As far back as I can remember I have always enjoyed the sport of motocross. Riding led to racing and racing resulted in getting more and more involved in the sport.
My family has always been the type to go “all in.” My mom and dad sacrificed their time and money so that my brother and I could race on the weekend. Early on my mom got involved with the staff at Raceway Park and was hired to write the weekly updates for Raceway News. That was back before the internet, and I remember her typing up her article on 3-part carbon paper and mailing or driving the story to Raceway Park if there was a tight deadline. My mom’s work led to my writing the points reports for Raceway News and a longtime relationship with the organization at the track.
My dad’s enjoyment of photography eventually led to my enjoyment and many years later my work as a freelance photographer. I messed around with film for a bit and made the jump to digital with the introduction of the Canon 10D.
In 2005, when the opportunity in to become the official Raceway News Motocross Photographer came up, I jumped at the chance. I figured since I was at the track already racing I could now combine my two great joys, motocross and photography, and get paid for it as well. Little did I know then what I know now. Motocross photography is more challenging than it looks. Carrying the gear around the track all day long in all types of weather trying to get “the shot” is not an easy way to get paid but I realize it is all worth it.
Realizing that this was now a business Lukaitis Photo was born. Since I was taking pictures for the newspaper, I had to find a place to host the digital images and sell prints from as well. With no real knowledge of websites or much of the web world, it was time to learn and start building my freelance business.
That’s all for now.
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