Steve Reyes

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Steve Reyes (born 1948) is an American photographer and storyteller from Oakland, California.[1] Reyes has been included in Don Garlits' International Drag Racing Hall of Fame (2002),[2] NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion Honorees (2009),[3] and the East Coast Drag Times Hall of Fame (2011).[4]

Reyes' photography career has primarily focused on automotive sports, but he has also photographed Major League Baseball, National Hockey League,[5] skateboarding and CB radios.[6] He has authored nine automotive photography books which cover his nearly 50-year career.

Reyes is currently retired. He continues to write books and online articles from his home in Florida.[5]

Career[edit]

Automotive (1963–2008)[edit]

Reyes attended his first race at Fremont Dragstrip in 1963 where his dad convinced the track manager that he was old enough to be up on the line filming with his 8mm movie camera and Kodak 620 Brownie.[7] At the age of fifteen became the track photographer after shooting photos from the grandstands. He would hitchhike with racers to attend races on the West Coast[8] or stencil the letters on driver's cars for rides.[9] Doris Herbert, who owned Drag News, would frequently ask Reyes to cover events since he would get the photos to her quickly. During weekend events, he would take photos on Saturday, develop them in a portable darkroom in his motel, and then sell the photos to racers on Sunday so that they could see how their cars were leaving the line.[7] Reyes' first major publication came in 1966, when his photos were picked up by Mike Doherty's Drag Racing Almanac.[6] The following year, he had more photos featured than any other racing photographer on the circuit.[9]

You have to remember that in those days, there were no guardrails or concrete walls. It was just man and machine and with the hopped-up nitro missiles blowing up or launching into uncontrollable wheel stands on a regular basis, it took considerable courage to stand your ground in order to get the best angles.[7]

Reyes became NHRA's Pacific (Division 7) photographer in 1969,[10] primarily freelancing for the next four years. In 1970, he moved from Oakland to Los Angeles to be closer to his clients and within three years became the photographic editor for 12-plus magazine titles for Argus Publishing Corp (1973-1994).[5] During his time at Argus, Reyes supplied 70% of the cover photography and 85% of the inside color photography for titles such as Popular Hot Rodding, Super Chevy, and 1001 Custom and Rod Ideas.[11] He also covered NHRA, AHRA, and IHRA races, in addition to World of Outlaws,[7] street rod events, sprint cars, monster trucks, motorbikes, mud racing, and sand racing.[12]

Reyes is responsible for many iconic photographs of drag racing and stunt driver legends, including Raymond Beadle,[13] Gene Snow, Tony Nancy Wedge, Jeb Allen, Tom McEwen (drag racer),[7] Don Garlits, Bob Glidden, Joe Amato, Don Prudhomme, Shirley Muldowney, and Jim Liberman. Reyes' photos of Evel Knievel's 1974 jump at Snake River Canyon were displayed as part of a special exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution.[9]

Over his career, Reyes was responsible for over 300 magazine covers.[14] During one month in 1973, Reyes shot 7 of 11 covers of car magazines on the newsstand.[1] Reyes has photographed races in all 50 US States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.[9] He has covered events in over 109 dragstrips worldwide,[5] including the last drag race ever held at Lions Dragstrip.[15] While primarily noted for his action shots and crashes at the races, he also has an extensive collection of doorslammers run by local drivers.[16] Reyes utilized a variety of locations for formal shoots, including Lion Country Safari, Long Beach Harbor, fast-food locations,[17] Saguaro National Park, Six Flags, the National Mall, and El Centro[18]

Reyes' photographs have been featured extensively in magazines, books, movies, and as the artwork for ACME Diecast.,[19] Mattel,[20] MPC,[21] Playing Mantis / Johnny Lightning, and Revell die cast and model car kits[6]

Baseball (1981–1985)[edit]

In 1981, Reyes was given an assignment through his job at Argus Publishing Corp. to shoot the car collection of Reggie Jackson from the New York Yankees. Through Jackson's influence, Reyes was given access to many Major League Baseball franchises, and would shoot weekday games.[6] He was the only photographer who had shot all 117 of Jackson's cars.[9] Reyes has photographs included at the Pro Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.[8]

Hockey (1991–1995)[edit]

