Observations: Shooting the Baja 1000

Ok, here is a post to hopefully generate a conversation amongst other photographers or video guys who cover offroad motorsports. I've covered my third Baja 1000 this year, you can read about it in previous posts if you've packed a lunch and are full of caffeine... long read. Anyone who's been to Baja will understand the challenge the place itself provides in terms of logistics but if you are there chasing the race as race support crew or trying to photograph it you face a whole other set of challenges. I'll outline them as a sort of commented list. Please, leave a witticism behind if you'd like to challenge my preconceptions or offer a "what works for me" type of comment or if you'd like to add to the following list.

1. Night comes to Baja.

It's true. Even in sunny Mexico, night still falls. During the Baja 1000 this means I think for many of us trying to photograph the event that you either resign yourself to a lot of flash or tripod. It limits the number of action shots you can really get. Lighting a person or motorcycle in the dark is one thing, but try it on a race car moving at speed and you find yourself quickly much closer than you might like. Also, you tend to get the same kind of shot over and over this way. So far, my brute force solution is to avoid going too far South. As the race progresses, it gets dark. Better to stay in the North where the bulk of the action takes place in the daylight. This also has the advantage of getting you back across the border before the mad exodus from Baja at the end of the race.

2. Transportation

It's a bitch. No two ways about it. The best solution is to have your own ride, and a co-driver to share driving duties or at least to help you keep aware of some dangers in Baja. So far I've embedded myself with race teams to cover their personal story. The first year, I had a little more autonomy when I covered Dan Cook's bid to complete the race in his Mount Logan built expedition trophy truck. That was my first year and I have to say, I think I got more interesting action shots that first year than any year since, despite my greater experience now. Largely this is due to transportation. In short, your own wheels is the way to go. I've thought about bringing a bike or quad down but I'm no where near good enough shape to try and follow any portion of a live race course and expect to live... let alone have my camera gear live. I'm sure there are a host of people who would rightfully warn me off such an idea anyway. One interesting option I've considered is looking into an ultra-light aircraft. They require no pilot's license and can be hauled across the border on a trailer and assembled at a location of your choice. Just remember that the Mexican military takes their no-fly after dark rule very seriously.

3. Security

With the recent events in Baja, I think a lot more about security down there now. Unfortunately, I view police with the most suspicion and caution. I know that not all of them are corrupt, or even many of them. The problem is that ones who are or seem to be complicit in criminal efforts have acted with such bravado and savagery it gives one pause now when confronted with them. The fact that they openly accept bribes of all colors presents it's own issues. Ok, so what to do? Thievery being the biggest fear still, I tend to keep my camera gear locked in a chase truck at all times when I'm not using it. Chase crews get very nervous when locals approach an open truck and so you have a little built-in vigilance over your stuff if it is in their truck but keep in mind that t-shirts, hats, tools, parts or anything really do disappear off those trucks while they are sitting an open pit where locals can just walk through. Gear insurance is a great idea for trips like this. I can't wait till I can afford it.

4. Safety

Maybe this one should go first? Oh well. All kinds of bad stuff can happen to you when you are in close proximity to guys hauling ass through the desert. You could easily be run over as happened to a spectator at Ojos Negros in 2006. This guy was standing quite literally in the same patch of dirt I was in my first year down. One big difference though is that I manage risk which is sort of clear that fellow was not doing. By managing the risk, I mean I recognize and respect the danger and then see how I can still shoot but as safely as possible. Now, in that spot there isn't a lot you can do. I wanted to shoot from a low angle to capture cars jumping the rise. Given the crowd, there is only one place you can really be. However, I never drink when working, and I try to stay hydrated, fed etc. This helps me remain alert. Also, I practiced "dry" and exercised some skills you learn when riding a motorcycle to be aware of escape routes in case of something like this. To someone who hasn't been in the situation, this may sound kind of flimsy buy the important thing is that you think about it as that is what makes all the difference. I hate to beat this safety drum too much but I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that when in Baja for the race, most injuries and fatalities happen on the highways to chase crews attempting to drive too long without sleep and that sort of thing. As long as you carry enough water and warm clothing the natural environment in Baja is actually pretty tame in my opinion so that isn't as much of an issue.

