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Scenes from the Daily Dog Walk

Brian Cleary — 2011-12-30T10:44:30-05:00

...About 2 blocks from the Halifax River near Daytona Beach, Florida, it wasn’t long before I began daily dog walks down to the river and discovered that you never know what you might see. ...Me and my canine friends have seen: rabbits, snakes, herons, egrets, manatees, porpoise, a gator, hurricanes, 100 degree heat, freezing, icy weather, space shuttle blast-offs, local people, tourists, dog-lovers, dog-haters, wind , rain, lightning, dark clouds, baking sun, cats, dogs, lizards, trees and flowers, majestic sailboats and grounded houseboats. ... So, over the years as digital photography was introduced and quality cameras became smaller and more portable, it finally dawned on me a year or two ago to carry a camera along on these walks. ...I’ve never bee one for organized ongoing projects, given my short attention span and lack of organizational skills, but my intent will be to add regularly to this collection, whenever I come across something that catches my eye. ... _encoding=UTF8&x=18&tag=bcpix_camera_bag-20&linkCode=ur2&y=19&camp=1789&creative=390957&field-keywords=panasonic%20lumix%20%20gf1&url=search-alias%3Daps#/ref=nb_sb_noss?... _encoding=UTF8&x=18&tag=bcpix_camera_bag-20&linkCode=ur2&y=19&camp=1789&creative=390957&field-keywords=panasonic%20lumix%20%20gf1&url=search-alias%3Daps#/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_10?... t=bcpix_camera_bag-20&l=ur2&o=1" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !... _encoding=UTF8&x=18&tag=bcpix_camera_bag-20&linkCode=ur2&y=19&camp=1789&creative=390957&field-keywords=panasonic%20lumix%20%20gf1&url=search-alias%3Daps#/ref=nb_sb_noss?... t=bcpix_camera_bag-20&l=ur2&o=1" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none ! ... BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com

The Sun, a Shuttle and I

Brian Cleary — 2011-12-20T22:11:43-05:00

One of the things that always fascinated me about covering a Space Shuttle Launch was the fact that once the “fuse” was lit and the shuttle lifted off the pad, you had about a minute between the time the shuttle left the ground until it was too far aloft to take much of a useful photo, except, of course, for the smoke trail left behind. There is no “pause” or “re-do” button and you can’t rewind the tape to try again, Once the shuttle is gone, it’s gone! So on the morning of March 8, 2001 as I was preparing to photograph the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery I was especially excited after learning that the actual launch would occur right a sunrise, as the sun peaked over the Titusville, Florida, horizon. My challenge became to find a spot where the rising sun would line up with the launch pad at Kennedy Space Cemter to create a unique image of sunrise and shuttle launch in the same frame. ...I was not prepared enough to have an exact location pinpointed as the spot where the sun would appear, but I studied the slowly brightening sky to try and determine an approximate location. With just a few minutes remaining before the scheduled launch, I settled on a small park along the Banana River as a likely spot for a decent photo. There was an added bonus of a group of space shuttle watchers and a stand of palm trees to add to the composition of the photo. The final obstacle standing in the way of my photo was the possibility of a hold or delay in the countdown, which could allow the sun to rise higher in the sky, thereby eliminating the rare opportunity for a sun rise shuttle launch. This morning, though, was one of the rare occasions when everything came together as envisioned, and I followed my one-minute game plan to capture some tight shots, wide shots, people shots, tree shots and spectacularly illuminated smoke trail shots, before the moment became a memory as the shuttle roared into orbit. I would rank these photos as some of my favorites in the dozen years that I covered NASA’s space shuttle operations. ...BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

When did my photos become digital assets?

Brian Cleary — 2011-11-29T21:08:13-05:00

...Of course this carried with it the possibility of unwanted distribution and copyright infringement, but still the digital age was viewed as making our jobs easier and our output more efficient. ...One day, a couple of years ago, I came to the realization that my photos were no longer photos, but were now “digital assets”. I was conducting a search on the internet for software to catalogue my digital images when I was struck by the fact that this software was not called photo management software our photo cataloging software. ... In other words, my photographs were, in the eyes of these programs and the programmers who created them the same as a word processing document or an entry in a digital address book database. My labors of love had been reduced to string of numbers that could be quantified and recalled by the asset management program in response to an input query. ...If power, influence and even income on the internet all begin with traffic to your internet offerings, it makes sense that the right kind of “assets” could pull more traffic, resulting in more power, influence, and income for the person who controls these assets. Therefore, if I take one of my images, digitize it, annotate it with well thought out titles, captions, and keywords, I’ve converted it into the kind of digital asset that I can plug into my management program to pull traffic to my site. ... In fact, the more images I employ as digital assets, the more traffic I should have to my site. Now, the number of assets I have, does not address the question of the quality of the images from which these assets were created. ... So, in this day of affiliate marketing, online advertising, pay per clicks, etc, a crafty online marketer who also happens to be an average or even below-average photographer could create a hug database of images which could draw traffic to a site which he could use to create more income than if he were trying to market his images as stock photography, especially in this day of declining stock photography value. So in this age of “digital asset management” just think of what a talented online marketer who also happens to be a talented photographer could accomplish! BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com

Calamity Corner, Daytona 1984

Brian Cleary — 2011-11-09T10:45:11-05:00

...I was OK with that, reasoning that if there were no crashes in the races, pit stop and checkered flag shots would be the photos that would be moved on the wire. SInce I was on pit road, I figured I was in good shape to get a few photos transmitted, which was good since I was being paid per picture on the wire. The week started out crazily, with Ricky Rudd tumbling violently out of turn 4 during the Busch Clash, a race for the previous year’s pole position winners. ... I did, however, hear a huge collective gasp go up from the grandstands and as I turned to see what was happening, the whirling, twirling, flipping T-Bird of Rudd came crashing into my field of view. ... The week wore on and the problems in Daytona’s turn 4 continued, with a Goody’s Dash Series car spinning off turn 4 and onto pit road, striking a fireman who was working in the pits (his injuries were not life-threatening), a spectacularly violent and fiery crash involving Jim Hurlbert and Natz Peters during Friday’s Consolation Race for drivers who had failed to make the Daytona 500 and Randy Lajoie’s end over end turn 4 crash during the Busch Series. I seemed to be a magnet for the action all week and managed to get several action shots moved on the UPI wire. By Sunday, TV commentator Ken Squire was calling Dayton’a Turn 4 “Calamity Corner” and all eyes (and cameras) were focused on the corner. ... For the week, I had produced $200 worth of photos for UPI, and I was ecstatic that my photography career seemed to by taking off. Calamity Corner has not been tamed, however, as over the years the final turn at Daytona’s famous speedway has seen more than its share of action, even claiming the great Dale Earnhardt in 2001. BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com

BCPix.com launches new slideshow website

Brian Cleary — 2011-11-01T07:31:04-04:00

BC Pix Photo of the Day - Images by Brian Cleary BCPix.com, the home of the online photo archive of Florida-based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, has launched a new slideshow website aimed at casual online photo browsers. The site, which can be found at: BCPix.com Slideshow Homepage, takes advantage of the excellent embedded slideshow creation tool found on Photoshelter, which houses Brian Cleary’s ever-growing online photo archive. The idea behind the site is based on the thought that there are many internet browsers out there who don’t want to invest the time and effort it takes to search and scroll through an online photo library and who might prefer to take more of a “couch potato” approach that would involve clicking on a link then sitting back and enjoying a self activated slideshow on their computer screen. Thanks to the incredible Photoshelter interface, the slideshow watcher can hover his or her mouse over an image for caption info and click on any image to go to that particular photo in the archive to check print and download availability and pricing. “I’m essentially putting my entire career online in a slideshow format”, says bcpix.com owner Brian Cleary, “I like the idea that this site will expose more internet users to my photography, not to mention the fact that this will ultimately provide more traffic to my online archive.” BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

Speed and Beauty - Race Cars in the Trees

Brian Cleary — 2011-10-28T21:53:11-04:00

After my 11th season as the official photographer for the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car series, I finally feel like my transformation from a NASCAR photographer shooting stock cars on oval tracks to a sports car photographer covering many of the great American road races is complete. One of the definite differences between shooting oval tracks and road courses is the opportunities you get to incorporate more of the surrounding scenery in your photos. From the trees surrounding course like Watkins Glen and Virginia International Raceway to the low, misty clouds hanging over Lime Rock Park , and even the Montreal Skyline looming behind Canada’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the scenery gives you more photographic options than the concrete jungle that is NASCAR. Even the weather presents opportunities at a sports car race. When the rain starts to fall on a NACAR event, the cars are covered up and the drivers, fans, crews, officials and media retreat to dry quarters to watch the weather radar. On the Grand-AM side of the tracks, rain tires are bolted on ad the show goes on! So while NASCAR holds the edge in crowd size and TV audience, the motorsports photographer looking to open up his imagination should pack his hiking boots and rain gear and head for the nearest road course. Be sure to check out my new gallery on bcpix.com: Grand-Am scenics from the 2011 season. BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

