Jimmie Johnson celebrates with his crew after winning race one of the Gatorade Duel at Daytona International Speedway.

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 500iso, f5.6, 1/500th, Aperture Priority

RACE TWO

Below, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr (88) leads the field during race two of the Gatorade Duel at Daytona International Speedway.

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 1600iso, f5.6, 1/2000th, Aperture Priority

Race two didn’t have near the action race one had. One of the only incidents of the race occurred (below) when driver David Gilliland spun his Larry the Cable Guy sponsored car off turn four. “Get eh SPUN!”

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 1600iso, f5.6, 1/2000th, Aperture Priority

Like the first qualifying race, the second race would finish with another close side by side finish, this time with Kasey Kahne (9) barely beating Tony Stewart (14) across the finish line.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 1000iso, f2.8, 1/2000th, Aperture Priority

Below, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kasey Kahne celebrates after winning race two of the Gatorade Duel at Daytona International Speedway.

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 1600iso, f5.6, 1/800th, Manual

Following the race I had to make the long walk back down from the roof and across the track, I stopped on the way across the track to shoot the below photo as a nice sky made for a moody photo of the finish line.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 800iso, f2.8, 1/6400th, Aperture Priority

Saturday we were greeted with a nice sunny day for the NASCAR debut of Danica Patrick.

I got up to the roof nice and early as I envisioned a photo with a big crowd of media around Danica before the race. My idea was to shoot a shot from above to illustrate the circus of people around her. It actually worked out pretty well. Luckily she was wearing a neon green driving suit so it was easy to distinguish her from the mob of people surrounding her, below.

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 640iso, f5.6, 1/3200th, Aperture Priority

Before the race three F-5 jets performed a low fly-over above the speedway.

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 400iso, f5.6, 1/5000th, Aperture Priority

Nationwide races are never really too big of a deal since they are the bastard stepchild to the Sprint Cup Series. Obviously though with Danicas debut it would be one of the biggest Nationwide races I’ve ever shot. My main goal for the race was to keep an eye on Danica at all times. If she got involved in a crash it would be a very important photo to get and would undoubtedly make me some sales to various websites/publications.

Early on in the race there was a close call for her as NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Trevor Bayne (99) spun in turn one and crashed during the DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona International Speedway. Notice Danica Patrick in the #7 car going low to avoid the crash.

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 400iso, f5.6, 1/4000th, Aperture Priority

A little while later her luck would run out.

Below, NASCAR Nationwide Series drivers Colin Braun (16), Ricky Stenhouse Jr (6) and Josh Wise (61) crash off turn four heading into the tri-oval during the DRIVE4COPD 300….

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 400iso, f5.6, 1/5000th, Aperture Priority

…..instead of watching the cars crashing I kept my eye on the bright green car of Danica Patrick as she was right behind the ensuing pileup….

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 400iso, f5.6, 1/4000th, Aperture Priority

……just when it looked like Danica would get her car slowed down enough to miss the crash…..

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 400iso, f5.6, 1/3200th, Aperture Priority

…she clipped the car of Josh Wise…

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 400iso, f5.6, 1/4000th, Aperture Priority

….causing some major damage to the front of her Chevy Impala…

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 400iso, f5.6, 1/4000th, Aperture Priority

…….then she slid into the outside wall causing some more damage (I love the track security guy completely oblivious to the crash in the background as he tells a fan he can’t stand near the wall)…

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 400iso, f5.6, 1/4000th, Aperture Priority

……and finally Danica slid back into the infield grass ending her first NASCAR race.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 200iso, f5.6, 1/2000th, Aperture Priority

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 400iso, f5.6, 1/3200th, Aperture Priority

Here is a video of the crash with several angles.

After the long cleanup from the crash we got back underway….well at least for a little bit…

On the backstretch Dale Earnhardt Jr (below) was involved in a scary crash that saw his Chevy get upside down.

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 400iso, f5.6, 1/2500th, Aperture Priority

My angle for photos sucked so here is a link to a much cooler video of the tumble.

On the last lap of the race NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Kyle Busch (18) and Brad Keselowski (22) tangled and crashed in turn four.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 500iso, f6.3, 1/4000th, Aperture Priority

Nobody had anything for Tony Stewart who won the race…..

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 500iso, f5.6, 1/4000th, Aperture Priority

……in victory lane Stewart celebrated the victory with his crew.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 500iso, f6.3, 1/1250th, Aperture Priority

Normally the Nationwide race is the last thing on the schedule for Saturday but due to Friday being rained out the day would be a doubleheader, concluding with the Camping World Truck Series race.

There was a three hour break between the two races which was great because it allowed me to go get my rental car out of hawk after being towed from my super secret spot in the infield. I had parked in that spot every race weekend the last few years but I guess they finally realized my car didn’t belong in the police officers parking lot! Oh well.

On to the truck race.

For the first time since Dale Earnhardt Sr died in a last lap crash of the 2001 Daytona 500 we saw a black #3 car on the high banks of a Daytona NASCAR race. Unfortunately it didn’t last long for NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Austin Dillon as he crashed on the first lap (below) during the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 5000iso, f4, 1/400th, Manual

Below, Dillon makes the hard left turn into the garage area following the crash.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 5000iso, f4, 1/320th, Manual

As with nearly every truck race at Daytona it was a race filled with crashes.

Below, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Max Papis (9) goes low as Ricky Carmichael (4), Ron Hornaday (33) and Elliott Sadler (2) crash during the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 5000iso, f4, 1/500th, Manual

Driver Mario Gosselin got in on the action as he lost control in the tri-oval and spun into the inside wall, below.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 5000iso, f4, 1/500th, Manual

After hitting the wall his Tire Monkey truck took the smokey slide of shame through the infield.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 5000iso, f4, 1/500th, Manual

In the crash filled race it eventually came down to a battle of survival where NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Timothy Peters (17) took the checkered flag to win the NextEra Energy Resources 250, below.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 5000iso, f4, 1/400th, Manual

Peters (below) climbed from his truck to celebrate with his crew in victory lane for only the second time in his truck series career.

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 5000iso, f5.6, 1/200th, Manual

On to the last (and biggest race) of the weekend, the Daytona 500.

After a bad decision on my part to sleep in till 8am (most other photogs headed to track around 6am) I learned just how bad traffic could be heading to the track. Nearly three hours after leaving hotel I finally made it to the track with just over an hour remaining until the start of the race.

Yet somehow I still found time to pose with a crazy fan braving the 50 degree temperatures in just a tire.

Photo by I don’t Remember

To make matters worse I had to make my way through a ridiculous crowd (below) on my way to the outside of the track for my elevated position high above the speedway.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 400iso, f5.6, 1/3200th, Aperture Priority

Once in my position overlooking the track I slapped on a fisheye lens to shoot the below photo during pre-race festivities.

Nikon D700, 10.5-17mm, 400iso, f5.6, 1/2500th, Aperture Priority

Country music singer Tim McGraw (below) entertains the crowd with a pre-race concert.

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 320iso, f5.6, 1/640th, Manual

During the pace laps I was lucky enough to get one of the F-15 Eagles from the pre-race fly over landing in the background as drivers headed down the backstretch, below.

Nikon D700, 600mm , 640iso, f4, 1/8000th, Aperture Priority

Below, with Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr pacing the field the 2010 NASCAR season got underway with the green flag.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 200iso, f5.6, 1/2000th, Aperture Priority

It didnb’t take long for the first yellow flag of the season as NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Regan Smith (78), Sam Hornish Jr (77) and Brad Keselowski (12) crash during the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 400iso, f5.6, 1/3200th, Aperture Priority

Fast forward about an hour later when the racing came to a grinding halt due to a pothole that formed in the middle of turn two.

While the pothole was out of my view I did get the below photo of a seagull flying above the track as the field of cars sat idle on pit road.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 200iso, f5.6, 1/1000th, Aperture Priority

Below, after a nearly two hour break the racing got back underway as Clint Bowyer and David Ragan led the field back to the green flag (under much cooler lighting conditions.)

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 500iso, f2.8, 1/5000th, Aperture Priority

As hard as it was to believe (and super annoying) the race would be halted a second time to make more repairs to the pot hole.

After about another hour of repairs the race finally would get underway, this time with sunset fading under the lights, below.

Nikon D700, 10.5-17mm, 1250iso, f4, 1/80th, Aperture Priority

Since I am in a hurry and there were no wild crashes lets fast forward to the end where Jamie McMurray was a surprise winner.

Below, the crew of McMurray go nuts after the race.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 5000iso, f4, 1/320th, Manual

Below, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jamie McMurray celebrates with a burnout after winning the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 4000iso, f4, 1/500th, Manual

Following his burnout, McMurray climbed from his car to celebrate.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 5000iso, f4, 1/400th, Manual

Nikon D700, 600mm, 5000iso, f4, 1/400th, Manual

Nikon D700, 600mm, 5000iso, f4, 1/400th, Manual

After a great celebration on the track McMurray headed to victory lane where he let his emotions go with a nice celebration with his crew.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 5000iso, f4, 1/320th, Manual

Ok that wraps up the first event of the 2010 NASCAR season.

Tearsheets:

Just a few months ago the NASCAR season ended in Miami, fast forward three months and about 250 miles north on I-95 and it was time for the 2010 season to kick off with high speed action in Daytona Beach.

Disclaimer: Before I begin this blog allow me to warn you that it is rather heavy on Danica Patrick.

Ok lets get started!

Nearly every NASCAR race weekend consists of 3-4 days of racing action, for Daytona various classes of stock cars are track for seven days of action.

This year the smallest event of the first weekend, the ARCA series, would be the most heavily anticipated event due to the arrival of Indy Car star Danica Patrick.

Patrick announced last year that she would begin running races in the NASCAR series as she began to get acclimated to having a roof over her head, with the ARCA race being the first event on her 2010 schedule.

To make sure I would get some good images of her I made it a point to fly in two days earlier than usual to be at the track for the first ARCA practice.

Below, Danica Patrick reacts at the large amount of media surrounding her car for the start of the first practice.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 3200iso, f2.8, 1/800th, Aperture Priority

Under a nice cloudy sky I stood atop the pit wall and shot wide (below) as Danica is pushed down pit road prior to taking her first laps of the weekend.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 100iso, f4, 1/1000th, Aperture Priority

The one thing I gotta say about shooting Danica is she almost always provides a wide range of expressions that always lead to a good variety of photos of her.