5. Logistics

This is partially a travel problem but you really need to spend some time in advance planning how much money, food, spare batteries etc you are going to need. Personally, I've always held that you ought to travel as light as you possibly can. As photographers we can't really go too light on gear. You really want the spare body and a good selection of glass, lighting stuff etc. However, you really can get by a week or so in mexico on two pairs of pants and 3 or 4 pairs of underwear, especially if you have the opportunity to wash your stuff in a hotel. There are all kinds of cool tips you could learn from backpacking, ultra-light hiking, the military and other sources about traveling light. If I have more than two carry on bags (I generally don't check luggage when I travel) then I've screwed up, is how I try to operate.

That is really all I can think of at the moment but if you you are making a trip down and are wondering about something drop me a line. If you don't see the answers here I may simply have left them out.

Baja Summary

Ok, well that's done. This year's Baja 1000 was something else. Unfortunately, I didn't get internet access again after my last entry so allow me to summarize briefly what transpired next...

Nov 13- We left El Rosario and drove about an hour South somewhat in the area of Cataviña where we set up a pit at the point where the race course swings back onto the dirt after about twenty miles or so of pavement. An interesting fact that the un-initiated may not realize is the cars may not exceed the speed limit while on the highway. The reason for this is obviously safety but it's not very intuitive when you think in terms of a race. Exceeding the speed limit will cause the car to be disqualified. Because all the vehicles must have a rally track device mounted on the car, it's obvious to race officials when this occurs. So anyway, we set up by several other pits and waited. We got a bit of news here and there about our two race cars throughout the day but eventually The Dominator roared into our pit. It needed little attention but we swapped drivers, fueled it and gave it a good looking at before sending it on it's way. Sadly, the massive V10 had oiling issues and while idling, became starved of oil. The engine threw a rod through the bottom about five miles after our pit and we had to fish it out of the desert on a rope. Data downloaded from the engine management system showed that issue lay on the engine builder's end and after receiving the file, he immediately saw the problem and promised to deliver a fresh motor before the Henderson race (which just took place as of this writing). Kudos to him for stepping up like that but we were bummed at the time, I really wanted to see the car finish. Still, we had one more car in the race.

The HMS car had encountered problems early on after hitting a booby trap dug by spectators at race mile thirteen. The left front wheel assembly was ripped loose but the team and drivers were able to get it together enough to run. Unfortunately this meant, that for the rest of the race, the car had brakes on only three corners. The car also sustained damage to the right front coil over. When it got to our pit at Cataviña the pit crew set about making the car as whole as possible before sending it into the dark desert. A new shock had been located so that went on and took a look at the brakes. Nothing could be done about the broken brakes, the whole assembly was gone. So, the line was capped off and system bled. Each set of drivers from then on would comment on the poor braking but nothing could be done about it. I snapped several pictures of the car being worked on but photography is tough at night and there is only so much variety one can manage so after a brief powernap, I bagged my camera and jumped into the mix. I helped change CV boots and fetched tools etc as much as possible, hoping I was helping and not hindering. No one told me to get out from under foot so I suppose I made a contribution. Our job would now be to chase the HMS car all the way to Cabo and provide whatever assistance was needed on the way. We broke down the pit and hit the road fifteen minutes after the car took off. As we rolled down the highway, I nervously watched the postion updates on our IonEarth display in the chase truck. The data on the screen showed little position change but it was difficult to trust the IonEarth unit since the servers controlling the system had crashed more than once during the race. Then came word on the radio; the car had been rolled a scant few miles after we left the pit. The other half of the crew who had remained behind to recover the fuel tower and finish cleaning up the pit called to let us know. A decision was made to weld the broken light bar and send the car into the desert with questionable lighting. I can't tell you how many cars I saw running one, two or three of their 10 lights or however many they normally had. Lights are a common casualty of desert racing so drivers are used to being thankful if they make it into the night with some lights still intact. Most teams opt to transport light bars separately and bolt them on at a pit before night fall for this reason. We just had the bad luck to roll our car right after dark.

