Billy McKinney Photography

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Our Story

I have been taking pictures for quite some time before I even started this Photography business. People always called me the Photographer due to the massive amounts of pictures I would take when I go places like band camp, car shows, family gatherings, etc. In 2010, I picked up a cheap point and shoot and went to Sharon Speedway to get pictures of NASCAR drivers Dave Blaney, Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne through the fence. Before I knew it, I was snapping pictures of everything (crowd, pits, flagman, etc). It wasn't until I went down to Victory Lane to congratulate Kevin Bolland, and take his picture that I knew I was hooked on racing pictures. I got the Call to take pictures out at Barberton Speedway by Jeff Mundell, a formal regular out there. Richard Lushes approved this, and before I knew it, Saturday nights were taken up by me taking pictures. Of course, as I said before, I took pictures of EVERYTHING possible. I ushered back in Action Shots at the track, and did enlargements. Both of which wern't really known at the track due to the past staffs of Photographers not doing these. In 2011 I also had what became known as the "Mr. Photographer" Shirt. It was a purple shirt that was easy to see by people. I wore that thing for quite a while. I used Purple (And you see purple in my earliest logo) for 2 reasons. One: I didn't want to have driver colors on my shirt, not even Mundell's. It'd make me look Biased. Two, purple is Cystic Fibrosis awareness colors. My dearest friend has CF, and I thought, I could get the word out about CF pretty fast seeings how I worked with 3,000 people on a weekly basis. 2011 went and passed. Richard had Passed away and Barberton Speedway was in need of a new owner. Thankfully, Jake Francis came along, and after some phone calls, brought me back on as the Photographer for the 2nd year in a row. With a new track look came a new look for me as well. Not only did I do just pictures, I started with Graphics. I had a new Shirt that had "Barberton Raceway Park" on it. And as I would always do, I somehow found a way to do this single handily. I would sell pictures, take pictures, organize my picture bag, and be ready to get the Winners in Victory lane each and every week. Also in 2012, I went out to Sharon Speedway (Some say that's where I started, because I would take pics of winners in victory Lane). I met the Photographer out there, John Hinely. Me and him worked it out so I could come down with him and take pictures when I wanted. As long as he said yes, I could come and help him out. I even subbed for him a week or two. I was not only his student, I was his assistant. He got me into EXPO Speedway and I got my first taste of photographing subjects traveling over 120 mph. In 2013-14, I was out at Deerfield, where I also met my girlfriend, and newly hired assistant, Christie Hrdlicka. I occasionally popped into Sharon and helped John out. I also kept doing EXPO pictures and decided to hide under the wing of Jim Balentine. Jim helped me dial in my camera and take better infield shots. My business also visited victory lane on a racecar for the first time as Jeff Mundell took home a Modified win carrying my name on his door at Deerfield. In 2015 I stayed at Deerfield and also returned home to where it all began for me. Barberton Speedway. I was also invited to do pictures at Raceway 7, and made returns to EXPO. By then, my craft was polished and it impressed Jimmy Porter, the Raceway 7 Photographer. I was also elected to the Twin State Auto Racing Board and worked to make racing better which shocked me a lot as it was an elected position that all of those in the racing community could vote on. It opened my eyes and showed me that I had, in fact, got my name out there quite a bit at many tracks. 2016 found me at Barberton. I was home at last. I also covered a race at Raceway 7, where I met another Bill. Bill Galford. He was impressed with how much I knew and liked that I listened to John, Jim, and Jimmy and worked on my craft using their advise. Also, 2016 is the first year I got a new camera and got to use my assistant, Christie, extensively. She has been a huge help and has helped cover the track and provide an extra eye to the racing action at Barberton. My name also joined victory lane on Jessica Kriegisch’s car as they honored the top three finishers from the EXPO Speedway Modified race. She got third. Seeings how this track is five minutes from my childhood home meant this presentation was personally huge!