Below, Danica appears to stare me down as she prepares to climb back into her car during a break in the action.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 2000iso, f2.8, 1/1600th, Aperture Priority

Below, Danica prepares to put her helmet on prior to climbing into her car.

Nikon D700, 400mm, 400iso, f2.8, 1/500th, Aperture Priority

After shooting a ton of head shots of her hanging around the garage it was time to head out on track to shoot some on track car shots.

Daytona is one of the best places to shoot car shots due to the high banking of the track which makes for great angles that gets you the top as well as side of the cars, below.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm with 1.4 convertor (280mm), 100iso, f8, 1/640th, Manual

While there was tons of media at the track there were very few spectators in attendance for the practice as evident by the below photo.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 100iso, f5.6, 1/640th, Manual

After sitting in the turn for well over an hour shooting cars going by me I got bored and attempted to take an “artsy” photo.

Below, I lined up a shot with the right half of the frame being a reflection off one of the Musco lights on the inside of the track. I plan to go redo this shot in the next few days to get some reflections on the right side with the cars racing on the left.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 320iso, f2.8, 1/3200th, Manual

Below, ARCA RE/MAX Series driver Justin Marks drives through the garage area past a puddle with his cars reflection during practice for the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona International Speedway.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 500iso, f2.8, 1/4000th, Aperture Priority

Following the ARCA practice it was a short ride over to the Sprint Cup garage area to shoot the first on track practice for the top class in NASCAR.

Below, Mark Martin sits in his new car with sponsorship this season from GoDaddy.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 1600iso, f2.8, 1/125th, Aperture Priority

As the sun began to get lower in the sky it produced a nice light on drivers as they walked to their cars for the practice, such as in the below photo of Kyle Busch.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 100iso, f2.8, 1/1250th, Aperture Priority

After all the drivers were in their cars I headed to pit road to shoot some photos of the packs of drivers racing around the famed 2.5 mile track.

As the sun dipped lower to the horizon it lit the track under some dark clouds.

Below, Jeff Gordon leads a pack of drivers through the tri-oval.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 320iso, f2.8, 1/4000th, Manual

The sky looked like it would be great for a nice sunset so I figured I would stay on pit road and shoot a similar shot to the above one with a really nice sunset.

Unfortunantely a few minutes later a big crash occurred in turn one which would halt the practice for close to thirty minutes.

Since I was unable to shoot the crash I did the next best thing and hauled ass into the garage to shoot the destroyed cars as they were towed into the garage.

Below, I took advantage of the nice sunset I mentioned earlier and used the crashed car of Denny Hamlin on the back of the flatbed as the foreground for the image.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 400iso, f2.8, 1/4000th, Aperture Priority

Not far behind was the destroyed car of Mark Martin being towed in, below.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 400iso, f2.8, 1/1600th, Aperture Priority

After the cleanup from the crash was completed they got back to practice, this time under the lights.

Below, light shines off the car of Ken Schrader as he pulls into the garage during the practice.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 4000iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

A few minutes later there would be another crash. This time the victim was Kurt Busch who crashed in the tri-oval.

Below is a detailed view to the crashed front end of Kurt Buschs Dodge.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 1250iso, f2.8, 1/100th, Aperture Priority

Well over an hour after the first crash crew members for Mark Martin continued to take the usable parts off his wrecked race car, below.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 1600iso, f2.8, 1/125th, Aperture Priority

That wraps up a long ten hour day of shooting at the world center of racing.

Saturday would be a very long day of racing action starting with Daytona 500 qualifying.

Below, Dale Earnhardt Jr climbs from his car after making his qualifying lap that would lead to him finishing second fastest.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 250iso, f2.8, 1/2500th, Aperture Priority

Tony Stewart (below) appears to be very focused as he sits in his car following his qualifying attempt. You would think there was a big hamburger on the hood of his car that he was staring at!

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 250iso, f2.8, 1/640th, Aperture Priority

The quickest qualifying time of the day would go to Mark Martin.

Below, Martin stands alongside his car as he waits to be interviewed following the lap.

Nikon D700, 14-24mm, 320iso, f5, 1/500th, Manual

Fans look on as the car of four time champion Jimmie Johnson is pushed through the garage area, below.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 200iso, f4, 1/4000th, Aperture Priority

By underexposing a few stops I produced a dark photo with highlights lighting the car of Jeff Gordon as crew members push his car back to the garage following his qualifying run.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm with 1.4 convertor (280mm), 200iso, f4, 1/8000th, Aperture Priority

Following qualifying the top two qualifiers Mark Martin and teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr pose for photos together with their trophies, below.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 100iso, f5, 1/1600th, Manual

Next on tap for the day was the ARCA race which would be Danica Patricks stock car debut.

On my way to the roof I spotted the below boy sitting on the finish line having fun.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 250iso, f5, 1/1000th, Aperture Priority

Danica Patrick (below) during driver introductions prior to the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 250iso, f5, 1/3200th, Aperture Priority

This would be the first oval race on the track since they upgraded to a taller catch fence and new flagstand, below.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 200iso, f4, 1/8000th, Aperture Priority

If any of you have ever watched (or attended) an ARCA race at Daytona you would know that the race is notorious for numerous crashes and pileups.

Click here to see my images from this race last year.

So along with shooting Danicas every move I also had to keep a watchful eye out for any crashes that occurred on the 2.5 mile super speedway.

Below, ARCA RE/MAX Series driver Danica Patrick (7) drives on the inside of the track during the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona International Speedway.

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 1000iso, f5.6, 1/8000th, Aperture Priority

The action got going about seven laps in the race as ARCA RE/MAX Series driver Tim George Jr (31) went low to avoid as Bill Baird (52), Steve Blackburn (68) and Russ Dugger (12) crash off turn two during the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona International Speedway.

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 1000iso, f5.6, 1/4000th, Aperture Priority

After the clean up from that crash was complete and the field went back under the green flag they didn’t even make it past the first turn when the caution would once again be displayed thanks to driver Dakoda Armstrong spinning in turn one, below. Note Danica Patrick (7) going high to avoid the spin.

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 1000iso, f5.6, 1/1250th, Aperture Priority

After the clean up for that crash was complete we got back under the green flag. It didn’t last very long though as Jesse Smith blew a tire and slid along the turn four wall. While shooting him a red blur of a car flew through my frame.

It was total dumb luck I got my first race car flip of 2010 as it was Jill George (below) who lost control and made a hard right towards the wall…….

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 1250iso, f5.6, 1/5000th, Aperture Priority

……the hard turn was enough to cause her car to flip over…….

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 1250iso, f5.6, 1/3200th, Aperture Priority

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 1250iso, f5.6, 1/2500th, Aperture Priority

……..George hit the wall at the worst possible angle (roof first)…..

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 1250iso, f5.6, 1/4000th, Aperture Priority

…..the brutal impact sent her car into numerous pieces as it flew through the air off the wall……

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 1250iso, f5.6, 1/3200th, Aperture Priority

…….the front windshield (left), shock (center) and front tire (right) were just a few of the pieces flying through the air following the hit…….

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 1250iso, f5.6, 1/3200th, Aperture Priority

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 1250iso, f5.6, 1/4000th, Aperture Priority

Below, rescue personnel tend to Jill George following the brutal crash. Luckily she would be fine other than a major headache.

Nikon D700, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 1250iso, f5.6, 1/5000th, Aperture Priority

The crash happened so fast that I was one of the only people lucky enough to get photos of it. Even the numerous TV cameras got much of the accident…..

Below, Danica Patrick makes her first career pit stop in a stock car.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 1250iso, f4, 1/500th, Aperture Priority

All the crashes led the race past sunset into the twilight.

Below, Danica Patrick (7) takes the high line as she leads several drivers through turn three with the track illuminated by the golden glow of the setting sun.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 2000iso, f4, 1/1600th, Aperture Priority

One goal I had for the race was that if something happened with Danica being involved in a wreck that I would get photos of it. There has been a lot of talk in the NASCAR world that she wouldn’t perform well in stock cars so anything showing her crashing would be sure to get some use by publications.

Just after sunset while racing off turn four into the tri-oval Danica Patrick (right) made contact with Nelson Piquet Jr…….

Nikon D700, 600mm, 4000iso, f4, 1/640th, Manual

…..the impact sent her on a 190mph slide through the slick infield grass where I was totally sure she was going to have a huge crash……..

Nikon D700, 600mm, 4000iso, f4, 1/640th, Manual

……instead Patrick was able to keep the car from quickly spinning and she slid sideways which scrubbed a lot of speed off.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 4000iso, f4, 1/640th, Manual

Whether it was a great driving job by Danica or dumb luck it still made for a very memorable race moment.

Check out the video below.

Danica would recover from the crash and make her way back through the field to finish a pretty respectable sixth place.

While she was the story of the race, the big winner was long time ARCA racer Bobby Gerhart who won his sixth race at Daytona.

Below, Gerhart celebrates in victory lane.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 5000iso, f4, 1/320th, Manual

The final event on the busy day was the Budweiser Shootout, an all star race comprised of 24 Sprint Cup Series drivers.

Prior to the race the field of drivers were introduced on stage set up in the infield grass, below.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 3200iso, f2.8, 1/2500th, Manual

Via a random drawing the cars of Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick would lead the field to the green flag, below.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 4000iso, f2.8, 1/640th, Manual

Midway through the race Kurt Busch would get turned sideways and slide into the infield grass….

Nikon D700, 600mm, 5000iso, f4, 1/500th, Manual

……I expected him to pull a Danica Patrick and slide through the grass and not crash. He probably would have done so until the low front end caught the grass and the nose of his car dug into the grass and dirt and pieces exploded through the hood of the car sending grass and dirt flying through the air……

Nikon D700, 600mm, 5000iso, f4, 1/500th, Manual

Nikon D700, 600mm, 5000iso, f4, 1/500th, Manual

…..with the hood of his car flipped up over the windshield Kurt couldn’t see where he was going and eventually slammed into the outside wall.

Below, Kurt Busch walks away from his crashed car following the accident.

Click below to see video of the crash.

After each caution I would run beneath the photo platform where I had my laptop set up to post images to the wire for publications around the world.

Thanks to fellow shooter Glenn Smith for the below photo of me in action.