Dark Days at the Racetrack_ RIP Dan Wheldon, 1978-2011

Brian Cleary — 2011-10-16T23:31:52-04:00

It’s been more than 45 years since my dad took me to my first race at the short track at Riverside Park in Agawam, Massachusetts, and I guess I’m as hooked on motorsports today as I was when first heard the roar of a race car engine and the flashy race cars as a 5-year-old way back when. If you spend that many years following racing, and you even end up making your living as a photographer of race cars, it’s inevitable that you are going to live through one of the occasional dark, tragic days that can never be far away from a world of brave young men and 200 mile an hour machines. ...I was not in Las Vegas when Dan Wheldon crashed and died early in today’s IndyCar race, I had just arrived home from covering last night’s NASCAR race in Charlotte, NC and was watching some NFL football on my couch when I heard the news. I am not a regular on the IndyCar series, but have covered some races, and my job as the series photographer for the Grand-Am Rolex Series have given me the opportunity to photograph Dan Wheldon when he ran the Rolex 24 at Daytona for Chip Ganassi. ...Contrary to many people’s belief, us photographers do not always get to meet and become friends with all the drivers we photograph, but we definitely do get an inside feel for the type of people that many of these athletes are and the kind of lives they lead. ...He was a nice young gentleman who seemed genuinely interested in putting forth the time and effort to make his offtrack responsibilities productive, entertaining and successful. ...So, this evening, I am once again left with the sad empty, feeling of trying to understand how a young man can wake up one morning, get dressed and go out to do what he loves, only to never come home. In the blink of an eye, another name is added to the too-long list of great young racers who will never grow old. I can’t even begin to imagine the loss his family must be enduring tonight and my thoughts are with them in their pain. As safety innovations are constantly improving the sport we love, we go through long stretches where the racing is thrilling, the victories are great and the dark days are behind us. ...BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

A Woman's Touch

Brian Cleary — 2011-10-09T21:47:09-04:00

Back in 1986 I was covering the ARCA 200 stco car race at Daytona for United Press International. One of the drivers, ARCA star Bill Venturini, had shown up in Daytona for this year’s race with a new, all-girl pit crew. While this was a pretty obvious publicity stunt designed to draw media attention (which worked, by the way) and while true journalists tend to shy away from such stunts, I couldn’t resist stopping by the Venturini pit during the race to see how things went. ...While women obviously took the job very seriously, as well they should in those days of no pit road speed limits, where the cars would scream in and out of the pits at well over 100 MPH, there were still some obvious differences from the usual stock car pit stop. In those days, the driver was directed into his pit stall by a very brave sign holder, who staked his or her life on the hope that the race cars brakes were in good condition and not going to fail as the car streaked in for service. Venturini’s sign holder needed a little coaxing from the male crew chief to get into the proper position on pit road. ... ...Unfortunately, as Venturini was poised to roar away at the end of the stop, the engine failed and the car did not move from it’s spot, treating those of use along to pit road to the view of a group of decidedly non-masculine forms pushing the race car backwards up pit road toward the garage and out of the race. In this day of Danica Patrick mounting the latest challenge to the historically male dominance of the sport, this photo gallery provides a unique look back at the history of women in motorsports! BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

New Royalty-Free Web Banner Photo Gallery at BCPix.com

Brian Cleary — 2011-09-14T11:34:44-04:00

This week sees the launch of another new product forom BCpix.com: A gallery of wide, narrow royalty-free photographs designed to be used as website mastheads, page-wide horizontal blog content photos, and photos to be used in internet banner advertisements! ... As you can see from these examples, the pictures are unique selections from the photo archive of Florida-based freelance photographer Brian Cleary which lend themselve to long, low cropping, often incorporating areas within the frame ideal for dropping in text, logos, etc. The images are sized at 1200x250 pixels, wide enough for any web page and, of course, down-sizable to fit your specific needs. Priced affordably with a royalty-free license at $35 dollars per image and, of course, royalty-free means buy it once, use it in multiple placements whenever you like for as long as you like! Click here to view Web Banner Galley As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the banner photos. Check back often, as new images are being added daily! BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com

When it's Better to be Lucky than Good

Brian Cleary — 2011-09-08T19:35:07-04:00

While we’d all like to think that we, as sports photographers, have a sort of sixth sense about what’s about to happen on the field of play and where we need to be to get the great shot and that we have all the skills to capture the moment, the fact is that quite often it’s far better to be lucky than good at what we do. ...As the laps wound down it became apparent that it was going to be a shootout between the cars of Ricky Craven and Kurt Busch. The laps go quickly at Darlington and with just a few laps remaining, the two drivers were pounding on each other trying to gain an advantage. ...As it became more and more evident that this could be one of the great finishes, with tow cars side-by-side at the end, I was forced to face my dilemma: My Canon 1D, which fired off 8 frames a second had bee in for repairs for a week or so, and on this day I was using a Canon 5D, a great, full frame camera, but it only fired 3 frames a second! Normally, in a situation like this, I would just track the cars as they raced to the line and hold the shutter button down, most likely getting a frame with the cars pretty close to the finish line. But I knew that shooting at just 3 frames a second, the cars could be no where near the flag if I just held the shutter down. Of course, things happen quickly at a race track and the race will come to end whether you’re ready for it or not. I spent a few laps trying to get a feel for shooting a single frame with the cars right on the line and was not having much luck. I looked up and realized that as the cars raced past this time, the white flag was waving: just one lap to go and the checkered flag would fly, ready or not! As the two cars drove through turns 3 and 4 ready for the final charge to the line, I still was not really sure what my plan was. ... It was too much for me: I raised my camera and and pointed it at the racers as they sped toward the line, holding the shutter button down. ...BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com

Let's Get Horizontal

Brian Cleary — 2011-08-24T13:57:24-04:00

As I was setting up to shoot the checkered flag at the MOntreal 200 Grand-Am race this past weekend this though occurred to me: “ The vertical photo is a dying breed!” As the cars raced toward the finish line, I instinctively started to turn my camera to shoot a vertical shot, which is what the shot really should be, to minimize empty space within the frame and to isolate the action which is taking place. Suddenly I remembered that this shot would go into the Grand-Am event photo gallery and most likely end up on Grand-Am’s homepage on their website, both of which call for photos that fit a pre-defined horizontal photo hole. ...By shooting lots of vertical shots, the hope was that an editor would pick one up for the cover of his or her publication, which paid more money to the photographer. ... But as our industry’s print segment has shrunk and the electronic segment has grown, more and more I find myself shooting to fill a pre-defined horizontal hole. ... For instance, I know that on the Gran-Am site, if I crop all my images to a horizontal 16:9 HD ration, they will all fit neatly and perfectly into the photo holes throughout the site. Where-as cropping used to be a free-form art, the electronic age has tended to reduce our options when it comes to cropping our images. Over the last couple of years I’ve noted that my shooting has gone from probably about a 75% horizontal, 25% vertical mix to the point where I shoot almost exclusively horizontal shots. There are few thing more frustrating to both a photographer and I client than having the photographer produce a spectacular image that the client can not use because it is in the wrong format. This development is neither good nor bad, it’s just the way things are and the photographers who accept these types of things will be the ones who will thrive as they press forward in the digital age. BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com

On Liking Long Lenses

Brian Cleary — 2011-06-11T17:33:00-04:00

Way back in 1977, when I bought my first “good” 35mm camera, I mae sure that I bought a 3 lens kit which included a 135mm telephoto lens. ...It wasn’t long after that camera kit purchase that I found myself in a Sears at the mall across the street from Daytona International Speedway buying a 2x teleconverter to push my maximum length up to 270mm. And soon after that I was anxiously awaiting the delivery of my catalog-ordered Spiratone 400mm super-telephoto pre-set lens (remember those all you old-timers out there?). ...I was also equally thrilled to discover that the Canon 7D and D60 bodies come with a “640 crop” video mode which delivers a low -res video at about 7x the lens’s focal length (see my video of the moon shot in this mode below) ...title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0">

Moon over Florida with the Canon 60D from Brian Cleary on Vimeo.

... 4) In sports photography you can shoot unobtrusive candids without walking right up to your subject and sticking a camera in his face (NASCAR driver Brian Vickers, below) ... ... In short, I guess the telephoto lens really suits my style, being a basically shy person, I can shoot with a longer lens while employing a “fly on the wall” technique to get close to my subjects without getting “too close”, if that makes any sense. ...BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com

Photos to help rebuild history

Brian Cleary — 2011-05-23T16:25:24-04:00

After I started building my online photo archive several years ago, it wasn’t long before an unanticipated group of followers came to light and began e-mailing me with specific photo inquiries: scale model race car car builders are always on the lookout for photos of auto racing’s past to use as reference when they are assembling their projects. Photos that show paint schemes, sponsors for specific events, decal positioning and size, etc. are invaluable in assuring the accuracy of a given finished model. Over the past couple of years, I’ve filled several print orders for scale modelers and have incorporated a special print pricing structure with these clients in mind. My print price schedule includes low-priced 4x6 and 5x7 prints for these folks who need accurate reference prints, but don’t want to break the bank when acquiring them. The photo archives at bcpix.com include, but are not limited to the following: 1980’s NASCAR, Indy Car (IRL & CART), and the IMSA glory days of the GTP era. Of course I’m always updating my online catalogs as more images from the past are digitally archived! The photo database is fully searchable, making it easy to find just the pictures you’re looking for. ...If you can’t find what you’re looking for, don’t hesitate to drop me an e-mail at: brian@bcpix.com BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

A New Way to Market Royalty-Free Stock?

