The Sharpe Image

David Reutimann celebrates with his daughter after the race is called by NASCAR

All Right, let me get this out of the way right now……………..I have read several different articals basically taking something away from David Reutimann because he won this race due to a rain delay.  That’s Bullshit! David played by the rules of the game and won fair and square!  The other 13 drivers that were ahead of him and pited when the red flag was thrown for rain could have (and should have) elected to stay out and hold their position.  It is just that David’s team played the best move for them, and it just happened to be the best move for the “end game” of the race.  He won it fair and square…..no two ways about it. Not only did he win it, but he won it in a very spectacular, and very “smart” fashion.  Good going David………..job well done!

As far as this reaction shot to winning the race, the above shot is really nothing all that great.  NASCAR made all of us stand out in the rain for more than 2 and 1/2 hours before they called it.  And when they did finally call it, they would not let the MEDIA anywhere near David to get his reaction.  This shot was made AFTER we were allowed to run over to where David was standing.  His daughter had just gotten to him, and this was the resulting Image.

Thanks for looking,

Sam

(continue reading…)

Storm Clouds gather as the #18 MnMs Toyota is wheeled out for the Coke 600

I hate Rain Delays…..but as I took this, I knew that this race was not going to happen today.  Here are a couple of shots to show the incong storm.  I am getting ready to bug out as soon as I post two more inages……..C-ya

Jimmie Johnson waits as Storm Clouds gather before the Coca Cola 600

Teams fill their gas cans as Storm Clouds gather before the Coca Cola 600

That’s it……it’s called!  C-ya tomorrow.

Thanks,

Sam

Storm Clouds move in on Final Practice

The Storm Clouds moved in real quick on the final practice.  I really hated that, because when the light is nice in the afternoon at LOWES Motor Speedway, you can really get some dramatic, cool stuff.  I was running back to the MEDIA Center trying to beat the rain, and I happened to look up and see the leading edge of the storm cell heading over the speedway.  I was not really liking the idea of going out and getting a rain shot once the shower started, but I needed something to post up to show that rain was a factor in the final practice.  I really thought that this was a pretty dramatic shot, so I went with it………hey, it kept me dry, and it got the point accross!

Thanks for looking,

Sam

(continue reading…)

How about Stewart Haas Racing!  These guys are on fire……..I am looking for them to win The Coca Cola 600 this weekend.

Ryan Newman is back to his old ways of blistering Track Records and tearing up Pole Postions.  Look out for the Rocket Man!

Ryan Newman wins the Pole for the 2009 Coke 600

Now I realize that this shot is a real Advertisement for Windstream, but I had to do something to make it interesting.

I went out to shoot some running car shots in practice.  At LOWES, it is really best to get the cars from the outside.  I got the standard stuff of the cars coming at you, but then I tried to mix it up some making the car real loose in the fram.  I figured that this would be something different.  It leaves room for text, and the Art Director can crop in:

Brian Vickers and the #83 Red Bull Car in Practice

Ryan Newman and the #39 Chevrolet in practice

I really wanted to work on portraits today.  I am a big fan of natural light, I hate the flash.  I wanted something that really spoke to the light and the driver.  Here are some of my favorites from today:

Jeff Gordon and the #24 DuPont Chevrolet prepare to practice

Joey Lagano before practice

Kurt Busch prepares to practice

Kurt Busch prepares to practice

I also wanted to capture some moments during Qualifying of Important interactions of people.  Here is what I came up with that had good editorial content:

Ryan Newman talks with his Crew Chief Tony Gibson after Winning the Pole

Mark Martin and Team Owner Rick Hendrick talk after Mark's Qualifying run

This shot that I took of the #24 Car in the Garage was something that I thought was different.  It can be somewhat hard making people working on cars to look interesting, but I think that I did it here:

#24 Car during practice

I wish that it had people working under the hood, but I still like it for what it is.

Thanks for looking.  I will post up again Saturday after the Nationwide Race.

