MotoGP 2011 rewind and review @dstoresf Dainese D-Store San Francisco

Fireside MotoGP evening photo with yours truly courtesy of Jules Cisek aka PopMonkey

The evening was set for Friday March 16, at the rather huge and plush Dainese D-Store in San Francisco.  That day, storms decided to hit the Central Coast and the Bay Area with a vengeance. As my wife Emily and I set off from our little village of Capitola we had resigned ourselves to an evening that might be a little more intimate in terms of attendance than a crowd...by the time we inched our way through the traffic that always backs up for the Bay Bridge, we arrived at the store around 6.20pm.  Kick off was 6.30.  After running back and forth with computer bags, my Hawaiian shirt, plus the artwork, prints and my Marco Simoncelli 58 of #58 books I brought for people to look at and possibly purchase we had arrived...

Well, shut the front door! If there wasn't a huge crowd of people there (it was mentioned to me that possibly as many people as there were in attendance for the visits by Marco Simoncelli and Jorge Lorenzo!  Totally humbled!)  Shelli, the lovely manager of the store, mentioned that she thought that due to the weather that there wouldn't be the number of people that were actually there, and as it turned out they didn't have enough seating for everyone.  A rough guess put the numbers around 40 plus.  Which just goes to show what a hardy bunch we NorCal motorcycle racing fans are...no rain is gonna put a damper in an evening of MotoGP (and of course beer kindly supplied by Peroni as well as some tasty pizza).  What was evening more humbling was people kept on arriving...and no-one got bored and left --- phew!! After a brief karaoke moment whilst I figured out the microphone, and with some minor hiccups involving my laptop and the syncing of the slideshow we went around the world with yours truly accompanied by some travel images, and a handful of my favourite shots from all fourteen MotoGP races I covered in 2011.

The whole "show" last a little over two hours.  With some good humour thrown in along with many great questions being asked it made the weather irrelevant! Hopefully the answers were as good as the questions!  Shelli deemed the whole evening a success, and I too was thrilled by the response and of course the turnout, especially for such a dour evening. Meeting up with likeminded people all fans of motorcycle racing and photography, and many of whom are good friends and as a result making new friends during the evening was extremely special.  Being accompanied by my wonderful wife Emily made it moreso....

I think we'll be doing something similar later this year.  So make sure to "like" the Dainese D-Store Facebook  page as well as my Andrew Wheeler - AutoMotoPhoto FaceBook page for updates that will be posted throughout the upcoming MotoGP 2012 season. 

Thanks again to all who attended.  It was a special evening for me and I hope for all of you.

On The Road with Andrew Wheeler! AKA me! @DSTORESF D-Store San Francisco March 16.

Now that we're all caught up, I'm very happy to announce....

The official flyer pretty much spells it out.  On Friday March 16, from 6.30-8.30pm I will providing an insight and visual treat (and of course banter) at the Dainese Store located here in San Francisco. I will also a have a few items on sale for those attending and of course you can also order items directly.  To help relieve you with some serious shopping therapy I do accept credit cards!! Bring your questions and let's have a good evening a couple of weeks ahead of the MotoGP season opener in Qatar!

There will be refreshments and food provided! If you're local and would like to sign up there is a FaceBook event sign up located here I look forward to seeing you this coming Friday!

Andrew Wheeler, AutoMotoPhoto and MotoGP. Part3 Catching Up.

Some of you who are "Likers" on the Andrew Wheeler - AutoMotoPhoto page here on Facebook would have seen or viewed the individual rider galleries I put together to keep us warm and interested over those cold winter nights...(doesn't that sound all squishy warm and fuzzy?)

Well, I figured that not everyone is on Facebook, and so they're worth sharing here.  I'll most likely be adding a few more to the Facebook page between now and Qatar just to get people in the mood for the new season, but in the interim here are the galleries.  To search or view nearly 20K images from the AMA, World Superbike and MotoGP you can also visit my archive and create your own lightbox, search for any rider..you name it, you can almost do it all.

Except download.  For that you'll have to pay me!  =)

Starting off this collection of slideshows is the 2011 MotoGP World Champion, Casey Stoner...

Not forgetting that man in yellow...Mr 46 himself.  Valentino Rossi...