Photo by Glenn Smith

Below, Kevin Harvick leads the field through the tri-oval in the late stages of the race.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 5000iso, f4, 1/500th, Manual

In turn three coming to the white flag for the last lap Jeff Gordon (24) got into Greg Biffle (16) which sent him spinning around and would take out several cars, below.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 5000iso, f4, 1/500th, Manual

Here is video of that crash.

Below, Kevin Harvick takes the checkered flag under caution to win his second consecutive Bud Shootout.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 400iso, f2.8, 1/60th, Manual

Harvick celebrated the win with a burnout and slide through the infield grass.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 2000iso, f2.8, 1/320th, Manual

That wraps up the action from the first weekend of action in Daytona.

Here are a few web clips from the weekend:

The NBA season is now past the halfway point so I figured it would be a good time to highlight some of my favorite images from the first half.

This is my first season covering more than 2-3 basketball games so it has been a big learning experience for me. Other sports (especially outdoor sports) gives you many more shooting positions, lighting and chances to be artistic so I have been struggling to be creative with basketball. One other thing I have struggled with, and continue to, is having never played basketball or been a fan of the sport I really have no clue what is going on most the time (what is this 3 point shot you talk about? JK!) With that said here are some of my favorite images from the first half of the season.

Below, a general view of the US Airways Center during the game between the Phoenix Suns against the New Orleans Hornets.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 3200iso, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual

While its hard to really get many different shots in basketball the fun occurs when players go flying out of bounds into the crowd.

Below, Phoenix Suns forward (33) Grant Hill hits a cameraman as he flies out of bounds into the broadcasters table in the second quarter against the New Orleans Hornets at the US Airways Center.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 3200iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

Or random wardrobe malfunctions…..

Below, Phoenix Suns guard (13) Steve Nash drives past Sacramento Kings forward (31) Spencer Hawes at the US Airways Center.

Nikon D700, 400mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1/800th, Manual

San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan (below) peeks around Phoenix Suns forward Jared Dudley as he shoots a free throw.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 3200iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

It is probably one of the most played out photos in basketball but of course when the Cleveland Cavaliers came into town I had to shoot as forward LeBron James throws talcum powder in the air prior to the game against the Phoenix Suns, below.

Nikon D700, 17-35mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

From a remote camera mounted on the post beneath the basket I shot the below frame as Phoenix Suns guard (23) Jason Richardson collides with Cleveland Cavaliers center (33) Shaquille O’Neal as they went for a rebound.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

With basketball the “coolest game actions” is when a big name player dunks. They don’t get much bigger than Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (below) who flies through the air prior to dunking the ball.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1/800th, Manual

A few minutes later LeBron James argued a call with a referee (below).

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 3200iso, f2.8, 1/800th, Manual

Players fighting for a rebound also seems to make for cool shots such as the below frame where Phoenix Suns center Channing Frye fouls Cleveland Cavaliers forward (17) Anderson Varejao as they battle for a rebound.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 3200iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

Below, Phoenix Suns forward (1) Amare Stoudemire and Oklahoma City Thunder center (12) Nenad Krstic battle for the ball.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1/800th, Manual

Phoenix Suns guard (33) Grant Hill drives to the basket under pressure from Oklahoma City Thunder guard James Harden, below.

Nikon D700, 400mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1/800th, Manual

Below, Phoenix Suns guard (2) Goran Dragic gets hit in the face by Los Angeles Clippers guard (3) Sebastian Telfair in the first half at the US Airways Center.

Nikon D700, 400mm, 3200iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

I really love when you get a really random luck shot that is different from the usual images you see from the sport. One such example of an interesting luck shot is the below frame where Phoenix Suns guard Goran Dragic looks on from the ground after losing control of the ball and falling in the second half against the Los Angeles Clippers at the US Airways Center.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 3200iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

A good remote shooting position for basketball is from the catwalks aimed straight down on the basket.

Below, Phoenix Suns center (8) Channing Frye goes up for a rebound in the first half against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Nikon D700, 400mm, 4000iso, f5, 1/1000th, Manual

Player reaction shots is always something I constantly look for throughout the course of games, getting superstar players reacting is even cooler.

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (below) reacts in the first quarter against the Phoenix Suns at the US Airways Center.

Nikon D700, 200-400mm, 5000iso, f4, 1/640th, Manual

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant flies to the basket to score two points against the Phoenix Suns at the US Airways Center, below.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 3200iso, f3.2, 1/1000th, Manual

On the courtside seats at NBA games you can sometimes spot celebrities. Below, Arizona senator John McCain and wife Cindy McCain watch the game between the Phoenix Suns against the Los Angeles Lakers

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 3200iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

Los Angeles Lakers guard (24) Kobe Bryant is hit by Phoenix Suns center (8) Channing Frye after shooting a shot in the second half at the US Airways Center, below.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 3200iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

Fighting for rebounds on free throw attempts is another time to get cool shots as players typically tend to lock arms and push.

Below, Boston Celtics center Kendrick Perkins (center) battles for a rebound with Phoenix Suns forward (3) Jared Dudley and center (15) Robin Lopez in the first half at the US Airways Center.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 3200iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

Basketball can absolutely get boring at times as displayed below by Devin Fitzgerald, the son of Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald courtside during the game between the Phoenix Suns against the Miami Heat. I feel your pain lil guy!

Nikon D700, 400mm, 3200iso, f2.8, 1/800th, Manual

When I get bored enough I sometimes bust out the star filter for some different looking images.

Below, Miami Heat forward (30) Michael Beasley drives to the basket under pressure Phoenix Suns center (8) Channing Frye.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 3200iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual with a Star Filter

You never know who you will see court side at an NBA game, below, AC Slater uh I mean Mario Lopez laughs from his seat court side during the game between the Phoenix Suns against the Miami Heat. All that was missing was Jesse Spano singing, “I’m soooo excited, I’m soo  scaaaaaared!” (Anyone who grew up in the early 90’s knows EXACTLY what I am talking about!)

Nikon D700, 300mm, 3200iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

Before the game when the Phoenix Suns get introduced they dim all the lights down in the arena and if you set up for it with the proper exposure you can get some interesting looking images. Below, Milwaukee Bucks forward (21) Hakim Warrick holds onto the net prior to the game.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 4000iso, f2.8, 1/100th, Manual

Below, Phoenix Suns forward (55) Earl Clark defends against Milwaukee Bucks forward (21) Hakim Warrick.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1/800th, Manual

Phoenix Suns guard (13) Steve Nash drives to the basket under pressure from Milwaukee Bucks defenders, below.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1/800th, Manual

After numerous eye injuries from being hit in the face Phoenix Suns forward Amare Stoudemire must now wear protective glasses during the games. Below he adjusts his glasses while appearing to look directly at me during a time out.

Nikon D700, 400mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1/800th, Manual

Getting up close and low during player introductions can drastically clean up your backgrounds plus it makes sweet looking photos such as the below shot of New Jersey Nets center (9) Yi Jianlian prior to the game against the Phoenix Suns.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1/800th, Manual

The same concept can work for game action.

Below, with my wide angle body low on the ground I shot New Jersey Nets guard (6) Courtney Lee leaping through the air to the basket in the fourth quarter against the Phoenix Suns at the US Airways Center.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 3200iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

Back to another shot from a remote cam aimed straight down.

Below, Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng (right) battles for a rebound with Phoenix Suns forward Jared Dudley in the first half at the US Airways Center.

Nikon D700, 70-200mm with 1.4 convertor, 3200iso, f4, 1/1000th, Manual

The coolest play in the first half of the season had to be this monster dunk by Chicago Bulls guard (1) Derrick Rose over Phoenix Suns guard (2) Goran Dragic in the fourth quarter at the US Airways Center, below.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 3200iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

Check out the below video clip of the dunk!

A few days ago while flying home from a shoot in Michigan we flew over the US Airways Center on final approach. Luckily I had my camera on my lap and was able to get the below aerial views of the arena.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 400iso, f5.6, 1/1250th, Aperture Priority

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 400iso, f5.6, 1/1000th, Aperture Priority

Below, Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Kidd passes the ball as he is covered by Phoenix Suns guard (13) Steve Nash and center (15) Robin Lopez in the first half at the US Airways Center.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 3200iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

Phoenix Suns forward Amare Stoudemire (below) celebrates a foul call in the third quarter against Dallas Mavericks at the US Airways Center.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 3200iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

Phoenix Suns center (8) Channing Frye dunks the ball with authority, below.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 3200iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

Here are some web clips so far in the season.

After missing my first Rose Bowl in six years I was excited to make the trip a few days later to sunny California to cover the BCS Championship game which is essentially the second biggest football game on Earth behind the Super Bowl. All that I could think about leading up to the game was I hoped to have a good game and not screw up.

I got to the Los Angeles area a day prior to the game to pick up credentials and later meet up with some good friends for some random shenanigans.

For game day it was important to get to the Rose Bowl several hours prior to the 5pm kickoff to avoid the horrific LA traffic. Even getting there close to five hours early saw us sitting in some pretty crappy traffic making a 15 minute drive to the stadium closer to an hour drive.

Below, outside the Rose Bowl fans are kept back to allow room for the Alabama Crimson Tide players to make their way to the locker room.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 400iso, f5.6, 1/1000th, Manual

One Alabama fan stood atop a van to get a better view of the festivities, below.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 400iso, f5.6, 1/1250th, Manual

On the field prior to the game I spotted the BCS champion trophy. It is a football made from crystal. I underexposed the background quite a bit in the below photo to give the trophy the appearance of it glowing.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 400iso, f4.5, 1/2000th, Aperture Priority

The media room at the stadium is perfectly situated behind an end zone right between the walk ways each team uses to get to the field. An added bonus this year was some nice bright lights (for TV) lighting up the walkway. I set up off to the side in the tunnel that the Texas Longhorns would be using and shot the below photo of quarterback Colt McCoy as he made his way out to the field.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 1600iso, f2.8, 1/400th, Manual

A few seconds later I shot wider to get the rest of the team as they headed out to the field.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 1600iso, f2.8, 1/400th, Manual

After shooting Texas I made the 10 second walk to the other tunnel to try and shoot Alabama heading out.