During the early 1990s, Reyes photographed several hockey teams for NY's Bruce Bennett Studios,[7] including the Los Angeles Kings, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Peoria Rivermen. Notable players included Wayne Gretzky,[22] Brendan Shanahan,[6] and Curtis Joseph.[23]

Bibliography[edit]

Author[edit]

  1. Fabulous Funny Cars: A Pictorial History of the World's Fastest Automobiles (1994)[24]
  2. Quarter Mile Chaos: Images of Drag Racing Mayhem (2006)[25]
  3. Funny Car Fever: The Birth of Drag Racing's Wildest Class (2007)[26]
  4. Slingshot Spectacular: The Front-Engine Dragster Era (2007)[27]
  5. Fuel Altereds Forever (2008)[28]
  6. Blood, Sweat, and Nitro (2010)[29]
  7. Funny Car Follies (2010)[29]
  8. The Dawn of ProStock: Drag Racing's Fastest Doorslammers (2013)[30]
  9. Top Fuel Dragsters: Drag Racing's Rear Engine Revolution (2016)[31]

Magazines[edit]

Unless otherwise noted, all magazines references are listed here.[1]

  • 1001 Truck and Van Ideas[32]
  • All American Drags
  • Car Craft
  • Cars
  • Drag Digest
  • Drag News
  • Drag Racing Almanac[6]
  • Drag Racing USA
  • Drag Strip[11]
  • Drag World
  • Esquire
  • Gasser Wars
  • Hemmings Muscle Car
  • Hot Rod
  • Hot Rodding in Action[33]
  • National Dragster
  • Off Road
  • Penthouse
  • Popular Cycling[34]
  • Popular Hot Rodding
  • Super Chevy
  • Super Stock
  • Vintage Motorsports

Cover photos[edit]

  • Focus on Sports:Photographing Action (1975)[34]
  • Petersen's History of Drag Racing (1981)[35]
  • Big-Block Chevy Performance (1995)[36]
  • Spirit Engine (2008)[37]
  • Six Seconds to Glory (2013)[38]

Other contributions[edit]

