It was my second year covering the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally. This year I went earlier and stayed closer to shoot practice and take my time. It’s a great rally to cover with the Saturday stages in beautiful Pennsylvania state parks and a deep list of competitors. While two stages were cancelled due to bad accidents, nobody was injured. Unlike last year when Friday’s Super Stages were cancelled, the rain held off and there were two nights of rallycross-style stages at the Tioga Fairgrounds. Complete story and gallery on TheGarageBlog.com.

If you wanted to have a print of one of the shots of you rallying, or download a shot for personal use but just never got around to it, now is the time. For Cyber Monday, you can get a 20% discount on a minimum purchase of $5.00 by using coupon code “Rally15” at check out on select SmugMug rally galleries. The fine print: sale is limited to photographs in the Seed 9 2014, Waste Management Winter Rally, Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally, New England Forest Rally, and Seed 9 2015 galleries. Discount applies to the products only and not shipping; discount is not available for commercial downloads.

In August, I found the Quiet Car on an Amtrak train and headed down to Washington DC for another round of Red Bull Global Rallycross. Whenever I shoot a race, especially in a series that I shoot frequently, I challenge myself to concentrate on one aspect of the race and nail that shot. Of course, I still have to tell the whole visual story and get a good mix of drivers, racing, and victory photos – but I also work hard to push through cliches or perfect areas where I could use a little more technical expertise. In DC, a lot of the Ford Fiestas were shooting fire out the exhaust going around the turns, so I concentrated on getting solid shots of that. It’s tricky – the fireball only lasts a fraction of a second, and that fraction of a second might happen in between shots even in burst mode. I think I nailed it though! Full race gallery is featured on TheGarageBlog.

I just returned from the West Coast this past Monday for another round of GRC. Los Angeles was a long weekend with a double header – one day of practice and two days of racing. LA is in the middle of a drought so I was surprised yet happy that it was overcast for the Saturday races. Sunday I wasn’t so lucky and the sun was bright and glaring. Still – a successful three days of shooting with my favorite things: dirt, dramatic clouds, and race cars.

Something really exciting happened over the summer, and it’s finally on the news stands – the September issue of Photo District News. PDN is a print and online magazine dedicated to the photo industry – photographers, gear, software, and everything surrounding that. When I got an email from them asking if they could interview me about shooting motorsports for their “What’s My Niche” section, of course I said yes. I’m not a small bit proud, either, that it’s an issue focusing on female photographers.

Washington Post’s In Sight Blog picked up on the issue and featured ten photographers from this month’s publication that they think you should know. I’m pretty blown away to be in such good company. Thank you, Amy Wolff, David Walker, and Nicole Crowder.

This summer has been full of motorsports action! The last weekend end June, I headed down to the Jersey Shore for Formula Drift. The oval speedway in Wall held the wildly popular event – finishing just as a summer storm blew in. Full race recap and gallery on The Garage Blog.

July saw some back-to-back travel weekends with a long trip north to Newry, Maine to cover the New England Forest Rally. The car rental agent in Vermont rented me a fun little Mazda 2, then told me how to not get killed when hitting a moose. I didn’t quite believe him that I would survive a conflagration between a moose and a Mazda 2. I was pretty excited about NEFR, with Ken Block/Alex Gelsomino, Travis Pastrana/Chrissie Beavis, Dave Higgins/Craig Drew, Nick Roberts/Rhianon Gelsomino, and so many more great rally teams signed up. Add to that a few wildcards like Lucy Block and Gustavo Yacaman, it was bound to be some brilliant rallying. Ultimately, Higgins/Drew added another win to their streak, and I managed to not spot or consequently hit a single moose along the way.

The following weekend, I flew out to Detroit for the first ever Red Bull Global Rallycross taking place in Motor City. A double header was held on Belle Isle, using part of the Grand Prix course. Four great races took place, between the Lites and the Super Cars over two days of competition.

Freelancing this summer has been a blast, and I’m looking forward to shooting more GRC in the second half of the season. My contact information is here on the site – I have some availability for other races in the coming months, and I’d love to work with you get the racing images you need. Please don’t hesitate  to contact me via phone or email to discuss shooting or licensing images.

Twitter: @ponycargirl
Instagram: @ponycargirlnyc

Especially a ticker-tape parade. New York City honored the US Women’s Soccer Team in the Canyon of Heroes after winning the World Cup. It was the first time that such a parade was held for a women’s team. Thank you Title 9!