A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A WANNABE MOTORSPORT PHOTOGRAPHER
For the longest time, I’ve not called myself a professional photographer. I’ve changed my stance on that. But this year I’ve only done motorsport events and I have to say, I’m a complete beginner.
In this Day in the Life Vlog I showcased just one of the motorsport events I’ve worked at - Gridlife Chicagoland. This is the smallest Gridlife I’ve gone to. I normally attend Gridlife Midwest at Gingerman Raceway in South Haven, MI and that is by far the coolest experience for anyone who loves music and cars. Then I went to Gridlife Summer Apex in Elkhart Lake, WI at Road America for the first time ever. Road America is my favorite track experience to date (Sorry IMS).
I don’t aspire to be a professional motorsport photographer like Larry Chen or Jamey Price, but I do want to grow my skill in it because I love the photos I see from the motorsport creators. The low shutter speed look is just a different sensation.
Image shot on Sony A7IV with Sigma 70-200 f2.8 and PolarPro Everyday Filter - 194mm ; 1/10sec ; f/22 ; ISO 100
Not all my photos turn out this way though. Majority of them are blurry and not worth the time to edit them. Although sometimes I do keep a blurry one and edit it if it looks unique.
So in this video I show what being a motorsport photographer is like for me. I have no special connections, I don’t work for a team. I am just a dude with a camera out here having fun. Will I ever be a professional motorsport photographer? Likely not. Will I be recognized for my motorsport photography? I hope one day I get recognized for it, but in a good way. I tend to see professionals mock or talk down aspiring newbies like myself so I would rather not be recognized by them unless it’s in a good light.
That realm of photography in my niche seems to be more toxic than I would like and it’s nothing more than veterans of the skill being… well… not constructive to those who are trying to learn the ropes.
And that is only based on the few interactions I’ve had with only a handful of those people who do motorsport professionally. It’s not a knock to the general group of them. My personal take on being in the spotlight in anything is to empower people to do the same, not complain that more people are doing it or that people look up to you and want to be like you.
I like to empower people to learn a new skill. I’m not good at motorsport photography now, but I can be later. I believe that’s the case for anyone wanting to learn something new. So maybe the day when I am considered good enough I’ll get recognition for it, but until then I’d rather fly under the radar in motorsport.
If you want to see the full experience of my time at Gridlife Chicagoland, check out the video below.
