Talladega Afternoons

Even though the latest Sportsshooter newsletter says blogs are a waste of time and don't matter, there's one key positive reason that was left out of that article that keeps me going with my blog. Posting these entries is a great way for me to keep in touch with family and friends when I'm on the road shooting or stuck in a theater for weeks working on a light rig. The images featured here give people a visual reference for stories I may have shared from my experiences at work. And, in case you're wondering, this fairly new blog that doesn't matter has already resulted in contacts to me for work.

With that out of the way, I'd like to share some images from my first two days at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama, where I'm shooting my second NASCAR race this weekend with Mark J. "Death Wobble" Rebilas. Talladega is a slightly larger track than my first NASCAR experience in Daytona, Florida, but the atmosphere is quite a bit different. Daytona seems more corporate and polished, whereas Talladega is more rough-n-tumble, like the true fans' place to watch this sport.

The sun sets behind the grandstands during qualifying for the Remax 250 at Talladega Superspeedway. In case you're wondering why the banner sunset image at the top of my blog looks so different from this one, it's because that one was shot through a purple-tinted window in the media center.

We arrived Thursday evening in time to shoot the last of the qualifying for the Remax 250. I gambled with a few artsy shots, one that got me trash-talked about, but oh well. I like to try different things and get different views of a sport that's been shot thousands of times from the same angle - so sue me! We ended the day by taking a little tour of the track and shooting car haulers arriving for the big race on Sunday.

Driver Tim Mitchell during qualifying for the Remax 250.

The car hauler for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Sam Hornish Jr. enters the track at Talladega Superspeedway in preparations for the Amp Energy 500.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers practice for the Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Crew members of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Carl Edwards (99) work in the garage area during practice for the Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Today (Friday) we shot practice for the Amp Energy 500 (main event race which will be held on Sunday). I shot with every other photographer and they mamma for a few minutes in the garage area as the teams worked on their cars between practice laps, mainly just because I'd never been in the garage area before and wanted to see what it was all about. I quickly grew tired of seeing the same thing through my viewfinder that I've seen in countless NASCAR photos, so I decided to keep with my "trying different things" theme and switched things up.

Crew members of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jeff Burton (31) push his car past teammate Clint Bowyer (07) on the way to the garage area during practice for the Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

I mounted one of my Mark II's with a 15mm fisheye lens on a ball head atop my monopod, hooked up a Pocketwizard to trigger the camera, and launched what I referred to as the "stick cam." The stick cam allowed me to shoot the goings on in the garage angle from an elevated perspective. The angle was not so elevated to look odd, but was just high enough to give the photos a different view. The stick cam also allowed me to see the numbers on the tops of the cars, something I couldn't see in photos shot at ground level.

Me rocking the stick cam above Dale Earnhardt Junior's damaged car. (Photo by Mark J. Rebilas)

The view from up top.

The stick cam payoff came during the second round of practice after driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. blew a tire and crashed with other drivers in turn four. I was in the media room editing at the time, but I quickly grabbed the stick cam and rushed back out to the garage area to shoot Earnhardt's wrecked car being towed in off the track. When his car arrived, it was surrounded by race officials, team members, other media members, and curious gawkers. Having the stick cam allowed me to get over everyone who would have otherwise been in my way, and get a shot that was, again, unique to other views of the situation. One of these images ran in USA Today's Day In Sports online. People gave me crap for the pole camera, as with my artsy shots on day one, but taking a gamble and trying a unique perspective worked out.

My stick camera image that ran on USATODAY.com.

The pace car leads ARCA RE/MAX Series drivers through the tri-oval during the Remax 250 at Talladega Superspeedway.

After shooting the wrecked cars, we quickly regrouped and headed to our spots on the track for the evening race, the Remax 250. I planned on shooting the race between turns one and two, and on the way to my position (hiking nearly a mile from the media center through the campgrounds in the infield to reach this area), a major crash unfolded before my eyes (around 150 yards away). I couldn't believe that I was witnessing a crash with almost ten cars involved with my EYES instead of through a camera! I quickly grabbed my 400 off my shoulder and managed to get the tail end of the calamity.

ARCA RE/MAX Series driver Bobby Gerhart (5) goes high to avoid a crash including drivers Bryan Silas (11) and Alli Owens (12) during the Remax 250 at Talladega Superspeedway.

ARCA RE/MAX Series driver Scott Speed (2) during the Remax 250 at Talladega Superspeedway.

ARCA RE/MAX Series driver Justin Allgaier holds the trophy in victory lane after winning the Remax 250 at Talladega Superspeedway.

There were a few more crashes during the race, including a car that went vertical on its front bumper before coming back down on its wheels, but these incidents were all out of my view. After shooting the cookie-cutter victory lane shots, filing images in the media room, and trying to decipher a conversation going on in French a few workspaces down, Mark and I headed to Outback Steakhouse (I veto'ed a second day in a row at Chili's) for a dinner fit for anyone from Toronto, Wiscaansin, or Aspen (don't ask).