Brian Cleary — 2011-05-19T13:17:12-04:00

With the over-saturated stock photography market that the advent of digital photography and the ever-improving line of digital cameras has created, many of us photo veterans, who date back to the days of film, are having a hard time coming to terms with ultra- low commissions that the microstock houses are paying. ...One route is to build your own online archive and portfolio at places like Photoshelter, where I house an ever-growing collection of rights-managed and royalty-free photography. One problem with this approach is that it is extremely tough to even get noticed in the sea of photography that is now online, which makes it very difficult to attract enough traffic to build a steady income. ...While many people use these sites to market e-books, mp3’s, software, etc, it is also a viable platform from which to sell royalty-free stock photography and royalty-free video clips. ...While not all of these visitors will be looking for stock photography, at least you have a chance to get your tagged, keyworded files in front of thousands of potential buyers. ...If I’m not comfortable accepting the 30 perc ent of $1 sales that many of the microstock sitesw are offering, I can post the same photo at Tradebit at any price I wish. I may not make any sales, but I can always adjust the price as I see fit and don’t have to be frustrated at seeing my work being used while I pocket a 30 cent commission! ...aid=191634&widget=9">

Space Shuttle sunrise blast-off

The Space Shuttle Discovery blasts off from Kennedy Space Center in Titusville, FL to begin a March 2001 mission. (©Brian Cleary/www.bcpix.com) License: Royalty Free Available sizes: 500 pixels, 1500 pixels...

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...While the owner, Ralf, is very helpful and responsive to questions, it is often a process of feeling around the site to make things look and work the way you’d like. ...Tradebit is only one of several options for merchants looking to do business on one of the digital download sites, and I selected it due to its traffic ranking and favorable reviews that I was able to find online. The jury is still out on the effectiveness of marketing royalty-free stock photos on Tradebit, as I’m only about a week into my experiment, but could this be the new wave for photographers to battle the online microstock mega-sites? ...BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com

Blind Boys and Bug-Eyed Idiots

Brian Cleary — 2011-05-10T07:00:00-04:00

With all the news these days about NASCAR’s “boys having at it”, namely Ryan Newman and Juan Pablo Montoya mixing it up at Richmond and then the spectacularly entertaining Kyle Busch vs. ...Since the 1960’s I’ve missed only a handful of Daytona 500’s, one of which was the 1979 event which featured the famous last lap crash and subsequent rumble between the Alison brothers and Cale Yarborough. After listening to that race on the radio, I vowed to never skip another Daytona 500 and, in fact, I’ve only missed one since then. It’s sentiments like these that NASCAR banks on to bring fans to the racetrack, and so while they punish the fighters on the one hand, they are actually quite thrilled with the free PR that goes along with any on-track run-ins. ...A few years ago after Sterling Marlin and Greg Biffle crossed paths during a race at Watkins Glen, a radio reporter caught up Marlin in the garage and asked him what happened. ...Similarly, after a Kyle Petty-Bobby Hillin Jr., encounter during the 1993 Daytona 500 resulted in a pit road confrontation (see photo above), some asked Kyle Petty what happened. ...I’ve also noticed that some driver/fighters prefer strapped-in, stationary targets, as when Michael Waltrip poked Lake Speed through the window net as he sat in his race car or who can forget the Jimmy Spencer’s through-the-window punch at Kurt Busch after a Michigan run-in. Other drivers take aim at moving targets, as when Robby Gordon nailed Michael Waltirp’s car with his helmet as it passed by him after he climbed from his wrecked race car at New Hampshire. More recently, The Kyle Busch-Kevin Harvick Darlington bout was telling in that Harvick was eventually willing to climb from his mount and stalk back to confront Busch before he climbed from his car. ... No matter who you sided with in that incident, you have to admit that the sight of the #29 Budweiser Chevy rolling nose first into the pit wall was fairly amusing once we determined that no one had bee injured as a result. So, while the racing is good, and all want to know who wins each weekend, the periferal action keeps us coming back for more and also makes for good photos! BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com

The King and the Kid

Brian Cleary — 2011-05-07T07:04:56-04:00

The year was 1994. Richard (The King) Petty was a recently retired driver and fairly new full-time team owner. Jeff Gordon was a young, upcoming driver and not yet the iconic superstar the he is today. About a year and a half earlier Richard Petty had wrapped up his driving career in Atlanta on the same day that Gordon had made his “big league” debut. I was trolling the Winston Cup garage at Talladega in May 1994 looking for a picture when I noticed the two men sitting atop the work bench talking. Not wanting to intrude, I employed my best “fly-on-the-wall” technique, putting on a longer lens and lurking unnoticed int he corner of the garage, I snapped a few shots. As often happens, the moment dissipated quickly, with the two stars wrapping up their conversation and going their separate ways. But this picture remains one of my favorites, as I feel it illustrates the changing of the guard that took place a generation ago when the Pettys, Peasons, Parsons and Allisons were vacating their spots atop the sport and the Jeff Gordon was moving in. BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

Putting a Photo Archive in Motion

Brian Cleary — 2011-05-04T11:07:01-04:00

BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

Royalty-Free at bcpix.com

Brian Cleary — 2011-04-27T11:04:53-04:00

In trying to keep up to speed with the changing landscape in stock photography, www.bcpix.com is happy to announce the addition of the royalty-free collection. EZVWY8XTANBV The collection, which can be viewed by clicking here, features a select number of images which can be purchased and downloaded at a low, fixed price and then used repeatedly at the buyer’s discretion. Sizes and prices are as follows: 500 pixels (small web sized) - $25 1000 pixels (large web sized) - $50 2500 pixels (newsprint sized) - $75 3000 pixels (hi-res) - $99 We are currently transferring select images over to the royaly-free collection, so be sure to check back often! BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

Lessons of the Footless Gull

Brian Cleary — 2011-04-26T11:33:23-04:00

Several years ago, before the days of digital photography , I was walking on the beach with my camera, throwing bread to the seagulls along the shoreline, when one particular gull caught my eye. ...Visions of a shark attack from below as he floated on the Atlantic, or an unfortunate encounter with a tangle of wire fishing leader left behind by an inconsiderate angler came to mind. ...The amazing thing was that he had come to terms with his misfortune and had found ways to rise above it! ... But still, he didn’t seem to mind and went about his business as if he was no different than the birds that surrounded him. ...At first I thought I would not like it and was uncomfortable with the idea of no tangible film negative that I could develop and store securely in my files. ...Some photographers chose to keep trying the same old things in hopes that they would work and their business would return to the levels of the past. Other photographers complained about how unfair things were and that no one understood the value of their work, many going so far as to putting down their cameras for good and moving on to other professions. The realists accepted the changes and realized that in the marketplace, a glut in supply means a diluted demand and lower prices and that ultimately the buyer decides what a product is worth. ... Whether that meant niche marketing, becoming a master of photoshop technique, or learning cutting edge SEO and online marketing strategies, these photographers found a way to survive. So as I stand here in 2011 after almost 30 years in the business still holding a camera in my hands, I consider myself a colleague of that footless gull from many years ago: when my feet are cut out from underneath me, I’ll keep looking for ways to survive! BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com

1st quarter of 2011 a busy one at BCPix.com

Brian Cleary — 2011-03-23T12:41:17-04:00

...The new track surface at Daytona brought Gtand-Am and NASCAR teams to town in January to try out the new pavement. The Daytona tets sessions were quickly followed by the 2011 Rolex 24 at Daytona for the cars of the Grand-Am Rolex Series. A few weeks later the NASCAR boys arrived and their media day afforded me the chance to update my files with fresh portraits of the top stars. This was followed closely by one of the best Daytona 500’s in recent memory. Soon after it was off to Homestead for round 2 of the Grand-Am Rolex Series. ... It was soon time for the annual classic in the center of the state: Sebrings 12 Hour sports car race. Finally, as a diversion from al the motor racing, I started fooling around with digital infrared photography in my spare time.

