Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Shooting the Indy Grand Prix in Sonoma

Yeah, I know that there was a race this weekend, but hey, we were in Napa Valley, CA, so you have to have some wine tasting mixed in with the photography!

It's Sonoma in August and the grapes were ready for the picking and the wineries were staffing up for the big harvest. We went to an amazing winery called HALL Rutherford and the VIP tasting room was incredible, with the wines as tasty as the surroundings.

Oh yeah...back to the Indy race. I was there with the Target Race Team and they really made it a special day. This is the third year that I have had track photo credentials and I decided to key in on Dario Franchitti. Was it because he was in pole position? Was it the fact that he is married to Ashley Judd? Was it those dreamy eyes (according to my wife and every other woman at the race)? Maybe all of the above.

All I know is, I wish I had that hair!

I really like this shot because of the reflection of the race car in his glasses. It might be a little hard to see at this size, but trust me, at 21 Megapixels this rocks!

I love the intensity of this shot. Dario is getting settled into his car before the race and there I am, standing with a 100-400mm lens, in front of his car waiting for this shot. I have shot Danica Patrick and Scott Dixon in the past, so it was time to capture Dario's preparation for the race.

Then at 2:50pm the checkered flag came out and they took off, screaming around the first turn. As it turned out Dario took the lead and never let it go. From start to finish, he led the race. Pretty impressive. Please note that I have shot the Target drivers twice now and both times that I keyed in on them before the race they have taken the checkered flag. Lucky charm? Maybe so!

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