Nov 14- The car continued on it's way without much issue. We shadowed it as best we could throughout the day, with minimal contact. No major issues were encountered after that one rough night but we kept a close eye on the CV joints, the front shock and any other bits that looked like they might come loose. There is little to report about this last section as it went fairly smoothly but after some fifty hours of continuous wakefulness most of the team converged on Cabo to wait for the car to finish. Finish it did. Sal Fish shook hands with driver Chuck Dempsey and the rest of the team that night late when we pulled in. As you can imagine, everyone was wiped so we retired right away to our hotel, El Mar de Cortez which I recognized as being a once grand but fallen on hard times establishment. Honestly, I couldn't have cared less as long as there was a bed and some quiet. I could have done without the cockroaches, but the bed was very comfy.
What followed the finish was a few days of winding down, catching up, swapping stories and partying in Cabo. None of it really of interest in terms of the race itself other than to just say that the one of the best things about this race is kicking up the dust with all your buddies once the thing was over and all survivors and casualties were tallied.
I could actually leave it there but as a post script I'd like to mention a couple sobering facts about this race, lest people forget for a moment the real dangers involved. Four people in total died during the 40th Baja 1000. Two in connection with a helicopter crash up North and two from a chase team driving on the highway that collided with oncoming traffic. I hate to sober this story too much but please, please, please remember when you go to Baja that aside from being a lot of fun with tons of stories, there are many ways of running into trouble down there. Other's have written plenty on the subject but you absolutely must operate with sobriety, caution and alertness while in Mexico. Best advice I think I could offer would be to get sleep if you can, and don't be proud. If you are tired, hand the wheel over. Save your partying for after the race.
There's a bit more to this tale for sure. If you haven't already, grab a copy of CRAWL Magazine to check out more photos of the race and some additional anecdotes about what happened down there.

Blood, vomit and fun.

I woke in the night, sweaty, pained, and nauseous. Sometime while emptying the contents of my stomach I must have blacked out because I woke up on the floor of the bathroom with blood all over the place. Chipped my front tooth pretty good, cut my chin wide open. I ought to get stitches but since I don't think there is a doctor around within a hundred miles to deal with me safely, I'm just going to apply first aid and hope for the best. Pretty sure it was food related. I feel better now. I think I’ll skip breakfast. Pleasant!
It’s morning, everyone is starting to stir and load out for pit setup. I can hear radio traffic from the three Speed Technologies chase trucks in the parking lot outside my little room here at the Tourista Motel.
Though there is no hurry, as we won’t see the car for several hours, I find myself anxious to be underway.

Contingency

Today started a bit later…. For that I am thankful. Unfortunately, it was also a day of small mishaps but happy endings. A little work had to be done to swap tires around after rolling the two race cars through contingency. Contingency itself was about like the first year, 2005, that I came down for the Baja 1000. Lots of people all packed in around a long line of race vehicles inching their way towards the SCORE officials who inspected each car to verify class qualification and safety. There was a live band that kept playing various reggaesque songs and inviting random girls up on stage to sing, dance or just make noise.
We planned on getting clear of Ensenada by noon but had several set backs relating to prepping The Dominator for the race. We didn’t pull out of town until around four o’clock. By the time we arrived where we are now at La Tourista motel in El Rosario it was well past dark. The drive down was uneventful, just the way we like it. Everyone is pretty beat and with nothing to really do in this little town, we are all heading to bed early.
We’ll get plenty of sleep and set up pits near Cataviña in the morning. Then we begin the long anxious wait, all ears straining into the dark for the sound of a distant V10 howling into the night. Tomorrow the 40th Baja 1000 begins.

Parnelli Jones, !Torta Grande!, The Dominator

San Diego to Ensenada went fairly smooth. I easily linked up with Frank from the 1749 Jeepspeed team. Luckily, it wasn't putting him out at all to come get me from the airport as his team needed some header wrap and asked him to find it. We looked around at a couple parts stores but they really don't carry that kind of thing. Offroad Warehouse was closed, and everywhere else we could think of right away was closed too. So I called my friend Shane Henry. Shane knew where to score some- his house. It was Frank's lucky day. Shane sold him a bunch of wrap and some safety wire to put it on there with.

While at Shane's shop I took a look at a really sweet project he's working on. I'm not going into much detail right here but expect to hear more about it....

Anyhow, next we headed South. The border crossing was uneventful. I made a quick stop there to get myself a Mexican Tourist Card or, "FMT". These are not visas precisely but are required if you are leaving t

he border area or staying in Mexico longer than 72 hours. Last year, I blew it off in favor of grabbing it in Ensenada at the port there. Bad move. The port master, jacked us for three times the actual cost and was a jackass about it as well. This time was much smoother and it cost only $23. Last year, no on

e even bothered to ask me for the stupid thing but since I'm actually returning from Baja via air, I'll actually need it to board my plane at the other end.

