mmmm, I love shooting for the Cheers Dining insert of the Press-Telegram.  Every week I get to visit a new restaurant and photograph their popular dishes.  Tonight I am headed to Mr. V's in La Mirada.  My most recent shoot is in todays paper and it was Cafe Sevilla on Pine.  Such a cool Spanish atmosphere, nice date spot.  Photographing food is fun because you have creative control.  You really want a nice, sharp image that displays the food in the best possible light.  

UGh, I blinked for a second, or whatever my excuse, but didn't see the car hit the tires but still managed to snap quick enough to see the tires move.  Indy Lights car #22 came around turn one and lost control, hitting the tires on the side and breaking up as it continued past.
The back wheel was completely demolished and parts of the car laid on the course.

Track crews worked quickly to get the driver out of the car safely and move the car from the track so the race can continue at full speed.  They got it lifted on the tow truck and moved as Indy Lights cars speed by.  What a heart-racing job for the crews.

Ah, turn one, if you attend the Grand Prix or know anything about it, you know that turn one is usually an exciting turn.  I spent most of the morning there Sunday and the potential for a big crash was there but due to an excellent track crew, they were avoided.  (Darn)  In this shot the Indy Lights car 18 spun out and had to moved to avoid a collision and get back on track as other cars race right past it.

Toyota Grand Prix, Long Beach, April 17, 2010

Ah, what can I say, he's hot.  I spotted Patrick Dempsey in the crowd walking with his family.  I say him pass by and thought, that's a good shot but I thought twice about running to get in front of him and look like paparazzi.  To my luck, no one spotted him and he turned around for me, thanks Patrick.  He actually turned around to make sure his family was keeping up and I had my camera ready.  Definitely my favorite shot of the day.

Once I have shot all the cars at least once so I have the files, I love to play with the camera and try to get some good panning shots.  I could only stop down to about 160 and I was at ISO 100 but this shot of the winning car in the LeMans race came out pretty good.

This is the first time I was scheduled to shoot the winners circle at the Grand Prix, ah what an experience.  It was crowded and dragged on, or maybe for just this race.  But I love the shots of the winners spraying each other with Champagne, nice.

I love natural light, there is nothing better.  The Indy Lights crew were working on the cars preparing them for the big race tomorrow and I grabbed this shot as one of my features of the day.  

In the Pro/Celebrity race at the Toyota Grand Prix I staked out my spot at turn nine.  The turn was pretty quiet and may photographers left.  I hung out and caught this important turning point of the race where Brian Austin Green takes the inside and passes the leader Adrian Brody giving him First place. 

Check out more pics at www.traceyromanphotography.com

It's Friday at the Grand Prix in Long Beach,  though I started my day shooting the jog-a-thon at Gant Elementary.  It has been a long day in the sun and I still have tonight's concert.  I got here early so I decided to stake out my spot around turn nine and shoot the celebrity qualifying. On my way over I saw an Indy car that crashed previously being towed off the track, cool.  It never fails that if I go to turn one, the crash is by nine and vice-versa.  I was at nine and the crash was at one, of course.  I watched Christian Slater and Tony Hawk race by, shot some pics for my family to check out their favorite celebs.  My race was the World Challenge practice and sure enough the crash was at one.  But I got to see a spin out at nine that could have potentially turned into a really bad crash but the cars made it around him.  I know you shouldn't be wishing for a crash but come on, a lot of people don't come for the races, they come to see the crashes.  Here are a couple shots from today.

Spring Break

The beach had become my new hang out.  I use to despise the beach, it's hot, sticky, and my skin just burns.  Last year my son learned how to surf and now I find myself spending more and more time out in the sun.  Over Spring Break our friends invited us to join them out at San Elijo, just south of Carlsbad and camp on the beach.  What a great spot, my kids never wanted to leave.  These are some shots I got of my youngest enjoying the ocean.