Stay Calm: Plan for France

Me: dressed and ready

Another month in 2020 has gone by and the ARCA Menards Series has now run two races this season without my contributions as a photographer. Of course the series doesn't need me - I know there are lots of talented photographers around who can do the work. While it's not really surprising, it is disappointing. I love the work, I think I did a pretty good job and I was really hoping that my work as Chief Photographer for the series over the last five years would lead to more and bigger opportunities under NASCAR ownership this year. So far this year that hasn't happened but I remain hopeful that as the series starts to race in the Midwest, perhaps then I will get some opportunities.

Ron Drager and Jim France shake on the ARCA sale

When NASCAR announced at Talladega in 2018 that it would be acquiring ARCA, I suspected there would be plenty of changes. I've been listed on the ARCA website as Chief Photographer for the last couple of years but that will probably be changing too since it does not appear that I will be serving the series in that role. I was never a full time staff member anyway - my profession is teaching after all - and I know how changes naturally follow business acquisitions. The fact that this acquisition involved two racing series doesn't change the usual process of evaluating operations for duplication of services and seeking economies of scale to save money and create efficiencies. On top of that, inevitably new people get involved who have their own philosophies and often have their own people in mind that they plan to use.

I took this photo at LeMans in 2017 just before the start

All of that is just the nature of big business these days where oftentimes growth is achieved through acquisition. Having worked in real estate and utilities for 30 years prior to becoming a teacher, I understand how the acquisition process goes, which is why I can't get too upset about the prospect of not getting any, or maybe only getting a few, ARCA assignments for this season. As the saying goes, this could be one door closing so another one can open. "Endings come before beginnings", as I've also heard, so maybe this run had to end so that something new could begin. Life is all about change anyway and how we react to it. Many times in my adult life when something has ended, that ending has created space for something new to enter so that's why I'm at peace with the changes in my photography career. Beyond that, I already know I will be working two of the biggest races in the world this year - the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of LeMans - not exactly consolation prizes! So those two races are my primary targets now as well as finding other opportunities as a photographer. I am excited about the new Canon photographer matching service in which I've been approved to participate. I also expect I will work the 8-hour sports car race this October that is coming to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. While I may not have as many events on my calendar this year, I have some big ones!

The biggest issue right now that could effect my plans for this year is filling all the news reports: the coronavirus. A lot of the coverage seems to  me to be nothing more than click bait and hyped mass hysteria, especially on social media. When you've been through a cancer diagnosis and had part of a lung removed like I experienced last year, why worry about a bug when there are so many plans to make and so much life to be lived? I'm not going to worry or be scared, and I'm not changing anything I do except perhaps being a little more diligent about washing my hands. I leave for my trip to France and Greece in less than 3 months now and I'm confident this whole virus scare will be resolved by then. I have continued to make plans and reservations for flights, hotels and train travel. As I wrote in my last blog post, I am acting "as if" everything will work out. I am trying to trust the universe and I am not going to let the fear mongers win. In some ways, today's atmosphere doesn't seem that much different than after 9-11 when people were panicking about terrorism and it kept some from living their normal lives. It makes sense to take some reasonable precautions in today's world, but paralysis due to fear is out of the question. At least for me it is, but then maybe I'm being naive or just in denial.

"Doc", Rich and I at Salem in 2018

As for the ARCA Menards Series, I know it will continue and thrive under NASCAR ownership. I met a lot of great people during my time working with the series and made some great friends in the process. I am grateful for the help and support I always got from Doc Hunter and his dear wife JoAnn who passed away in December. I was fortunate to have other photographers like Rich Corbett to work with so we could expand the photo coverage for the series. The ARCA marketing staff with whom I worked closest are some of the best in the business as far as I'm concerned and I already miss Mark Gundrum asking me: "Did you have a big day?" I often wondered if Charlie Krall wrote until his fingers bled and I was glad he appreciated the work Rich and I did for the website so his stories could be released in a timely fashion. Casey Wagner jumped into Victory Lane responsibilities with aplomb and I always enjoyed his sense of humor. I can't forget George Mergen who first gave me the chance to do multiple races in 2014 and then subsequently moved on to greener pastures in his career that involved far less travel! Tom Legeman and Don Radebaugh are two other men from marketing with whom I worked closely and were always supportive but are now in different roles elsewhere in motorsports. I have to say thanks to Mike Hewer too, for calling me on the pre-race radio check even when he didn't need to! Thanks also to Grayling Call for the technical education and for approving my timesheets so I could get paid. Of course the man at the top was Ron Drager who deserves a special thanks:  Ron had the hardest job of all - keeping everyone together during the transition period when there were still a lot of unknowns.

