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Zooming into the Light

Being in media has some really high highs - and some really low lows. I guess that's really like most jobs, though. It seems like everything was thrown at me this past week - so much so that I seriously considered not coming.

However, this is one of the biggest dreams that my husband has had. He grew up really close to this track and this is where he fell in love with IndyCar racing. 

Once he picked up photography, he had one of those dreams that's so big that you can't even really dream it - it's just an underlying, very, very small nudge that it would be wonderful if it ever happened.

His dream was to shoot an IndyCar race as a credentialed photographer. The hope that he could shoot a race at Mid-Ohio was barely a flicker of a dream. Then this year, when I was once again looking at ways we might be able to do it, an unexpected way fell in my lap.

Early in my writing career, I interviewed an IndyCar chaplain. I can't remember if I asked him or if he just told me about this up-and-coming racer named Sting Ray Robb. I made a note to contact him in the off-season and hopefully set up an interview the next year.

We were able to set up that interview as hoped. One aspect of the process stuck in my memory, even as I wrote and submitted that article and started filling my head with all of the information from other interviews, shoots, and jobs I work as a freelancer. 

He calls his mom his "momager." It's exactly like it sounds - she's his mom as well as his manager. I hit it off with his mom while setting up the interview and doing the follow-up stuff I do as a writer. It was one of those times that it was like we were friends, though we had barely talked.

Then the 2023 IndyCar season loomed. Sting Ray had placed 2nd in his class for the Indy Lights level in 2022 and got a seat on an IndyCar team for 2023. We were so excited for him - and for his "momager."

When it became time to start applying for credentials for the season - and for a particular race, the one at Mid-Ohio - I asked her if she knew of any other Christian drivers that she thought I might be able to cover. She said she didn't know of anyone, but that she had media passes available for this race that we could have. Unbelievable!

Our local track, Barber Motorsports Park, held its IndyCar race before this one. We had shot there twice before at this point, so we knew what to expect. After we got settled, we left the media center to go and say hey to Sting Ray and his "momager."

She surprised us by giving us VIP passes to their tent by their hauler. It was amazing! We were able to hang out and talk - and I got to shoot a lot of photos I wouldn't have been able to otherwise.

The below photo isn't of an IndyCar but it's Travis' favorite from all of the motorsports we've gotten to shoot - IndyCar, NASCAR, & SRO (all race cars) and MotoAmerica & WERA (motorcycle racing).

The image above isn't available to order, but we have many other gallery images available as custom prints, fulfilled by a professional lab, at https://NovelPhotos.Instaproofs.com.

If you have any questions, email NovelPhotos@yahoo.com.

If you don’t have time to order today, feel free to take a business card and order later using the middle QR code. The photos will be under “Trussville Library Gallery.”

If you have any questions, email us at NovelPhotos@yahoo.com.

If you want any hand-signed, get in touch with us before ordering. We can direct you to a gallery that doesn't have our digital signatures on them and we can work out what works best for you to get the signature you want.

To order a signed copy of Tracy’s book: Behind the Lens of a Storyteller – My Journey as a Photographer/Writer, go to https://NovelPhotos.instaproofs.com/BehindtheLens Note that shipping is included – be sure to use the coupon code “SHIPPINGINCLUDED.”

Do you need a highly experienced, budget-friendly photographer for your family or business?

 Go to https://NovelPhotos.com to see our work. Use the “Contact Us” page or email us at NovelPhotos@yahoo.com to find out how we can meet your photography needs.

 


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