I recently sat in my hotel room at The Wynn in Las Vegas and looked down upon the bustling strip of the city. The street lights cycled from greeen to yellow to red, repeating the sequence over and over and over again. Cars stopped and started and pedestrians zigged and zagged over the crosswalks and scurried across the pedestrian bridges. I pressed the shutter on my cable release and opened an all new phase of my photo career: Time Lapse Photography. I’d recently read an article on the technique and, having acquired a new interest in videography, decided that it was time to blend my still photo career and my video interest, and ordered an intervalometer for my digital SLR. Now, after a few unsuccessful attempts and false starts, a business trip took my to Vegas. Look down on the city intersection below my window I decided to try again. This time everything came together and , after more than 200 shutter clicks over a span of about 20 minutes, I was able to piece together the video you see above. I know I’m not the first to produce a time lapse video sequence and my efforts are far from extraordinary, but once again I’ve found the my chosen career, photography, has provided me with a way o redirect my work and head off in an entirely new direction. I think that’s part of what attracted me to photography in the first place so many years ago: Just when you think you’ve reached the end of the line and you know all there is to know, something new comes along and turns you into a rookie all over again! BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

BCPix on BCFlix - Moving Pictures

Brian Cleary — 2010-11-11T23:02:53-05:00

The revolution continues: What happened to still photography is happening to video. Just as technology supplied hi-end, hi-quality still cameras at affordable prices to anyone who wanted one over the past several years, all of us would-be videographers are now able to afford hi-quality, hi-def video equipment. And, it follows, just as photo buyers descended on the huge supply of photography that resulted, we are now faced with a glut of video producers who are more than happy to see a larger supply of hi-def video clips drive the prices of the stock video market down. Having lived through it on the still photo side, and watching as technology created more hi-quality video equipment at lower prices, I could see this coming, and it’s not all that bad. The same technology that delivered the better, cheaper equipment and created the declining prices, has also supplied us with an incredible tool to get more of our photos and videos in front of millions of viewers and potential buyers: the internet. So as I continue to push my photo archive out on the internet and as I step off in a new direction, the world of video, I’m siding with the school of thought that says that falling prices can be offset by increasing sales volume, which would be a product of the millions of internet users I theoretically have access too. Now, just as in the past, it’s simply a matter of rolling up your sleeves and working harder to position yourself favorably in today’s changing marketplace. BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

Fall Foliage and Fast Cars

Brian Cleary — 2010-10-23T20:50:07-04:00

2010 VIR Grand-Am October testing - Images by Brian Cleary I’ve been carrying cameras to the racetrack for more than 30 years and will be the first to tell you that yes, there are worse ways to make a living. But after all these years I’ll also be the first to admit that sometimes the cars and tracks and photos all start to look the same. That’s why an occasional assignment like my recent trip to Virginia International Raceway to photograph the Grand-Am Rolex Series test session makes fro a pleasant diversion from the usual grind. That’s because a trip to VIR in the fall means colorful backgrounds in the form of fall foliage as the local leaves change color. ...Time break out the slightly shorter lenses and back off the action a little to include the multi-colored trees lining the straightaway, shoot the cars as they pass by the bright red barnyard-style building in the background and be sure to get shots of the cars racing under the old Oak Tree where it hangs out over the racetrack. I got an extra bonus at this test, we also had a mix of fog and rain at various times over the two days we were there, which allowed for an even greater variety of photos. So remember on your next trip to the track to avoid the tunnel vision syndrome which encourages you zoom in tight on the cars and take a step back. ...BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com

Cale, Baby!

Brian Cleary — 2010-10-11T15:18:14-04:00

Pretty much all the interests in my life were handed down to me from my father, including my loves of auto racing and photography, both of which play a big role in my ability to make a living. When we relocated from Massachusetts to Daytona Beach , Florida in 1964, my dad immediately started taking me to all the races at the speedway. ... I became a huge Fred Lorenzen fan, the first driver to give me an autograph, while my dad evolved into a fan of the hard-charging Timmonsville, SC driver and curent NASACR Hall of Fame nominee Cale Yarborough, or “Cale Baby” as he called him. ...Together we watched Cale win his first Daytona 500 in 1968 with the Wood Brothers, sandwiched between a pair of Firecracker 400 Daytona summer victories. We watched as he and Junior Johnson dominated the Winston Cup series in the 70’s and witnessed a total of 8 wins by Cale at Daytona through 1983. Yarborough, in fact, won the 1983 Daytona 500 after crashing his primary car on a 200 mph qualifying lap. It was the final Daytona 500 of my dad’s life, as he passed away in 1983. I continued to carry a soft spot in my heart for Cale over the remaining few years of his career as he kept on winning races in his hard charging style right up to his retirement. When the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2011 is announced on Wednesday, it would do itself proud to include Cale Yarborough, “Cale Baby!” You can view a selection of Cale Yarborough photos on www.bcpix.com at: ...Whether you’re an editor, writer or publisher looking for editorial stock photos, a webmaster in search of visual content for your site or even a model builder in search of reasonably priced reference prints for a project, bcpix.com features easy online searches, purchases and downloads. As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

Motorsports Flashback: Tony Stewart Wins Disney Indy 200

Brian Cleary — 2010-10-06T23:04:13-04:00

Disney Indy 200, January 1998 - Images by Brian Cleary It's January 1998 and a young Tony Stewart has just raced to victory in the Disney Indy 200 at Walt Disney World Speedway in Florida. Relive the day in a new photo gallery posted on bcpix.com at: ...Whether you’re a writer, editor or publisher searching for editorial stock, a webmaster in need of visual content, a scale modeler in search of reasonilbly priced reference prints or simply a race fan browsing the web for photos of the glory days of yesteryear, check out the thousands of photos at www.bcpix.com. bcpix.com is the online photo archive of Florida based freelance photographer Brian Cleary and features galleries of NASCAR, Indy Car and Sports car racing photos from the 1980's through today. ...Brian Cleary/www.bcpix.com BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

Photos from the 1996 Rolex 24 at Daytona up on bcpix.com

Brian Cleary — 2010-09-26T12:31:10-04:00

1996 Rolex 24 at Daytona IMSA race - Images by Brian Cleary A gallery of 118 photographs from the 1996 24 Hours of Daytona has been added to the online photo archive at www.bcpix.com. This was Wayne taylor’s first victory in the twice around the clock endurance classic and also marked the first time that Kevin Buckler appeared in the race. Sports car enthusiasts, motorsports editors and webmasters, and automotive scale modelers will be pleased to know that the photos are available for purchase and download for editorial use as well as personal use display and reference prints. Of course , online browsers are always welcome to view the thousands of images posted at bcpix.com. www.bcpix.com is the online home for the photographic archive of Florida-based freelance photographer Brian Cleary and offers thousands of images for immediate online viewing, purchase and download. BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

Bobby Allison: Leader of the "Alabama Gang"

Brian Cleary — 2010-07-31T10:29:39-04:00

make custom gifts at Zazzle How many of us, as photographers, down through the years have produced images that we though would be perfect for a poster, a postcard, a greeting card, etc,, only to package them up and send them off to a stock photo agency or upload them to a stock photo site, sure that their perfection for that certain use would be immediately obvious to the receiving editor and the royalty check would be soon rolling in, only to have the image flatly rejected and returned to your files? ...Well one benefit to the technology that has emerged over the past few years is the ability for individual artists to create their own design and float them in the marketplace to see if anyone notices. I've been fooling around for the past month or so at Zazzle, one of many online do-it-yourself, print-on-demand sites that allows artists to create their own merchandise for sale. As a photographer, I can take that image that all the editors overt he years have rejected for a variety of reasons and by-god put it on that t-shirt or poster that I always knew it was perfect for. It's not a new concept, it's been around for a few years, but it is one I've decided to try out in this age of dwindling stock photo commissions and hard-to-track-down clients. ... He uploads it to a microstock site where it might end up being sold for as little as a dollar or two, out of which he might get a 50 cent commission. He can take that same image, incorporate some sort of catchy phrase and design his own poster at Zazzle, chose his own commission rate, which will determine the final selling price of the product. If someone orders that poster from Zazzle, that photographer can make from about $2 up to as much as $50 or more per sale. Individual artists also have a hand in marketing the products via many online options such as facebook, twitter, squidoo, and even their blogs. So, in theory, the artist has a good product and markets it effectively, he or she could end up making more money by designing and marketing there own products at a print on demand site. We may not like the direction our industry has taken over the last few years, but the reality is that the changes are here to stay, and a new way of thinking might be necessary to survive as a professional photographer. ...BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com

10 percent off all prints from BCPix.com thru March 31, 2010

Brian Cleary — 2010-02-26T19:10:08-05:00

BC Pix Photo of the Day - Images by Brian Cleary Many of the thousands of photographs appearing on bcpix.com are now available as prints from 4x6 all the way up to 20x30 inches. Customers are able to custom crop their selections during the order process and choose between a variety of finishes including lustre, glossy and matte. ...And now, through the end of March 2010, all prints on bcpix.com are available at a special rate of 10 percent off the regular price. (coupon code 10OFFMAR2010 at checkout) To price and then get the option of purchasing a print, go to the image you desire on bcpix.com and click on the "add to cart" link to the right of the image. ... Should you decide to purchase the print, just copy and paste the coupon code 10OFFMAR2010 into the box at checkout. BCPix.com is the evergrowing online archive of Florida-based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, who's been shooting sports, motorsports, photojournalism, stock, nature and animal photography since 1981. Whether you're a a scale modeler in need of reference prints for a 1980's NASCAR project or just someone needing to fill an empty spot of your wall, you can begin your search through the online photo archive at bcpix.com by entering search terms in the box below. ... ...BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com ...As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

