I don’t know if it’s just me or do the years seem to be passing by faster and faster? I can hardly believe we’re already looking back over our shoulders at 2011 with 2012 laid out before us.
If I’m honest, 2011 seems to have passed me by. With an increased workload, I think I defaulted to an almost automated method of photography during the middle of the year. Looking back, I think I should have done a lot better with the opportunities that presented themselves. Having had some breathing space over the holiday period, I’ve had the chance to identify key areas which I aim to improve upon in 2012 and beyond. I don’t think my photography was in any way poor last year, in fact I’ve probably taken some of my best shots in 2011. I just think I could have done better is all.
Some of the areas I’ll be approaching differently in the future will be my preparation, process of shooting and post-processing. I’ve quite a rigid methodology in how I shoot – which although has served me well in the past, I’m now looking to change by improvising and taking more risks. My post-processing is strangely the opposite – I’m always changing and modifying how I’ll edit a shoot afterwards. From here on out I plan on doing much lighter processing in my regular coverage and more thorough processing in my commercial work. I want to create two very different styles that somehow can both be instantly recognized as my work.
I’m currently in the process of re-building my print portfolio, something which I’ve neglected since finishing my degree. I also hope to keep this blog more updated with more behind the scenes posts along with my own thoughts on current affairs relating to the photography industry.
Before I finish up my ramblings, I just want to say a huge thanks to all my clients who I have worked with in 2011. I wouldn’t be living my dream if it wasn’t for each and every one of you. Thank you.
I also want to thank my family, friends, mentors and co-workers for their constant support. You rock.
So, let’s see what 2012 has in store …
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Paddy McGrath
Whilst shooting at Gatebil earlier this year, I had the pleasure of photographing the freshly unveiled Swedish built hypercar, the Koenigsegg Agera. I managed to capture a couple of decent-ish snaps of the car as it lapped the Rudskogen course, one of which is my favourite shot of 2011. I never for a moment thought that a couple of months later that Koenigsegg Automotive would be in touch to acquire the images for their own promotional use. To say I’m ecstatic would be the understatement of the year. I’ve included the images submitted to Koenigsegg below, I can’t wait to see where they show up!
Post processing a digital photograph is one of the most important aspects of modern photography. Sure, you’ll hear plenty people complaining that it’s ‘cheating‘ but you’ll usually also notice the same people can’t tell their arse from their elbow when it comes to editing an image. After all, even traditional film photographs need to be dodged, burned, exposed etc. before they are fit for purpose. I guess it comes down to each individual situation. Personally, if I’m shooting an event I’ll limit my PP work to a minimum in order to ensure I can get my photographs out as soon as possible and also to give a fair and honest reflection of what occurred. I do think it’s wrong to remove / add items to an image which is to be used for traditional journalism purposes. That is cheating in my opinion.
If you’re tasked to create an image fit for advertising or promotional use, then all bets are off. It’s requires a huge amount of thought and vision both during the shoot and through the processing stage. Although I currently don’t shoot a whole lot of commercial work, it’s something I’m interested in. Whenever I have spare time, I usually find myself searching the web for the best contemporary examples of high end commercial photography. I then try and figure out how the image was lit and processed and see if I can replicate it. This is all part of a personal drive to improve my skill set. What I’ve included below is the images which were used in the creation of the above image. It was pretty much an afterthought to use this shot so there are definitely a lot of things I would have changed if I was shooting it again. But what I really wanted to do here was to see just how far I could take this image. The end result is by no means perfect, but it’s a start. More images and text after the jump …
With December just about to roll around (memo to self, buy Christmas presents) the motorsport season is well and truly done for twenty-eleven. The off-season gives us a chance to relax, reflect and reminisce about the season. We can finally sit back and begin to take everything in. Because their is so little shoots during these dark months, I usually spend my time trying work on my processing styles. This usually involves going absolutely and completely overboard with my processing to the extent that it might make your eyes bleed.
But it’s for good reason. By pushing everything up to eleven, it helps me figure out just how far is too far. From this I can scale things back and find a happy medium. I’ve always wanted to try and create a processing style which pays homage to old photographic prints that have faded, been marked etc. I shot this 993 Porsche recently for Speedhunters and thought it was the perfect shoot to revisit and experiment. You can check out the original feature for comparison here. The rest of the images are after the break …
It’s almost impossible to talk about New York City today and not mention September 11th – a tragedy so great that we now only need to refer to it by date. There have been much larger losses of life throughout the course of history but there is something about happened on that Tuesday morning that hit us all so deeply. I’ve wanted to visit the World Trade Centre site for quite some time to pay my respects to all of those who lost their lives. I was expecting to walk into a quiet area filled with sadness but instead I found a place full of energy, recovering from the disaster in the only way they know how – with pride, passion and dignity. Nothing else sums up the people of New York City like the World Trade Centre site. The recently opened 9/11 Memorial is a fitting tribute to those who lost their lives on 9/11 and during a separate terrorist attack on the WTC in February 1993.