Sam

Tony Stewart wins the All-Star Race!

I was really glad to see this!  Tony has worked hard to achieve this Victory.  Now being a Team Owner, it has to been the sweetest victory of all.  I really wanted to be elevated more for this shot, but the way things turned out for me, I had to shoot it from the ground.  For the All-Star Race, we don’t get to use Victory Lane.  Sprint holds Victory Lane out on the Front Stretch of the Speedway, and we all have to run out to a tracktor trailer flatbed stage to get in position.  I did not run streight to the trailer……I was wanting to get a shot of the burn out if Tony did one.  He did do one, but the security guards would not let me get to where I needed to be to shoot it.  Such as life sometimes.  So I had to settle for shooting this from the ground.  I think that it turned out Ok.

This next shot turned out real well from the ground.  I like looking up at Tony………makes it seem larger and more dramatic than what it probably really was.

Tony Stewart wins the All-Star Race

The All-Star Race can be all about the pitstops, I really wanted to capture something different from what I normally get.  This is somewhat risky at a race like the All-Star because the race occurs so fast.  if you screw it up……well, you are screwed.  And I have a real tallant for screwing things up.  but here are some things that I came up with:

#24 Car in for a pit stop

#48 Car Pit Stop

#39 Car comes in for a Pit Stop

The shot of Kyle Busch and the #18 Car was pretty nice.  I really liked it because of the way the car was angled towards me in the pit stall:

#18 Car comes in for Pit Stop

The only real crash I got from the whole night was of Gordon and the #24 Car.  It really was nothing spectacular, but from an editorial point of view it was important.  Jeff Gordon is always a “player” when ever he is on the track, and anytime he crashes, it is big:

#24 Car crashes down the front stretch

#24 Car sits on the front stretch afetr being involved in a crash

Well that is about all I got that I thought was interesting.  Thanks for looking! 

Sam

Here I am at LOWES Motor Speedway for the Sprint All-Star Weekend.  I LOVE the All-Star Race and the Coke 600 weekend.  LOWES Motor Speedway is truly a beautiful track, full of opportunities for some really cool images.  Qualifying was not all that spectacular, Jimmie Johnson and his LOWES Team won the pole for the All-Star Race……..Imagine that, Jimmie winning at LOWES Motor Speedway!  The real excitment came from the Truck race.  Not really much of a race as races go, but boy, one hell of a crash.  As you can see, I cought the crash, but I just had too mush lens for the location of were I was.  Normally I am a believer in Big lenses, but sometimes they can come back to bite you.  Here it is:

Mike Skinner Truck Crash

As can be seen, I had too much lens for where I was.  The #5 Truck got airbourne, but I could not get it all in with the 300mm.  I did get it rolling over, but the above shot is really the shot.

Mike Skinner Truck Crash

Mike Skinner Truck Crash

It is not a bad crash sequence, but I am just sorry that I did not have my 70mm-200mm on my camera.  I guess that you live and learn.  Ron Hornaday Jr won the race, I was pleased with the Victory Lane Shot:

Ron Hornaday Jr wins at LOWES Motor Speedway

Here is the Burn Out shot that I posted to www.USPresswire.com

Ron Hornaday Jr does a Burn Out after winning ra

Like I said, Jimmie Johnson and his LOWES Team won the pole for the All-Star Race.  Since Qualifying for this race consists of 3 laps with a pit stop, the only way to really capture the event is to shoot the pit stop.  Here are some shots of the pit stops from the competition:

Jimmie Johnson and the #48 LOWES Team in Qualifying

Jimmie Johnson and the #48 LOWES Team in Qualifying

Here are some more…….pretty basic stuff, but it gets the job done for editorial:

Jeff Gordon Qualifys for the All-Star Race

Kyle Busch Qualifys for the All-Star race

Mark Martin Qualifys for the All-Star Race

I wanted to try and get some nice portraits.  Something different…..I don’t know if I succeeded, but I kike what I got:

Mark Martin. Practice for the All-Star Race

Joey Lagano during practice for the Showdown Race

Jeff Gordon gets ready for practice for the All-Star race

Tony Stewart in the rear view mirror. Practice for the All-Star Race

The following pictures are just some shots that I liked.  I was trying to do something different to capture the feeling of practice:

The Stewart Hass Team of Tony Stewart during practice for the All-Star Race

The #29 Shell Pennzoil Car through Tech

Joey Lagano during Showdown practice

I tried to leave room for text in the Lagano Shot. I imagined the text being placed in the bottom part of the shot.

