Just a race fan.....fan of all kinds of racing
Contact me at scca2k@yahoo.com

Thanks go out to Clifford Dove and Mark Kerns for their help in getting me started....also to Shaun Lawrence for the advise and endless help...Thanks to Jason Walls for answering the endless questions I have both on and off track....Also to all the PA Race Chaser on the Williams Grove Message Board....these are the best guys and gals around....and Thanks to all the Racers and Track Owners!

See ya at the track

Words of Wisdom by Mr. Gregg Obst
Some rules to live by for racing photographers. If you don't live by these rules you will surely die by your own stupidity.

1. Always know your surroundings. If you are shooting in a tight turn with a risk that a car could come in on you, have an escape route. It's a good idea when you go to a new track that you've never shot at to go a little early and walk the perimeter of the track and look for good places to shoot from and places to avoid because of safety concerns.

2. Never, ever, ever turn your back on the action. If a car comes in on you, watch the driver's eyes if you can see them. They will tell you what route he/she will shoot for to get by you. If you turn your back, you will surely get hurt.

3. If shooting at a smaller track that has four wheelers as push off vehicles, such as at a Micro Sprint track, these vehicles often like to park right behind where you are shooting, blocking off your escape route. Be sure you have a backup plan to deal with that.

4. It's OK to joke around and talk with the other photographers and friends but when the green flag drops, the bullsh*t stops. You have to be focused and on your toes.

5. Just because you are behind a barrier or guard rail, you are never safe. Just ask the folks that Hodnett landed on in the infield at Lincoln years back. Thankfully, Lincoln took proper measures to make everyone much safer but not every track has that forethought. Always know where you are and how to get out of there in the case that a car or a car part comes in at you.

6. Digital photography has brought us all some wonderful things but it has also made some folks very careless. Do not review your photos (AKA "Chimping") when there is action on the track. Save it for caution laps or when the action is on the opposite side of the track from you. All too often I see photographers lost in their own little world reviewing photos while the cars are dangerously close. These folks need to realize that the photos will look just as good whether they review them now or later when the coroner looks at the camera when they pick up your lifeless body. A quick look at a single photo to check exposure is one thing, but some people just lose all track of their surroundings looking at photo after photo.

7. Just because Aunt Mable bought you that shiny new Canon Digital Rebel for Christmas doesn't mean you are granted the authority to get in the way of the working press photographers who are there to do a job that they have been credentialed to do. We spend a lot of money and time perfecting our work and would appreciate a little elbow room. All too often you see someone who just bought a pit pass come out into an area they should not be in and then you end up worrying about their safety in addition to your own. Nobody likes to be a babysitter.

8. Don't do stupid sh*t. Stupid, careless young photographers don't get to grow up and be old, respected photographers. Don't become a statistic. You not only hurt yourself with stupidity but you also hurt those who are careful and have been trusted with special access to areas to shoot from.