  • 1966 Drag Racing Almanac (1966)[1]
  • The Sox & Martin book of drag racing (1974)[39]
  • High performance : the culture and technology of drag racing, 1950-1990 (1994)[15]
  • The Race Car Chassis (1997)[40]
  • Stories of triumph: women who win in sport and in life (1998)[41]
  • Nor Cal Fuelers 1960's Video Scrapbook #1 (2006)[42]
  • Superfast cars (2006)[43]
  • Fuel & Guts (2007)[44]
  • Drag Racers (2008)[45]
  • Drag Racing's Exhibition Attractions (2008)[46]
  • Hurricane! (2008)[47]
  • Snake vs. Mongoose (2009)[48]
  • Hot Hot Rods (2011)[49]
  • The Tasca Ford Legacy (2014)[50]
  • Lost Drag Strips II (2016)[51]
  • "Dyno" Don (2018)[52]
  • Stardust International Raceway (2018)[53]
  • The American Speed Shop (2019)[54]
  • Chevy Drag Racing 1955-1980 (2020)[55]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Steve Reyes Legendary Drag Racing Photographer". Automobile Driving Museum. 2016-08-23. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  2. ^ Garlits, "Big Daddy" Don. "International Drag Racing Hall of Fame All Time List". Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  3. ^ "California Hot Rod Reunion Honorees". Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  4. ^ "East Coast Drag Racing Hall of Fame". Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  5. ^ a b c d Burgess, Phil; Editor, NHRA National Dragster. "Five Fabulous Favorite Fotos: Steve Reyes". NHRA. Retrieved 2020-03-20. {{cite web}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Drag Racing Story of the Day - Steve Reyes: Through the Lens of a Natural". www.draglist.com. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Wood, Brian. "Through the Eyes of a Natural". Competition Plus. Retrieved 2001-09-04.[dead link]
  8. ^ a b "Reyes On Tour". www.cruisenewsonline.com. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  9. ^ a b c d e Meehan, Michelle (July 16, 1995). "Hot Shot: Racing Photographer Steve Reyes Goes Where the Action Is". Belleville News Democrat Sunday Magazine.
  10. ^ "Favorite Funny Car photos, with Steve Reyes". NHRA. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  11. ^ a b "2009 Honorees XVIII" (2009). 18th NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion.
  12. ^ "Flashback Friday: Dave Bowman's California Stud Rear Engine Flopper". Dragzine. 2011-03-04. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
  13. ^ "FEATURE- Remembering On Tour with Steve Reyes". www.dragracecentral.com. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
  14. ^ "STEVE REYES JOINS COMPETITIONPLUS COLUMNISTS | Competition Plus". www.competitionplus.com. 10 June 2009. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  15. ^ a b Post, Robert C. (1994). High performance : the culture and technology of drag racing, 1950-1990. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-4654-4. OCLC 28212724.
  16. ^ Donnelly, Jim (September 2014). "Super Stock, Another Helping". Hemmings. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  17. ^ Burgess, Phil; Editor, NHRA National Dragster. "Location, Location, Location". NHRA. Retrieved 2020-03-20. {{cite web}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  18. ^ Burgess, Phil; Editor, NHRA National Dragster. "Location, Location, Location, Part 2". NHRA. Retrieved 2020-03-20. {{cite web}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  19. ^ "FEATURE- Remembering On Tour with Steve Reyes". www.dragracecentral.com. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
  20. ^ "NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion". www.hotrodhotline.com. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  21. ^ "The World's Fastest Animal: Tom "The Mongoose" McEwen's Top Fuel Dragster from MPC! | Collector Model". Retrieved 2020-03-24.
  22. ^ Hockey chronicle : year-by-year history of the National Hockey League. Fischler, Stan., Fischler, Shirley. Lincolnwood, Ill.: Publications International, Ltd. 2002. pp. 520, 549. ISBN 0-7853-6307-6. OCLC 52127874.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  23. ^ Banks, Kerry, 1952- (2001). Curtis Joseph. New York: Greystone Books. ISBN 1-55054-822-0. OCLC 47791061.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  24. ^ Fetherston, David, 1950- (1994). Fabulous funny cars : a pictorial history of the world's fastest automobiles. Reyes, Steve. New York: HP Books. ISBN 1-55788-069-7. OCLC 271669205.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  25. ^ Reyes, Steve. (2006). Quarter-mile chaos : images of drag racing mayhem. North Branch, MN: CarTech. ISBN 1-932494-25-1. OCLC 60931288.
  26. ^ Reyes, Steve. (2007). Funny car fever. North Branch, MN: CarTech. ISBN 978-1-932494-43-3. OCLC 76828918.
  27. ^ Reyes, Steve. (2007). Slingshot spectacular : the front-engine dragster era. North Branch, MN: CarTech. ISBN 978-1-932494-64-8. OCLC 153598643.
  28. ^ Reyes, Steve. (2008). Fuel altereds forever. North Branch, MN: CarTech. ISBN 978-1-932494-75-4. OCLC 185021620.