2017 was an enjoyable season as both my assistant, Christie, and I had high quality equipment and were focused on bettering the world of racing as we lettered cars, designed graphics sets for others, and helped others find sponsors. With me taking on the role of journalist, my bag was quite full but I made time to sponsor drivers, sell pictures, do senior portraits and attend college full time (since fall of 2014). My name graced Jim Raines Jr. as he took home many feature wins at Barberton and the 2017 championship! My business also graced victory lane at PPMS with Jessica Kriegisch piloting her car to her first win marking the first time I was featured in the winners circle at a non-Ohio track.

2018 has been my most successful season to date as I sponsored many drivers, took tens of thousands of pictures, and had my name join victory lane many times with drivers carrying my name to the winner’s circle. Those drivers included Nicole Hrdlicka, and Tim Schmitt Jr. A true honor, I am proud of those that support me on their season accomplishments and I support all drivers on their season endeavors and wish them luck as time progresses. I also realized my dream of sponsoring a Late Model as Jeff Mundell and I reached a deal for me to get the hood. That means I have sponsored every division of asphalt car (except the newly added Bandoleros) and several dirt track divisions.

2018 was special to me as I went from student to teacher as a young photographer/Legend car driver, Lars McElravy approached me with general photography questions. I had him bring his camera and took him under my wing. I taught him everything I knew in the final month of race season and gave him phone numbers of race tracks he could photograph for (mainly Raceway 7, Sharon, EXPO, etc) so he could perfect his craft just as those that taught me had me do. I was happy to hear he was hired on to Midvale for a week to photograph their cavalcade and I wish him the most luck in his endeavors. That is JUST the Racing Side. I also started doing general photoshoots on the side, just for fun, to try things out with my camera. Close friends of mine helped me, and I started photographing them. See, I never could do it once a week, I had to do it as much as possible. Friday and Saturday was taken up, how about the rest of the week? I called friends and took pics of them. Some Photoshoots were more laugh feasts than anything, but I guess you're gonna have those. It helped me develop a sense of humor to make my subjects feel comfortable during shoots that required hiking, wardrobe changes, etc. If I had no friends available, I took candids of anything from broken VW Jetta parts to the ruts in the backyard from mowing the grass. I got serious and began doing senior pictures, weddings, family gatherings, racecar photoshoots, and have photographed masterclasses for my colleagues. My assistant has followed me to some and helped me take hundreds of pictures a session. I enjoy doing senior portraits/general photoshoots and do my best to make my subjects feel right at home and not awkward at all as I use that sense of humor to keep smiles plentiful. Happy subjects make for great shots and I make sure the happiness I capture is 100% genuine. RACES ATTENDED: These are races in which I have taken pictures as either a spectator, or Photographer. 2011 Barberton Speedway Season. 2012 Barberton Raceway Park Season. 2012 Sharon Speedway Season (Partial). 2012 NASCAR Night at Sharon Speedway. 2012 Mid Ohio Indy Car Race. 2013 Sharon Season (partial). 2013 EXPO Speedway. 2013 Deerfield Season (partial). 2013 Michigan 400 NASCAR race. 2013 Barberton exhibition races. 2014 Deerfield full season. 2014 Michigan 400 NASCAR race. 2014 EXPO Speedway. 2015 Mansfield Speedway re-opening. 2015 Raceway 7 Super Late race. 2015 Barberton Cavalcade. 2015 Deerfield full season. 2016 Raceway 7 TWIN STATE NIGHT. 2016 Barberton Speedway full season. 2016 Mansfield TWIN STATE NIGHT. 2017 Barberton Speedway full season. 2017 EXPO RUSH Modified and RUSH LM Race. 2018 Barberton Speedway full season. 2018 EXPO RUSH Modified and RUSH LM Race. 2019 Barberton Speedway full season. I don’t just do photoshoots and races, but I photograph Marching Bands, H.S. football games, car shows, bike shows, railroads, preseason racecar driver shoots, and anything people invite me to. Doing my best to do all sorts of different kinds of photoshoots helps me perfect my craft and I am excited to see what else I might get the chance to cover!