Then we went to take a look back over Ben Spies' 2011 in MotoGP.....

The talented and charming factory Ducati rider Nicky Hayden....

The rather talented Alvaro Bautista aboard the factory Rizla Suzuki in it's last year of MotoGP (for now).  They'll be missed this year. But Alvaro did a great job, as did the team....

...and by coincidence here follows a little something from the waaay back machine when the current AMA champion Ben Spies tested at Indianapolis for the Rizla Suzuki MotoGP team..

All the galleries and the images contained can be shared on FB or on Twitter, as can the galleries so don't hold back.  Feel free to share.  Also, prints can be purchased.  Just send me an email if there's something that grabs you...more to come...!

58 of #58 - The Book

58 of #58 - Marco Simoncelli

There has been so much going on in my life recently, especially with my wife Emily's health that I have neglected to update "BlogWorld" with this little book I put together of pictures I have taken of Marco Simoncelli from 2008 through to Malaysia, 2011. It's my little tribute if you like, to someone who didn't follow the corporate model, but was a true racer, with that Barry Sheene flamboyance that seems to have been lost due to everyone worrying about their sponsors.  Possibly the natural successor to Rossi?  Who knows.  The world is full of surprises and "what if's".  If you're interested in owning one of these simply click the link HERE to find out more

MotoGP - 2011 Season In Pictures - AutoMotoPhoto

Happy New Year!

I'd like to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who views my blog, follows my ramblings on Twitter @automotophoto  or is a "Liker" on my Facebook page at "Andrew Wheeler-AutoMotoPhoto"...

2011 MOTOGP SEASON AUTOMOTOPHOTO REVIEW - Images by Andrew Wheeler | AutoMotoPhoto

I was going to go on and on about Valencia, the last round of the 2011 season but have since decided that the best way to summarize the year would be to put together the mother of all slideshows. Starting with round 1 in Qatar and ending up with the  final round 18 in Valencia.  You'll see a selection of images from each round that I covered (14/18) that hopefully will tell a story.  Maybe it's more like a novel.  It should hopefully keep you going until at least the season opener at the beginning of April!

If you wish to view the slideshow full screen simply click on the little "expand" button that sits next to "Share" and of couse, should you wish to share feel free to do so. I will let the slide show tell the story as for me, it was a wonderful year tinged with sadness.  2012 hasn't started off in the best of ways, but we'll see what happens and there will be updates as we go forward.

AutoMotoPhoto 2012 Motorcycle Racing Calendar now available

Available to order now...

Andrew Wheeler's 2012 AutoMootoPhoto GP Calendar

Last years high quality calendar was a roaring success and so I am offering this calendar yet again. With 12 uniquely different images taken at MotoGP races all over the globe during the 2011 racing season this calendar offers a traditional calendar starting on Sunday combined with a photograph chosen from one of the races I have covered.

Also, what makes this calendar special, is to be able to specify your own favourite rider from the MotoGP class to have as a custom calendar at no additional cost.  

For ordering information click here and to view actual photos of the 2011 calendar (on FaceBook) click here .....

From happy to sad in less than 120 minutes. Goodbye Marco.

I never knew him that well.....

Marco Simoncelli locking down the 250cc Championship in Phillip Island 2008

..but when you travel constantly with the "MotoGP" circus you become a familiar face. Over time you'll receive a "ciao" or a "bongiorno" when passing in the paddock in the morning, during the evening or even as these people walk through the media centre. However, it was in Phillip Island in parc ferme where Marco recognised me when I asked him to look down into my camera for a goofy shot of him waving.  He obliged.

This was only my second trip to Malaysia covering MotoGP and the heat and humidity aside, it is a happy place to visit, even if this is work (!).  You have people who seem to have a positive gene in their DNA.  Nothing is too much trouble if you need help, directions whatever.

hopefully they buy their tickets sequentially....or do they swap t-shirts if not?

