I stumbled across a website today while looking over the web site of a 300SL Gullwing specialist out in Vancouver, BC. I was actually on the Facebook page of “Spirited Automobiles” (that’s an understatement). I just saw an episode of “Chasing Classic Cars” on HD Theater where Wayne Carini flew out to this place with one of his clients to look at a Mercedes-Benz 300SL roadster, the guy ended up buying it too.
Anyway… I’m on their Facebook page and this woman, Linda Weldon had posted a note with links to her race photography website… so I went to have a look.
After doing some reading on her site and having a look at some of the photos she took of racing and especially race drivers during the hey days of the 1960s and 70s I was hooked, I’ve decided I need a copy of her new book… a compilation of photographs she took as a young woman in the race pits of various road racing tracks.
There are a number of sample photos from the book and wow! Great stuff. As someone who has spent many, many weekends taking photos of race cars and drivers through my work with the SCCA I felt a special connection to her work. Interestingly enough, I’ve photographed some of the same cars, and in fact, drivers, that she has.. just 30 – 40 years apart.
If you’re a fan of classic road racing, the drivers, personalities and the emotion involved, it looks like her book might be for you. It can be ordered from her website, this is a link to it.
There weren’t many woman in racing in those days, less walking through the pits taking photos. I haven’t seen the book yet, just the sample photos from her web site, but from what I’ve seen I think she was in a unique position to capture moments, looks, feelings, that a different photographer might not have been able to capture. There is a photo of Mark Donohue with a huge smile on his face… a smile that an old fat guy photographer just wouldn’t have been able to evoke in his subject.
I will ask my wife tonight to be sure there is a copy of hits book under the tree at our house in a couple of weeks!