Because he’s been covering Pikes Peak International Hill Club since 2018, Paul gets a lot of questions about what it’s like to be on the mountain as a photographer. He’s always happy to share his unique journey from race fan to media pro.
First off, Paul, please tell us a little about this race.
Let me call out a few things that make the race special. First and most obviously, it’s a race uphill rather than the flat course you’d find at a conventional circuit race. Drivers race against the clock versus directly against other drivers. Also, it’s on a public road, with all unpredictability that entails, as opposed to taking place on a track. It’s an international field of drivers, which is more common with an open-wheel race like the Indy 500 rather than one like this, where open-wheelers join with cars you might see on the street. In fact, you can race anything up that hill you want, as long as it passes technical inspection. None of those elements are totally unique, but the PIkes Peak International Hill Climb brings them all together.
What’s the media presence like?
When you think of media, you might think of national networks, streaming services, or local TV. But their presence is mostly just on race day. But there’s a larger group of photographers and videographers who are on site for a week or more, covering practice runs as well as race day. I think of this group as consisting of three kinds: commissioned, contracted, and freelance. The commissioned group are hired by participants in the race: drivers, sponsors, car makers, etc. Well-known drivers, like Travis Pastrana or Romain Dumas, will sometimes bring a whole media team with them. A lot of my peers on the mountain are from these teams. The contracted group consists of folks who specialize in race photography and are covering the race under contract with a media outlet. Triple O Magazine hiring Larry Chen and team – that’s maybe the best example. And then there are freelance folks like me. The Pikes Peak Hill Climb is a little more open to freelancers than other races are, which I think is in keeping with the spirit of the race itself. It has also made it a great place for someone like me to get involved and learn.
Freelancers may also have a relationship with companies or agencies involved with the race. For example, for several years I was part of a team covering the race for an agency called Blaq Rocket. Last year, I provided race photography for Porsche of Colorado Springs, one of the leading Porsche dealers in the US, where I also have a day job in operations.
Ok, so take us inside race week and the days leading up to it.
First, you have to fill out an application detailing your qualifications. Now, I can cite my previous years covering the race, which helps. This year [2022], I also had the sponsorship of the dealership. You also pay a fee, of course. Ultimately you find out whether you’re in or not – there are no guarantees.
About a week before the race, there’s a media meeting. That’s where you get your orientation and pick up your credentials. That’s also where you sign a contract that says you are going to respect the race – that is, you won’t do anything to interfere with the proceedings – and you also sign a waiver of liability. You can’t forget that some of the dangers that exist for drivers also exist for photographers and other folks there to cover the race. So the waiver says it’s on you if you cause harm to yourself or anyone else.
When practice days begin, you want to be out on the course. Believe it or not, they start running while it’s still dark out. The course is closed to traffic starting around 4 a.m., so you want to get there around 3 a.m. to make sure you can park your car and find the best spot to get your shots.
When you arrive, all the other media folks are trickling in also. You hang out in the car, stay warm, finish your coffee, and listen for the first car to go. When you hear that sound, you hustle to your spot. For sunrise, I generally want a position at Devil’s Playground. Brown Bush has sunrise as well.
As the morning progresses, you’ll generally want to change spots. I change as much as I can depending on the light. The corners are the best spots for me, but what a “good spot” is depends on your equipment, your skill level, and weather conditions. For example, lenses with longer focal lengths and fixed apertures will expand your options to getting high-quality shots from different positions. Weather is especially a factor on the mountain. For example, during race day last year, everyone above the tree line got fog, and everyone below got sun.
I move the most on practice days. On race day, most people stay in one spot because they don’t want to risk interfering with the race. You have to remember that the road is the main way to travel up and down, and the road is also the race course. So even on practice days, if you move, you’ll be running to get to the next spot to make sure you stay out of the way. And running is quite physically challenging on a mountain. Some of the media folks bring oxygen. I don’t, but I was raised at elevation, and I’m also relatively young, so it’s easier for me. Seriously, I’ll often pass people sitting there puffing away on their oxygen can trying to recover, but I can tell – they are done.
Your personal safety is another consideration. There are no spots on the course that are inherently safe. It’s not called “America’s most dangerous race” for nothing.
What are your favorite spots for getting great photos?
I kind of approach it by sector. On the upper sector, the most popular spot is Devil’s Playground, because of the amazing sunrise. It’s above the cloudline and above the treeline. Double Cut is another: you get some rocks and a little bit of foreground so you can see you are at elevation, not just racing up a road. Near Devil’s Playground is MIle 16, which shows hard rock and sheer dropoff, and there’s no trees or bushes to interfere. On the lower sector, a corner like Brownbush, which is slow and steep, can also provide opportunities, but if you can’t be there for sunrise, I wouldn’t use it during race day. Of course, on practice days, if I’m covering a specific team, I go to whatever sector they are working.
How many photos do you take every year on average? What does the process look like to get those photos out to clients?
I’m usually up there for five days, and I take about 300 photos a day, so that’s around 1500 photos. The first year or two I took more, because I was learning and didn’t have a specific goal in mind. Since then I’ve been working for a team. So I’m more deliberate now. I also learned I had to buy a lot more batteries because they don’t last as long in the cold conditions on the mountain.
In terms of clients, my goal is to get the shots, do my editing, and get content out to people the same day, whether it’s a practice day or a race day.
What’s this race mean to you on a personal level?
I’ve been going up since 2018, so the race is part of my life now. I’ve learned a lot, and the race has evolved as well. The biggest change during my time has been the elimination of motorcycles. The change was made for safety reasons, after the death of one of Ducati’s top riders. I know it was a tough decision for race organizers – motorcycles had been part of the race from almost the beginning, and really added to the diversity of race participants. But I understand why it was necessary.
From the start, my interest was in the cars. While some are factory built, most are purpose-built for the race. You get to walk right up, smell the petrol, and gain some appreciation for the mechanical complexity of these vehicles.
Increasingly though, my connection to the race is to the people. I have a growing base of friends on the mountain. The drivers, the race staff, and all the support staff that make it happen. The whole Porsche GT4 group. The drivers: Loni Unser, Travis Pastrana. David Donner, David Donahue, Randy Pobst, Robb Holland. The local guys who are up there every year: Jeff Zwart, Jason Schmidt, many others. Just being there at 4 a.m., hanging around with the guys, everyone freezing their ass off. One morning Matt Farah of The Smoking Tire podcast flipped the tail gate of the Ford F150 Lightning he was driving that day, plugged in his griddle, and made a bunch of egg croissant sandwiches for all of us. It’s that kind of thing.
If you had the chance to change one thing about the race from a media standpoint, what would it be and why?
If you ask me, the race doesn’t get as much attention as it should, given the worldwide representation of riders and manufacturers that take part. And every year there’s something new. Lately, it’s been a showcase for high-performance electric vehicles, from VW’s record-setting ID R concept car to the Teslas supercars from Unplugged Performance. I’d love to see this race gain some of the plaudits it deserves. Hopefully my photographs can play a small part in making that happen.