39 Times around the Clock

Brian Cleary — 2010-02-08T09:20:52-05:00

As I was preparing for this year's Rolex 24 at Daytona Grand-Am Sports Car race, I started thinking about the past classics I've witnessed in Daytona. By my calculation, this year's race was 39th time I've braved the deceptively chilly Florida weather to watch the sports cars wind through Daytona's "roval" road racing course. Beginning in 1965, when my family had just relocated to Daytona Beach, my father took me to my first Daytona Continental, a 12 hour event which saw Ken Miles and Lloyd Rudy prevail in a Ford GT-40. Not only did this race mark the first time I took a camera to a race track, but it also inspired a ton of artwork that I produced in my 2nd grade classrom, just down Volusia Avenue from the speedway. ...I remember sitting in the grandstands at the entrance to the infield with my father on a cool evening during the 1967 race when the Porsche 906 of Walter Habegger crashed, flipped and exploded into flames right in front of us. As the car burned with the driver inside, I remember my father reaching over and covering my eyes when it looked like the worse could be happening, and I recall the feeling of elation when the driver was able to extricate himself and run from the wreckage, relatively unharmed. After we moved to south Florida in the early 1970's, there were a few dark years where we were able to travel north for the Daytona 500, but could not swing the trip to the sports car classic, then in 1977, having obtained my driver's license and the confidence to make such a long road trip, me and my friend ken Breslauer, now of Sebring fame, made our triumphant return to the event to watch Hurley Haywood, John Graves and Dave Helmick triumph in a race that saw Paul Newman co-drive a Ferarri to a 5th place finish. Attending Daytona Beach Community College as a photography student in the early 1980's I attended the race for the first time as a credentialed member of the media. ...Not only did the 2001 race mark my first event as the official photographer for Grand American Road Racing (one of the best things that's ever happened to my photo career), but it also marked the great Dale Earnhardt's first and only appearance in the race, co-driving a Corvette with his son. So with Joao Barbosa, Terry Borcheller, Ryan Dalziel, and Mike Rockenfeller going to victory in this years' event, another chunk of sports car history has been added to my ever-growing sports car racing photo archive, not to mention a 39th installment in my round-the-clock memories of Daytona! BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

Loving a Plan that Came Together

Brian Cleary — 2010-01-22T23:13:17-05:00

STS102 Mission, Space Shuttle Discovery, March 2001 - Images by Brian Cleary Don't you love it when a plan comes together? I do and it did for me back on March 8, 2001. I was covering the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery and noticed that the Launch time coincided almost exactly with sunrise. I scouted a location along the Banana River in Titusville that also happened to have a group of spectators in the foreground. Mix in a few palm trees and the result was one of the more memorable Space Shuttle launches I ever witnessed. A new gallery of my photos of that event is up at bcpix.com (click here to view gallery) My online photo archive resides at www.bcpix.com, and features an ever growing, searchable database of editorial stock photography dating back more than 30 years. Welcome all editors, writers, publishers and curious web browsers! ...BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

Tiny Fish, Rising Cream and My Take on Photo SEO

Brian Cleary — 2010-01-04T09:08:00-05:00

As yet another faceless freelancer in an ever growing sea of photographers who are placing their archives online in an attempt to gain even a small share of the editorial stock photo market, I see myself as a very small fish in a gigantic pond. I look at it as a challenge that is worth the effort and am excited that after more than 30 years of surviving in the world of freelance editorial photography, I'm still up to the challenge of learning new tricks. ...Although I'd heard of it, I was never inclined to join, as I knew that this was what was known as "social media" and I've never been much of a social butterfly. My friend, however, was posting a photo of me and I needed to join Facebook to see it and curiousity got the better of me, so I signed up. ...6 months later, scrounging around for ways to promote my newly updated website, I read up on Twitter and ways in which business people can use this site to promote their wares. ...In the last few weeks, I've become more active on LinkedIn as I've discovered that this professional network offers connections to many associates in my profession as well as access to valuable info and articles on how I make a living. As a spinoff of all of this, I've started to become aware and learn more about tracking the visitors and traffic to my various online presences. ...I know that a visitor who arrives from Facebook will spend 4 minutes and 47 seconds there and view 10.55 pages, while one arriving via Twitter will stay for only 45 seconds and visit 4.65 pages, and finally a LinkedIn visitor will spend 1 minute and 40 seconds there and view 8.72 pages. Although I'm still not sure what all this means and how I can use it to survive in this tough business climate, I do believe that it is important. As the volume of online photography for purchase(supply) grows and the value of stock photography plummets, the stock photographer will be forced to rely more heavily on a large volume of sales to make any money. ...But, having a little athletic ability I always felt that my talents would eventually be discovered and I would become a valuable and appreciated member of the team. ...BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com

The kid in the red cap

Brian Cleary — 2009-12-23T16:32:11-05:00

...As the day wound down, Dale Earnhardt Sr. had put together another great season and wound up clinching his 4th Winston Cup Crown. I was photographing the festivities in Victory Lane when I noticed that Dale Earnhardt, and his wife Teresa, with their young daughter Taylor Nicole in her arms, were in the center of the group. Everyone laughed as Taylor Nicole held up her index finger indicating that her dad was #1. ... The only thing that bothered me was that there was a boy in a bright red Winston Cup cap standing right in front of the Earnhardt group. He was just tall enough that the red cap stuck up and disrupted the composition of the shot. ... I'll shoot the scene as it is and than do my best to crop the boy out later. ...Then, about 2 years ago, I was going through some old negatives and came across that shot. ... I looked at the one frame that I had shot which included the boy's face and was stopped in my tracks. The boy who I'd been cropping out of the photos for years was none other than a 16-year-old Dale Earnhardt Jr.! At the time I had taken the photo I was not even aware that Dale Earnhardt even had a son, and now that he's one of the most famous sports figures alive, I have a photo of him and his dad celebrating a triumph in the past. ...BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

Triumph to Tragedy

Brian Cleary — 2009-12-17T10:40:37-05:00

As NASA's Space Shuttle program continues to wind down, I'm reminded of a launch I covered for AFP back in January 2003. ...I decided to drive down to Jetty Park in Cocoa Beach, just south of Kennedy Space Center and see what was going on down there. ... Then, just moments before the launch, a group of 3 men caught my eye: Orthodox Jews Nachman Segal, Dov Kok, and Neftaly Hertzel were standing on the boardwalk waiting to view the launch. I introduced myself and the three men told me that they had travelled from South Florida to watch the first Israeli astronaut begin his historic journey in to outer space. The re was nothing profound in their presence at the launch, just there simple pride and there desire to be there as their countryman entered his name on the roll of space travelers form the planet Earth. I asked if they would mind if I photographed them watching the launch and they said that would be fine. ... As the space shuttle disappeared from view, we said our goodbyes and went of on our separate ways. A couple of weeks later I was sitting in an office at Daytona International Speedway preparing to photograph the start of the Rolex 24 at Daytona auto race when I heard the tragic news that the Space Shuttle Columbia had disintegrated on it's return to Earth, with the entire crew perishing in the accident. My thoughts went to the three men whose paths I had crossed on the beach in Cocoa a few weeks earlier and tried to imagine what their thoughts might be following the pride they had felt a few weeks earlier. ...Enjoy them for what they are and always be prepared for what life might have in store around the next corner. BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

Practice Makes Perfect

Brian Cleary — 2009-11-30T18:45:02-05:00

iPhone Photography by Brian Cleary - Images by Brian Cleary Practice makes perfect , so they say, and that axiom is as true in photography as it is in any other endeavor. But it's not always practical to carry around a lot of photo and editing gear to practice your craft. I've found, however, that my iPhone camera, a photo editing apps and one cool web site helps to keep my eye and editing skills sharp no matter where I am. ...The idea is to snap a photo with your iPhone, perform some basic editing and upload it to the "Best Camera" site, where it will be instantly available for online viewing and judging. ...This can also be an interesting barometer for current popular photo tastes, which may in some way help you when it comes time to look for stock photo ideas and come up with self-assignments. I find the phot-taking, editing and uploading an interesting pastime when waiting for airplanes, sightseeing in unfamiliar cities and just hanging with the family on the weekend. ...I've also experimented with a variety of 3rd party photo editing apps available at the iPhone app store. So jump on the app store and search "best camera" and "photography", load your iPhone with apps and start shooting. ...BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

The Back-Stabber

Brian Cleary — 2009-11-25T18:20:44-05:00

I watched from the bank of the canal as the Blue Heron performed the familiar head wobble as it tried to focus on its prey. I'd seen it many times, but one thing wasn't right. This big bird was pointing toward the tall grass along the shoreline, not at the water. I was used to seeing this ritual whenever a blue heron was about to pluck a fish dinner from the water, but I realized that there probably weren't too many fish lurking in the shoreline vegetation. What was this bird stalking? No sooner had I asked myself the question, when the bird dove awkwardly into the underbrush. It stood up with a plump Marsh Rat impaled on its bill. I clicked away with my Canon T-90. The bird stood still for a few seconds and then took flight with its fresh rat dinner, sailing away to enjoy the meal in privacy. You can view more photos at : The Heron and the Rat. BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

BCPix.com launches Facebook Fan Page

Brian Cleary — 2009-11-17T20:08:35-05:00

BC Pix Photo of the Day - Images by Brian Cleary BCpix.com has launched a new fan page on Facebook. (

BCPix.com - Photo by Brian Cleary on Facebook

). The page will highlight selected galleries from the online archive of me, Florida Freelance Photographer Brian Cleary as well as provide links to pertinent and timely online articles on the state of the photo industry. Fans of the page and other Facebook users can access the galleries as well and comment on the the photos they contain. The launch is part of the ongoing efforts to make the my online archive more accessible to editors, publishers, writers and just plain old online shutterbugs. Please stop by to check it out at

BCPix.com - Photo by Brian Cleary on Facebook

Thanks! BC BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

Was that a finger I saw?

