Just wanted to throw up a little teaser before I get some sleep after a long day in the rain at Road Atlanta. I won’t give away anything for those who still haven’t emptied their DVRs, but needless to say it was quite a race this year. Check back on Monday for a full recap.

October is almost here, and my hometown team is a shoe-in for the play offs. I wanted to share this panoramic photograph that I took while visiting the stadium over the summer. It was constructed using 4 photographs taken with a Canon SD770 IS, then stitched in Photoshop CS3.

A part of me never thought I would like the new stadium, that I would always miss the narrow corridors and the extreme parking of the house that Ruth built. But in truth, the new stadium amazes in every way. I did one lap around the lower level just to take it all in, and I was staggered at how every seat looks like it is the best in the venue. Everybody wants to be right behind home plate, but in the old stadium the infield felt like it was miles away. Now all of the seats have a great view, including their own cupholders so you are not going to knock them over with your foot onto the guy infront of you during a home run cheer. It is just as mystifying, just as exciting, and a much more pleasant experience for all (including my mom). The more diverse array of food stands didn’t hurt either.

Hopefully the stadium will get to see its first World Series, to cap off its first year of life. October, bring it on!

The day before the big race, I had a little bit of time to kill after picking up my pass. I decided to head next door to check out the Indy Hall of Fame Museum. When I first thought of “hall of fame” something like the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY came to mind, with its seemingly endless statistics and trophies. As I walked towards the building a part of me wondered if I would just get bored trying to read hundreds of plaques next to grainy head shots. While there were plenty of plaques, the word “museum” was probably equally as important in this equation. The building was as much a house of art as was is one of praise. The cars were granted the center of attention, even more than the names that adorned the side of their cockpits. Baseballs and bats haven’t really changed in past 100 years, but the cars that raced at the famous brickyard certainly did. Read on to get a glimpse of just how much.

Continue reading Indy Hall of Fame Museum »

So you’ve seen the crash, and you’ve seen my view from the grandstands. But what about the other 198 laps of the race? Follow the jump to see some of my other favorite shots for this past year’s Indy 500.

Continue reading Best of the Rest from Indy »

Sometimes you’re just in the right place, at the right moment, and you see an event unfolding right before your eyes. It’s very surreal, and there’s this sense of awe that first wants to bubble up from inside you. If you let it come to the surface, it will already be too late, and that moment will be gone. The only thing to do is not think, shove the camera against your face and pull the trigger as fast as possible. After it is over, the sensation of “did that just happen” will return, and even more so if you’ve captured it on film.

Hit the jump to see the crash frame by frame as I did. I know there are lots of people out there who like seeing this sort of thing and think that it is cool, but I don’t want to downplay a serious situation. This was no small mishap, and Tony admitted in interviews afterwords that while he was able to get out of the car and walk away, he was pretty beat up. The fuel does catch fire in the last shot, but don’t worry, it only lasted a few seconds and did not enter the cockpit. Meira had it much worse later on…

Continue reading Tony Kanaan’s Crash At Indy »

I had a blast at this year’s Indianapolis 500, so much so that I’m at a loss for what to post first. I didn’t stay in my seat for very long since I was eager to explore the infield and see what other vantages I could capture the cars on track from, but I did get this panoramic view of the grid before the race.

I know I’ve been a little bit off the pace (pun intended) when it comes to posting on here, but I appreciate the loyal few who have been checking up on me. There’s plenty more to come in June as I’ve just finished working out a deal to cover the Formula Drift event next month from Wall Speedway in New Jersey. Before that however, I’m off to the Indy 500 tomorrow. I’ve never attended the race before, or any true IRL race for that matter, so I’m really psyched about it. Photos to follow next week from the journey.