Popular Wheelie ....

Another awesome day of tire smoke and hard launches was had at Brainerd Optimist Dragstrip on Dec. 8th 2012. A special event held in memory of Johnny Walker (Brainerds burnout man) due to the tragic accident that happened Nov. 3rd that took his life. The event titled " Stocking of Love / Johnny Walker Memorial" brought in fellow friends and family , all to do what Johnny loved....RACE ! Each and every burnout had a lil more meaning this time around and I was glad to be able to capture this great event for Johnny and his fellow buddies. RIP Johnny Walker , you are missed.

As the day went on and rubber was laid , people in the bleachers lay witness to many wheel stands and high mph passes . But eye's would focus hard each time Glenn McCary spooled his twin turbo Nova on the line. I had my camera mounted GoPro ready each time ! One of the passes gave me (for the 2nd time lol) a sudden POP and flame out the exhaust right beside me...don't get me wrong , I loved it , such a rush of excitement , keeps me on my toes haha . Posted in this blog is his pass where he hooked really good and showed off his oil pan till about half track !  

As a final note , make sure to check out the gallery . In memory of Johnny , Rickey Barnes made one awesome sign "Johnny Walker Blvd" and it now is permanently standing to the side of the track near where he used to do his thing ! Very cool , props to Rickey , Brainerd and crew . 

Gallery of Photo's and Video's ... http://www.colephoto.net/johnnywalkerrace

DFT 11

This past Saturday was the scene of mean street machines to twin turbo brute power. With crowds of spectators and lines of racers in the staging lanes the 11th Draggin' for Toy's was underway at Brainerd Dragstrip in Ringgold,Ga . A very popular event where proceeds go to T.C Thompson Children's Hospital and toy's brought by everyone going to local charity. One of my favorite events of the year , which always brings out mild to wild rides that puts spectators on their feet.

A well organized show with plenty of classes to choose from if you decide to put your wheels on the 1/8 mile track . Spectators in the bleachers and along the fence watched all day as hot rods to imports would rip the strip and push their machines to the limit. From a wheel toting VW Beetle to Glenn McCary spoolin' his twin turbo Nova and popping flames ! The action stayed rolling all day long ,  with two wheel action in the bike classes ranging from stretched Gsxr'ers to a turbo'd Busa  which had some of the regular throttle twisters such as Jamie "Hotrod" Millholland , Brandon Anderson , Jason Davis , Bud Calhoun , Robert "Slo Rob" Reyes and not to mention Chuck Welch from KickStand Up. 

But as most have heard , I regret to say we all lost a great friend on this day. A tragic accident took the life of Johnny Walker , that cool fella in the burnout box that always made sure those tires were ready for the next 1/8 mile pass . It's a hard time for the racing community , friends and family all together. But from all the post I've seen on Facebook and forums I know each and every burnout on that track will be in his name ! Johnny will be there...just above us from now on... so send that tire smoke up !
R.I.P Johnny Walker 1959-2012

To view all 2012 coverage at Brainerd and the DFT 11 event click below
http://www.colephoto.net/brainerd2012

DFT 11 Upcoming

One cool event not to miss ! Here's a copy/paste from the event page .

DFT 11 !!! This Saturday at Brainerd Dragstrip . Read below for more info.............

This is Draggin' For Toys’ 11th year!!! DFT is a charity race which raises money to support T.C. Thompson’s Children's Hospital. The toys will be given to Providence Ministries, who provides these toys to children on Christmas day who may not have a Christmas otherwise.

The race takes place November 3rd, 2012 at Brainerd Optimist Drag Strip. (745 Scruggs Rd, Ringgold, GA 30736).

Gates open at 9 AM. Tech is 9:30 AM - 12 PM. Racing starts at 12:30 PM. If you arrive after tech has closed, you can ONLY Test-N-Tune.

Spectator only: $10 to get in the gate ~ children 12 & under are free.

Racing: $30 and one NEW toy for each class you participate in. If you do not bring any toys, then it will cost $40 total to race and $10 for each additional class you participate in. Please, only new, unwrapped toys.

We are in need of volunteers to organize, raise funds and day-of-race track help. The more people help, the better the race can be. If you would like to help, please let me know.

If anyone would like to sponsor a class, sponsorship is $150. Please identify the class you would like to sponsor. Multiple sponsorship of a class will be allowed.

CLASSES

1.All Out: “Run what you brung”.

Bikes at Brainerd

Figured I would drop in here and post something fresh. How about a cool 2 image shot merged together from Brainerd Dragstrip ? And by the way ...They suppose to hold a monthly bike race at the end of each month now. So spread the word and lets help get the count up and support a new class !

Link to all pic's taken at Brainerd this year so far....BRAINERD2012

Deddy , Daughter and Drag Racin'...

Last Friday night (Aug. 17th) I brought my lil' girl Shelby up to the strip . I started the night off with the usual low light  burnout shots but once the light fell off too much I decided to put the camera up and hangout , but I needed a buddy to sit with . I figured Shelby would like the action on the strip so I went and got her and we hung out in the bleachers and watched all those cool cars rip the strip !
Have to say...I was surprised that she liked it so much. Laughing, smiling and telling the cars to "GO" ,but we did have to work on her timing a little ,as she was going "red" by about 3 seconds lol. All in all we had a fun time and I was happy to enjoy such a cool time with my lil' girl . 
See the video below where Curtis Townsend made a pass in his TAZ Nova and she said "awesome" ...that was such a cool moment !!!

To my lil' girl...I love you

 The 2012 Friday Night pic's from Paradise Dragstrip 

can be viewed here...

ParadiseFridayNights2012

Portraits ???

Yes... I finally decided to get more involved with modeling/portraits photography. I've had the gear (umbrella's,stands,remote triggers,flashes,etc) for some time but only used them for the occasional and random portraits of friends. So I contacted Laticia (aspiring model) and we agreed to head out and see what we could capture. We started off slow and simple so I could get the hang of my new flash I just ordered (had a battery explode in my other-trash) and it didn't take long for me to get in the zone and find the right angles and settings that satisfied me. It was a fun shoot , outdoors ,urban setting with CARS ! haha .

So in short ...I plan to shoot a few more "basic" photo-shoots and get a good style on my lighting and angles then really get into Pin-Up style shoots. Which I'm currently contacting other models and people with cool rides so I have everything organized for when the time is right. So if you're interested in modeling or have a cool ride (import to rat rod) feel free to contact me and maybe be involved in a future shoot. For the time being , which is portfolio building , all involved (model/car owner) will receive free web versions and one free 8x10 print from the shoot. 
 Below is a few from the shoot with Laticia Visit here FB modeling page here and "like" ...Laticia's Page
P.s Thanks to Laticia for being a great model , I enjoyed working with you .