Photos from the Sonoma Raceway round of the 2023 SRO GT World Challenge America racing series.
I love racing, and nothing (well, I guess besides actually being the one to drive the cars) beats being trackside at a photo hole in the catch fence or behind the k-wall waiting for exotic race cars to storm right by you. It's been a hot minute that since I've photographed a professional racing series, and two years since my last visit to Sonoma for GT World Challenge America. Luckily, we were blessed again to have the race scheduled in the spring, and thanks to a uncomfortably rainy, well, rain season here in California, that meant the rolling hills of Sonoma were picturesque perfect. With deep green grass and wildflowers in every direction, this is the beauty of California that only appears a short time each year before the hot and dry summers.
What were some favorite cars of mine? It's hard to beat the flat-six and naturally aspirated wail of a Porsche 911 GT3 R. That said, the Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 is drop dead gorgeous on track, and wile normally ugly as a road car, the BMW M4 GT3 looks quite fantastic as a race car, with the livery on the Samantha Tan Racing STR38 Motorsports car looking especially epic.
Working for the legendary photographer Halston Pitman -halstonpitman.com - this was my first foray into capturing images for a multitude of the top professional racing teams and drivers in sports car racing. While it was grueling work, as expected, with 16 hour days including driving, and I was beyond exhausted each night, I can't wait for the next opportunity to capture one of my greatest loves. Motorsports are not just fast cars - it's so much more than that. Seeing the blood, sweat, and tears - all quite literally - poured into the effort of all trackside is as much an art as anything. Being able to combine passions for racing with that of photography to make an unprecedented and unexpected level of art is a dream come true. Looking over my photos now, I can take some pride in the work I was able to produce.