I never thought that the heat would become so transparent simply because the energy of the people who live here rises above this little niggling thing.  So it was after the end of the Moto2 race I simply decided I would sit on my scooter in front of the grandstands and stay in the shade.  Rather than go back into the media centre and then have to go through the painful process of acclimatizing to the heat from the cold once again, it just makes sense to simply "stay out".  Which I did.  So here I am, sat in front of all these fans who have travelled from all over the region (from Indonesia etc for this race weekend) and they're smiling, waving and asking me questions about "the job". I felt so connected and so not far away.  Knowing I only had a race day and Monday here in Malaysia this makes the day complete for me. As I have mentioned before, I love this place, even with the crazy drivers and crazier scooter riders.  It's fantastic.

Happiness is infectious

Time to go to work.  First up the starting grid row girls that show the grid rows...then the teams roll out accompanied by the umbrella girls that keep the sun off the rider...the grid is prepared with tap crowd barriers around the various locations on the grid where the riders are placed.  The grid is full, aside from the riders.  The bikes are fired up, they head out on track, and the final wave of crew chiefs, mechanics come to join the their various crews out on the grid... dignitaries arrive and the clock starts ticking down to "go time"  The mad scurrying of TV crews, photographers, people who have been granted access to the grid all trying to capture, talk to or see their subjects makes it a challenge, but a fun one at that.  The back drop sounds of fans chanting "Rossi" "Rossi" make this feel somewhat gladiatorial.

Alvaro Bautista keeps himself focussed and cool

With the clock ticking, and most photographers having got their required images, it's a mad scrambling of crazy scooter riding to the first corner (or wherever)...with everyone in place, you watch from distance the grid clear.  Warm up lap.  The bikes leave in no particular order for the last lap before race start.  The anticipation grows within.  Next, you see them arrive on the grid.  The flagman at the rear confirms everyone is in their place, the flagmen at the front and rear, signal to each other then clear off the grid..the lights come on and we're under way.  The bikes come at you and everyone is capturing the race start.  The pack disappears around the corner and you hear the roar of bikes in the distance racing.  

Next you hear them coming down the track on the other side of the grandstands, then they're in full view coming at you, here comes lap two. They pass, then we all break out to a new location.

The "last lap" for Marco Simoncelli

Then the red flags come out.  Silence.  Nothing on the jumbotrons except replays of the start.  Then we see why there is a red flag.  The normally smiley faces of photographers turns to worry.  One mentions to me that "his [Simoncelli's] helmet came off.  We knew that wasn't a good sign even from where we were standing.  But speculating isn't what we do.  So we wait and wait and wait.  Then the call comes, race cancelled.  Deflated.  We knew something was not good.  We head back to the media centre.  There's an eerie silence.  

The loudest noise in a normally very noisy media centre is the air conditioning fans.  

Then it is announced that Marco Simoncelli has succumbed to his injuries. People who you know have seen so much through their lenses now have red eyes.  No one speaks.  There was a press conference at 5.45pm to provide an opportunity for questions. People seem to be in a state of disbelief.  Surreal.

Thank you for being so colourful, vibrant and full of life - image taken at Phillip Island, 10.15.2011

Marco was different. Cavalier, dynamic and and was loaded with energy.  You'll be missed. My thoughts go to his family.  I'd also like to send some get well wishes to Colin Edwards as well.

Tragic day.

You can't keep it all to yourself - Sharing and helping others to "see"

I admit I was nervous.

But after we had the meet and greet, and the av-display had been set up and connected to my laptop I felt that something clicked within me.  This just felt right.

That's me!  AutoMotoPhoto inaugural seminar Phillip Island

My wife Emily had suggested I take my photography and what I know in a new direction and this was it.  The day went well and I was amazed at the level of enthusiasm of the people who had joined me for the day.  We ran through the program I had put together, with the morning focussing on image ideas, "seeing" and thinking differently as well as taking a look at peoples images and taking input from people on not only each others images and ways of thinking, but also my own images.  In the afternoon we looked at self promotion, marketing, search engine optimisation as well as how to use the freely available social media outlets to build or share your work with others.

The day ended with dinner and a few beers before everyone headed off for the race weekend....

A fantastic day, and a big thank you to Helen, Frank, Anant, Simon and Robert who signed up.  A good sized group which allowed for everyone's questions and discussions to be heard and answered.

The next Andrew Wheeler AutoMotoPhoto Seminar is being organized...