In the flagstand at Pocono

There are so many other great people at ARCA I worked with whom I will miss dearly but it would be impossible to name them all: Rocky, Denise, Stu, Bobby T., the list goes on and on. Working more than 80 ARCA races as I did since 2013 has been fun and exciting, but it's the people I will miss the most. I can't begin to tell you how many drivers, team owners and public relations people I've spoken to over the years when they needed photos. I will definitely miss those interactions, the selfies in the flagstand, the lunches with other officials, and so many other moments. But I have my memories.

And most importantly, I got photos because that's what I do. Call me if you need some the next time you're headed to a race.

Act "As if..."

Sometimes it just takes faith and you get what you dream of. Sometimes you just have to act "as if" your plans are going to come to fruition and let the universe know that you believe.

When I use the royal "you" I really mean me as that's what I have to tell myself at times. Once I let the universe know that I believe, then I have to take action as though the outcome has already been determined, like the golden slipper I need to fit has already been made and I am just moving along the stream of life until I find it and slide my foot into it. I have plenty of examples in my life the last 15 years to prove this concept if I look for even a minute, but sometimes I forget to look or I don't understand what I'm seeing, as though my glasses are fogged.

Here it is February of 2020 and my racing assignments for this year are standing at just three events so far. Last year at this time, I was preparing to go to Daytona to shoot the ARCA Menards Series race. I planned on shooting the rest of the season schedule after my lung cancer surgery, plus the Indy 500 and Grand Prix of Indianapolis, so I knew I had 21 race events lined up to work for 2019. It promised to be one of the busiest years I'd ever had as a motorsports photographer, plus I had the added challenge of recovering from surgery, but I did it. I will be turning 63 this year and feeling close to 100% recovered. Now in 2020, it's a whole new ballgame at ARCA as different people are making the hiring decisions for the ARCA events and I have zero assignments booked for ARCA races so far. Maybe that will change, but I am going to act "as if" it will not and try to find some other outlets for my photography. The three races I know I will be doing include two of the biggest races in the world so I really can't complain: the Indy 500 and the 24 Hours of LeMans are the centerpieces of my 2020 motorsports season at this time. Heck I haven't even written a blog post this year prior to now as I was hoping I would have more to report on.

Last June I knew I would be going back to Europe this summer. I just knew. I didn't know how I was going to make it happen but I had faith it would. I knew there was a grant program for teachers through Lilly Endowment that might help make it a reality and even though three prior applications of mine had been rejected, I was confident I could put together a proposal that could get funded. So even before I submitted my application, I made lodging reservations for a couple of locations and pre-paid for one of them. The grant program application deadline was the Tuesday after Labor Day last year and I knew award announcements wouldn't be made until January of this year but I made those moves anyway. I acted "as if" my grant proposal had already been approved when I started making those reservations and I continued to act with faith that I would make it back overseas again.

Now I know that trip is a reality and it will go well beyond just shooting a race. The trip will center on work that will enhance my teaching and be spiritually renewing through the study of French and Greek mathematicians and Greek Revival architecture. I plan to visit locations where historically significant people in those fields worked, studied or created finished products in the physical world. I will create videos that attempt to reinforce the importance of their discoveries and show their ongoing relevance to our daily lives, even now some hundreds or even thousands of years later. I heard the question again yesterday from a student - a question that I will attempt to address through math history at locations where some of its most important ideas had their origins: "When I will I use this in my daily life?"

Once the trip begins in June, there will be no shortage of things to report on here and perhaps between now and then my racing schedule will expand. I don't have any control over that so I will continue to demonstrate faith in action and let the universe decide what comes next. Stay tuned!

I created these message images using photos I took and modified them with text in the Adobe Photoshop mobile app.

Life in the Rear View Mirror

"Mr. Photographer" at the racetrack

What a year this has been! I couldn't be happier that 2019 is almost over, and if you've been reading my blog this year, then you already know why. As 2019 comes to a close, I think back to twenty years ago today, when I was managing a sewer utility and watching the news with trepidation all day, waiting for the lights to go out as "Y2K" hit (what a scam that was BTW). My life has changed in so many ways since then. Today I am excited for the New Year to come because of what I believe lies ahead for me as a teacher and photographer!

I made it to Daytona and had surgery 10 days later

So now it's my turn to do a recap of the last 12 months. I am also going to provide a glimpse at a few favorites from the more than 50,000 photos I shot at races this season. Last year at this time, I was concerned I had lung cancer following a CT scan, and that diagnosis was confirmed January 4th. Thankfully the only treatment that was being recommended was surgery to remove the cancerous spot and the upper lobe of my right lung. My concern instantly shifted from uncertainty about cancer to whether or not my plans to shoot the first ARCA race of the season at Daytona in early February would be effected by the surgery. Thankfully the surgery was scheduled for after I got back from Daytona and I only missed three weeks at my teaching job and one ARCA race in March.

