$3000 camera, $2000 lens, $500 flash, $100 battery, $100 case, repeat for backup camera.
$30 cost in gas to get to a track, $10 food, $5 per week cleaning supplies. Upgrade or restoration costs yearly on gear (dirts rough), shoes seriously the constant wear ruins them, vehicle upkeep with travel.
Gives tracks free media attention, gives sponsors free media attention, gives drivers and their sponsors free media attention works to connect drivers, promoters, and fans.
5-10 hours editing. 1/2 hour to 1 hour cleaning equipment, 1-2 hours (or more) of promoting self trying to get by, 5-7 hours of at track work.
Show me a job where you work 20 hours a weekend or more to make anywhere from -5 to $5 an hour an I’ll show you a dirt track racing photographer. If you think $10-15 is too much for an 8×10 then by all means spend a few extra hundred to get a few more overlays on that wrap that never got a picture of it because you never supported a local photographer.
Photographers are the backbone of media. They unite every aspect of racing from the fan to the driver to the sponsor to the promoter. A promoter without pictures is a weak promoter. A driver without photos gives his sponsors very little attention and is a weak supporter of where his support comes from. A fan without photos has no way to capture and hold a memory.
By all means spend that $20 on the 50/50 ticket but let a photographer put his camera down and take up a different job on the weekend. By all means take your own pictures of your families car with your phone and let your photographer sell their camera and spend the weekend with their family. By all means don’t support photographers and watch as promoting dies and tracks die as a result.
Good promoters best friends are photographers. Wanna know how I know? The best tracks in the country have good media coverage. It’s not too much to ask to support those who support your sponsors. Who advertise local racing to those who might not know racing. Who give you memories you’ll never get back. Still think they are selling that 8×10 for too much?