Below, Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy waits for his teammates prior to heading out to the field for warm ups.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 2000iso, f2.8, 1/500th, Manual

For big games such as this where I am working with multiple photographers we come up with a plan prior to the game to ensure we cover the game as well as possible. With our three man team we had one person in each end zone who wouldn’t move while a third person would roam the sidelines. For the first half of the game I was set up in an end zone so I was hopeful the action would come to my corner.

Right before kickoff in front of me Alabama male cheerleaders (below) waved their team colors……….

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 1600iso, f2.8, 1/500th, Manual

……..while behind me the Alabama dancers laughed it up while fireworks exploded behind them. Which view would you choose?

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1/400th, Manual

One of the more interesting angles of the game was that the Heisman Trophy winner, Alabama running back Mark Ingram was up against Heisman runner up, Texas quarterback Colt McCoy. They were the two players I was hoping to get lots of good photos of.

Below, Texas Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy throws a pass early in the game. (It would be the only action photo I would get of him since he went out a few plays later with an injury).

Nikon D700, 400mm, 2000iso, f2.8, 1000th, Manual

I noticed the smoke from the pre game pyrotechnics lingering over the field so I shot the below wide shot of some action on the field. If only they had been closer to the camera, it could have been a great shot.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1250th, Manual

As I mentioned earlier, I was in one position for the entire first half and hopeful that I would get some action in my corner. The last National Championship game I shot (2006 BCS Bowl between Ohio State and Florida) I was in a corner the entire game that never saw a single touchdown to.

Luckily this game wouldn’t be like that as in the second quarter Alabama Crimson Tide running back Mark Ingram (22) would break through Texas defenders and run into the end zone for the first touchdown of the game, below.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1000th, Manual

Below, Ingram is mobbed by teammates as he celebrates.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1000th, Manual

19 minutes later I would once again be rewarded as Alabama Crimson Tide running back Trent Richardson broke through Texas defenders at midfield…..

Nikon D700, 400mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1000th, Manual

…..and ran about 50 yards right at me for a touchdown.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1000th, Manual

When the action was at the other end of the field I would use a 600mm to stay on top of the action.

Below, Texas Longhorns wide receiver (9) Malcolm Williams leaps for a pass in the end zone under pressure from Alabama defensive backs (4) Mark Barron and (24) Marquis Johnson. Williams was unable to come up with the pass.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 4000iso, f4, 1000th, Manual

Below, Alabama Crimson Tide running back Trent Richardson (3) goes airborne as he is tackled by Texas Longhorns safety Earl Thomas (12).

Nikon D700, 400mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1000th, Manual

Just before halftime Texas had the ball deep in their own territory and instead of playing it safe and letting the clock run down to zero to end the quarter they threw a pass that was intercepted by Alabama Crimson Tide defensive lineman Marcell Dareus (57) which he returned to the end zone for a touchdown, below.

Nikon D700, 400mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1000th, Manual

The big man was a happy fellow as he celebrated the big play.

Nikon D700, 400mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1000th, Manual

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1000th, Manual

Normally at halftime I have to frantically edit photos and transmit them but at this game we had card runners and editors in the media room so I instead took a few minute break to grab some water. On my way out to the field I once again shot in the walkway to the field  as Alabama players headed back out to the field.

Below, Alabama defensive lineman (95) Brandon Deaderick and linebacker (10) Jerrell Harris head back to the field for the second half.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 4000iso, f2.8, 1/400th, Manual

While shooting there I noticed a spot where I could get an all black background for photos. I was hoping to use the spot to shoot running back Mark Ingram but he had already passed so I instead settled for the below shot of Alabama Crimson Tide defensive lineman Terrence Cody.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 4000iso, f2.8, 1/320th, Manual

Below, Members of the Texas marching band react during the second half of the game.

Nikon D700, 400mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 640th, Manual

One of my favorite things to shoot in sports is when crazy fans run out on the field. With the hefty fines and jail time the trespassers receive it has become more and more rare of an occurrence. That didn’t stop one crazy fan from doing it during the game. While reviewing images on my camera I heard fans going crazy and looked up to see the below fan doing a cartwheel on the 50 yard line wearing booty shorts with “Howard Stern” written on his ass.

Nikon D700, 400mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1000th, Manual

After the cartwheel he ran around some more……

Nikon D700, 400mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1000th, Manual

……before peacefully surrendering to stadium security.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1000th, Manual

Ok back to the game.

Below, Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Greg McElroy (12) throws a pass in the third quarter against the Texas Longhorns.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1000th, Manual

At the beginning of this blog I had mentioned how I wanted to get some good shots of Heisman trophy winner Mark Ingram so when I nailed the below photo of him flying through the air on a play I was more than happy with my evening. Anything else would simply be an added bonus.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1000th, Manual

Anytime a player loses his helmet during a play it can make for a cool shot. Below, Alabama running back Trent Richardson loses his helmet as he is sandwiched between several Texas Longhorn defenders.

Nikon D700, 400mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1000th, Manual

Midway through the fourth quarter the Longhorns began making a comeback.

Texas Longhorns quarterback Garrett Gilbert (3) throws a pass as he is pressured by Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back Robby Green (23), below.

Nikon D700, 400mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1250th, Manual

Texas Longhorns wide receiver Jordan Shipley (8) catches a pass for a touchdown, below.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1000th, Manual

After the touchdown, instead of kicking a field goal, Texas went for the two point conversion where wide receiver Dan Buckner (below) made the catch for two bringing the Longhorns within three points with just over two minutes remaining in the game.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1250th, Manual

Unfortunately for Texas their amazing comeback derailed with a fumble for a turnover and Alabama only needed to run down the clock to complete their perfect season.

Below, a dejected Texas quarterback Colt McCoy sits helplessly on the sidelines as the clock runs down to zero in the last game of his college career.

Nikon D700, 400mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 640th, Manual

As soon as the clock hit zero I sprinted as fast as I could to the center of the field to get the below frame of Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban (left) shaking hands with Texas Longhorns head coach Mack Brown after the 2010 BCS national championship game at the Rose Bowl.

Nikon D700, 17-35mm, 2000iso, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual

After the coaches shot I frantically looked all around for any of the star players of the game celebrating. I nearly ran into Alabama running back Mark Ingram (below) as he celebrated with a number one.

Nikon D700, 17-35mm, 2000iso, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual

Since he was the player of the game I decided to stay near him, well until I saw a sad Colt McCoy approaching, below.

Nikon D700, 17-35mm, 2000iso, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual

When you are shooting in the scrum (scrum-mass congregation of media) it can be tough to get a good shot and ultimately it takes some luck to get the good shot. Below, when Ingram greeted McCoy I got bumped into a bad position behind and as you can see I had no chance in hell of getting a good shot of the moment.

Nikon D700, 17-35mm, 2000iso, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual

A few minutes later during the trophy presentation I stood on the teams bench on the sideline to try and shoot over the mass of media, fans and family around the stage. While the bottom of the frame is blocked it didn’t bother me too much because it gives the photo some depth and a decent layering effect.

Below, Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban holds up the Coaches’ Trophy and celebrates after defeating the Texas Longhorns 37-21 in the 2010 BCS national championship game at the Rose Bowl.

Nikon D700, 400mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1250th, Manual

After presenting the trophy to the coach he handed it to the players to celebrate as confetti filled the air.

Nikon D700, 400mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1000th, Manual

After searching around for more photos to shoot I saw Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker Rolando McClain as he was walking off the field holding the  championship trophy.

After shooting a standard (boring) shot of him with the trophy (below)….

Nikon D700, 17-35mm, 2000iso, f2.8, 1/800th, Manual

…..then I held the camera close to the trophy as he held it up for the cheering fans……

Nikon D700, 17-35mm, 2000iso, f2.8, 1/800th, Manual

And then dropped down low beneath his extended arm and shot a nice clean shot with the dark sky as my background, below.

Nikon D700, 17-35mm, 2000iso, f2.8, 1/800th, Manual

My last shot of the game was running back Mark Ingram yelling to the fans as he walked off the field.

Nikon D700, 17-35mm, 2000iso, f2.8, 1/640th, Manual

About an hour after the game our whole team of Photographers, Editors and Card Runners went back out on the field for the below group photo.

And a split second later I proceeded to tackle the cutest card runner I’ve ever had.

That wraps up a very fun and successful championship game. Can’t wait till next year when the championship game will be played in Arizona.

CLICK HERE to view all my images from the game

Here are some web clips:

For almost as long as I can remember, the end of the year has always excited me because that means go karts converging on a small dirt track in Arizona called AKA Speedway for the Holiday Classic. Ranging from 6 year olds puttering around the slick dirt track all the way up to professional businessmen in their 60’s you just never know what to expect when you attend this race.

Unfortunately in recent years the Holiday Classic has gone from a must attend for racers around the country to just another race. A few years ago they would have over 300 racers in attendance while this year there was closer to 60.

Since I don’t have any go kart racing clients I shoot the race simply for the fun of the racing and the all access environment provided.

There is not much else to say about the weekend other than the small fields of drivers made for mostly uneventful racing action. At the end of the last day I gave up on trying to get crash photos and simply took advantage of some of the great light and had some fun. So instead of talking about each photo I will make this a shirt posting and just show a few of my favorites.

Nikon D700, 400mm, 400iso, f5.6, 1/1000th, Aperture Priority

Nikon D700, 400mm, 400iso, f5.6, 1/4000th, Aperture Priority

Nikon D700, 400mm, 200iso, f5.6, 1/2500th, Aperture Priority

Nikon D700, 80-200mm with 1.4 convertor, 400iso, f5.6, 1/1000th, Aperture Priority

Nikon D700, 80-200mm with 1.4 convertor, 640iso, f5.6, 1/5000th, Aperture Priority

Nikon D3, 24-70mm, 1000iso, f8, 1/1250th, Aperture Priority

Nikon D700, 80-200mm with 1.4 convertor, 1000iso, f4, 1/5000th, Aperture Priority

Nikon D700, 80-200mm with 1.4 convertor, 320iso, f4, 1/2500th, Manual

Nikon D700, 80-200mm with 1.4 convertor, 100iso, f4, 1/8000th, Aperture Priority

Nikon D700, 80-200mm with 1.4 convertor, 320iso, f4, 1/2000th, Manual

Nikon D700, 80-200mm with 1.4 convertor, 320iso, f4, 1/2000th, Manual

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 320iso, f5.6, 1/2000th, Aperture Priority

Nikon D700, 80-200mm with 1.4 convertor, 500iso, f4, 1/1000th, Manual

Nikon D700, 80-200mm with 1.4 convertor, 640iso, f4, 1/1600th, Aperture Priority

For the last several years I have spent New Years eve in Tempe, AZ covering the Insight Bowl. I am guessing most of you have never heard of the game and would wonder why I’d waste my evening covering a bowl game nobody cares about. My answer is simple. For the first 30 minutes of the game it has some of the most amazing light that I get at any stadium in the country. Continue reading to see what I am talking about.

