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| My Bio |
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Know as “The Track Rat”, I was born in 1956 and raised in the Rochester, NY area, where most of my family still resides. My Uncle Sam Cardinale sparked my interest is auto racing at the young age of five. I spent many hours looking at pictures and watching films he had of the Indy 500. I was entranced with his stories telling me of his involvement for many years as a mechanic on the Indy 500 racing team of Andy Granatelli. As of 2006, I have witnessed half of the 90 Indy 500 races in a variety of forms ranging from radio, television and in person (1983 and 1984). The countless hours spent repairing and building cars back in the “muscle car” days lead to one of my early jobs as a mechanic at a local garage. The first professional race I attended was the 1975 US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. Because of its location, just about 90 miles away, it became my home track. June of 2006 marked a milestone for me when I attended my 100 professional race weekend. They included the USA and 2 other countries. Nothing gave me a bigger rush, or consumed more time, than the 7 years of “competition kart” racing starting in the mid 1970’s. My participation as an owner, driver and mechanic in competition go-kart racing and attaining a College degree as a Mechanical Design gave me a better understanding of the driving, preparation and car dynamics that has come in handy over the years. During the late 1960’s I dabbled with the manual 35mm film camera my father owned. Photography nurtured in interest during high school and flourished when I saved enough money to purchase my own SLR equipment. Sports were always part of my life. Playing “sandlot” games during my youth and in organized leagues as an adult gave me the athletic base still with me today. My favorites included football, ice and floor hockey, softball, racquetball, tennis, soccer and a few others. I am one to try any sport at least once. Not having a formal photographic degree, I acquired education via part-time formal classes, self-taught and experimenting. Eventually becoming an employee of the Eastman Kodak Company, I was able to take formal photographic based classes offered by the company to the employees. With my degree in Mechanical Design, I worked in the Professional equipment divisions of Kodak on teams that designed high speed 35mm film printers used in professional photo labs and was involved early on with the professional digital film scanners and the first professional digital cameras. This background gave me a technical depth into the workings and software beyond taking pictures. The sports and racing experiences helps me with capturing images for publications for auto racing, High School and College soccer, College hockey and A-league soccer events and with a few local club musical bands. I try to stay in good physical shape to endure the grueling hours and fast pace of the events. The changing seasons and beautiful scenery of the local area offer many chances for outdoor photography involving the local State Parks, roadside stops and even my backyard. One of my goals is to take the images to the people and grow the sport of auto racing. By presenting photos the plan is to spark an interest about racing in people that may not have the chance to attend an event in person or see behind the scenes. I want people to see what I see and where I have been. Hope to see you at the races and other sporting events. Enjoy, Ange |
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