Working on the #77 MOBIL Car

I really wanted to create a silhouette with this shot. Something to create a mood of working on the car that was different.

Thanks for looking.

Cheers,

Sam

Trike-A-Thon 2009

Well, what can I say……….sometimes you shoot things just for the fun of it, and to spread the “good word.”  These kids rode today so that other Tikes are never turned away from St. Judes Hospital for Children because of their Parents financial status in life.  What a Nobel Cause!  I had a blast, and so did the kids.  Watch out Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and Jimmie Johnson………..These kids are serious!

Please give to St. Judes Hospital for Children if you get a chance.  It really is a worthwhile cause.  No child should ever miss out on the fun of life due to a sicknees disease.

Enjoy the images!  I hope that I was able to capture the Spirit of the day!

Peace,

Sam

Trike-A-Thon 2009

Trike-A-Thon 2009

Trike-A-Thone 2009

Trike-A-Thon 2009

Trike-A-Thon 2009

Trike-A-Thon 2009

Trike-A-Thon 2009

Trike-A-Thon

Trike-A-Thon 2009

Trik-A-Thon 2009

Trike-A-Thon 2009

Trike-A-Thon 2009

Trike-A-Thon 2009

Trike-A-Thon 2009. My Son Nicko in the red Shirt

Trike-A-Thon 2009

Trike-A-Thon 2009

MArk Martin wins the Southern 500

I was very excited to head into the Southern 500……..I have always loved this race!  This is a race that is really “steeped” in tradition.  I can remember going to the race way back in the day, always a good time.  I was really pissed off when NASCAR took the original date in Labor Day and moved it out to California.  Somehow, the race lost some of it’s identity, just not the same.  Same thing happened when NASCAR repaved the surface of the track.  The track surface was just nothing but rough for years.  You had to pit for tires before you did for gas…….made things real interesting.  But after the track was repaved, tires could go the distance.  Changed the whole complextion of how the race was run.  Still, the Southern 500 is a good race.  It was good this year.  Mark Martin came from out of no where the last 25 laps to win it.  I am glad to see Mark win again.  He seems to be just as strong as ever at 50 years old.  I think that he will be a contender for the Championship this year.  Score one for the old guys!

Mark MArtin celebrates after winning the Southern 500

I really was hoping that Mark would do a real “burn out”  but he did not.  I was lucky to catch this image.  The pit road wall was coming up real fast in the frame as I shot this.  If you look in the bottom lest corner, you can see the roof of another car as it came down pit road.  I was lucky enough to be high enough to catch this and crop the other out.

MArk Martin in Victory Lane

This is about the best shot that I got from V/L.  Mark typically does not do a lot of celebration when he gets out of the car…………..and this time was no exception.  But he always does well with Champagne.  I thought that this was a good celebration shot to move fast on the wire service that I work with.  Not a stellar shot, but it gets the point across.

Ryan Newman and the #39 ARMY Chevrolet Pit

I really thought that Ryan Newman had a real chance of winning this race.  I went down to shoot his pit stop.  The really cool thing about Darlington is that you can get some amazing pit stop shots.  I thought that this one was nice.  I tried to make it really BIG in the frame…………a real “in your face” shot.

Matt Kenseth pits in the Southern 500

Here is Kenseth pitting early on in the race.  He has strong at the drop of the green flag.  Here again, I wanted that “in your face” feeling.  I wanted to capture and angle that you usually do not see.