For the start of the game I head to the roof of Sun Devil Stadium to shoot down on the field when the light is best. While being on the ground also gives you some awesome light, the photos are typically crappy due to the tons of empty seats this bowl usually has.

The rule for grandstands as backgrounds is you either want the stands completely full or completely empty. Anything in between will typically look crappy.

Below, a wide angle view of Sun Devil Stadium prior to the Insight Bowl between the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Iowa State Cyclones.

Nikon D700, 10.5-17mm, 400iso, f4, 1/6400th, Aperture Priority

Below, a hawk flies in the air as a parachutist comes in to the stadium prior to the game.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 100iso, f4, 1/1250th, Aperture Priority

Below, Iowa State Cyclones players huddle up for a pre game speech as cornerback Michael O’Connell (top left) speaks.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 500iso, f4, 1/5000th, Aperture Priority

Once the game began I exposed for the highlights (which makes the shadowed areas black) and went to town with my 15 minutes of good light from up high.

Minnesota Golden Gophers quarterback (8) Adam Weber calls a play in the first quarter against the Iowa State Cyclones in the 2009 Insight Bowl at Sun Devil Stadium, below.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 320iso, f4, 1/2000th, Manual

My favorite shot of the game was the below frame where Minnesota Golden Gophers wide receiver (83) Da’Jon McKnight made a great catch under the defense of Iowa State Cyclones defensive back (23) Leonard Johnson, below.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 320iso, f4, 1/2000th, Manual

In another photo from the sequence of the catch you can see the field appearing black since they were no longer in an area where the grass was lit by the sun.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 320iso, f4, 1/2000th, Manual

Below, Minnesota Golden Gophers quarterback (8) Adam Weber throws a pass as parts of the field are lit and others in the shadows.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 400iso, f4, 1/1600th, Manual

Below, the field is completely covered in shade with sunlight shining a few feet above the field illuminating a referee as he makes a penalty call with Iowa State players in the background.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 320iso, f4, 1/2000th, Manual

A unique photo that I really liked was the below shot where I was exposed for the sunlight and just happened to get the ball lit perfectly as it flew through the air during a field goal attempt as players defended against the kick.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 320iso, f4, 1/2000th, Manual

At the end of the first quarter with about 85% of the field in shade I went down from the roof to the field level to shoot.

Having the players in the shadows with sunlit backgrounds is one of the most difficult (and frustrating) shooting situations you can find yourself in. The reason is to get the shadowed players properly lit your backgrounds will be totally blown out (too bright) resulting in images that look like the below photo.

Nikon D700, 400mm, 1000iso, f2.8, 1/6400th, Aperture Priority

Since the game didn’t really matter and I wanted to produce some different looking shots I set the exposure for the bright backgrounds and laid on the ground to try and toy around with some silhouette images.

Below, Iowa State Cyclones quarterback Austen Arnaud is pursued by the Minnesota Golden Gophers defense in the second quarter in the 2009 Insight Bowl at Sun Devil Stadium.

Since every TV channel, website and publication has done their moments/photos of the decade I decided I should probably do the same. While I am sure I am missing numerous worthy photos (due to a few dead hard drives and my laziness to scan negatives) here are 50 of my favorite images from the last decade. Enjoy!

So the below images are in no particular order with some brief thoughts on them.

Below, at the 2008 Winter X Games in Aspen, CO with the help of my assistant Guy Rhodes, we strapped a remote camera on the back of the “sled” of freestyle snowmobile rider Chris Burandt during a morning practice session. I told him to just do superman seat grabs for the photos since I figured that would make for the best shots. Luckily he didn’t listen to me and on his first jump did a backflip, it ended up being the only cool shot from the entire five minute photo session. The photo ran as a two page spread in ESPN the Magazine.

Nikon D200, 10.5mm, 400iso, f6.3, 1/4000th, Aperture Priority

Back in 2003 after transferring to the nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis,  I set out to top a photo taken by co-worker Jayme Pastoric of an aircraft inspector leaping to ensure a folding wing was locked in place. I got lucky when two aircraft inspectors from the “Diamondbacks” of VFA-102 leapt at the same time to inspect the wing of an F/A-18 Hornet sitting on the catapult preparing to launch. Typically it is just one inspector who jumps up to inspect the wing but in the below photo an inspector was training another sailor and I was in the right place at the right time. The photo ran as a two page spread in All Hands Magazine, the official magazine of the Navy.

Nikon D1, 300mm, 200iso, f4, 1/1000th, Aperture Priority

For anyone who is a fan of football if you ask them what the greatest catch in Super Bowl history is, they would respond with the catch during Super Bowl XLII in 2008 where New York Giants wide receiver David Tyree (85) made an amazing circus catch holding the ball against his helmet as New England Patriots safety Rodney Harrison (37) defended in the fourth quarter at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ. I was shooting from an elevated position in one of the end zones. I remember after the game hearing everyone talking about “the catch” and had no clue what they were talking about. Since I didn’t remember any amazing catch I simply figured I missed the shot. The next morning while watching highlights on Sportscenter I saw the catch and realized that I had indeed shot it. When shooting I am concentrating so much on my job that I usually fail to realize some of the things going on, the below photo was one such example.

Nikon D3, 600mm, 3200iso, f4, 1/800th, Manual

While I love shooting baseball I gotta admit that it’s one of the most boring sports to cover. To keep myself motivated I am always trying to look for unique angles or lighting to incorporate into my images. At Chase Field in Phoenix there are sometimes interesting light pockets that make their way across the field during late afternoon games. Below, Chicago Cubs center fielder Jacque Jones bats in the ninth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Nikon D200, 80-200mm, 320iso, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual

I have shot countless cars flipping over in the 20 years I have been shooting racing but I can honestly say I have only shot one car taking the checkered flag while sliding upside down across the finish line at the end of a race. That honor goes to Clint Bowyer who accomplished the feat on the last lap of the 2007 Daytona 500 in Daytona Beach, FL. The sequence ran as a two page spread in Car Craft magazine.

Nikon D200, 80-200mm, 1600iso, f2.8, 1/640th, Manual

Back when I was in the Navy stationed in Bremerton, Washington (Seattle area) I would typically spend my off weekends around the state shooting random sporting events for fun. Back in the summer of 2005 I stumbled across the Kitsap County Rodeo. After BS’ing my way into the media area I got down low in the dirt and looked for some good action shots. My favorite ended up being the below photo of a rider and his horse going to the ground during the competition.

Nikon D2x, 80-200mm, 100iso, f2.8, 1/3200th, Aperture Priority

A photography rule I typically live by is to have clean backgrounds. With all the sports I shoot many times my backgrounds are crowded grandstands. There are usually only two ways to have grandstands make good backgrounds, completely full or completely empty. Anything in between just looks like crap and makes for bad photos. But another rule of photography is there are no rules in photography. The below photo is a good example of that. During freestyle motorcycle practice for the Summer X Games in Los Angeles I noticed three spectators sitting in the empty stands, I focused on them and shot as moto-x rider Mike Mason flew through my frame doing a backflip high above them.

Nikon D2x, 80-200mm, 200iso, f8, 1/800th, Manual

Strapped in a harness doing an aerial photo mission onboard a US Navy Seahawk helicopter in the middle of the Pacific Ocean we fell in line behind another helicopter as we made our way back to the aircraft carrier to land. As we began to make a banked turn towards the ship I noticed the other helicopter in view and quickly threw the camera up and shot the below frame. For the record the photo is uncropped. Had I not kept the entire ship in the frame it probably would have been much less cool. Gotta love dumb luck!

Nikon D2h, 300mm, 200iso, f10, 1/2000th, Manual

While living in Seattle I was fortunate enough to shoot the entire 2005 Seattle Seahawks season. In that year they made it all the way to the Superbowl so it was fun to shoot them kicking ass every weekend. After clinching home field advantage through the playoffs, superstar running back (and league MVP that year) Shaun Alexander celebrated with the fans by running around the entire stadium high fiving the fans. After running with him shooting at eye level of him greeting the fans I hustled several yards in front of him and crotched down at the base of the grandstands and shot straight up as he ran past above me. I liked the photo a lot but the next year I loved it when it won first place in the feature category of the Pro Football Hall of Fame photo contest.

Nikon D2x, 12-24mm, 400iso, f5, 1/160th, Manual

Back in 2005 I shot a boat race in Red Bluff, California. During a circle boat race I was lucky enough to be in a perfect spot to shoot as boat racing stud Tony Scarlatta flew from his boat as he flipped in turn one on the first lap of the race. Other than the high speed bath Scarlata would emerge unharmed. The one thing that pisses me off about this photo is it never got published anywhere, I will never understand that.

Back in 2007 I went to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where I covered the Pan American Games (think mini Olympics). While there I shot a considerable amount of Gymnastics. While it wasn’t a fun sport to shoot, I quickly learned that like any sport if you can find interesting backgrounds you can make anything look cool. While shooting the mens floor exercise I went to the top of the arena and shot wide to include the nice lines of the adjacent vault runway as Alexander Rodriguez Colon (PUR) was completely upside down in the corner of my frame. Simple shot made cool by nice lines.

Nikon D200, 80-200mm, 1250iso, f2.8, 1/800th, Manual

Back in 2006 in Charlotte I was covering Bill Elliott for a client. My job was to shoot as many different angles as I could of Elliott. Ok easy enough right? WRONG. On the first of the three day shoot Elliott got mad at me for “getting in his face” shooting him and stood less than a foot from my face yelling at me. (I have photographic proof!) After that I became gun shy and didn’t wanna get too close to him. It ended up working out for me as I shot him with a long lens from several feet back. The late afternoon sun was shining into his car illuminated his eye. I exposed for the highlights and the result was the below photo. You can just see the hatred in his eye as he stares me down. After that shot I got the hell outta there!

