Not 1..not 2.. but 6 Ford GT's Terrorize Palmer Motorsports Park
Recently, Russ Rocknak got in touch with me and dropped some exciting news: we're organizing a significant private shoot at Palmer Motorsports Park. "Josh," he exclaimed, "We're planning a generational shoot featuring Ford GTs, and we want you to be the photographer." My jaw practically hit the floor! There's this one photo I've been itching to capture: back in Forza Motorsport, I managed to get a shot through the air duct of the 2017 GT with the ‘60s model in the background. Finally, here's my chance to make that vision a reality! After the call, I was dancing around my place like I had just hit the jackpot. Woohoo!
I was absolutely blown away on the day of the shoot. First, an incredibly loud 1965 GT drives by. Glancing over at the garage, there were five more cars just sitting there, two from each generation! I couldn’t contain my excitement to get started with the shoot.
I met Richard Viard and Scott Rocknak, the other media people I work alongside, to discuss how we were going to make this epic shoot happen. We had the track map on a massive whiteboard and talked about each of the cars and the most efficient and effective places to shoot them. I suggested I work with all of the blue GTs, and thought it would be nice for Rich to work with the two black cars and one blue.
We brainstormed about the history of the Ford GT and how we could replicate the car’s incredible heritage through our work. Back when Ferrari and Ford were major rivals at Le Mans in the 1960s and the GT40 crushed Ferrari, all the drivers would stand on one side of the track at the starting grid, then sprint to their cars and take off down the track. We thought it would be fun to attempt to recreate that moment. I focused on the first couple of turns, while Rich worked on the last few so that we captured a range of different angles and backdrops.
As the day progressed, I couldn't resist asking for a ride in one of the new GTs, and thankfully, I got the chance. The thrill was immense! It was also exhilarating to hear the classic GT40 snarling away in front of us as we flew around this magnificent track. Another highlight was hopping into the bed of a truck with several people holding on to me as we put all six cars on the track at the same time to capture some rolling shots!
This shoot was truly incredible – I was living the dream! I am immensely grateful to Russ for this amazing opportunity. It was a privilege to photograph these legendary cars and collaborate with such fantastic people. Moments like these remind me why I love what I do!
