I arrived early enough to capture several long exposures before the sun came up and then stuck around to photograph the dawn surf patrol.

Newport Pier - Newport Beach, CA

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Newport Pier - Newport Beach, CA

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Solitary Surfer - Newport Beach, CA

Bonneville Speed Week, one of the largest annual events on the salt flats, was held last week and I was able to get out on the salt for a day to capture some of the action. I had a great time, met some fantastic people and saw a bunch of cars and motorcycles go really, really fast. Here are a couple of the images:

Bonneville Salt Flats

An unblown fuel streamliner getting ready to go fast.

Monochrome – Bonneville Speed Week

Some folks come to go fast and some come to ogle.

This is the short course. The long course is seven or more miles long.

Spectators. Mountains. Salt.

The surprisingly ubiquitous camel, which we saw everywhere from the desolate wilds of the Sinai to the busy streets of Cairo.

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One of the pyramids at Giza, photographed early in the morning just as the fog was lifting.

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We were able to take a short break in the middle of the trip and spent an afternoon watching kiteboarders and windsurfers tearing it up along the coast of Israel. The mountains in the background are in Jordan.

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On the left is a Bedouin musician we met at a camp near Wadi Musa in southern Jordan. On the right, a pilgrim is lost in meditation in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

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My intrepid travel partner, Colby, photographed at the beautiful Mosque of Amr ibn al-As in Cairo.

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NASCAR is running a little more recklessly this year, allowing the drivers to make more contact than they have in the past. Inevitably, bad boys are born and the two who seem to attract the most attention are Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch, seen here driving the #18 car. It is mildly amusing that one of the two bad boys in this sport drives a car decorated with M&Ms.

Here, Joey Logano (#20) trails a small group heading toward turn three. Joey is 19 years old.

Juan Pablo Montoya (#42) leading the field into turn one while under a cautionary yellow flag. Montoya, who was born in Colombia, was the first Formula One driver to make the transition to competing full time in NASCAR racing.

The controlled chaos of the pits.

Bad boy Kyle Busch and NASCAR’s version of Michael Jordan – Jimmie Johnson

NASCAR Nation, baby.

I had a short conversation with the parents of a former rodeo contestant who retired after having his face kicked in by a bull.  They told me that their son, who had competed in a number of sports, used to say that there was no rush comparable to an eight second ride on the back of a bull.  I believe that.  These animals are HUGE – 2,000 pounds of twisting, slashing fury – and they have absolutely no regard for the safety of the cowboys on their backs.  As one of the cowboys said, at least the horses have some sense of rapport with humans.  The bulls would just as soon kill you.

Here, a bull spins out of the chute:

It’s hard to predict what he’s going to do, but sometimes he’s just going to go vertical:

And sometimes he’s going to throw you off like you’re a rag doll… and then he’s going to try to trample you:

It is not, however, all about the bulls. There are also equally wild rides on horses, both with and without saddles. Here is a cowboy coming out of the chute:

Sometimes the rides are almost balletic:

And sometimes it’s just hanging on for dear life:

There are calf-roping events:

And an event where a cowboy jumps off the back of a perfectly good horse and tries to wrestle a steer to the ground:

Sometimes it works… and sometimes it comes up a draw:

Women compete in two events – calf-roping and the barrel race:

And behind it all is a value system grounded in church and nation – the devotion to country is palpable:

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Pre-Race Burnout

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Popping a Wheelie

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Check Out the Rear Tire

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Dragsters Accelerating