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Omari Stephens


San Francisco Bay Area
About

I fell in love with cars in the mid-90’s — I grew up on the original Need for Speed racing game. My interest in all forms of motorsports soon followed. Then in 2002, I got my first camera for Christmas, and I’ve spent the 15 years since then learning how to tell people’s stories.

I think of myself as both documentary photographer and storyteller. For me, a picture should be meaningful, not just beautiful. It should capture a moment that is an introduction, rather than just an observation. If you can look at a photograph of mine and feel like you’re meeting the subjects, rather than just looking at them, then I’m moving in the right direction.

The stories in "Behind the 25" are an attempt to draw an arc between what the race looked like during my first race, back in 2012, and what it looks like now. The race has changed, and I’ve also changed. But I still return.

Books by Omari Stephens