Starstruck “Paparazzi” and the Indy 500

At my age, as much as I try to remain aloof when I see someone famous, the old saying-“they’re just people”- I find I still get pretty excited when I see someone famous in person. Many of my “paparazzi” photos are of people known only to racing fans. Today, however, I am posting three photos of racers whose fame goes beyond just racing. With the Indy 500 coming up this Sunday, May 26th, these are 3 with an Indy 500 connection. My “guerrrilla”, on the fly photo style in action, here goes:


Danica Patrick – (retired Indy and NASCAR veteran) signing autographs, pre- race, at the Rolex 24 at Daytona on the morning of January 24th, 2009


Helio Castroneves
– (3 time Indy winner, and racing this Sunday), fresh off his winning Dancing With the Stars in November 2007, walking in the garage area, pre-race, at the Rolex 24 at Daytona on January 26th 2008.


Marco Andretti
– (current Indy car driver, racing this Sunday), on July 12th, 2008 at Limerock Park , just before co-driving an Acura prototype for his dad Michael. And everyone knows his Grand Dad Mario!

You can catch the Indy 500 live this Sunday, the 26th, starting on NBCSN at 9:00 A.M. ET. At 11:00ET NBC-TV takes over to cover the race from it’s 12:00 noon start to its conclusion. Enjoy!

~ Gene

Why Photography?

Gene Kowalski, with his 1970 Porsche 914. Photo by Marigene Kowalski, February 1972

Why did I choose photography? Because I’ve always had a passion for beautiful photos of autos and auto racing. I see the cars as pieces of art. I see myself as a sort of guerilla photographer; less about the technical and more about the spontaneous. Even in a static photo, I’m looking at the artistic aspects. I might take a close up of a headlight, or focus on a fin. Car shows, auto racing events, air shows, my personal travels, these are the things that I love to capture through my viewfinder. I have created this website to share my passion for photography with you. Enjoy!

Gene is available for private photo shoots by appointment.
Gene’s photos are available for sale on the Photography page.

Copyright © 2019 Eugene Kowalski