As a cacophony of car engines roared to life last November at the Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix, the electrifying energy of the crowd mirrored the high-octane action on the track. Amid it all, a familiar figure emerged with camera in hand, ready to capture every pulse-pounding moment—Jamey Price.
The Charlotte, North Carolina-based photographer who has been covering professional motorsports since 2008 is a fixture in the world of Formula 1 and other major car races. Jamey Price blends technical mastery with artistic vision to immortalize the sport’s speed, precision, and beauty. Price comes typically armed with two cameras and an arsenal of lenses. “You need big glass and lots of it,” he says. This includes a 400mm f/2.8 with a built-in teleconverter that brings the race right into his viewfinder. This transforms fleeting moments into iconic imagery. Most see only a blur of color as cars fly past at speeds of between 210 and 220 mph. Price sees stories waiting to be told.
Motorsport Photographer of the Year
The Talent of Jamey Price hasn’t gone unnoticed. In 2019, he was named Motorsport Photographer of the Year by the National Motorsports Press Association. Over the course of his career, he has chronicled premier racing events around the world. This includes NASCAR, The 24 Hours of Nürburgring, MotoGP, and IMSA. Additionally, the Kentucky Derby, World Endurance Championship, 24 Hours of Daytona (aka Rolex 24 at Daytona). Add to all that more than 35 Formula 1 races.
For Jamey Price, his passion for both motorsports and photography is deeply rooted. He recalls that as a child, he devoured F1 Racing Magazine. He wasn’t focused on the articles but rather on the stunning photography. “I would feverishly flip through the photos, really studying them,” he says. In addition, both his grandmothers were professional photographers.
Chapter One: A Different Kind of Horsepower
The path to his current photo career didn’t merge with his past interests right away. The natural-born athlete pursued another adrenaline-fueled passion, horse racing, after swimming competitively in college at Centre in Danville, Kentucky. As a thoroughbred jockey, he competed in over 50 steeplechase races across the U.S., England, and Ireland, winning 11 times. He is the first to admit that at 5’11” and 130 pounds, he didn’t fit the typical jockey mold. Nonetheless, he thrived at it.
Jamey Price was a 21-year-old in college and had just received his first camera as a birthday present. That was when photography entered his life. It made perfect sense to him to use it to photograph the horse races, the sport he loved so dearly. That early photo work culminated in his self-published book, Chasing: Racing Life in England & Ireland. Chiefly, it is a vivid chronicle of his time both in the saddle and behind the lens.
“I was deeply embedded in that life, from the atmosphere to the camaraderie I had with the other jockeys—it’s a beautiful sport, and there were such great aspects to cover photographically.”
He describes early morning training sessions, horses being hosed down after the races, and everything in between. As Price’s photo career gained more and more traction, motorsport photography became his ultimate focus.
Taking a Chance on Bow Ties
His big break came while he was competing in the Carolina Cup as a jockey. “I grabbed a 50mm lens during our downtime and photographed a quirky essay on the bow ties of male spectators at the races,” he describes. His 200-shot collection landed him a $1,200 commission from Southern Living. Price invested the earnings in a trip to Spain in 2012, where he attended Formula 1 testing trials. “It was a gamble that paid off, and it was there that I connected with industry professionals who remain collaborators and colleagues to this day,” he says.
A Day in The Life
So, what’s a day in the life like for this highly motivated photographer who faces danger on the daily as cars pulse past him at over 220 mph? “The work is intense, and the days are marathon-long, starting super early and ending late. For 12 hours at a stretch, you’re constantly on the move—running, walking, jostling for the best shots, all under the blazing sun. You’re lugging heavy gear and pushing yourself to deliver your absolute best. It’s not easy—the race coverage demands a lot of focus and stamina.”
And that’s just the regular races! One of the longest and most grueling ones he’s covered is The 24 Hour Nürburgring, a legendary endurance race held annually at the Nürburgring Nordschleife in Germany. Drivers and their vehicles endure 24 hours of grueling racing on one of the world’s most demanding tracks, and sports photographers often endure intense challenges as well. There’s a range of diverse lighting situations to handle—including intensely bright sunlight to the eerie glow of headlights at night—as well as the immense energy of tens of thousands of fans camping around the tracks and a broad range of weather that can transition from sunny, rainy, fog and hail all in one day.
Price has also photographed the 24 Hours at Daytona races here in the U.S. and is about to cover his 11th one later this month. Through it all, he excels at capturing the energy and atmosphere of it all, including the frenzy of pit stops for refueling and tire changes and the emotions of the driving teams at the end of the race, win or lose.
Understand Your Subject
With a career that began in his 20s, the now 37-year-old is well-versed at capturing what he calls a mix of everything at these races. “It genuinely helps me that I understand the sport I am covering,” he says. “I am still a huge fan of motorsports, so I understand the key personalities, the politics and the rules of the sport, and what’s important and not important. I understand the inner workings, and I know where I can and can’t be because that’s often the difference between life and death. Photographing these races is a dangerous job, with vehicles weighing several thousand pounds flying around at 220+ mph as you stand right next to them. And you need to know not just where you should stand and should not stand. You need to know what to do when it goes wrong.” And he does.
In his role, Price is also a product photographer, a portrait photographer, a food photographer, and so much more. “It’s like being a wedding photographer with the added bonus of covering a car race at the end of it,” he laughs. You need ALL the lenses—wide angle and super telephoto, prime lenses, etc.” And while he avoids naming brands of cameras anymore—“they pretty much all do the same thing”—he currently uses two full-frame, weather sealed, professional sports body mirrorless cameras (he upgraded last year to mirrorless).
Bring on the Food!
He’s even well-versed in food photography, covering spreads at F1 races in the hospitality rooms. Guests pay huge sums of money for these spreads. He’s also required to take candid shots of the drivers in the garage or walking through the paddock. “For the 24-hour endurance race that I cover every January in Daytona, I first do a test session the weekend before with a whole media day built in. I set up big studio lights with a white background and photograph teams of drivers with their fire suits and helmets on,” he describes. “It’s like doing a school portrait day for the first day of class!”
A New Day, A New Race, A New Challenge
And lest people think these races are ultra repetitive to photograph, Price assures that they are not. “Being a fully outdoor sport, there is always something that is different: the weather, the time of year, the cars, the drivers… I’ve never had one Daytona 24-hour that felt like another. One year, the sunrise is incredible, and the next, there isn’t one because it’s cloudy. Anyone who photographs motorsports knows that the sunrise and the sunset are one of the most exciting parts of the day, and I readily recall one day when it was cloudy, but then a marine layer formed off the coast, and a tiny sliver of clear air between clouds and ocean formed, giving us the most vibrant and colorful sunrise I’ve ever seen. It made the entire race worth covering.”
And with that, he sums it all up with one final thought: “With motorsports, you never know what you are going to get, and I look forward to that variable every time I cover a race.”
Make sure to check out Adorama’s video series, Shoot For Speed with Jamey Price, premiering 1/10/2025, 10 am EST.
