Yes, Ryan Villopoto is #1 for a reason and he demonstrated it in dramatic fashion last Saturday in San Diego. After Chad Reed passed him with less than five laps to go, on the next to the last lap Villopoto turned on the afterburners and made an incredible pass on Reed to take the race lead and the checkered flag. It was absolutely the best race so far this season. Let’s hope there are some more awesome ones just like it!
Supercross comes back to San Diego for 2012! Should be some awesome racing and I will be there photographing the event. Look for me on the track and hanging at the pit party. Will the man from TwoTwo Motorsports Chad Reed make it a repeat? We shall see in two weeks!
Well, it was a mudfest! Bad weather made for an interesting main event in the 450cc class. Points leader Ryan Villopodo went down early and never recovered. K-Dub’s bike failed on him about halfway through the race. While James “Bubba” Stewart crashed while in second and gaining on the leader. In the end it was Chad Reed crossing the line in first. I went to the T
Chad Reed Wins!!!
AMA Pro Motocross is coming to San Diego!!! This will be their last stop in the points race for the 2010 championships. They have a new track at Pala Raceway and I pray this becomes an annual event. It will be my first time photographing motocross. I am hoping to get some great shots but since I have never been to this race track, who knows. Pre-race research and planning to get there bright and early to scout locations should help out. Can’t wait!
Recently I have been playing with the process of creating images using HDR (High Dynamic Range). This is where you take several shots at different exposure settings and combine them into a single image. Below is one of the skull mobile from Burning Man.
The Skull Car from Burning Man.
Last weekend I was lucky enough to get a media pass for the Coronado Speed Festival here in San Diego. For those that don’t know about this event, it’s held every September at Naval Station North Island on Coronado. Vintage race cars from the past 50 years race around a course layed out with cones on a portion of the airport. There are nine classes of cars ranging from the Historic Trans-Am series to the older NASCAR stock cars. I was surprised at how hard these guys were driving the cars! I guess when you get behind the wheel of one of these machines, the competitive juices really start flowing. I am a big fan of the American cars like the old mustangs and camaros as well as the stock cars. I saw a vintage Richard Petty car there and all the great memories of watching him dominate the sport as a youth came back to me. Another great event here in Southern California. Thanks to the Navy and Historic Motor Sports Association for making it all happen.
Jimmie Johnson's Lowes #48 Car
Wow, what a rush! Burning Man was just awesome. It was a long journey from San Diego but well worth it. I never saw so many topless women and bottomless men outside of the internet. People really express themselves and leave their inhibitions at home. Lots of great art projects, some terrible drinking parties (I mean this in a good way), and crazy dancing until the early morning. The dust was pretty bad, especially when the wind was blowing hard. Hope I can do it again some day.
Tomorrow I’m off to Burning Man 2009. For those not familiar with this event it is a massive arts & culture festival in Black Rock Nevada. It lasts a week and will be one non-stop party in the desert! It should also represent a great photographic opportunity. Hopefully I can survive the extreme heat.
Went with my brother to shoot the Indy Car/American Le Mans series at Mid-Ohio race track. I will say watching the cars from this close is super thrilling! Also, The noise from the engines rattles the eardrums! It was challenging photographing the cars as they zipped around the course. I would call my brother Gary an expert at this and he was kind of my coach for the day. I did get some great shots though and learned a great deal about shooting motor sports. What a ride!
Today I went to the San Diego County Fair for a little food tasting tour. Well if it can be deep fried they had it! Deep fried zucchini, deep fried snickers bars, deep fried twinkies, deep fried avocados, and deep fried smores were just some of what was on the menu. Also, they had hamburgers and hot dogs in the super duper size. Easily enough to feed 2 or 3 people. My ass got wider just looking at the stuff! My recommendation, if your going to eat it leave your car in the parking lot and walk home.