My "hole in the wall" shot means it's Salem

Getting back to "normal" was a challenge and my goals shifted to improving my breathing and my stamina and my racing photography helped me do that, starting with the next ARCA race near the end of April. I also had a deadline coming up in June to complete my "Hoosier Cemeteries" photo project under the grant I had received from the Indiana Arts Commission. While I was getting back to work and finding my feet again, my fiance was hit with her own cancer diagnosis, and we found out her brother also had cancer, so we had to deal with a trifecta of bad news the first quarter of 2019. Just before the Salem race, my fiance had breast cancer surgery and I was running back and forth between southern Indiana and Methodist Hospital in Indy the whole weekend.

Tommy Vigh, Jr. spun right at me at Talladega

Two weeks after Salem, I drove to Talladega for the next ARCA race event which started a string of ten straight weeks with racing to shoot. The Nashville ARCA race followed Dega, then the Indycar Grand Prix was the next weekend, followed by Indy 500 practice during the next week. A weekend in Toledo was next for ARCA and then on Wednesday I headed to Charlotte  for ARCA, driving back to Indy on Friday to shoot the Indy 500 on Sunday. The Thursday following the 500, I drove to Pocono for ARCA, then went to Michigan the following Thursday, then to Madison, Wisconsin the following weekend, then to Gateway near St. Louis the next weekend and finally to Chicagoland Speedway the next week to wrap up the month of June. I was feeling stronger but I was also exhausted having really only taken one day to relax with no commitments that entire ten weeks, as I was still teaching through the first week of June.

After one of my longest drives (to Elko , Minnesota) fans were great 

The first weekend in July, my fiance and I flew to Dallas to see her brother over the 4th of July holiday. When we got back my teaching job was resuming the very next day and then I had three more race weekends in a row in July: Elko, Minnesota for ARCA, then Iowa Speedway for Indycar and ARCA and then back to Pocono for ARCA for the second time in less than two months. August was a piece of cake by comparison as I only had one ARCA race (on the mile dirt track at Springfield, Illinois). Labor Day weekend ARCA had its second dirt track race of the year at the DuQuoin State Fair and I was finally feeling like I was able to catch my breath a little. I only had three more ARCA races to work between Labor Day and the end of October (Salem again, Lucas Oil Raceway and Kansas), and only one of those involved a long drive  (Kansas). That stretch brought my 2019 season to a close with a final tally of 19 ARCA races (out of 20 on the schedule) and three Indycar events.

The Indy 500 is always on my calendar - thanks Simon!

I put over 13,000 miles on my 2015 Honda Civic Si and had six race trips of more than 1000 miles, three of which were over 1300 mile round trips. I had flown to Daytona in February or my mileage total would have been even higher! I did all but one drive solo and the only time I had company was on the DuQuoin weekend when my brother went with me to help cover the race and that trip was only 535 miles! All of that driving and 21 of the race events occurred over the 27 weeks between the first Salem race in April and the season finale in October at Kansas. It was a grind but I loved it all - except for that moment in Shelby, North Carolina in May where I met one of the City's finest while passing through.

See you in June

I had another CT scan in September so I continue to be cancer free and don't have any other follow up scheduled until the next CT scan this coming March. I do not know what 2020 will be like but it has to be better physically than this year. I know I am going back to LeMans in June 2020 but I do not have any ARCA race assignments yet, mainly because new people are involved in the decision making since it will be the first year under full NASCAR control of the series. I know there is a new website in the works for ARCA and I am comfortable with the contribution I made this year to photography for the series. I did everything in my power to be in a position to be considered for future work so I trust that will pay off at some point. When it does, you can bet I'll be writing about it here, so stay tuned.

That's my life in the rear view mirror so the only thing left to do is show you some of my favorite photos from this season. What drove me this year was just getting to the next race. My body was tested but my faith never wavered so I greet the new year with renewed energy and commitment to my goals. Godspeed everyone. Be safe and have a prosperous 2020!

Gotta start them young like this fan at Toledo Speedway!

Where else but Pocono?

The future of racing is here: Ty Gibbs (left), Michael Self and Carson Hocevar (right)

Weather was often an issue this season.

Charlotte with "Big Willie"

Ty Gibbs 

Travis Braden has his game face on.

Indycar under the lights at little Iowa Speedway is always spectacular.

Race fans come in all shapes, sizes and ages.

 

ARCA races on dirt tracks twice every season; this is Springfield from the groundhog's view.

Shooting from the flagstand is always a thrill and Daytona was one of the best!

Grabbing private moments like this with ARCA rookie driver Tim Richmond makes it even more fun.

Getting dirty again.

Future flagman gives the green to the ARCA field.

Ty Majeski was ARCA's hottest driver during the middle of the year.

You see all kinds of people at the races!

I always look forward to throwback weekend at Salem Speedway.

