Photo Ramblings

Blink twice and Zaleski, Ohio is gone; it’s a blip on a map surrounded with curving trails colored by changing leaves of Zaleski State Forest. Its population, less than 300 people, is slowly declining. The people are aging and the youth rarely plan on staying. Everything moves slowly. People speak of events that happened ten years ago as if they happened yesterday. The biggest news is the sewer system currently being installed. 

For older generations, Zaleski has been a lifelong commitment. Many of the residents are descended from immigrants looking for work in mines or supporting sawmills during the mid 1800’s. Their families never left when the industry declined. They are part of the land.

This semester I adopted Zaleski and Vinton County and have slowly been getting to know the people there. They are kind and welcoming, yet guard their privacy closely. 

One of the first questions they ask me is "why in the world did you choose to do a story here?" then proceed to list all the reasons they think Zaleski is less than noteworthy.

In the past, I've tried to understand large complex places like Edinburgh, Elkhart and Colorado Springs. I think I just needed to slow down to understand home and community on the smallest scale. When people ask me what I want to do when I graduate, I've started saying that I want to find one community where I can truly know the people, their problems and successes, and love them with everything I have. I think Zaleski is a practice run to see if that really is what I want.

This is a total 180 from when I first started pursuing photojournalism. All I wanted was to see as many places and get as far away from my hometown as possible. While I still value new experiences, I now recognize how important it is to have a base-camp and a community I feel connected to. 

Here are selects from my first assignment in Capstone, the one day shoot. I had to go out to an event, shoot 100 - and only 100 - photos. Each image had to be significantly different from the ones before and after it. I also had to write a 500-800 word story and design a layout. AHHHHHHH. My event was the Hillbilly 100 dirt track race in Ripley, West Virginia. 

Here's the story. If you see mistakes and are compelled to correct them. I'm no writer. 

Sunday’s Crown Jewel Dirt Late Model race in Ripley, W.V. may be called the Hillbilly 100, but teams’ attitudes don’t reflect the laid-back title when there’s a $25,000 dollar prize on the table.

In the pit, mechanics’ muddy boots stick out from under cars as they make last minute tweaks on engines.  Teams methodically dig grooves in tires for better traction on the slick red-clay track. It rained the night before and might rain again. An announcer comes over the loud speaker, urging everyone to be on point tonight. They want to finish qualifying by 9 and end the race by 11. It doesn’t take much water to create unsafe driving conditions. Storms are rolling in.

Start!

Dirt clods slam into the fence while smaller dust particles spray hundreds of feet through the air. It’s a vortex of mud and racing fuel. Every audience member squints through dirt flying in their faces from drivers’ wheels on the track yards below. 

It can be painful, but audience member Amber Collins from Parkersburg is unphased. “I love it. The atmosphere, the dirt, the smell . . . I just put on my sunglasses and [the dirt] don’t bother me one bit,” said Collins. She’s been coming to these races since she was 7. The sport is in her blood.

For Devin Moran, who went to his first race at one week old, the track is his life. 

Devin’s father, Donnie Moran, is the only racer present who has won one million dollars for a single race. Now, after his 35-year career, Devin, 19, is taking the wheel. “I eat, sleep and breathe racing, so I’ve just kinda taken his footsteps. This is the first year [Donnie] hasn’t raced at all,” he said.

Through the engine roar and flying mud, racing looks graceful from the stands. All the drivers glide within feet of each other, drifting around turns in perfect time.

Steve Curtis, owner of Curtis Racing, says good drivers have “no fear. [Drivers] probably run anywhere from 90 to 125mph and they . . . use their brakes . . . just enough to lock up one wheel. Then they’re full throttle. 950 horse. Pedal clear to the floor. Going sideways. Cars on both sides of ‘em. It takes a lot of talent.”

Moran is young and can react quickly, but this time Don O’Neal took first, even beating out audience favorite Scott Bloomquist. At 50, O’Neal has 26 years of racing under his belt. Experience won this race, but it wasn’t easy. “It’s a little race track. It isn’t very fast but it’s slicked off from top to bottom,” said O’Neal.

The prize increased the competition as well.

O’Neal will cherish his win as “any of these Crown Jewel races that pay 25,000 or more . . . don’t come by often,” he said.