Teams

Team Ansel Mt. Adams

Garage Headquarters: Indianapolis, IN

Driver: "Yosemite" Dan Francis

Mechanics: Tony "Photo Finish" Arrasmith, Wilbur "Worldwide" Montgomery, Joe "Zippi" Vondevsgar, Jim "ShutterSpeed" Barnett

Nuts and Bolts:

Taking their cues from the American West of yore, these boys are a-hankerin’ to blow away the rackin’ frackin’ competition. “Yosemite Dan” will preside at the wheel, and captain Wilbur Montgomery assures us that teammate Joe “Zippi” Vondersaar proudly sports “the finest cowboy mustache east of the Mississippi.” But the team’s testament to the West will go far beyond playful caricature. Each of these photographers carry an abiding respect for Ansel Adams, a pioneering artist who immortalized the Western United States in black-and-white photographs.

Respect for the man runs so deep with this crew that they’ve modeled their racer after Adam’s old-school view camera. Between teaching classes at Ivy Tech Community College and the Indianapolis Art Center, these members of the American Society of Media Photographers will perfect their racer. The finished vehicle will incorporate parts of a vintage wooden process camera, including tripod legs, and “Yosemite Dan” will peer above a focus cloth while visualizing the finish line. There’s no doubt these guys deeply admire Ansel Adams and the days of film photography. Still, they would love nothing more than to celebrate a Red Bull Soapbox championship by posing for every digital camera in sight.
[The Ansel Mt. Adams team consists of Dan “Yosemite” Francis, Wilbur “Worldwide” Montgomery, Tony “Photo Finish” Arrasmith, Joe “Zippi” Vondersaar and Jim “Shutterspeed” Barnett.]