Barcelona Testing: Day 2

//The following is a featured article from guest contributor Jamey Price, Jamey Price Photography, an American sports photojournalist on his first Formula 1 project.  You can read more about Jamey and his passion for his work in our feature: Intro to an American F1 Photojournalist - Jamey Price.

Feb 22, 2012

There's nothing like the sound and smell of formula one engines in the morning. It's such a distinct smell and absolutely a distinct smell. Hear it once and you'll never forget.

After getting my kit set up in the press room, I headed to the roof of the media centre, which runs the entire length of the pits and over looks the front stretch. With a few minutes left on the clock before the first of two sessions started, I took some time to look around and survey the countryside from the roof top vantage. Rolling Spanish hills surround the circuit. It is a gorgeous place to spend a day, much less four. I'm incredibly lucky to be where I am.

For the first sessions, I chased the light around the track looking for the best spots to shoot from. Eventually walking most of the corners on the outside access road. It's a haul and a grueling few hours on your feet carrying that much gear. Some of my morning was spent shooting turns 1, 2 and 3. Though not knowing most of the lap times, it is evident by the way the car looks sounds and feels to the naked eye who is fast and who is not. Red Bull is blindingly quick. As is McLaren. Ferrari looks to have a strong car, but a difficult one to handle. Alonso was struggling with it through most of the first sector.

My day wrapped up covering the last sector. The light is gorgeous at that time of day and I had to take advantage of it with most of the drivers being replaced by their teammates tomorrow.

I'm still in heaven being here and covering this test. I've worked for so hard and for so long that it's been a dream come true in so many ways....and I have two more days to cover!"

Barcelona Testing: Day 1

//The following is a featured article from guest contributor Jamey Price, Jamey Price Photography, an American sports photojournalist on his first Formula 1 project.  You can read more about Jamey and his passion for his work in our feature: Intro to an American F1 Photojournalist - Jamey Price.

Feb 21, 2012

After a long travel day Sunday and Monday, I finally arrived in the sleepy town of Montmeló which lies just north of Barcelona. With the sound of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" playing in my dreams, I woke bright and early to pick up media credentials and get to the press centre Tuesday morning.

Mercedes launched it's 2012 contender close to 830a. Dubbed the W03, which like most of its competitors has the unique 2012 spec "broken nose" look. Despite early hesitations, they don't look as bad in real life. And thankfully the cars still sound tremendous.

After the Mercedes launch, where Michael and Nico arrived in the new AMG Mercedes, I headed to the end of the pitlane to shoot pit exit photos.

Now, contrary to what you may have ever read on other F1 blogs, the business of F1 photography is neither cushy nor easy. Though being a diehard F1 fan myself, it is a long hard days work with nearly no break and no food or drink and as I write this, I'm completely exhausted. If you're doing your job right, you simply won't have time for anything but picture making. I walked the inside and outside perimeter of the track twice today looking for photo spots I found pleasing and engaging to viewers, and as always, looking for the best light and maybe something unique.

The 2012 spec cars, though unique looking, are still very much F1 cars. It is still and incredible sight and sound to see a modern F1 car power away from the pitlane. One moment they sit in front of you a roaring machine ready to release its energy. The next, it's several hundred yards away and seeming only got there in the bling of an eye. It's something that photos not video can properly convey. You'll simply have to experience it for yourself in Austin this November.

My day wrapped up shooting the cars coming into the last 3 turns. The light was stunning and I seemed to be the only photographer in sight. I have no idea why. Following the last session of the day, I joined the World champions for a few minutes of pitstop practice before retuning to the media centre to upload the last batch of photos from the day.

Tomorrow's challenge will be doing something different than today. I don't like seeing myself take the same images but I have a few tricks of my sleeve. Well see if it works.

Intro to an American F1 Photojournalist - Jamey Price

When is a photograph more than a photograph? When it falls in the category of photojournalism.

Photojournalism is different from photography in that it “complies with a rigid ethical framework which demands that the work is both honest and impartial whilst telling the story in strictly journalistic terms.” If a single photograph can be equated to a single paint color, then photojournalism is the art of turning singular photographs into a Monet or a Van Gogh. Photojournalists create pictures that contribute to the news media. It is possible then, that the short definition of photojournalism is simple: A picture is worth a thousand words.

On that note, we’ll spare you our words and spend the next few days transporting you to Barcelona, Spain for Formula 1’s second round of testing. The expedition will be lead by one of America’s most promising professional sports photojournalists, Jamey Price.

Jamey Price, PhotojournalistJamey was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina – which is obviously no stranger to auto racing, as it is nestled deep in the heart of NASCAR country. A self taught photographer and experienced athlete, Jamey attended Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, where he competed as a varsity swimmer all four years. Upon graduation, he moved to the United Kingdom to broaden his horizons and expand his professional experience on the international scene. Back in Charlotte, Jamey now competes “in the occasional triathlon” (just a walk in the park, eh?) and can frequently be found on the back of a race horse as a steeplechase horse racing jockey.