  29. ^ a b "Products". Reyes On Tour. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  30. ^ Reyes, Steve. (2012). The dawn of pro stock : drag racing's fastest doorslammers, 1970-1979. North Branch, MN: CarTech. ISBN 978-1-61325-040-2. OCLC 794323711.
  31. ^ Reyes, Steve (2016). Top fuel dragsters : drag racing's rear-engine revolution. Forest Lake, MN. ISBN 978-1-61325-218-5. OCLC 910856727.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  32. ^ Milar, Melissa (1977). 1978 Photographer's Market. Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer's Digest Books. p. 185. ISBN 0-911654-49-6.
  33. ^ Burgess, Phil; Editor, NHRA National Dragster. "More tall Tharp tales". NHRA. Retrieved 2020-03-28. {{cite web}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  34. ^ a b Turner, Richard P. (1975). Focus on sports : photographing action. Garden City, N.Y.: American Photographic Book Pub. Co. ISBN 0-8174-0577-1. OCLC 2107344.
  35. ^ Petersen's history of drag racing. Wallace, Dave., Petersen Publishing Company. [Los Angeles, CA]: Petersen Pub. Co. 1981. ISBN 0-8227-5066-X. OCLC 8081916.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  36. ^ Emanuel, Dave, 1946- (1995). Big-block Chevy performance : modifications and parts combinations for high performance street, racing, marine, and off-road use (1st ed.). New York, N.Y.: HPBooks. ISBN 1-55788-216-9. OCLC 32199971.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  37. ^ Donlan, John. (2008). Spirit engine : poems. Brick Books. ISBN 978-1-894078-96-2. OCLC 1016504494.
  38. ^ Hal, Higdon. (2013). Six seconds to glory : don "the snake" prudhomme's hair-raising 1973 funny car race (02 ed.). [Place of publication not identified]: Octane Press. ISBN 978-1-937747-27-5. OCLC 864700384.
  39. ^ Sox, Ronnie. (1974). The Sox & Martin book of drag racing. Martin, Buddy. Chicago: H. Regnery Co. ISBN 0-8092-9064-2. OCLC 969612.
  40. ^ Aird, Forbes, 1944- (2008). The race car chassis : design, structures and materials for road, drag and circle track open- and closed-wheel chassis (HPBooks trade pbk. ed.). New York, N.Y.: HPBooks. ISBN 978-1-55788-540-1. OCLC 213308808.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  41. ^ Lessa, Christina. (1998). Women who win : stories of triumph in sport and in life. New York, N.Y.: Universe Pub. ISBN 0-7893-0208-X. OCLC 40466561.
  42. ^ "Nostalgia Drags - NOR ~ CAL FUELERS 1960'S Video Scrapbook #1". www.nostalgiadrags.com. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
  43. ^ Dubowski, Mark. (2006). Superfast cars. New York, N.Y.: Bearport Pub. ISBN 1-59716-080-6. OCLC 60589988.
  44. ^ Madigan, Tom, 1938- (2007). Fuel and guts : the birth of top fuel drag racing. St Paul, MN: Motorbooks. ISBN 978-0-7603-2697-8. OCLC 124036241.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  45. ^ Zuehlke, Jeffrey, 1968- (2008). Drag racers. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications. ISBN 978-0-8225-7287-9. OCLC 85851552.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  46. ^ Hart, Lou. (2008). Drag racing's exhibition attractions from rockets to ramp-jumps. Lee, Cory. Hudson, Wis.: Iconografix. ISBN 978-1-58388-208-5. OCLC 176925910.
  47. ^ Madigan, Tom, 1938- (2008). Hurricane! : the Bob Hannah story. Minneapolis: MBI Pub. Co. ISBN 978-0-7603-3300-6. OCLC 209629426.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  48. ^ Madigan, Tom, 1938- (2009). Snake vs. Mongoose : how a rivalry changed drag racing forever. Minneapolis: Motorbooks. ISBN 978-0-7603-3486-7. OCLC 308175629.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  49. ^ Sandler, Michael, 1965- (2011). Hot hot rods. New York, N.Y.: Bearport Pub. ISBN 978-1-61772-139-7. OCLC 659760603.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  50. ^ McClurg, Bob. (2014). The Tasca Ford legacy : win on Sunday, sell on Monday!. North Branch, MN. ISBN 978-1-61325-128-7. OCLC 876367965.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  51. ^ Gosson, Scotty (15 April 2016). Lost drag strips II : more ghosts of quarter miles past. North Branch, MN. ISBN 978-1-61325-223-9. OCLC 943705089.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  52. ^ Boyce, Doug (16 July 2018). "Dyno" Don : the cars and career of Dyno Don Nicholson. Forest Lake, MN. ISBN 978-1-61325-405-9. OCLC 1018078178.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  53. ^ Cannon, Randall, 1956- (24 September 2018). Stardust International Raceway : motorsports meets the mob in Vegas, 1965-1971. Gerry, Michael, 1958-. Jefferson, North Carolina. ISBN 978-1-4766-7389-9. OCLC 1016962048.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  54. ^ MCCLURG, BOB. (2018). AMERICAN SPEED SHOP : the birth and evolution of hot rodding. [Place of publication not identified]: CARTECH INC. ISBN 978-1-61325-334-2. OCLC 989040098.
  55. ^ BOYCE, DOUG. (2020). CHEVY DRAG RACING 1955-1980 : a celebration of the bowtie's success during the golden era of racing. [S.l.]: CARTECH INC. ISBN 978-1-61325-499-8. OCLC 1111653643.

External links[edit]