check out this story of one of the top NASCAR photogaphers – The silhouette of a Marine Corps sniper on the front of his sweatshirt said it all. But for those who may miss the point, read the tagline: “If you run, you’ll only die tired.” The toughest journalist in NASCAR? That’s not an easy question. But the toughest photo-journalist? That’s simple. It’s George Tiedemann, who has been covering racing for Sports Illustrated for years. You’d recognize him with no trouble. He’s the weird guy hauling around a huge ladder, for better shots. But because he’s the guy with a U.S. Marine Corps sweatshirt, T-shirt or rain jacket, depending on the weather. He has an amazing collection of USMC headgear, to go with an almost fanatical dedication to the four years of his life spent in that branch of the service. After 20 years on the Winston Cup tour, Tiedemann said his hardest job is “trying to stay fresh. Tony Stewart is the most celebrated temperamental driver to shoot, as a hapless photographer for the Indianapolis Star ruefully learned last summer at the Brickyard. But Tiedemann said that Stewart is no problem because he talks to Stewart and lets him know what’s going on and what’s coming up. And he tries to take Stewart’s feelings into consideration. However, there are some drivers who do present problems.. “Out of all the people I’ve dealt with, in all the different sports I’ve shot for SI since 1976, the two most difficult people I’ve ever, ever had to deal with are Larry Bird and Bill Elliott,” Tiedemann said. “It’s a lack of understanding of what we’re trying to do out here” . Victory lane may seem an easy shot, but too many Winston Cup drivers, particularly the new kids, don’t seem to know how to play to the camera. But some drivers, such as Jeff Gordon, almost seem to have gone to post-graduate school to learn how to do just the right thing at just the right moment for photo history. “There are some drivers who do know what we’re trying to do for them,” Tiedemann said. But when NASCAR officials three years ago decided to demote Bill Broderick, the veteran victory-lane boss who had the post-race routine down pat, well, Tiedemann said, things simply haven’t gone that well inside the circle since. “The thing I loved about Bill Broderick – and I think Bill Broderick leaving this sport was a loss to this sport – was he would tell the drivers (while the winner was still in the car unbuckling) which way The Associated Press was, and invariably when the driver got out he would look toward the AP photographer, raise his arms in the air or show some emotion. And that way the wires could get those pictures out quickly and not have to mess around in victory lane. See full story at the Winston Salem Journal: Shoot Fast and Stand Tall: ‘SI’ photographer Tiedemann is still a Marine at heart many years after his stint in Vietman . George was the one who came and took one of the first Jayski photograph for the book Stock-Car Racing Lives by Richard Sowers , where there is a chapter about Jayski. George is quite intering and very professional.(4-20-2003)
