2021 Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix

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This was so much more than a race for me. This was my confirmation that the world is opening up again. For some people it’s being able to have dinner with friends, for others, it’s about going out to a movie. For me, it’s about pointing a camera at a race car, and I haven’t been able to do that for a while. I’ll let you in on a little secret - photographing buildings hasn’t been a challenge over the past year. Most buildings are still empty when I am on site, and exteriors are done in the open air without a crowd around me. But racing has been about congregating in large groups, which has been hard to do over the past year. I was sad to not be able to do this event last year, and I was so excited to be able to bring the gear to Pittsburgh for this go-round of the PVGP.

As usual, the weekend did not disappoint. The crowds returned. The drivers returned. The cars returned. The weather was great …and normality returned. Benefitting the Autism Society of Pittsburgh, and the Merakey Allegheny Valley School, the event draws racers and visitors from all over the country. This year the honored marque was Corvette (carried over from last year), and there was an on-track display from Vintage Indy, which was nice to see. As a special bonus, I was asked to do a small write-up for the program, using photos from previous years.

I hope you are all able to do what you want now that things are starting to settle down. Be vigilant, be safe, and enjoy.

The May, Cleveland, Ohio

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Situated on Euclid Avenue near the southeast corner of Cleveland’s Public Square is The May, an upscale apartment development built into the remnants of the iconic May Company Building, the historic white terra cotta department store designed by architect Daniel Burnham and originally opened in 1915. Developed by Bedrock Detroit and designed by Geis Companies, The May brings contemporary apartment style living to the historic department store footprint.

While the interior of the building has been converted into luxury apartments, the exterior was given a complete restoration, including the original terra cotta tiles and ornamentation, as well as the original pediment signage (complete with clock), and the Chicago style windows (including frosted glazing that continues the original May company “M” logos from the original design). If you didn’t know better, you might think that the May Company Department Store was still around. You wouldn’t know otherwise until you stepped inside. 300 apartments, 500 parking spaces, an open-air atrium on the sixth floor, luxury amenities, and still room for a rooftop restaurant and some 80,000 square feet of retail fill out the space. Quite the turnaround.

It was both a pleasure and a challenge to photograph the building up close through late summer and into the fall. At two-plus months, 12 trips, and over 95 final images, it was my largest architectural shoot to date, and it was just a joy. The respect for historic detail taken while breathing new life into this once majestic jewel of a building excited both the architect and photographer in me. I wish there were more like it.

2019 Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix

Last weekend, I attended the 37th annual event at PIttsburgh’s Schenley Park.

I really have a soft spot for this event. Run every year as a fundraiser for the Autism Society of Pittsburgh as well as the Allegheny Valley School, this event draws crowds like no other. I believe this was my sixth year photographing.

With the Architectural side of the business growing, I haven’t made as many racing events this year as I have in the past, but I wasn’t going to miss this one. Other than the heat, it was a fantastic day. I can’t wait to do it again next year.

2018 Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix

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Yesterday I spent another afternoon touring the paddock and track at the annual Schenley Park event. I really can't sing this event's praises enough. Now in its 36th year, it is the largest vintage race weekend, and the only one run on public streets. Benefiting the Autism Society of Pittsburgh, and the Allegheny Valley School, the event has raised over 5 million dollars since its inception.

This years' Marque of the Year was BMW, and I can tell you it was raining 2002s (surprising for such a sunny day). They even had their own race. I'm pretty sure the winner was... a 2002.

The 2018 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring

2018 Sebring 12 Hours - Race Report:

Wednesday – Northeast Ohio: Snow. Cold.

Thursday: Hop on a plane bound for Florida.

Friday, Saturday - Sebring: Sunny. Mid-80’s. Spent the better part of two days photographing the zippy cars at the 66th annual Twelve Hour endurance spectacle - A welcome respite from the extended winter up north. Don’t get me wrong; I like Northeast Ohio. We’ve got LeBron (for the moment), decent baseball, plenty of entertainment options, and good friends. Still, It was good to spend some time down south reminding myself that warmer weather was coming. I even got a mild sunburn.

As for the race itself, that was entertaining in its own right. In the prototype class, the 22 Nissan DPi ruled the field, and the Porsche 911 RSR (numbered 911 also) took honors in GTLM, and the number 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini paced the field in GTD. I could think of worse ways to spend a weekend. And I know that Springtime is coming.

Sunday: Hop on a plane bound for Northeast Ohio.

Monday – Northeast Ohio: Snow. Cold.