Brian Cleary — 2009-11-10T18:29:02-05:00

Was browsing the App store on my iPhone the other day and stumbled across the "Pano" app, which can be used to create wide panoramic photos on your iPhone. You can shoot up to 16 side by side pics in the app, then stitch them together to create a single, wide picture. It's all fairly automatic: you shoot the photo, then are prompted to either retake or use the picture you've just taken. Once you decide to use a photo it is saved into memory and you are ready to take the next picture in the sequence. About a quarter of the previous photo remains in a transparent form on your iPhone screen as an aide in lining up your next shot. Once all the photos are taken you are given the option to merge all the pics together into a single panorama. Click merge and the app automatically stitches them all together, after which you can either save the image to your camera roll or share it via email. Lots of fun and a great tool for the iPhone carrying photographer. Check it out at the app store or at the Debacle Software Web Site. BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

Cheap Plastic Camera pics - coming full circle

Brian Cleary — 2009-09-15T09:19:45-04:00

...It was a Diana camera that took 127 roll film, and served as my introduction to photography. The great thing about the camera was that you could happily snap away without any worries about shutter speeds and apertures (I had no idea what they even were!) ...The grey plastic camera accompanied my everywhere, to Daytona Speedway, to the beach, on vacations and I still have some of the negatives it produced. So on a recent vacation to Sarasota, FL, while making a mandatory stop in a toy store with my wife and kids, I couldn't resist when I spotted a cheap plastic Pop Cam 35mm film camera. This camera features 4 lenses, each with a different color filter, and snaps four pictures in rapid succession on a single frame of 35mm film, each through a different filter. The intent is to create Warhol-style images with a graphic, poster kind of look. Every frame is not a work of art, for sure, and it takes some though to produce interesting photos. What I like about it is the ability to shoot away without any thought to shutter speed, aperture, focus, etc. ...The little Pop Cam has developed a small cult-type following and even has some dedicated followers on Flickr. If you find your creativity bogged down in the daily grind of the technical and business side of photography, you might consider picking up a cheap plastic camera and go out to shoot some "just for fun" photos. BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

Bcpix.com included in Photoshelter's September featured photographers!

Brian Cleary — 2009-09-03T15:59:08-04:00

The above photo of our Australian Cattle Dog , "Layla", playing with her frisbee is included in this month's Photoshelter.com "Featured Photographer" slideshow . Photoshelter houses images of more than 40,000 photographers worldwide and each month selects 20 of these photographers to feature on the website. This month's selection includes my "Moment of Tooth" shot of Layla grabbing her frisbee in a Daytona Beach , FL park. The site also includes a link to my photo archive on their monthly "examples" page, which it uses to highlight selected photographers' Photoshelter sites. Bcpix.com uses the Photoshelter site to house and market editorial stock photography, rights-managed photography, and prints from an ever-growing photo archive of my motorsports, sports, photojournalism, editorial and stock photography currently numbering more than 5,000 images. BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

One of those weekends- Coming home with a bunch of broken stuff

Brian Cleary — 2009-08-20T12:04:36-04:00

Although this past weekend at Virginia International Raceway was a great shooting weekend (see my VIR AMA Big Kahuna Nationals Gallery), it was one of those weekends that the self-employed freelancer dreads: Lots of broken stuff! Fresh of my recent smashed iPhone episode, the after effects of which I'm still dealing with, I cut a fresh swath of destruction through my gear at an otherwise fine weekend at VIR. 1- I discovered that my scooter had some contaminated gas in its tank, which made it impossible for me to travel more than a couple of hundred yards before conking out. Although not a serious problem , I still was unprepared to deal with it, having neither the time nor the tolls to make the repair. 2- During one of my halting scooter rides, my camera swung down against the moving rear wheel, smashing the lens hood of my 7-200 zoom. ...3- About half way through the day on Saturday, I began to notice the dreaded horizontal light streak through the images on the back of my EOS 1D Mark IIn. ...4- Early Sunday morning as I was unpacking and setting up in the media center, I fumbled the same 70-200 zoom and it bounced on the floor, now the front barrel of the lens wobbles unsteadily. Although the lens still shoots, I'm certain this effects the focusing and it will have to go in for repairs, probably another $200. 5- Later that day, in a hurry to get out on the track to shoot, I shoved my strobe in the pocket of my cargo shorts, and halfway across the paddock, it flew to the ground, smashing the transparent plastic piece on the front . ...Thank god the races came to an end before I was able to cause any more damage and now I'm scrambling to fix everything before heading out to next weekend's Grand-Am race in Montreal! BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

Being prepared for when you're unprepared

Brian Cleary — 2009-08-09T11:21:02-04:00

Have you ever stumbled across a great photo opp only to find yourself self camera-less and looking at the missed opportunity, trying not to think of the photos your not going to get? ...I was driving to the airport and had a little time to kill. As I drove past a large Cabella's outdoor store, I decided to stop in and browse for a few minutes. The store featured an huge, incredible taxidermy display and I soon found myself wishing my camera was available, but it was packed away and I did not have time to unpack my gear and still get to the airport on time. I did, however, have my little Aptek HD 720 camera in my pocket. Not my first option for high quality documentary photography, but at least I could grab a few pics. As I walked through the display snapping away, and enjoying the way that the animals were positioned in relation to one another to create a series of real-world looking scenes, I thought that these pictures might be great candidates for a little photoshop session. While the camera original images from a lower-res point and shoot may not be up to your regular standards, you may be able to produce an interesting picture by tweeking it in the computer. I look at these situations, as a chance to practice my photoshop skills and get a little creative. Start throwing some filters and effects on the images an see what happens. ...BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

Thoughts of a part-time motorcycle racing photographer

Brian Cleary — 2009-08-03T09:32:25-04:00

Just off my latest assignment, covering the Tornado Nationals AMA Motorcycle races at Heartland Park Topeka, in Topeka, KS: -Motorcycle racers are among the craziest people I ever point my camera at. -They all have that look in their eyes that says they've been to a place where the rest of us will never go. -It's a pleasant change to be able to wear shorts while covering a motorsports event, this is generally unheard of in car racing. ...Spent a lot of time tromping around in knee-high grass this weekend contemplating this. -When you make a mistake on a motorcycle, the consequences are quick and unpleasant! -Motorcycles are smaller and quicker than race cars, and much more difficult to shoot. -It's hard to get a large variety of photos when the race is only 20 minutes long. -Motorcycles and motorcycle riders seem to attract a lot of pretty women. -I'll be on a plane en route to Watkins Glen in 2 days to transform back into a race car photographer. ...BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

Accidents Happen: A Crash Course in Racing Photography

Brian Cleary — 2008-03-28T22:59:22-04:00

...While it's true that a crash can happen at any time or place on a race track, all tracks have their potential trouble spots. ...Also, if you focus temporarily on something close-up, say a bikini-clad race fan, don't forget to reset your focus to your selected area when you're finished shooting that fan. ...That's OK, but don't keep it there too long, and always remember to reset it to 1/500th of a second or higher just as soon as you1re done with the pan shots! Also, if things get really dark in the late afternoon or under cloudy skies, you might consider going to a film rated at ISO 400, 1000, or even 1600, or pushing the film that1s in your camera so that you don1t have to drop your shutter speed too low. ... Keep in mind that shooting a crash picture at too low a shutter speed is about the same as not shooting it at all! ...Always be aware of how many frames you have remaining on you digital media and try to have at least 30 available or, if you're shooting film, try to use 36 exposure rolls of film whenever possible. ...On one lap, as the leaders were exiting turn four and still out of my view, I heard a huge collective gasp go up from the grandstands as the crowd jumped to its feet. ... While I was trying to figure out who was no longer in the lead group of cars, Ricky Rudd1s Thunderbird exploded into view, flipping violently end over end and side over side in the grass about 100 feet in front of me. ...Try to shoot a few frames of a spinning car, then take a quick glance up the track to see if any cars following the instigator are also experiencing trouble in his wake (or his spilled oil!) Keep in mind that accidents are more likely to happen when the cars are bunched up right after the start of a race or after a restart following a caution flag, so this is the time to keep your shutter speed high an dyour camera at your eye! ...Always try to save a frame or two for after the smoke has cleared, as often great pictures can be made of a driver exiting his crashed race car at the end of the wreck. ...BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com

