Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacob Gruber.
Hi Jacob, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
When I first started my creative endeavors, I took an older Canon DSLR to a 2-day drift (racing) event in which I was crewing for a few of my friends that were participating. When I had free time, I’d walk to the track and snap a few photos here and there and I landed a shot that basically jump-started my interest into motorsport photography. Since that event, I applied for media access to events around the region and started shooting with what I had. After getting accustomed to the equipment, I started investing more into my equipment as it was something I started to take seriously. The first few years, I shot about 10 events a year trying to experiment with different styles. Then Covid-19 locked down the country. Covid was rough; I got severely depressed, but that eventually is what drove me to build my website. Towards the end of the lockdowns, I came across a couple of YouTube channels, Hunt the Front and Chase Holland Racing. As a kid, I grew up around oval track racing and Bristol Motor Speedway was always a staple of the NASCAR Cup series. They decided to cover the track with dirt for the spring race. In addition to the Cup race, they ran a large program for cars that are normally ran on dirt tracks. Both of those YouTube teams participated at Bristol. As I was sitting at my house with the world shut down around me, I asked myself why I wasn’t there and started taking a vested interest in the dirt oval discipline. Hunt the Front, from the panhandle of Florida, had a schedule of races they were to be participating in, the closest one being the Prairie Dirt Classic in Fairbury, Illinois. Being a reasonable distance to potentially take some photos at the race, I sent off for a media pass. Knowing I should have a bit of experience before going to the race, I started to search for local tracks. After sending a few emails, Dave Hendrick, the track photographer for I-96 Speedway, told me to buy a pit pass and meet him at the track. By the time the main events were to start, I knew this was something I wanted to pursue. Since 2021, I’ve shot around 90 events around the MI/OH region. I’ve worked with a few companies, organizations, and teams, and met many friends along the way. It is a large time investment behind the scenes, long drive times, and processing time. Really a thankless job for the amount of effort put forth.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
With anything, there are good times and bad. Not everyday shooting will be a good one. Having the bad ones makes you appreciate the good ones more. Towards the end of the motorsport season in the north, I do experience quite a bit of burnout but just gotta keep pushing forward.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Motorsport photography, my main focus is dirt oval racing, but shoot just about all other forms of racing, 2 and 4-wheel. My style of photography is slow shutter; with vehicles it gives the sense of speed to the viewer. My style might be a bit more on the wild side of what is standard, but to keep viewers interested, you need flashy content.
Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Risks are essential, but with everything, they can go either way. A lot of newer creatives have hesitancy with taking risks because it’s not the comfort zone. When you go past the comfort zone, that’s when you learn and grow.
Contact Info:
- Website: Skidpics.us
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skidpics.us/
Image Credits
Paul Arch Photo