What about the other type of horsepower, the kind with four wheels? Jamey’s deep passion for covering racing has taken him from photographing lawn mower racing and grass roots dirt tracks all the way up to NASCAR, Indycar, American Le Mans and Formula One. Jamey’s award winning work has been featured around the globe in print and online publications such as Sports Illustrated, F1 Racing Magazine, Southern Living, The Racing Post, Autosport and the Charlotte Observer, to name a few.

With over 40 races and 11 wins to Jamey’s riding career, he adds:

I am no stranger to the highs and lows of life as an athlete and the pressures to produce results.

We hope you enjoy the highs and lows of testing from Jamey as he sends us his stories from Barcelona this week.

Taking It To The Airwaves

Last week we had the pleasure of joining Alex Franco, a.k.a Digitz from the Mix 94.7 JB & Sandy morning show, to talk about Formula 1 and Austin on "3 Guys Sports Show."

Listen to the show here

The 3 Guys Sports Show airs at 10:00AM Sunday mornings on Austin's 96.3 FM & 1370 AM. Our UK friend Liam gave us the heads up that fellow overseas listeners could tune in via KJCE 1370 on the TuneIn Radio app (Cheers!). The show is hosted by Alex, Brandon Wark (Iowa Hawkeye Superfan) & Chris Sanchez (Pride of Westwood High) and their goal is to recap the week in sports with the heart, passion and views of the everyday sports fan and share them on their show.

We met Alex back in August 2011 at the Austin Infiniti dealership (he's their Radio Spokesperson) when the Red Bull Racing demo car arrived in Austin. While a decent-sized group waited at the dealership, curious Austinites tweeted reports of the 2005 RB1 chassis (with the Cosworth V10 and the 2009 aero package) travelling down Austin's main highway - MoPac - and shocking many Austinites! Since then, we've run into Alex on the F1 social scene as he is another Austinite excited and informed about F1's arrival this November.

Alex had a very cool Red Bull Racing jacket (see pic below). He shared an insider tip that we think is genius: he ordered F1 merchandise from Red Bull Racing via Milton Keynes but his order took almost a month to arrive. He gave up and decided to check out the Infiniti USA website, which is where he ended up ordering his RBR jacket from; it arrived much quicker, cheaper and in better condition by ordering via Infiniti USA. Here's the Infiniti page for ordering official Red Bull Racing merchandise.

Be sure to check out the 3 Guys Sports Show via their website, Facebook page or follow them on Twitter! 

Alex Franco, aka "Digitz," sporting his Red Bull Racing jacket after recording with Kerri and Kevin for 3 Guys Sports Show on Talk Radio 1370

VIDEO: February Construction Update

The Statesman has been on top of construction updates at Circuit of The Americas for February, so we thought we'd revisit the location of our first video shot in Elroy so you can see the progress made in the past year.

Many, many thanks to everyone who supported us for a Social Media Award from Austin's largest newspaper, the Austin American-Statesman. For those of you wondering what F1 in Austin has to do with social media, hopefully this background helps:

The Austin Grand Prix utilizes social media to connect with motorsport fans around the world. Our goal is simple: to help people connect with F1™.

Via independent analysis and on-location accessibility, we're able to deliver insight that translates into conversations with local and international fans, consumers, business owners, industry players and motorsports media. We take the conversation past blogging and into real-time dialogue via daily updates on Twitter. We engage with curious fans via high-quality picture and content sharing on Facebook and deliver unique video content via our Vimeo channel. We launched our COME AND RACE IT e-commerce site to build our brand responsibly and we aim to consistently embrace the latest social media tools, such as Pinterest and Tumblr.

Ultimately, technology is about connecting. Social media is The Austin Grand Prix’s tool to enhance the connection between a sport and its fans. We understand that Formula 1 is the most technologically advanced sport and it’s coming to one of the most technologically advanced cities in the world: Austin, Texas. As Kerri explains, “It’s about a culture that breeds innovation and technology and we're really lucky to have this in such a forward thinking city. I think it's a perfect partnership.”

Because we share a deep passion for our hometown, The Austin Grand Prix also serves as a platform for education and interaction within the city of Austin. We support responsible and sustainable growth for Austin while helping fans around the world learn more about this amazing city. While excitement continues to build for an Austin F1 race in November, The Austin Grand Prix will continue to help novice and intermediate racing fans alike to connect with a technology-fueled sport.

We'll share the results of the nomination process as soon as we receive further details.

A giant Texas-sized THANK YOU for your continual support!