John Edwin Mason: Documentary, Motorsports, Photo History

We the People: Looking at the Way We Live Now

I'm happy to announce that several of my photographs are included in We The People, an exhibition of documentary and portrait photography at the University of Virginia's Arthur J. Morris Law Library that will be on view until June 2018. The exhibit showcases the work of 15 photographers who explore... Read more →

An iPhone at Dragstock

"Woodstock for rednecks. "That's the way that I used to describe Dragstock to anyone who wanted to know. As long as you understand "redneck" isn't about skin color -- there are plenty of black rednecks at drag strips all over the South and Midwest -- and that "drag" refers to... Read more →

The ADRL U.S. Drags VI at Virginia Motorsports Park

Poking around in the nooks and crannies of American car culture with a camera in my hand... God help me, but that's my idea of fun. I like the people, the cars, and the race tracks (and other gathering spots) that are central to the culture. And I especially like... Read more →

Crazy for VWs: Bug Out 73 at Virginia Motorsports Park

I spent last Sunday in the company of about 1,000 crazy people. Or, to put it another way, I spent last Sunday with a bunch of folks just like me -- folks who don't think it's strange that seven out of the 12 cars I've owned have been VWs. They... Read more →

Bunny Burkett and the 48th Annual Easter Sunday Funny Car Show, Eastside Speedway

For the last decade or so -- the amount of time that I've been documenting the quirkier ins and outs of American car culture -- Easter Sundays have found me impaled on the horns of a dilemma. (Ouch! is right.) Do I go to church to praise the Risen Lord... Read more →

Grey Villet, Interracial Love, and Drag Racing, 1965

Update: 30 January 2012. I've just seen a small but superb exhibition of Grey Villet's photos at the International Center of Photography, in New York. It includes the photo directly below and about 20 others that he made while working on the story about interracial love for Life magazine. I... Read more →

Motor Sports & Diversity in C-ville Weekly

As couple of weeks ago, Kyle Daly, a reporter for C-ville, a weekly newspaper, interviewed me in connection with an article that he was writing on racial diversity in motor sports. The story, "Speed is Colorblind," came out yesterday, and it's terrific. You can read it here. (By the way,... Read more →