This year, a dream of mine came true: to be a part of the photography team for the Indy 500. One of the reasons I love photography so much, is that it give people in generations to come, a glimpse of the past. I love looking through antique shops and old photo albums and seeing photos. As a kid, and still now, I love to look up old racing photos from the Speedway. To know that I was able to contribute to that photo gallery means so much!
Being that close to all the action is something I can’t explain. Getting to stand at the turn one photo hole in the fence and being 5 feet from cars flying by you at 225+ mph is just the biggest thrill. So many iconic photos have been taken in the spots I took photos from. The key to taking a photo that has been taken a millions times before, is to take it with such a good story behind it, it makes it a whole new photo.
Being on pit lane during qualifications, is another indescribable thrill. The big story from this years bump day, was when the Juncos team knocked out Alonso from the field. I knew it would be a big story and so I zoned in on Kyle Kaiser. I found him sitting on the pit wall. He was all alone and was hiding behind his sunglasses. He knew he was about to make the qualification run of his life and I wanted to capture it. The photo says so much when he isn’t saying or doing anything at all. It was just him collecting his thoughts. (Image below.)
I can’t thank Chris Owens of IMS enough for the opportunity and am really looking forward to the 2020 month of May!
