My Life as a Photographer

I was up early this morning so I could make the drive down to Infineon.  From Healdsburg where I am staying, it is a beautiful drive through Sonoma on Highway 12.  I could take the quicker route on Highway 101 but I love driving the roads that wind through the vineyards.  It took about an hour and 20 minutes to get to the track.

After arriving at the track I walked the paddock looking for some friends I’ve met along my journey of shooting events, both photographers and competitors.  After catching up on old times for a bit it was off to shoot some of the action.

Most of the day was overcast with a few sprinkles in the afternoon.  It was also quite cold and breezy but hey I’m from Seattle so I should be used to that!  The sun did peek through the clouds for a bit in the afternoon but I really do prefer shooting in the overcast.  Much better lighting in my opinion.   With the diffused light I was pretty much able to shoot from anywhere on the course.

This event has relatively few spectators so I can pretty much drive to where I want to shoot from.  That is a luxury to be that close to the car which doesn’t happen at bigger events.

I got up at 7AM this morning.  I had packed most of my stuff last night so I didn’t have a whole lot to do before loading up my truck and heading out for the airport.  The traffic was very light on the drive to the airport and I arrived well ahead of my flight time.  I was also using a different company for parking on this trip so I needed to find their lot.  Thanks to the GPS on my iPhone I found it with no problem.  I was very surprised with how quickly I got through security this time too.  The last few flights I’ve had no problems at all.  I arrived at the gate an hour and a half early and settled in waiting for the flight.

I had a couple of new challenges when packing this time.  Because of a mandatory meeting for my “day job” that I need to attend this coming monday, I also needed to bring my work computer with me.  So I had to figure out how to pack and carry on two laptops.  I was able to put the Dell (work computer) in my photo backpack and my Macbook in the stretch pocket on my roller bag.  I also had to figure out how to pack my new belt component system, (it is going to get it’s initial tryout this weekend), because it really doesn’t lend itself to being a carry on item.  I was able to stuff the components on top of other gear in the roller bag.

It was a good flight.  It is becoming pretty routine for me since I have been doing my fair share of flying lately.  I arrived in Oakland in the early afternoon and picked up my rental car.  After leaving the airport I headed north toward the track.  I wanted to check in and get my credentials so I would be ready to go when I arrived at the track on Saturday morning.  After signing the waiver at the the gate, I headed to the media center and picked up my credentials.

I wanted to take a few shots of the practice sessions before heading north to my cousin’s house where I would be staying for the weekend.  This race is pretty low key so I was able to drive to turn 2 where I knew the lighting would be good for the afternoon.  Blue sky and sunshine today but the forecast for the rest of the weekend is for rain.  I shot for an hour or so and then packed up and headed north towards Healdsburg.

I’m looking forward to the weekend!