We cleared the retched hive of scum and villainy known as Tijuana as fast as humanly possible without speeding. Seventy-two kilometers down th

e road we stopped at Baja Seasons, a hotel. There Frank dropped off his tape and I ran into a familar face or two.

Next Frank took me to Las Rosas where I was pleased to see both JT Taylor and Mark Munson immediately upon my arrival. We BS'd a bit and JT introduced me to the other guys and gals in the Speed Technologies family

. Everyone was super friendly and down to earth. 

I had time to throw my gear in JT's room and relax for a few minutes and then the Prerunner driven by Mark c

alled on the radio asking to meet up with him at a Pemex station in town. Before I knew it, I was being herded into the Prerunner, a white Bronco with very little of it's former Bronco self remaining.

Mark, Cammy and I strapped in and got underway. Cammy, is Speed Technologies PR person. This race will be her first real exposure to any kind of offroad motorsports. I'm not sure who enjoyed more our ride

 through the first 13 miles of the race course as it snakes through the back streets of Ensenada, me or her. 

Mark didn't push the Bronco too hard but we definitely broke 60mph a few times which was a blast. I was really amazed at how well behaved and soft the suspensi

on was. I could barely feel big holes and ditches. 

Groups of 5 or 10 Mexican children ran out by the side of the course and screamed at us to give them stickers. Mark stopped to give a few stickers out but didn't stop for the ones he recognized from earlier runs throughout the day. Those kids hur

led rocks at us.

Eventually we hopped back on Highway 3 and made for the hotel.  When we pulled into the hotel there was a special surprise awaiting me.

Meet The Dominator. This is Speed Technologies' brand new Class I buggy. This year, they are actually racing both the old buggy and the new one. No words or even this one picture can describe exactly just how bad ass this car is. To give you a little inkling, it has a Dodge V10 with over 700HP at the wheels..... yeah.

Battery is dying on me now and I need food and water. We leave early tomorrow for Cataviña. I'll try to update from there but if I can't.... this will be all you hear until I reach Cabo. Wish me luck.

The toughest 1000 (or 1300) miles of racing known to man.

Well, I've been up for about 45 minutes. It's 4:30am right now. I swore last week at this same time that I would look for later flights from now on. Hell, I *had* an earlier flight but I would be suspicious if anything I planned for Baja went according to that plan.

Ok so lets count... yep third time. This makes my third consecutive Baja 1000. The plan is to link up with a dude named Frank off who I met through Pirate4x4.com. He is hooking me up with a ride from San Diego, across the border... oops ride to the airport is here...

5:30am- Phew! I love the PDX airport. Even when busy it runs sooo much smoother than most airports. The free wi-fi is especially nice as well. I'm sitting at the Capers Cafe which is right in front of you as you exit the A,B,C, gates security checkpoint. They have really great food here by any standards, not just the standards of air travel.

Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, my third Baja. I wouldn't go so far as to say i'm a veteran but at least I have a pretty good idea what will happen or rather what won't happen. Nothing will go according to plan, that much I figure is definite but the plan is: I link up with JT Taylor of XRRA Rock Racing noteworthiness. JT heads up a chase team for Speed Technologies. ST is races Class I. I will attempt to find JT at Las Rosas hotel, a few miles North of Ensenada sometime today. It's my only real mission today really and if I pull that off I'm set to ride with JT's chase team tomorrow morning from Ensenada to Cataviña several hundred miles South.

Here in this blog, if I have internet connection, I'll try to keep a blow by blow for those of you that enjoy such things. You'll have the extra pleasure of an un-edited account of this trip. If you are excited by the idea, curb your enthusiasm until you see what happens when my writing sees the light of day sans editing and polish. Though i will post some photos here, you'll need to check the pages of CRAWL Magazine to see the best ones as well as more details and minutia that I will no doubt be too lazy to put in this blog while on the road.

Ok.... here we go.

View Larger Map

First post!

Ok, so here I am posting my first entry at blogspot. I'm wondering if I'll like it better than Live Journal. It's tempting to use LJ because of the community aspect with contacts etc. I'm not sure I would actually benefit from that in the long run and I kind of like the layout options here at blogspot better. Time will tell. May as well give this a whirl, right? Hmm this has fancy formatting options too. Not that LJ doesn't, just that you have to type the html tags there... or if you don't their UI needs work. I never saw another choice aside from tag typing at LJ.