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There are so many things wrong with this photo, but so much for me to thankful for.

While videotaping an event at a ranch just a stone’s throw from Joshua Tree National Park this weekend, a rare musical treat happened when 86-year old Harriet Allen, a local music legend, stepped on stage to join the band for her rendition of The Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin.”

For those who don’t know Harriet, in 1982, Harriet and her husband, Claude “Pappy” Allen, opened, “Pappy + Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace.”

Because I was running with video at the event and didn’t have my “real” camera at hand, I grabbed my phone and hoped for a decisive moment when Harriet wasn’t kissing the microphone, and to include the drummer (who was teasing me for using my phone to photograph).

FYI, Pappy’s became the “dive bar” place to play an impromptu set when musicians came to Joshua Tree, with legends like Paul McCartney, Lizzo, Belle & Sebastian, Orville Peck, Patti Smith, Taking Back Sunday, The Psychedelic Furs, Lorde, Lucinda Williams, Arctic Monkeys, Robert Plant, Peaches, The Dead Kennedy’s, Gregory Alan Isakov, Jesse Daniel, Everclear, Ani Di Franco, The Zombies, Coheed and Cambria, and countless others who jumped onto the stage.

Those “tricks” professional photographer David Bergman tried to teach his students, including me – it’s not the camera (it’s the eye), wait ’till the singer pulls her mic away from her face, include the drummer in the composition, add a little drama to the composition – is what makes this photo, with all the imperfections, a favorite from the day.

P.S. the photo is straight from the phone, with the black & white conversion completed using DXO’s SilverEFX.

What was certainly one of the most memorable motorsports experiences and most unique race weekends I’ve ever enjoyed was the NTT INDYCAR SERIES that took place March 22-24 at The Thermal Club near Palm Springs, California. Here are just a few photos I captured at the event. I can’t express how fantastic the organizers, the folks at The Thermal Club, the teams and competitors, the residents, fans, and sponsors were.

The Thermal Club’s $1 Million Challenge event included a two-day Open Test, group qualifying sessions, two heat races and a 12-car “all-star” race with $1.756 million at stake – the largest purse for an INDYCAR SERIES race outside of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.

The Twin Palms track at the Thermal Club is a 3.067-mile (4.82-km) raceway which includes a highly demanding trajectory on top to get to a total of 19 turns. The layout consists of sweepers, tight corners, long straightaways, and elevation changes, providing a proper driving and engineering challenge to teams.

Look forward to the opportunity to do it again!