What's High Octane Photography All About?

Shooting at Daytona International Speedway...

My name's Steve. Rumor has it I'm the chief cook and bottle washer here at High Octane Photography, so I guess I should tell you a bit about myself and my photography:

I first became interested in motorsports back in the 1970's, when Mom and Dad would pack my brother Greg and me into their 1965 Plymouth Belvedere for the drive from Hauppauge, Long Island to Lime Rock, Connecticut to watch my Uncle Ray race his BMW. I don't recall too much of the racing, but I remember the sights and smells around the paddock area. I remember seeing the big money famous guys like Gene Hackman, James Brolin and Paul Newman with their big tractor trailers, wondering why they would do something so dangerous when they surely didn't have to. But what made the bigger impact on me was seeing the really small teams, like Uncle Ray's, who squeezed every nickel out of a shoestring budget to not only stay competitive, but to be successful.

My uncle, Ray Korman, racing at Roebling Road Raceway in Bloomingdale, Georgia...

In 2011 I had the opportunity to photograph the Rolex 24 Hour Race at Daytona International Speedway, and I was hooked.

Years later, I found myself fortunate enough to be one of the track photographers at Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon. I was almost 40 years older than when I first went to Lime Rock, but the level of excitement was exactly the same. PIR featured both a road course and a drag strip, so I was able to shoot both during my tenure there.

Since those days at PIR, I've relocated to Florida, and that's afforded me an opportunity to concentrate on not only racing, but on the vehicles themselves, as well. When you have the world center of racing less than an hour to your south, countless local car and motorcycle shows, two major bike rallies, five race tracks and two major collector car auctions all within a few hours drive, it's easy to do.

And therein lies the genesis of High Octane Photography.

So, what can you expect to see here?

We'll endeavor to bring you stunning photography of some of the most amazing machines ever devised. We cover auto and motorcycle races at Daytona International Speedway (as well as smaller tracks),  motorcycle drag racing in southern Georgia and central Florida, Daytona Beach Bike Week in the spring and Biketoberfest in the fall. We attend Mecum and Barrett-Jackson collector car auctions in Orlando and Palm Beach, the Amelia Island Festivals of Speed, the Amelia Island Concours d' Elegance, and countless smaller car and motorcycle shows and rallies throughout the region, all to photograph amazing examples of automotive ingenuity from around the world.

Can it get any better?

Well, I guess we're gonna' find out...