From Lunch Break to Front Page
- Brian Cleary
- 9 hours ago
- 3 min read
With the 2026 Daytona Supercross event a week away, it's time once again to tell the story of how I got my start in motorsport photography.
As a recent graduate of Florida Atlantic University with a degree in communications and not a strong passion for the idea of actually having to write for a living (I loved writing, but was not enthusiastic about having to write under a deadline with my livelihood at stake), I pondered my future while stocking shelves at the local Publix.
On the path to my communications degree I had taken a couple of photography courses and realized that photography was more inline with my temperament and career aspirations.
I decided to ask my parents if they'd consider helping me out for two more years while I moved to Daytona Beach to study photography at Daytona Beach Community College (DBCC), the home of one of the country's top photography AS degree programs.
With their blessing, I headed to Daytona and buckled down for two more years of college. Of course, as I lifelong motorsports fan, in the back of my mind I dreamed of a day when I might earn a living photographing race cars!
The DBCC campus was located a mile or two from Daytona International Speedway, and I subconsciously began trying to figure ways to incorporate trips to the race track into my first semester photojournalism assignments.
First semester had barely started before bike week came to Daytona Beach in March 1981. On hearing the motorcycles roaring to life at the speedway, I decided to head to the track on my lunch break at college and see what was going on.
I paid my $5 and walked through the gates, walking down to the fence in front of the old Campbell Grandstand. On the schedule for that day was practice for the upcoming Daytona Motocross.
I was totally unfamiliar with motocross racing and watched as the racers flew overt he main jump in the grass right by Daytona's start/finish line. Although I had no idea about motocross style and technique, even my untrained eye could see that the flight of one rider in particular was not going to end well.
Raising my Canon AE-1 loaded with 35mm black and white film and pointing my 135mm DeJur kit lens toward the biker, I pushed the shutter button as he landed awkwardly and was catapulted over his handle bars. One frame was all I got, as I had no motor drive or power winder. "Wow, that was crazy!", I though as I wound the film in my camera.
As my lunch hour was winding down, I only had time to shoot one roll of film and then headed back to the college.
On arriving back at the lab, I promptly developed the film and, seeing what looked like a pretty interesting negative, I went to work on an 8x10 print. As I stood in the hallway outside the dark room lookin a the still-wet print, my instructor, Pete Wright walked past and looked over my shoulder. "Make me a print of that", Pete directed and so I did.
Unbeknownst to me Pete also worked as a stringer for the Associated Press. Pete took my print and transmitted it out on the AP wire. The next day my photo of the motocross incident was splashed on sports pages of newspapers across the nation.
I was able to pick up the ball from that day of lunchtime curiosity combined with a little wishful thinking and a lot of dumb luck, and start down the trail to a career in motorsport photography that continues to this day.
Photo Stories at BCPIX.com
Original photography and firsthand visual history by Brian Cleary.
All images © Brian Cleary. Editorial licensing available.
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