The picture that launched a career (mine)

Brian Cleary — 2008-03-09T18:36:36-04:00

It was March 1981 and I was studying photography at Daytona Beach Community College in Daytona Beach, Florida. I had recently earned my BA degree in communications from Florida Atlantic University and, while I liked journalism and writing, I was pretty sure that it was not what I wanted to do for a living. Having discovered photography through a couple of classes I took when studying journalism, I decided to go after my photography degree in Daytona and ws hoping that this would be my career. This is where I stood in my life in March of 1981, which also is that annual "Bike Week" in Daytona. One day at lunch I grabbed my old Canon AE-1 (which was actually my new Canon AE-1 at the time) with a DeJur 135mm lens and drove the mile or so from the college campus to Daytona International Speedway, where practice for the annual Supercros motorcycle race was going on. I've always enjoyed all forms of motor racing and I figured that this would be a good way to spend my lunch hour and maybe good a good photo or to for my photojournalism class. ...I stood by the fence and watched after the dirt bikes circulated around the bumpy track and was impressed as the racers flew high over the large main jump right in front of me. ...He semed to be leaning out a little further than most as he soared toward his landing and it soon became apparent that he was not quite going to clear the top on the landing hill. ... I snapped a single frame since I had no motordrive or power winder on the camera and then took a few more shots of the course marshalls helping the rider up. ...It was 27 years ago and I've covered the Daytona Supercross nearly every year since then, but that photo still remains the best I've gotten at a motorcycle race. BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

Earnhardt Memories

Brian Cleary — 2008-02-16T18:37:43-05:00

I liked his quiet confidence, his bold driving style, the way he sat "laid back" in his race car and the fact that he was not afraid to race head to head with my heroes, Petty, Allison, Baker, Yarborough, etc. As my career in motorsports photography progressed, I saw firsthand the Dale Earnhardt was not only an" intimidator" on the racetrack, but off-track as well. When a photographer aimed a camera at him, he had a way of staring point blank down the lens in a manner which almost dared the photographer to take a picture of him. He'd stare down the photographer in manner that said, "Hurry up, take your damn picture and get it over with!" I saw him do some amazing things on the track and have some very vivd memories of his exploits, many of which I was lucky enough to witness in person. I was there when he cut a tire down on the last lap at Daytona, handing Derrike Cope a Daytona 500 win, I was standing on Daytona's turn 4 tunnel as he zoomed past trailing shreds of seagull after striking the unlucky bird on the backstrecth ending another gallant, but ill-fated Daytona 500 bid. In 1997 I saw him flip on the backstretch at Daytona only to get back in the car to finish the race. Earnhardt and Sterling Marlin slammed the wall right in front of my photo location at Talladega one year in one of the most violent impacts I'd ever seen and I watched in disbelief as he walked to the ambulance under his own power clutching his injured shoulder and refusing a stretcher. ...But I think that one of my strongest Earnhardt memories was at the Daytona 500 in 1998. ... I, like probably everyone else in attendance waited for the "other foot to fall" and some strange bit of bad luck to once again snatch the 500 from Earnhardt's grasp. When the final caution flew and Earnhardt beet Bobby Labonte to the line to finally secure the win, I followed the car around the track in my viewfinder and photographed the historic checkered flag. The real significance and emotion of the event didn't sink in, however, until I removed my eye from the camera's viewfinder and looked down on pitroad where virtually every crewman and official on the property had lined up to congratulate the triumphant Earnhardt. ...BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com

Twice Around the Clock to Start the New Year

Brian Cleary — 2008-01-31T19:05:32-05:00

The new year is almost a month old and this past weekend many motorsports photographers got there first taste of action in 2008 in the form of the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona Grand American Rolex Series Sports car race. ...When the race teams converge on Daytona to unload for the race, bringing with them 68 race cars and more than 250 drivers to pilot them, a series on non-stop events begins that runs all the way through the checkered flag on Sunday. ...The cars are on the track at for the openning practice session at 10am following a brief Speedweeks Kickoff Ceremony, and I'm out there shooting every single car so that we have a record of each car in action. I should also mention at this point that Grand Am also sanctions the Koni Challenge Series for street stock race cars, and as the Grand Am photographer, I'm responsible for covering that series as well. ... Fortunately I have a Honda Helix scotter at my dispoal for this event and I've gotten pretty good at shooting as many cars as possible at one corner, jumping on the scooter and racing to another corner to shoot all the cars again. ...Since these sessions are only 15 minutes each and since I've already got shots of all the cars from the practice sessions, I usually hang out in the pits to get a few more driver portraits and capture any celebratory shots of the pole winners. ...I dash from Victory Lane, burn a quick CD of photos for on media member, post a Koni Race Gallery on the Grand Am site, as well as a Rolex Media day gallery and some hi-res media photos. Then it's on with dress pants and a jacket and off to the Grand Marshall's dinner where the legendary Dan Gurney, who is this year's Grand Marshall, is honored and interviewed in front of a group of VIP's. ...Next on the agenda is that annual exercise in futility know as the team grid shots, where we photographers try and shoot each team and car before they are rolled down the grid to line up for the start. ...After I'd had my fill of shooting, and before I got too tired to do it, I had to post some race photos on the web site, and then I unrolled my sleeping bag in my photo room ini the media center and, for the first time in years, spent the night at the track. ...I posted another photo gallery of early morning shots and then set about my annual routine of shooting the a variety of pictures of the class leaders in action as the race began to wind down. A trip to the pits for a few more pit stop shots and then back to my computer where I sent photos of the race leaders to the web sites I was servicing so they could have them queued up for posting as soon as the raced ended. ...As I write this on Thursday evening I'm just burning the last of the DVD's and about ready to wrap up another year of Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona coverage and I wonder if heading into next year' srace I'll be any better prepared.

When You Gotta Go, You Gotta Go

Brian Cleary — 2008-01-18T15:59:55-05:00

Stationed out at the chicane, which is a pretty remote location on Daytona's road course, out of sight of the spectators and kind of a pain to get to for photographer, I was the only person in the area, other than a few corner workers out at their station. These events were a day-long succession of short sprint races filled with club racers who were not well known and whose skills were not on a level with the great racers who compete annually in the Daytona 200, so the racing wasn't always stellar. ...It was in just such a stupor that I sat as I waited for the start of the next race. At these races, the riders circle the track once in there "sighting" or warm-up lap before returning to pit road the line up and start the race. ...Thinking that he must have some sort of mechanical problem, I was hoping that this would not delay the start of the race by too much. Then, I watched in interest as the rider turned to the wall and appeared to be unzipping his leathers. With his back to me, I watched as a stream of liquid appeared on the wall and ran down onto the racetrack (see photo above). Relieved, the rider re-zipped his suit, climbed back onto his bike and sped off to join the other riders on the grid for the start of the race. I looked around the remote location and realized that I was the only witness to the unusual pit stop. ...My amusement turned to amazement as the same recently relieved motorcycle rider smoked the field and won the race going away! Some people jokingly say that you should always bet on the dog in a dog race who relieves himself on the way to the starting gate, as that dog will be just a little bit lighter, and I guess the same theory must apply to motorcycle racing. BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

Testing . . .testing . . .

Brian Cleary — 2008-01-16T14:16:08-05:00

You'd think that the time between the final checkered flag of the fall and the first green flag of the new season would be a time a sitting around the house watching TV with the kids and catching up on domestic chores. ...In 2007 I covered the following banquets: Grand American Road Racing Rolex Series (Las Vegas, September), Grand American Koni Challenge Series (Las Vegas, November) NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (Hollywood, FL, November), NASCAR Busch Series (Orlando, December) and NASCAR Nextel Cup Series (New York City, December). So, after all of that, after my tuxedo was hung up for the winter and I gave up my standing spot in the long term parking lot at the airport in anticipation of a leisurely off-season, here came the annual parade of primer painted race cars into town for the ritual of winter testing. Fortunately, this testing all takes place in Daytona Beach, where I live, so the assignments aren't as grueling as the year-long grind of chasing the racers from track to track. Still, as many race fans know, the drivers don't really look forward to these test session, which involve endless laps around the track punctuated by periods of standing around as crewmen work on the race cars, with very little excitement involved. It's not much better for the media and photographers, as the cars aren't painted, the driver's uniforms aren't updated for the new year, and the photos are of little use to anyone, other than just documentation of the test sessions for the track and teams. First, in December, the prototype and GT sports cars of the Grand American Road Racing Series rolled into town for the first of their 2 test sessions. ... It's also a chance to see the new teams and cars in their first warmup for the season opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, which runs in late January. The ARCA cars roll into Daytona for their annual pre-Christmas test, followed by a few actual days off for Christmas and New Years. On January 4 of this year, the Grand Am cars returned to Daytona for their final test before the Rolex, now just 3 weeks away. After that there is a string of NASCAR tests, each 3 days long: The first group of NASCAR Sprint Cup cars goes first, then comes the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series followed by the second group of Sprint Cup cars(the above photo shows the cars of Scott Riggs, 66, Michael Waltrip, 55, and Sam Hornish, 77 in action at this test session) and finally the NASCAR Nationwide Series. As that session ends, I'll finally settle to the couch to really get into the off-season and then I'll realize that the Grand Am cars are just 3 days away from rolling into town for the following weekend's Rolex 24 Hour race. ...BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com

Half-A-Lifetime taking pictures

Brian Cleary — 2008-01-09T23:51:06-05:00

I've been making a living in photography ever since then, so then next time I think "Damn, it seems like I spend half my life lugging these cameras around", I actually have spent half my life lugging these cameras around. ...To start with, back in the day, we had to carry around a large supply of film and fumble with the camera after every 36 exposures whether it was freezing cold out, pouring rain, blowing dust or whatever. Today we can shoot hundreds or even thousands of pictures without opening the camera, depending on the photo resolution and memory card size. In the old days when the shooting was done, you usually found yourself elbow deep in chemicals, breathing fixer, fumbling in the dark to actually see the results of your efforts. Nowadays the day ends hunched over a laptop computer with cramping hands as you try to stay a step ahead of editors and clients anxiously awaiting your photos. If you want to see any particular photograph, just glance at the back of your camera seconds after you've taken it. Years ago we'd be frantically twisting the focus ring on our lens back and forth trying to keep a moving subject in focus, while today we are often just as frantically mashing a button on our camera and cursing the autofocus system for being too slow. If you are familiar with wire service work you might remember the days when sending a photo over the wire was similar to a kindergarten art class project involving scissors, tape, and glue. You'd "soup" your film, make a print, bang out a caption on a Brother typewriter, paste it to the print and clamp the whole creation to a revolving drum transmitter to send the print over phone lines a picture desk, usually in Washington or New York. An adept photographer today could send a hundred fresh photos via e-mail or FTP in the time it took us to send one picture years ago. ...As technology advances, so does our work load, but, as I like to remind myself, there are worse ways to make a living. Anyway, those are just a few of my memories from the "old days" (which weren't really that long ago) and I welcome and look forward to hearing any of yours! BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com

Bowling in Florida

Brian Cleary — 2007-12-30T08:23:59-05:00

For the working freelance sports photographer in Florida, New Year's Day can mean only one thing: Bowl Time! This year there are 5 major bowl games in the state including the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, the Outback Bowl in Tampa, the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, the Capital One Bowl in Orlando and the Orange Bowl in Miami. For the ambitious freelancer with connections, these games provide opportunities on several fronts. First, its a chance to start the year off on the right foot, with a decent payday on the very first day of the year, there is also the opportunity to get good play in the media if you can capture good shots from these high profile, high energy events, you also get the chance to fill your files with photos of potential future NFL superstars (the above photo shows Ohio State running back Eddie George in action at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando in January 1995), and finally you get to see some good, fun college football firsthand, from the sidelines rather than planted on your couch in front of the TV. One of my favorite College bowl days stories comes from a photographer I know who lives nears Tampa. One year, as he tells it, he arose early New Year's Day and drove to the old Tampa Stadium to shoot the first quarter of the Hall of Fame Bowl. In a driving rain storm, the photographer jumped into his car and took off up I-4 to shoot a portion of the final quarter of Orlando's Citrus Bowl from an opening under the grandstands. Then it was back in the car, over to I-95 and north to Jacksonville where he worked that evening's Gator Bowl! For the Florida freelancer, New Year's Eve is often a night of moderate celebration and early bedtime followed by the first working day of the New Year. BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

Christmas in Outer Space

Brian Cleary — 2007-12-22T17:51:21-05:00

At that time in my life I had a 4-year-old daughter and a 2-year-old son and my wife and I were living in Daytona Beach, Florida and I was scrambling as fast as I could to make ends meet as a freelance photographer. That is how I found myself leaving my house at 6am on a Sunday morning to drive more than 200 miles to photograph a 1 o'clock Miami Dolphins/San Diego Charger NFL game at Joe Robbie Stadium. ... At that time I was also covering some of the Space Shuttle launches at Kennedy Space Center in Titusville for Agence France Presse (AFP), the French wire service. ...During the long drive south to Miami on that Sunday morning I had plenty of time to think and I , as was my habit, I began to calculate what time I would be home that evening. I wasn't long before I realized that, if the game ended at about 4 pm, as usual, and if I got to my car and on the road quickly, I would be near Kennedy Space Center by about 8 pm. ... I picked up my cell phone and called my AFP contact at Kennedy Space Center and told him that, if he wanted, I could try to photograph the launch from somewhere nearby and then bring the film to him at the Space Center. He told me that would be fine and even better if I could somehow tie it in with the holidays, since Christmas was only a few days off. With my task defined, I continued south to Joe Robbie Stadium, where I shot the game, which the Dolphins won 12-9 (YAY!), dashed to my car and headed north on I-95. ...I was monitoring the launch on my radio , and knowing that I would have to drive 10 or 15 minutes east after leaving the interstate and still find a suitable site from which to photograph the launch, I made the decision to exit I-95 and drive east near Melbourne, FL at about 8:30. ...Sure enough, I found a decorated christmas tree at an oceanside park, parked my car, grabbed my camera and tripod and waited for the launch, which was now less than 10 minutes away. Although this before the days of readily available portable GPS, and while I didn't know exactly where on the horizon the shuttle would appear, I knew from experience that in a night launch a bright glow precedes the appearance of the firing column of the space shuttle rising into the night sky. ...For my efforts on the day, between the football game and shuttle launch, a 500 mile drive and and a 16 hour day I earned about $500, including expenses. ...BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com

Shooting Race Cars in the Snow?

Brian Cleary — 2007-12-17T17:48:40-05:00

As I watched the Jacksonville Jags beat the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday on a snowy, windy Pennsylvania afternoon,I thought of the winter afternoon in New York City a few years back where I stood on Park Avenue wearing a tuxedo in a blowing blizzard and photographed the newly crowned NASCAR Winston Cup champion as show shot horizontally through the photo. Matt Kenseth had clinched the '03 championship a few weeks before and I as prepared to travel to New York for the banquet from my home in Florida, I was excited by the weather channel's forecast of snow for the banquet week in New York, as I hadn't seen any real show since I was a 5-year-old growing up in Massachusetts. When the snow arrived, however, it was much more than I had bargained or prepared for, with 17 inches falling over the Thursday, Friday and Saturday of banquet week. The storm reached its peak late Friday afternoon and Matt Kenseth and his team prepared to pose with their race car on Park Avenue in front of the Waldorf. At the appointed time the driver, crew, and all the media (me included) walked out into the storm to record the traditional image of the NASCAR Champion and his crew and car in front of the Waldorf on Park Avenue. Wearing my light tuxedo in the blizzard, I might as well have been standing there in shorts and a tee shirt. I would bet that this Park Avenue Champion's shoot was the quickest, and most unusual on record. We quickly shot our photos and everyone dashed back into the warm lobby of the Waldorf. I've always liked the look of the photos from that shoot, with the snow blowing through the pictures, and yesterday, as I watched Jacksonville's Fred Taylor carry the football on a snowy field in Pittsburgh, I thoguth to myself that NFL players aren't the only ones who are called upon to perform their jobs in less that perfect weather. BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.

An Old Race Car Photographer Photographs Old Race Cars

Brian Cleary — 2007-12-15T16:51:52-05:00

I guess it's only fitting that the first entry into my new blog features old race cars. After all I basically got involved in photography 30 years ago to be able to take decent pictures of one of the sports I love: auto racing. Obviously, that wasn't the only reason I first picked up a camera, it certainly figured heavily into it. For one thing, auto racing lends itself quite nicely to photography, with its bright colors, spectacular action and high emotions. I've photographed hundreds of motor races since 1977 including the Indy 500, Daytona 500 and Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, so when "Rennsport Reunion III" rolled into Daytona International Speedway this past weekend and I was offered a n assignment to work the event, which featured hundreds of historic Porsche race cars and drivers, I jumped at it. I'd actually photographed many of these machines in the past when they were "racing in anger" as the saying goes, so it brought back many memories. The photo I've included in this post features the yellow #48 Porsche 917 driven by Jim Torres doing battle with the tiny #4 Porsche 908 of Phil Daigrepont in the Group 4 race on Sunday afternoon. I was struck by the tremendous difference in the size of the two cars as they raced side-by-side around Daytona's famous race course. The color and history of an event like this recommends it highly to any photographer looking to fill his portfolio with images of these rolling works of art. BCPIX.COM houses the ever-growing online photo archive of Florida -based freelance photographer Brian Cleary, whose fledgling video catalog can be found at pond5.com, as well as a unique collection of stock video created from his still photo archive at bcpix.tradebit.com As always, the Photoshelter platform at bcpix.com provides for easy, searchable browsing, purchase and download of all the images.