Keith Berr: Salt and Steel

Imagine a place where people travel from all over the world for the sole purpose of setting a land speed record. No money or prizes involved— only their name in the history books as the fastest person in the world in their vehicle’s classification.

This place exists, and it’s in northwestern Utah at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Cleveland-based commercial and fine art photographer Keith Berr took a trip several years ago with a friend and a custom Harley Board Racer, and as one would imagine, it was a goldmine for creative ideas. Keith has been going back for Speedweek ever since, photographing the people, vehicles, and incredible landscape.

All of the images are photographed with the intention of a final assembly in post-production. Keith uses multiple images to create one art piece, starting with the salt foregrounds. He pays close attention to directional lighting, lenses used, and envisioning when capturing a series of race images. “Cars and bikes are captured in motion, salt spray is wonderful and tire movement is essential to have a final product that feels the speed.”

Keith says that he always has several ongoing personal projects that he works on to keep the creative spark fresh:

I am still learning, but each image is a piece of art and each vehicle is it’s own art form. Meeting the creators of these machines and working with each of them is my favorite part…people all help one another to achieve the goal of speed and there is the total sense of comrades working together, it is not a competition. One word sums up everyone there and it’s pride. It’s an honor to know these folks and be a part of history in the making.

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