Chili Bowl 2010 Revelations

In 2010 I was introduced to the Chili Bowl. I think it was love at first sight. Hundreds of race cars. A ton of action packed on track moments. Two tons of drunkin' packed off track moments. And this huge, strapping, golden, young chap with a Snow White sort of gentleness ('cause the birds liked to perch themselves on his shoulders) welcoming you at the front door. What was not to love?

It was exciting. All of it was exciting. Well... all of it except this one scary part...

How was I possibly going to hold up in an infield full of veteran and legendary motorsport photographers? I felt like a puddle splasher ready to take on an ocean swim.

I was SCURRRRD!

But as I was getting ready to take my first few shots with the camera, from out of nowhere it seemed, a voice popped into my head and said, "They're not you." It was simple. Logical. Undeniably true. Yet, extremely confusing as to why I would be thinking this thought moments before I was surely about to magnify my inadequacies as a self proclaimed motorsport photographer. "Yes," I thought to myself. "They're not me, they're better than me."

I took a series of shots with my camera, then examined the display screen to see how I had fared. Grrrr. Failure. Indoor lighting was proving to be a pain in my ass. I made a few adjustments and took another series of shots. Double grrrrr. I felt the frustration and debilitating self defeat settling in. "You can't give the ASCS a CD full of crap," I scolded myself. I looked around at the other photographers with their giant satellite dish flashes shooting away, imagining the beautiful CDs of pictures they'd be submitting to their media connections of choice. My heart sank. I was just a puddle splasher, and I was drowning in the Chili Bowl ocean.

Softly, beneath the sounds of the roaring cars, I heard it again. "They're not you."

I gently picked up my camera and looked through the viewer. I thought to myself, "They're not me. Which means, no one will ever see what I see unless I'm able to catch it right....... NOW."

CLICK - CLICK - CLICK.

Partial success. I made a few more adjustments, and before I knew it, I was taking pictures that might actually make it to my laptop (I delete hundreds of pics on the camera before they ever see a computer... I'm so anal).

"They're not you." It was repeated in my head the entire week. I repeated it when I was taking pictures, and I even repeated it when I caught myself unfairly comparing myself to the teenie tiny Rockstar girls (unfair only 'cause I'm old enough to be their mother... haha!!).

Do note that the quote "They're not you" is not an ego thing at all. I wasn't at all implying my photos were better than anyone else's. I was merely reminding myself that my photos had a unique style of their own. A unique style because no one else can be me, so no one else can genuinely duplicate my experience from behind the lens. It's an area of photography (motorsport photography in particular) that completely fascinates me. It always amazes me how so many photographers can be taking pictures of generally the same thing, yet each photographer produces images that have an exclusively different feel or energy.

And in regards to the Rockstar girls, I wasn't implying I was prettier or sexier than they were, I was just reminding myself that I had a beauty and sexiness that was different than theirs. An essence if you will. Granted, you'd have to fish far below skin deep to find it... haha... but it's there, and it's a beauty and sexiness that only I hold the keys to.

The week turned out to be a valuable life lesson for me, encouraging me to stop ranking myself among my peers and just start uninhibitedly being myself in this thing called life. 'Cause once you realize there's this part of you in which no one can fill your shoes, the world starts to open up and opportunities allowing you to share your unique essence begin to unfold.

Things are starting to unfold for me. And with a little luck, the world may one day know everything I'm capable of offering it. 'Cause... no one can be me. :)

Here's my photos from Chili Bowl 2010. There's definitely some things I'd change (like a little more flash power to make the wheels look like they're spinning), but they turned out ok for my first try:

Monday through Friday Pics

Saturday's A-Main Driver Pics

Saturday's Pics

Once in a Blue Moon

I've always hated New Years Eve. High expectations have always resulted in dismal results. Not to mention the crowds are large, traffic is terrible and food/beverage establishments seem to offer up their "special priced" menus just for the night. So for the last several years, I've just opted to stay home with a good movie and pair of flannel pajamas.

But at about 10pm on December 31, 2009, I had this wild-hair-in-the-ass-crazy-idea that it would be fun to go take pictures of Seattle, the fireworks at the Space Needle and this crazy Blue Moon phenomenon that apparently rarely happens (especially on New Year's Eve). It was destiny, right? I had no choice but to just follow my instinct and see where it wanted to take me!

So I packed up all my crap and headed out to Seattle. I was a little nervous at first venturing out to the dark Seattle streets... alone... with a fairly expensive camera. Those images of getting mugged are always so pleasant. And yes, I do everything alone nowadays. I'm at the age where all my friends are married with kids. It has become a "be comfortable spending time with yourself or die" situation. For the most part, I'm totally comfortable hangin' with just me. There's a lot of peace to be had in that relationship. :)

So I get to this really great spot on Alki, which overlooks the city, and walk along the waterfront looking for the perfect spot to set up my tripod. Not that there's really a perfect spot or anything... it just gives the appearance to others that you actually know what you're doing. And I... had absolutely no clue what I was doing. I had never taken pictures of a city at night before. In fact, I'd never even used my tripod before. On top of that, I've never even read the instruction booklet on my camera before... so I had no idea what any of the buttons did or didn't do.

I took a ton of shots purely out of experimentation. It was through this experimentation process that I learned ferries are not nearly as fun to pan as sprint cars are. In any case, I slowly started to figure out which settings were better than others to get the shots I desired.

As the clocked ticked closer to midnight, more and more people started to arrive for the view. It's kinda fun being the loner with the camera... 'cause you're the one people ask to take their picture in front of the cityscape. I was the person that took that ONE picture a couple would have of their night together where BOTH of 'em were in the same picture. :)

So I had my camera set up and aimed at the Space Needle, ready for the fireworks... when in the most classic Seattle sort of way... it starts to pour at 11:30pm. I can't even see the Space Needle through the rain. F-My-Life.

It's funny though, as I was standing there under my umbrella looking at city lights barely illuminating through a hazy curtain of gray... I just smiled. I had forced myself out of my pajamas and dragged myself into the night to get a picture I now wasn't going to be able to shoot. Not to mention this Blue Moon people spoke of was hidden up in the sky somewhere behind the clouds. That's my destiny at it's finest.

Shivering cold and soaked to the bone, I just continued to smile. It was like I had a giggle in my heart. I thought to myself, "Maybe destiny isn't always in plain site. Maybe it's there waiting behind a curtain of darkness. Maybe your chances for greatness are only offered to you once in a Blue Moon. Whatever the case may be, maybe it's best to act on intuition and instinct... 'cause destiny calls to you in a way your five senses can't "see." And maybe it's that instinct/intuition that has you aimed and focused towards the darkness where there appears to be nothing. 'Cause maybe... just maybe... your once in a Blue Moon opportunity is there waiting for you in the darkness. Just because you can't see the moon in the sky... it doesn't mean it's not there."

At 11:55pm... like magic... the sky opened up... the moon peaked through the clouds... and the Space Needle became clear as can be.

"Aim, focus, and keep shooting till life gives you the image you want." ~Stacy Verrall

I think 2010 is gonna be a good year. Happy New Year everyone!

The Space Needle at 11:30pm:


The Space Needle at Midnight: