An Evening at the 500 Track - Photographing Indianapolis Chefs at REV
On culinary community, coming home, and what happens when you walk back through a gate that shaped you.
Jama Finney is a brand and culinary photographer based in Louisville, Kentucky, now actively booking photography sessions in Indianapolis, Indiana.
I’ve stood on pit lane before.
At the 500 track visiting friends in the garages, at Raceway Park for every race for a few seasons. Years ago, in a different life, I was the one coordinating the tours, managing the sponsors, making sure everyone was exactly where they needed to be.
Saturday night I walked back through those gates with a camera around my neck and something felt entirely different.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been part of my entire life. As a young child floating on my grandfather's speedboat with the Vincent crew, cold potato salad, fried chicken, the sounds of the race on a battery operated radio. Learning the significance of this tradition that runs in the bones of every Indiana family. So with those memories layered beneath everything, standing at REV as dusk settled in, smells of rubber and the distant bass of music from the starting tower, the pagoda lit against the darkening May sky.
It felt exactly like what it was.
Coming home.
REV has grown into something extraordinary under the care and vision of Carol Howard, my friend, my former colleague, and the woman I once worked alongside at the Indianapolis Zoo long before either of us knew what we were building toward. What she has done with this event is nothing short of spectacular. Over 90 chefs. Hundreds of VIP guests in incredible attire. Red carpets, race car drivers, the largest disco ball I've ever seen, flyovers, a dance party on the yard of bricks. Electric but never overwhelming, unless you want it to be. Over 23 million dollars raised for the Indiana University Healthcare system. The life force of our state. The caretakers of our race car drivers, our athletes, our families and friends.
I attended an early version of this event years ago, as a guest and a photographer just finding her feet. This time I arrived with purpose.
My assignment was the Epicurean Village,
the brainchild of Carol and the extraordinary Youssef Boudarine, founder of Epicurean Indy, who built this culinary community from the ground up on his own vision. A labor of love that has become something far greater than even he probably imagined. Led by Youssef and the team at J'adore, whose Chocolate Coffee Cardamom Cup was the kind of thing you close your eyes for. Nineteen chefs tied together by food and passion. A culinary family dinner at the most spectacular venue imaginable.
I had Chef Wes Morrison at my side, Louisville's own private personal chef and food expert, making his first foray at the track. Our goal was simple: connect with as many chefs as possible, learn their stories, and capture images along the way.
What unfolded was anything but simple, and so much better for it.
We moved through the tent with intention and wonder. Erin Kem and Logan McMahan of Corridor serving New Zealand Green Lip mussels with nduja and lovage on grilled bread, a dish that belonged in a Michelin guide.
Kyle Humphreys of Strange Bird plating Wonton Tostadas with the precision of someone who makes it look effortless. Alan Sternberg of Bluebeard with Smoked Pork and Strawberries and Jalapeño. Pete Schmutte and Jesse Blythe of Leviathan Bakehouse presiding over a Bread and Butter Bar that stopped people mid-stride. Nick Detrich of Magdalena, whom Wes and I had shared an unforgettable dinner with the night before, presenting a Skagen Salad with Wasabi Tobiko and Chervil with the quiet confidence of someone who has nothing left to prove.
The magnetic Mikey Williams of SALAMAT Cookies bringing Brown Butter Blondies and Ube and Pandan Macapuno. Trevor Hall of Yazsh Cafe with Bulgarian Arancini Balls and baklava with spiced lebnah. Jessica Fisher of Sprinkle Joy Bakes, whose macarons were so precisely crafted, so perfectly executed, that the artistry of them stopped you before anything else did. Pristine shells, flawless feet, the kind of macaron that earns bragging rights and silence in equal measure. I’ve made more than my fair share of macaron, I know what goes into that level of craft. It doesn't happen by accident.
Neeti Chaudhri of The Little India Restaurant with Butter Chicken and Palak Paneer that transported you. Samir Mohammad and his delightful wife Rachel of 9th Street Bistro with Lomi-lomi Salmon and Taro Chips, one of those combinations that makes you stop mid-conversation to pay proper attention. Omar Munoz of Macizo with Mexican meatballs. Aji Wisanggeni of Wisanggeni Pawon with Maranggi Beef and Sambal that had heat and soul in equal measure.
As a pastry chef myself, I moved through this community with something deeper than professional admiration.
These are my people. This is the language I grew up speaking.
This felt different.
I've photographed events before, but my specialty is the intimate, the one-on-one session, the small group, the carefully planned and intentional frame. Free and challenging and alive in equal measure.
The lighting in the Epicurean tent at the start of the evening was gorgeous and relentless, the light of a thousand suns, as unforgiving as it was dramatic. As the night deepened it shifted into something chandelier-lit, soft and moody and luxurious. Two completely different photographic environments in one evening.
Rather than fight it I learned to surrender to it, letting the changing light dictate the mood rather than forcing the images I had planned.
This is where Wes was a gift I hadn't anticipated. Together we were connecting, troubleshooting, honing technique in real time, completely caught up in the flow of the night. That state where the camera feels like an extension of thought rather than a tool you're operating.
And then The Brothers Footman took the stage.
We were moving between the food tents when the music shifted. The neon lights hit the stage and something electric moved through the crowd. We stopped. We looked at each other. And for a while we just let the music do what music does, pull you out of your head and into your body. We danced on the world famous racetrack. We let the fireworks happen above us. We captured moments we never could have planned.
Those are always the best ones.
It's easy to get nostalgic writing this. Because Indianapolis has held so many versions of me.
The young girl listening to the race from her grandpa’s speedboat. The young woman starting a career in events, totally intimidated by the big city, desperately and excitedly finding her feet. The young mom and event planning professional. The pastry chef surrounded by the creatives who make that city a place worth celebrating.
My heart never left. Louisville has been an incredible blessing, a beautiful place to raise our boys, a city that gave me so much. And now, with our boys stepping into their own next chapters, Indianapolis is opening its arms again.
As a creative. A photographer. A culinary storyteller. A lover of that big beautiful city, loud engines and everything it holds.
It all started with memories of that racetrack. And somehow, it keeps coming back there too.
Now booking culinary and brand photography in Indianapolis, IN and Louisville, KY. If you're a restaurant, food brand, chef, or creative entrepreneur or business ready to tell your story visually, I'd love to hear about your project.
Muses: REV Indy, Carol Howard, Chef Wes Morrison, Youssef Boudarine, Epicurean Indy, the chefs and teams of the Epicurean Village, The Brothers Footman, and the city of Indianapolis.
© Jama Finney Photography 2026
About the Author
Jama Finney is a Louisville-based portrait and branding photographer known for creating editorial-style imagery for entrepreneurs, creatives, and founders. Her approach blends professional branding photography with portrait-led storytelling, capturing the authority, humanity, and essence behind the people she photographs.
Jama works with clients across Louisville, Indianapolis, and beyond who want branding imagery that feels layered, powerful, and unmistakably like themselves.
When she isn’t behind the camera, she’s usually traveling, observing human nature with curiosity, or writing about the fascinating ways we move through the world.
Interested in working together? Explore branding sessions or get in touch here.