Part two of this story begins with the WTC site and the 9/11 Memorial before exploring the rest of what this incredible city has to offer. If you’d like to contribute to the 9/11 Memorial fund, I’ve included a link to the official website at the bottom. Read on for more images after the break …
Growing up, I’ve really only ever had one dream. It was a dream that always stayed with me when others would fade away or would be forgotten as time passed. It was a realistic dream – sure, we’d all love to win the lotto or a couple of Nobel prizes but it’s healthy to keep your feet planted firmly in reality – and one that I knew I would someday be able to make happen. Earlier this year, all the planets and stars aligned for me and I was finally presented with the ability to travel to the greatest city on earth, New York. Ever since I travelled to the USA as a child with my parents, I’ve always had a place in my heart for those United States. This was more of a holiday than a job but being a photographer is something you can never turn off. Armed with my beloved Canon 5DMKII (minus a battery grip to save weight), the Canon 35 F1.4 L and the Canon 135 F2 L, I was sure I was ready to take on the city that never sleeps. This is the first of two parts and I’ll hopefully have the second part online later this week. Enjoy …
Popular motoring journalist Chris Harris tweeted earlier that the iconic Manthey Racing Porsches will not be found contesting the VLN and Nurburgring 24 Hour races in 2012. According to Harris, the Balance of Performance system is stacked so heavily against the GT3 R that Olaf Manthey has decided to call it a day. Since 2005, Manthey have claimed five out of six outright wins at what is billed as the hardest endurance race on the planet (the Nurburgring 24 Hour) and a staggering 24 VLN race wins in the same time period.
One would hope that Herr Manthey has something up his sleeve …
I’ve been out of the office for the last week on a long overdue vacation to the United States. Unfortunately, the auto-responder I set-up before departing got knocked off after a power cut so I apologise for any lack of correspondence in the mean time. I’ll be back in the office from Tuesday November 1st where business will resume as usual. I’ll be sure to share some of my favorite sights from my trip with you shortly …
Every once in a while, an opportunity presents itself that cannot be turned down. Arriving at an unusually sun basked Silverstone circuit on a Thursday evening in June of this year, I was rather casually presented with the task of shooting arguably the best looking car on the GT3 grid, the Team Need for Speed and Schubert Motorsport prepared BMW Z4 GT3. However, there were quite a lot of restrictions surrounding the shoot. Time was the largest obstacle with a window of just 90 minutes to complete a thorough shoot of the car. Positioning the car was another challenge. As you may know, full race prepared cars do not like to be started and stopped and moved short distances so we needed to arrange a quad bike and two mechanics to accompany and manoeuvre the car.
However all of these minor annoyances were quickly forgotten once I looked through the viewfinder. The backdrop of the newly unveiled Silverstone Wing complex and the privilege of being the first photographer to shoot on the new hallowed race surface – the weekend’s FIA GT event would be the first race meeting on the new layout utilising the new complex – more than made up for any of these slight grievances. It was a proud moment when I stood back from the camera and took a moment to take it all in. Here I was within my first 14 months as a professional photographer, standing on the Silverstone race circuit photographing one of my all-time favourite race cars in glorious weather. For all the positives and negatives of my job, I can always look back to this as to why I do what I do.
More images after the break …
Continue reading ‘Team Need for Speed Schubert Motorsport BMW Z4 GT3′
Part two of my Gatebil story concentrates on the track action. With drifting to extreme time attack, Gatebil was a no holds barred automotive extravaganza.
Caution : This Story Contains Copious Amounts of Tyre Smoke.
The last couple of months have been truly memorable. Not only as a photographer but also as a petrolhead. I’ve had the privilege of shooting some of the best events on the planet, events that only a year or two earlier were only but a dream.
I know that things as good as this never last long, but I’m ensuring that I’m enjoying every last moment and having no regrets along the way. It’s not everyday you wake up in your dream job and I can’t thank the Speedhunters and Need for Speed teams enough for allowing me the privilege of working with them. This is the first of two parts from the Gatebil Rudskogen, an event which was held about two hours north of Oslo at the end of July. The word insanity doesn’t even come close to describing Gatebil. More images, as usual, after the jump …
More coming soon …