Nikon D200, 400mm, 200iso, f6.3, 1/320th, Aperture Priority

At the 2007 Summer X Games in LA, my star assistant Guy Rhodes and I decided to try a different approach to shooting atop the half pipe. We put my camera on a 12 foot pole and Guy held it high overhead while I fired it via pocket wizards. The shadow and the skateboarder at the bottom looking up really shows you how high in the air skateboarding superstar Shaun White was, below.

Nikon D200, 10.5-17mm, 100iso, f4, 1/1000th, Manual

In 2005, I shot from the top end of Pacific Raceways in Kent, WA during a nostalgia drag race. During top fuel qualifying long time racer Jack Harris suffered an engine explosion right at the finish line. While the fire was small by top fuel standards the blue car/parachutes coupled with the nice orange flames and clean background made for a money making shot.

During my last venture out to sea aboard the carrier before my honorable discharge, I wanted to produce some cool shots I hadn’t done before (since I probably will never get the chance again). One of the big rules on the flight deck at night is under no circumstance can you ever shoot with a flash which makes it difficult to get cool images in the nearly pitch black conditions during night time flight operations. To combat that I took a camera and tripod to the flight deck to mess around with some long exposure images. The below image was the result of a nearly 30 second exposure where I used the moon light to light the F/A-18 Super Hornet as it sat chained to the deck. The purple light streak is a colored flashlight of a crew member as he walked through my shot.

Nikon D200, 10.5, 1600iso, f2.8, 25 second exposure, Manual

In June of 2008 I was in Las Vegas to cover wrestling during the US Olympic Team Trials at the Thomas and Mack Center. Shooting at floor level led to terrible backgrounds so I hiked to the top of the arena to take advantage of the yellow mats the wrestlers competed on. It ended up being a good choice as I shot the below photo of T.C. Dantzler (red) as he was put in a headlock by Cheney Haight in their first of two fights in the greco roman 74kg class. While Dantzler looked to be in a precarious position, he would come back and win the fight thus securing him a spot in the Beijing Olympics.

Nikon D3, 600mm, 3200iso, f4, 1/800th, Manual

Sometimes hanging out just off the field can reward you with interesting photos. Below, Larry Fitzgerald walks alone through the tunnel to the field. I love how symmetrical the photo is with the lines all leading right to Fitzgerald, below. One day when he makes the hall of fame this photo will become even cooler.

Nikon D300, 14-24mm, 1000iso, f5, 1/80th, Manual

In 2004 when I was stationed in San Diego I would drive home to Phoenix nearly every weekend. On one trip home as I was driving along Interstate 8 I noticed smoke a few miles off the highway from a big wild fire. Since I love shooting everything I can I got off the highway and drove towards the smoke. I saw a police blockade so I grabbed two cameras from the backseat and placed them on my lap and BS’ed my way into the fire area. After parking on the side of the road I grabbed my gear and began hiking through the desert towards the fire. Along the way I was quickly stopped in my tracks when I walked through a bush and found myself three feet away from a pissed off rattlesnake. I wish I would have taken a photo of the large snake all coiled up shaking his rattle but forgive me for being a scared pansy fearing death! After being face to face with the snake he slithered away letting be stand there a few seconds shaking before getting back to hiking to the fire. The below photo was my favorite from the day with a congo line of firefighters making their way up a smoldering mountain to the front lines of the fire.

Nikon D2h, 17-35mm, 200iso, f4, 1/1000th, Manual

Just last year at a race in Las Vegas I found a great shooting position where sun light lit the edge of the cars producing a great rim light effect that if exposed properly would produce a completely black background with bright light glimmering on the sides of the cars. The only way to make it better was to have a couple superstars in the shot. Below 4 time champion Jeff Gordon leads 4 time champion Jimmie Johnson.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 100iso, f5.6, 1/1250th, Manual

At the 2008 Winter X Games I was on assignment for ESPN the Magazine where my only objective was to shoot a double truck worthy photo. The previous few years I had done crazy onboard cameras that yielded awesome photos so this year was gonna be tough to come up with something cool. While shooting a skiing event on the side of a mountain I noticed snowboarders periodically taking a jump on an adjacent course to my position. I had a few minutes before the next race on my course so I turned to the snowboard course and shot as Scotty Lago flew threw the air over a big jump, below. I remember after he flew by thinking I had seen something odd but I figured it was just in my head. Only after viewing the image on the back of the camera did I confirm that I had indeed just shot a snowboarder flying through the air as his pants were falling down. I remember turning to my buddy Guy Rhodes and proclaiming, “I got the double truck shot!” Sure enough its the photo the magazine ended up running the next week.

Nikon D3, 400mm, 100iso, f2.8, 1/2000th, Manual

Shooting all the major sporting events such as NFL, MLB and NBA is fun and seems to impress people but my favorite thing in the world to shoot is drag boat racing. While you will never see boat racing covered by the major media I can assure you that it is an amazing sport. Like most other motor sports some of the wildest moments are when things go wrong, and when they go wrong at 200mph it can produce the most insane looking images you can capture. Below, in 2008 during qualifying for the World Finals on Firebird Lake in Chandler, AZ, top fuel hydro driver James Ray suffered a high speed accident at the finish line, below. Ray suffered injuries but has since recovered. The photo ran in publications all around the world including as a two page spread in Sports Illustrated.

Nikon D3, 600mm, 320iso, f7.1, 1/2000th, Manual

When shooting sports its pretty common to show up as late as possible and essentially half ass the shoot. I am the first to admit that I do that quite often, however there are times where taking the extra time and effort to put in 100% can be quite rewarding. In 2009 while shooting a fair amount of Diamondbacks baseball I decided I really wanted to get a unique angle so with the help of Diamondbacks team photographer Jon Willey I was gained access to mount a camera on the roof of the stadium looking straight down on home plate. Below is the result of the time and effort. Home plate umpire Jim Reynolds looks on as Arizona Diamondbacks base runner Stephen Drew is tagged out by St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina in the ninth inning at Chase Field. It ended up running as a two page spread in ESPN the Magazine.

Nikon D3, 300mm, 2500iso, f4, 1/1000th, Aperture Priority

Below, in Quest Field sunlight hitting smoke from pre game pyrotechnics bathes the field with nice rays of light during the game between the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers. I like the photo because it has an old time look to it.

Nikon D2h, 12-24mm, 400iso, f5.6, 1/1600th, Manual

Earlier in 2009 I shot an off road truck race in Lake Elsinore, CA. I set up a few remotes during the weekend. One remote I set up near the bottom of a jump with the goal to get a truck flipping end over end in the spot. It didn’t happen so when I retrieved the remote I wasn’t expecting anything good on the camera, I was surprised to have the below photo with rocks and dirt flying from a truck that had landed sideways with two trucks flying through the air in the background. Happy accidents (not children) are always a pleasure!

Nikon D200, 12-24mm, 500iso, f6.3, 1/1250th, Manual

Back in 2004 during my overseas deployment on the aircraft carrier we crossed the equator. In what is a long standing tradition, the ship held a ceremony known as “Wog Day.” Essentially several hours of the day was spent by the equator crossing veterans hazing the first timers with various actions. While it was nowhere near as bad as it used to be (or so I’m told) it was still a pain in the ass to go through. After the exhausting ordeal the first thing I did was grab my camera and go up on deck to shoot other sailors going through the same harassment I had just finished. It produced some amazing photos. After posting them on my Sportsshooter page is when all the fun began. On a day off I received a frantic call from my superior officer demanding I remove the images ASAP. A few days later when I returned to the ship I was investigated and almost severely punished for releasing unauthorized images that showed the Navy in a bad light. They actually told me my images were as damaging as the Abu Ghraib prison torture photos. Yet a few months later when the ships cruise book (similar to a high school yearbook) was released it contained several of my photos from the ceremony. Hmmm. Below is one of my favorite images showing sailors laying on the rough flight deck as water containing fluorescent ink being dumped on them. Fun!

Nikon D2h, 12-24mm, 200iso, f8, 1/1000th, Manual

During the first day of competition in the 2008 Beijing Olympics I shot fencing for the first time. It was an interesting sport to shoot, however after about five minutes of shooting it got very boring. With several matches to go I decided to shoot some super slow shutter speed photos to try and produce something interesting. After about 200 completely garbage shots I got the below photo of Sofiya Velikaya (RUS), right, as she battled Sada Jacobson (USA) during the womens fencing individual sabre semi final at the Fencing Hall in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. What really made the photo cool in my opinion is everything is blurred except the face of Velikaya on the right.

Nikon D3, 80-200mm, 100iso, f10, 1/5th, Manual

At the 2006 Summer X Games in LA I went down low to try and incorporate the sun in my shot with a Moto-x rider flying through my shot. It was an easy shot to get once I got lined up. What I wasn’t expecting though was the perfectly placed helicopter flying in the background as rider Mike Mason did a backflip through the frame. It would have been a cool shot regardless but having the helicopter in the shot only made a cool shot that much cooler to me.

Nikon D2x, 17-35mm, 100iso, f6.3, 1/1000th, Manual

After missing over six months following knee surgery, Tiger Woods made his return in Tucson, AZ in the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship. On the practice day prior to the actual competition I woke up at 4am to get out to the course nice and early to shoot Tigers practice round. It ended up being totally worth it when I shot the below frame of him hitting out of a sand trap. I am by no means an expert on golf photography, I have only shot 7 days of golf in my entire life, but the shot is awesome due to the super low light going directly in his face, the perfectly clean background (a lake) and the flying sand and his eyes seemingly looking directly at me. The only way to have done the shot better would have been to set it up in a controlled environment. (even then I am not sure it could have looked much better)

Nikon D3, 600mm, 1000iso, f6.3, 1/4000th, Aperture Priority

During the 2008 Insight Bowl in Tempe, AZ I went atop the roof of Sun Devil Stadium to take advantage of the nice shadows on the field from the setting sun on the players. Below, Kansas Jayhawks quarterback Todd Reesing is trailed by his shadow as he throws a pass in the first quarter. By being up high not only was I able to get his shadow, I was also able to eliminate the sparsely filled grandstands.