Jeff Gordon pits during the Southern 500

Jeff Gordon got down a lap early in the race. He came in to pit for a cut down tire.  Like I said earlier, Darlington offers some amazing angles for pit stops.  I tried to take advantage of this.  I just wanted to show action with this other than the normal pit stop.  I thought that it did the trick.

Gordon fights to get his lap back

Jeff really fought to get his lap back.  At the time Greg Biffle was leading the race. Here you can see Gordon passing the Biff (car #16) to gain the lap back.  Gordon went on to finish in the top 10.

Joey Lagano runs in 2nd place. What a day for the rookie

I shot this trying to give a sense of what race it was.  I cought part of the track name on the wall behind Lagano.  This kid lead the race at one point!  Unheard of for a Rookie.  This kid is going to win Championships when he figures it all out.

Dale Earnhardt Jr Spins late in the race

Although the race was full of wrecks, it just seemed that I was where they were not happening for most of the night. But I did get Earnhardt Jr spinning down the front stretch.  Not the most spectacular of wrecks, but it got the job done for news and editorial services.  I wish that Dale was having a better year………..I have always been a fan of his.

Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed some of these images for Darlington.  If you want to see the whole race wrap, please go to www.TheSharpeImage.com.  The next event that I am shooting is my Son Nicko’s Trike-a-Thon!  What a site, a pack of 4 year olds racing trikes to raise money for St. Judes Hospital!  I bet that it will be more fun than the Daytona 500!

C-ya, Sam

I have always loved the Southern 500. Darlington is a track that is rich in History and always holds suprises towards the end of the race.  It really pissed me off when NASCAR took the date from the Labor Day Weekend, but I guess that is the way things work out.  When the race was held during the day, and before the track was resurfaced, the race was all about tires……the surface would just chew them up.  Made things interesting.  Today was hot and muggy, the kind of day that makes it hard to work.  Eventually, Matt Kenseth won the Pole for the Southern 500

Matt Kenseth. Qualifying for the Southern 500

The #17 Ford of Matt Kenseth after Qualifying

I really liked this shot of Dale Earnhardt JrJimmie Johnson also stuffed it into the wall on his Qualifying Lap.  Here is the Car After it was brought in to the Garage Area.

The #48 Crashes during Qualifying Lap Image 1

The #48 Car Crashes during Qualifying Lap Image 2

The #48 Car Crashes during Qualifying Lap Image 3

Jeff Gordon and the #24 NATIONAL GUARD Chevrolet ran 2nd on the field in Qualifying.  He was fast all Day.  I love this shot of the car diving away like a fighter jet

Working on the #24 Chevrolet during Practice

Look for Images from the Southern 500.

Sam

Kyle Busch during the Dodge Challenger 500 at Darlington Raceway

Kyle Busch wins the Coge Challenger 500 at Darlington Raceway in 2008

Kyle Busch races during the 2008 Dodge Challenger 500 at Darlington Raceway

Hi! My name is Sam Sharpe, and I am so glad you decided to stop my Blog. I have been a professional photographer for the past 17 years. My main focus has been Motorsports, but after some consideration to my career path ( and getting tired of eating in nasty, Late Night Diners across the Country 40 times a year) I have decided to open up my Photography to different kinds of Sports, as well as other forms of Photography around the profession. I have a true passion for Yacht Racing, and if look in the Nautical/Yacht Racing Section of my Site, you will see that I sell Full Color, Black and White, as well Artist Prints of my work. I feel that it is priced very reasonable, so please take a look if you are looking for something to decorate your wall. Look for Virtual Tours and Video Tours in the future. If you know of a Realtor or Commercial application that could use this service, please be sure to recommend me.

I will try not to make this blog boring, but rather as a log of what I am doing and the pictures that I am producing. It may not always be photography related, but I will try and always make it interesting!

I am off to Darlington tomorrow, May 8th for the Southern 500. Look for a post from there.
Cheers to all!
Sam