Hailie Deegan was popular with fans every time she raced this season.

Christian Eckes got the guitar trophy this year at Nashville.

ARCA Veteran Bobby Gerhart is still fast whenever he races.

Waiting is the hardest part, right Christian?

Rain brought out the checkers at Toledo for Chandler Smith.

Christian Eckes won at Kansas and clinched the season title in the final race.

Christian Eckes (left) and teammate Michael Self fought for the ARCA driver's championship all season.

Sunrise on a race weekend is something we catch a lot to start long days.

NASCAR executive Mike Helton (left) conferred with ARCA President Ron Drager often this year.

Will Power at Iowa Speedway

Kids making their mark at the racetrack is a common sight.

Travis Braden sparks on the front stretch at Gateway.

Short track racing is a staple of  the ARCA Menards Series.

Carson Hocevar's eyes tell the story .

The trophy at Gateway was almost bigger than winner Ty Gibbs.

Simon Pagenaud swept the month of May at Indianapolis.

ARCA Awards Banquet Ends 2019 Season

Your 2019 ARCA Menards Series champion: Christian Eckes

Two weekends ago, the annual awards banquet for the ARCA Menards Series was held in Indianapolis in conjunction with the Performance Racing Industry trade show and I was fortunate to photograph all the festivities again this year. It's a black tie formal event and it was my seventh consecutive time shooting the event. It's so odd to see all the race personnel in their tuxedos and fancy dresses - I found myself struggling to remember the names of people because they all seemed so out of context. It's a very different kind of photography than working a race but it still comes down to the same basics: working with the available light. Color temperature is the biggest challenge to address for shots where people are on stage speaking or accepting awards.

Cathy and "Big Bill" Venturini team cars dominated the 2019 season

I do not like using flash in these situations for a couple of reasons. I was encouraged a few years ago by a photographer I respect to use available light whenever possible so I have become somewhat of a snob about it. Crank up the ISO and let it be a little underexposed if needed! Using flash on camera is inherently a little unnatural but if I had access to strobes and remote lighting, you can bet I would be using it. For an event like the banquet, however, I don't want big background shadows which you almost always get when you blast a flash straight at your subject. The other issue for me while shooting the banquet is I don't want the flash to be disruptive. When people are making acceptance speeches, I want the speaker to be featured and not have the audience distracted by a big flash pop so working with low light is a must. Most of the banquet I shot at 1600 ISO, 1/250th f4 which has other benefits. Shooting at f4 with my 70-200 is essentially shooting wide open and the lens has a nice soft bokeh so the subject is isolated in the foreground with a softer background behind them.

ARCA President Ron Drager (left) with team owner Wayne Peterson 

For the most part I don't care about shooting at high aperture settings as I learned a long time ago that depth of field is great for landscapes but not for sports and most other shooting. In 1987, I was shooting a boxing match for the Indianapolis Star during the Pan Am games in Indy and a photographer told me depth of field won't matter if you're not in focus, so I've tried to take that to heart ever since then. Even for the reception before the banquet, I didn't stray much from my available light settings as I tried to add just enough flash to illuminate the party goers without the exposure ending up too bright and seeming unnatural. I had another photographer tell me when I first started shooting digital to set the camera a third to a half stop underexposed all the time in order to add saturation and that's another little tidbit that has served me well for many years.

I made sure I got a selfie with  runner-up Michael Self  (center) and  Christian (right)

Before the banquet we got a sneak peak preview of some of the website design changes that will be implemented in early 2020 for the ARCA Menards Series now that NASCAR will be in full control and I am even more excited about supporting the series at the races next season! I don't yet know which races I will be assigned to work or exactly what my role will be so I am looking forward to sorting out those details early in the new year. The traditional first race of the 2020 season is at Daytona  February 8th and it will be here before you know it. In the meantime, I am looking for clients to support at LeMans next June and anxious to finalize my 2020 photography plans overall, which could include the St. Petersburg Indycar weekend for the first time!

To the victor go the spoils

So if you need photos, then I'm you're guy: I always bring back pictures. I don't mean to sound like I'm bragging but that has been my history so I am confident in what I can do at the racetrack. My dad used to always tell me it's not bragging if you can do it, and I believe I'm past the point as a photographer where I need to prove myself. In my next blog post, most likely my last one for this year, I will show you what I mean about always bringing back pictures. I will showcase a selection of my favorite photos from the 21 race events I worked in 2019. Thanks for staying with me this year!

The Top 10 finishers in the 2019 ARCA Menards Series

Ron Drager (left), Billy Venturini and his wife Emily look on as driver's champion Christian Eckes receives an award

Nic Moncher shows off a previous ARCA championship ring in front of the white screen backdrop we used for portraits.

Tommy Vigh (right) took home Rookie of the Year honors