Nikon D3, 600mm, 1000iso, f4, 1/5000th, Aperture Priority

At a NASCAR race in the Poconos of Long Pond, PA I noticed an oddly placed stop sign just on the outside of the track. It is there for when the wall is opened for crossing in and out of the track. With the sign plus a nice tree filled background I had to find a way to incorporate it in a shot. By getting down low and shooting with a slow shutter speed I produced the below frame of Nascar Nextel Cup Series driver Mark Martin and Brian Vickers as the streaked past the sign which makes for an interesting contrast.

Nikon D200, 80-200mm, 100iso, f7.1, 1/180th, Aperture Priority

Without a doubt my most published photo from my five years in the Navy is the below shot of the carrier cruising at 11pm off the coast of Alaska. I remember that day like it was yesterday. I was on the flight deck shooting flight operations when an officer came to me and said the captain was requesting my presence in an office. Uh oh, usually that is the kiss of death. Luckily for me when I got in there I was told they needed a photographer ASAP to go up in a helicopter to shoot some aerials of the ship with the snowcapped mountains in the background. Not caring that I wasn’t qualified to fly, I quickly said yes! A few minutes later I was in a Seahawk helicopter and away I went. I got numerous awesome photos during the 15 minute flight that you can see here but the below photo was the money shot of the day.

Nikon D2h, 17-35mm, 200iso, f2.8, 1/125th, Manual

At the conclusion of the 2008 Super Bowl while the world was watching the New York Giants celebrating their improbable victory over the undefeated New England Patriots I was frantically looking for any reaction shots of Patriots players leaving the field. I was shooting from an elevated position so there were very few good shots to be had with the hundreds of people on the field ruining all my shots. Much to my surprise I ended up spotting Patriots linebacker Junior Seau walking dejectedly off the field as confetti for the Giants fell on him. The below photo would be used as a full page photo in the Sporting News to lead a story about losers. Seriously!

Nikon D3, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 3200iso, f5.6, 1/500th, Manual

From losers we move on to winners, this time on the other side of the world in Beijing. The big story of the 2008 Summer Olympics was Michael Phelps and his march to immortality. My main assignment at the Olympics was covering all the gymnastic events so I didn’t get to cover much swimming. On one day I was given the option to cover a morning of swimming. Luckily for me the one day I got to cover it was the day where Phelps and teammates came from behind to win the gold in the Mens 4×100m freestyle relay final. All of Phelps other seven golds had him in the pool at the finish so it was tough to get a good celebration shot but for this one event he swam the middle leg of the race so for the celebration at the end he was standing poolside which gave a great view of Phelps as he want crazy in celebration. I hate the yellow pole behind him but with how crowded the pool deck was with judges, security and TV people, I am fine with the shot.

Nikon D3, 600mm, 3200iso, f4, 1/1000th, Manual

In 2006 at the Holiday Classic, a small go kart race in Glendale, AZ I was in the right place at the right time when racer Ryan Amigliore backed into the turn four wall and was thrown from the kart into a chain link catch fence. I was actually late on the crash so I will always wonder how much better earlier shots in the crash could have been. Oh well, I will take this and be happy.

Nikon D200, 400mm, 320iso, f7.1, 1/2000th, Aperture Priority

In 2008 as a lead up to me being the gymnastics photographer for the Olympics I was sent to San Jose, CA to cover the Pacific Rim Championships. I got several shots from the weekend I really liked but none as much as the below photo. At first glance when I looked at it on my computer screen I passed over it because it was a bit too abstract for me but after looking at it for a few moments I really liked everything going on in the photo. I just love the competitor on the right seemingly falling straight down from the rings. He is actually in the middle of doing a flip and landing on his feet.

Nikon D3, 80-200mm, 4000iso, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual

On top of the half pipe at the 2006 Summer X Games I was looking for something different from the norm so I threw an SB-800 flash onto my camera along with a fisheye lens. Shooting stop action with the flash yielded several average looking photos. Not happy with the results I put the flash into rear curtain mode (flash fires at end of shot instead of beginning) and slowed the shutter speed down to get some blur in the shot. I held the camera upside down and as skateboarder Andy MacDonald flew threw the air I shot a photo as I twisted the camera from upside down to right side up producing the below frame.

Nikon D200, 17-35mm, 500iso, f14, 1/20th, Manual with SB-800 Flash

In 2009 I was cage side to cover my first UFC fight. Before the night I had never even seen UFC on TV so it was a trial by fire as I had to quickly learn how to shoot the sport. I have to say that is without a doubt the toughest sport I have ever shot in my life. What makes it so tough is its next to impossible to use auto focus when shooting through the cage as the camera goes haywire trying to lock on focus. My favorite shot from the night ended up being the below photo where fighter BJ Penn takes a punch to the nose from Georges St-Pierre during the main bout of UFC 94 at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 3200iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

In 2002 I got my first professional digital camera, a Nikon D1. While by todays standards it very well may be the worst digital camera in history but back then it was the best camera out there. About a week after buying the camera I took it to a boat race in Augusta, GA where it quickly paid for itself when drag boat racer Charlie Wilkey crashed big time and was thrown like a rag doll through the air. Other than a few cuts and bruises Wilkey was fine. The photo ended up being my first ever ESPN the Magazine two page spread.

Nikon D1, 300mm, 200iso, f11, 1/500th, Shutter Priority

In 2007 at a NASCAR race in Fontana, CA that started in the day and ended at night I was in turn two on the outside of the track taking advantage of the awesome light on the cars. While most drivers had on dark visors there were a few who had already switched to their clear visors for the night time portion of the race. I remember noticing that you could clearly see the face of driver Dale Earnhardt Jr as he passed so I shot him the next few laps as he raced past my position at over 180mph. I was ecstatic to get the below shot of Dale Jr as he checked his review mirror. The photo ran as a two page spread in NASCAR Scene magazine.

Nikon D2x, 400mm, 400iso, f4, 1/800th, Aperture Priority

In 2003 I had a day off and went down to the Miramar Air Show near San Diego to shoot some photos. While I was a Navy photographer at the time I didn’t have a credential for the event so once again it was a matter of talking my way into the photo areas. Following a performance by the Blue Angels I laid down on the taxi way they were coming down and shot the below photo with the plane captains standing at parade rest as they awaited their aircraft to arrive to park. I shot the photo a few stops under exposed to produce the below silhouette that would run as a two page spread in All Hands magazine.

Nikon D1x, 300mm, 200iso, f8, 1/1600th, Manual

In 2006 I shot what I still consider the greatest football game I have ever seen, the National Championship game at the Rose Bowl between the USC Trojans and the Texas Longhorns. After running in the winning touchdown for the come from behind win, quarterback Vince Young climbed atop a table and began celebrating in a shower of confetti.

Nikon D2x, 12-24mm, 500iso, f7.1, 1/100th, Manual with SB-80 Flash

In 2008 I found myself in quite the precarious position as I was in a cherry picker about 20 feet directly above the finish line of a drag strip with cars racing below at over 260mph. It was an amazing angle to shoot from but I would be lying if I said it didn’t scare the living hell out of me. During nostalgia top fuel qualifying for the March Meet drag racer Mike McLennan suffered one of the biggest fires I have ever seen from that type of car. The massive fire combined with the incredibly unique angle gave me what will be a hard drag racing photo for me (or anyone else) to ever top. It ran as a two page spread in Car Craft magazine.

Nikon D3, 600mm, 400iso, f8, 1/1600th, Manual

At the 2007 Pan Am Games in Brazil I shot bicycle racing for the first time as riders raced on the high banks of the Velodromo in Rio de Janeiro. It was an interesting sport to shoot but the one thing I will always remember is the climb up some rickety 20 foot ladder with all my gear to some shaky scaffold which was marked as a “photo area.” Luckily the ladder didn’t break and I found a nice angle to do the below fisheye with a slow shutter speed to produce a blur of riders racing around the track.

Nikon D200, 10.5-17mm, 100iso, f7.1, 1/20th, Manual

Midway up the icy edge of the super pipe at the 2006 Winter X Games in Aspen, CO I set up to shoot the mens snowboarding competition. With a gorgeous sunset behind the course it was a no brainer to throw on a wide angle to incorporate the sunset in my shot. In the below photo I got very lucky and caught another photographers strobe firing which lit the flying snow behind the boarder making a nice frame for me.

Nikon D3, 14-24mm, 2000iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

On Thanksgiving in 2006 I found myself in downtown Detroit to shoot an NFL game between the Miami Dolphins against the Detroit Lions. While the matchup was nothing special the trip ended up being well worth the effort when after a halftime show with pyrotechnics left smoke on the field. Normally that is a very bad thing as it messes with the clarity of your photos but this time sunlight shining into Ford Field through the large windows produced rays of light shining onto the field. I spent most of the third quarter trying to get some good action in the foreground of my photo. Sadly the best action I was able to get in the shot was of Miami Dolphins punter Donnie Jones punting the ball away. While it wasn’t the greatest action in the world it still ended up being good enough to get me my first two page spread in Sports Illustrated. I still remember exactly where I was when I received the text from my friend Tyler Barrick giving me the good news.

Nikon D2x, 80-200mm, 200iso, f2.8, 1/640th, Manual

In February of 2009 during an off day while in town for NASCAR at Daytona a friend of mine offered to take me for a flight around Orlando in his airplane. I got the crazy idea to mount my brand new D700 on the tail of his aircraft. I figured he would instantly shoot the idea down but much to my surprise he said OK. After spending a few hours making a safe rig to securely mount the camera to the plane off we went. Even though the camera was tightly mounted to the aircraft we took it pretty easy during the flight flying at slow speeds the entire time. My favorite photo from the flight was the below shot as we made a bank turn over downtown Orlando. A few weeks after the flight I was contacted from an FAA investigator after another photographer had filed a complaint about the flight. Luckily for the pilot the investigation was dropped with no punishment taking place.

Nikon D700, 10.5-17mm, 200iso, f6.3, 1/125th, Aperture Priority

From flying planes we go to flying cars. In 2006 I made my first trip to the NASCAR mecca, Talladega. During a Busch Series race all hell broke loose when driver Tony Stewart spun out in front of me and physics took over as air got under his car and he did a backflip in the tri-oval. The below photo was my favorite of the sequence because its so odd to see a car completely inverted with zero damage to the car. Stewart was unharmed in the accident and would race the next day. The sequence of the crash would run as a double truck in Car Craft magazine.

