One Shot, One Burrito: The Story Behind "KoH Haze"
My alarm screamed at 5:00 AM, but I was already semi-conscious. My late flight from the Bay Area had been a chaotic mess, and I’d rolled into the rental car only to realize I had zero cell reception. Finding anyone I was supposed to meet was officially off the table until sunrise. So, I spent my first night at King of the Hammers trying to get comfortable in the back of a mid-size SUV. My back was already throbbing.
When I finally woke up for good, it wasn’t from the alarm. It was the low, persistent, earth-shaking rumble of thousands of horsepower. The Hammers was waking up.
I blearily climbed out, the chill of the high desert hitting me instantly. I needed coffee and food, fast. I wandered into a vendor area, and the best I could find was a lukewarm, questionably-filled breakfast burrito. It wasn’t good, but it was fuel.
I was leaning against a concrete barrier, trying to force down the burrito, when a racecar came roaring by. But this wasn’t just a pass. The vehicle, a number 2935 with massive BILSTEIN branding, was perfectly backlit by the early morning sun, which was cutting through the thick layer of dust.
As I took another bite of my bad burrito, my amateur photographer brain completely took over. This is it. I dropped the wrapped burrito from my left hand and brought my camera to my eye with my right. The composition was almost magical: the massive Can-Am sign in the background, a row of ATVs, and that incredible, glowing sun-drenched dust.
I snapped the shutter, in that fraction of a second, the frustration of the late flight, the uncomfortable sleep, and the lack of reception disappeared. I had just taken, without a doubt, the best picture of my weekend.
The dust was settling as I looked down at the LCD screen. I smiled.
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HRB Note: This is the first photo print we offer in the store due to the story
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