Nikon D2x, 400mm, 320iso, f6.3, 1/640th, Aperture Priority

In 2003 while shooting night time flight operations on the flight deck of the USS John C. Stennis I took my camera on a tripod to the flight deck to see what I could come up with. When a plane would be on the catapult ready to take off the plane would go to full power and sit there for several seconds before the shooter in the bubble (below) would push the launch button. In the below photo as an F/18 Hornet sat on the catapult ready for launch it started to pop out bright orange flames from the exhaust. The bright flames plus the purpleish color cast from lights on the tower of the carrier produced a colorful photo.

Nikon D2h, 17-35mm, 200iso, f2.8, 6 second, Manual

At the 2006 Summer X Games I wanted to do something crazy to make an interesting photo. My idea was to clamp a remote camera on the handlebars of a freestyle Moto-X rider as he performed some trucks. With the help of my good friend Guy Rhodes we convinced rider Mike Mason to allow us to mount the remote camera on his bike during practice for the competition. The first minute on the course with the remote setup the super clamp snapped in half, luckily my friend Mike Isler who was hanging out with us had an extra one so we quickly changed out clamps and tried it again. While I got several cool photos the favorite one ended up being the below photo as Mason did a superman seat grab over a jump. The photo would end up running as a two page spread in ESPN the Magazine.

Nikon D200, 10.5mm, 500iso, f8, 1/750th, Aperture Priority

We end my favorite photos of the decade with what still ranks as one of my wildest crash shots in my 20 years of shooting. While covering a drag boat race on Mission Bay in San Diego I caught top alcohol hydro driver Greg Gilday crashing big time in the final round of the event. After catching air and flipping over backwards the boat shattered into thousands of pieces as he hit the water at 200mph. With boat crashes the water spray from a crash usually covers up most of the parts and pieces during the accident but in this case I was lucky and could see the hull of the boat breaking apart as well as the engine and the safety capsule containing the driver. In the crash the capsule lid wasn’t closed so it instant ripped off and on the ride side of the frame you can see Gildays arm and leg flying from the capsule. Gilday would suffer several injuries such as a broken leg, arm and neck  but would be back to normal after a long recuperation. The photo ran as a two page spread in ESPN the Magazine.

Nikon D1x, 300mm, 200iso, f5.6, 1/3000th, Aperture Priority

That concludes my favorite photos of the decade 2000-2009. Stay tuned for my best photos of 2010-2019!!

So on the first day of 2010 I present my final Best of 2009 blog. So without further adieu here are my best crash and burn images of 2009. Enjoy!

Below, ARCA RE/MAX Series driver J.R. Fitzpatrick slides on two wheels over as he crashes during the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona International Speedway.

Nikon D3, 600mm with 1.7 convertor (1000mm), 640iso, f6.7, 1/4000th, Aperture Priority

Below, ARCA RE/MAX Series driver Ryan Fischer (15) nearly flips over during a multi car accident in the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona International Speedway.

Nikon D3, 600mm with 1.7 convertor (1000mm), 1000iso, f6.7, 1/3200th, Aperture Priority

Below, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Brian Vickers (83) leads the field as Greg Biffle (16) and Dale Earnhardt Jr (88) spin during the Bud Shootout at Daytona International Speedway.

Nikon D3, 600mm, 5000iso, f4, 1/640th, Manual

Below, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver A.J. Allmendinger (44) drives through the middle as Kyle Busch (18), Denny Hamlin (11), Kasey Kahne (9), Jimmie Johnson (48) crash during the Bud Shootout at Daytona International Speedway.

Nikon D3, 600mm, 5000iso, f4, 1/640th, Manual

Below, you can actually see the soft wall bending at the moment NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Joey Logano hits the inside wall during the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

Nikon D3, 600mm with 1.7 convertor (1000mm), 1600iso, f6.7, 1/1600th , Aperture Priority

Below, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Joey Logano spins through the infield grass after crashing during the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

Nikon D700, 70-200mm, 640iso, f4.5, 1/800th, Aperture Priority

Below is a video of the crash.

Below, NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Michael McDowell drives in flames after blowing an engine during the Stater Bros 300 at Auto Club Speedway.

Nikon D3, 400mm, 3200iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

Here is a video of McDowells fiery ride.

Below, NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Kyle Busch (18) and Scott Speed (99) crash during the Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Nikon D3, 600mm with 1.7 convertor (1000mm), 800iso, f8, 1/2000th, Aperture Priority

Below, nostalgia top fuel dragster driver Dan Horan (right) goes airborne after crashing into Mike Chrisman during qualifying for the March Meet in Bakersfield, CA.

Nikon D3, 600mm, 640iso, f8, 1/3200th, Aperture Priority

Horan slides along the wall with a stuck throttle following the crash.

Nikon D3, 600mm, 640iso, f8, 1/3200th, Aperture Priority

Nostalgia funny car driver James Generalao exploded an engine during qualifying, below.

Nikon D3, 600mm, 800iso, f8, 1/1600th, Aperture Priority

One of my more exciting shots of the entire year would be shot by one of my remote controlled cameras. I had a few remote cameras set up on one lane, while I would use a handheld camera to shoot the other lane. During nostalgia funny car qualifying I shot the car in my lane as he went through the finish line. I put the camera down and noticed the other car had blown the body off. I was PISSED for missing it but much to my delight I checked the remote camera and got the below photo as driver Tom Padilla blows the body off his car after suffering an explosion.

Nikon D300, 80-200mm, 500iso, f8, 1/2500th, Aperture Priority

Below, the body from the funny car of Tom Padilla flies through the air following the explosion.

Nikon D3, 600mm, 400iso, f6.3, 1/2500th, Aperture Priority

To really appreciate how lucky my remote was as well as how ridiculously high the body of the car flew you MUST watch the below video clip.

Below, nostalgia top fuel driver Mike McLennan exploded an engine in a small fire during evening qualifying for the March Meet in Bakersfield.

Nikon D3, 600mm, 1600iso, f5.6, 1/1250th, Manual

Below, NHRA top alcohol funny car driver Ken Webster blows the body off his car during qualifying for the Summitracing.com Nationals at The Strip in Las Vegas.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 250iso, f7.1, 1/1250th, Aperture Priority

Below is a layout showing the full sequence of Websters spectacular explosion.

Later that same day during first round of eliminations in comp eliminator Peter Adams was racing against Justin Lamb. He red lit but evidently he didn’t see the light as he continued on the gas. He quickly got out of the groove and lost control, spinning around and going up on two wheels, below. Surprisingly Adams never touched the wall or flipped over.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 320iso, f5, 1/1000th, Aperture Priority

Below is the full sequence from the almost crash.

Below, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Mark Martin (5), Scott Riggs (36), Kevin Harvick (29), Jamie McMurray (26), Kasey Kahne (9), Jeff Gordon (24) and A.J. Allmendinger (44) crash during the Aarons 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Nikon D3, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 320iso, f8, 1/2500th, Aperture Priority

Shot with a remote camera set up nearly 3/4 of a mile from my shooting position, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson (48), Juan Pablo Montoya (42) and Bobby Labonte (96) crash during the Aarons 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Nikon D3, 400mm, 640iso, f13, 1/1000th, Aperture Priority

In what will most likely be one of the scariest crashes in NASCAR history, driver Carl Edwards (below) goes airborne on the last lap during the Aarons 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Nikon D3, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 500iso, f7.1, 1/800th, Aperture Priority

The actual impact of the crash sequence was garbage from my angle due to having WAAY too much lens. Don’t believe me? Look below.

After landing back on the ground Edwards destroyed car slid to a stop, below……..

Nikon D3, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 500iso, f7.1, 1/1600th, Aperture Priority

……where he quickly climbed from the car to run across the finish line.

Nikon D3, 600mm with 1.4 convertor (850mm), 500iso, f7.1, 1/2000th, Aperture Priority

Below, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers David Stremme (12), Jimmie Johnson (48) and Kasey Kahne (9) crash during the Russ Friedman 400 at the Richmond International Raceway.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1/640th, Manual

Indy Light driver Martin Plowman crashes during the Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, below.

Nikon D700, 400mm, 400iso, f5.6, 1/1600th, Aperture Priority

Unlimited lite driver Leroy Loerwald flips end over end during practice for a Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series event in Lake Elsinore, CA.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 320iso, f6.3, 1/1250th, Aperture Priority

Here is the sequence of the spectacular accident.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Busch (18) spins after contact with Tony Stewart (14) on the last lap during the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway, below.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 5000iso, f4, 1/500th, Manual

After the hard crash an uninjured Busch walks away from his completely destroyed car.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 5000iso, f4, 1/640th, Manual

Here is the video of the crash.

Below,  IHBA top fuel hydro driver Scotty Lumbert (right) loses control and crashes alongside John Haas during qualifying for the Augusta Southern Nationals on the Savannah River.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 500iso, f6.3, 1/3200th, Manual

NHRA funny car driver Robert Hight explodes an engine during qualifying for the Fram Autolite Nationals at Infineon Raceway, below.

Nikon D700, 400mm, 1250iso, f2.8, 1/500th, Manual

Below, flames trickle into the cockpit of NHRA top fuel dragster driver Cory McClenathans car after blowing an engine during qualifying for the Fram Autolite Nationals at Infineon Raceway.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 250iso, f6.3, 1/1600th, Manual

Below, pebbles fly from a sand pit alongside the course as NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Matthew Carter (61) spins off course during the Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International.

Nikon D700, 400mm, 400iso, f6.3, 1/2000th, Manual

Below, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Marcos Ambrose (47), Dale Earnhardt Jr (88), Reed Sorenson (43), Sam Hornish Jr (77) and Elliott Sadler (19) crash during the Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway.

Nikon D700, 400mm, 200iso, f4.5, 1/1600th, Aperture Priority

Below, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kurt Busch does a 200 mph lawnmower job as he slides through the infield grass during the Amp Energy 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 320iso, f7.1, 1/1600th, Aperture Priority

Below, sparks fly as NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Mark Martin slides on his roof after flipping over during the Amp Energy 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 800iso, f4, 1/2000th, Aperture Priority

Here is the full sequence of the massive crash.

Below is the video of the crash.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Robby Gordon (7), Jeff Gordon (24) and Scott Speed (82) crash during the Amp Energy 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway.

Nikon D700, 600mm, 800iso, f4, 1/1250th, Aperture Priority

That wraps up 2009’s best crashes and fires!