Recent Editorial Work – HGK Motorsport Nissan PS13
Client: Speedhunters Intent: Editorial Date: July 2015 Location: Rudskogen, Norway. Original Feature: http://www.speedhunters.com
Recent Editorial Work – A 2,200HP Nissan GT-R
Client: Speedhunters Intent: Editorial Date: May 2015 Location: Doha, Qatar. Original Feature: http://www.speedhunters.com
Martin Ffrench & The Low Brain PS13
I was asked late last week to fill in for someone who was meant to document Martin’s exploits at Punchestown, and seeing as it has been over a year since I last covered a full drift event, I could hardly say no. What was meant to be a relaxing day off instead started with a 6AM alarm call and getting on the road not long there after. It’s always great to catch up with the people in the Irish drifting community, a friendlier bunch you could not meet. I know a lot of these people from my first day of shooting, so it’s inspiring to see them all still giving 100% commitment to the sport. Times have moved on, and there are a lot of new faces both on the starting line and in the media briefing which made the event feel somewhat alien in certain regards. The one thing that hasn’t changed was thankfully the reason I was there – Martin Ffrench. I can’t even remember the last time I seen Martin drive, but even though he only has a handful of events under him this year, it’s plain for everyone to see that he still has the talent and aggression he is known for. Driving the LBD Achilles Nissan PS13, powered by an ex-Mosler V8, it’s almost the perfect car for Martin. Although things didn’t work out as planned, with more seat time in the car, it won’t be long before we see him back on the top step of the podium. Big thanks to Martin Ffrench, Team LBD Achilles and Paddy Macken from IDC.
Erik Jonasson’s Datsun S30
When life deals you lemons, you make lemonade. Or so they say. One of the toughest aspects of being a photographer is often having to shoot in less than ideal circumstances. I arrived in Sweden back in June to find that my 5D MKII had died in transit. Of course I was well armed with back-up bodies, but I had developed a bond with my 5D2. It sounds strange and a little sad, but losing it really put me out. Never the less, it’s one of those occasions that you just have to get on with it. Location wise we were limited to either a busy paddock or we could shoot on-track for a limited amount of time (I think it was around 20 minutes) but we couldn’t move the car or get any tracking shots in. Luckily, we didn’t need much more than the car itself as it done all of the work for me. You can check out the full story on Speedhunters – here.
Nissan 180SX RPS13
The Irish modified car scene is a strange one. On one hand, you have lots of people who only follow the pack, scared to move outside of their comfort zones. On the other hand, you have people like Keith Wheldon who prefers to go his own way. You can check out the full and in-depth feature on Speedhunters but I’ll summarize Keith’s 180SX in one sentence – this is the best built and most considered RPS13 ever built in Ireland. Oh, and it’s his daily driver too …
The Banana
I thought I needed a little bit more colour on the site these days, so let me introduce you to the ‘Banana’. Bryn Alban’s Nissan Skyline is not your regular sort of R32. Having been fitted with one of only a handful of genuine Bee*R R324 kits, and re-painted in its original shade of yellow, it’s certainly not a quiet car. Be sure to check out the full feature on Speedhunters when it was originally published last year …
A Day With David Brabham
Earlier last month I was tasked with creating the accompanying images for a story of a day in the life of one David Brabham. The Brabham family name is synonymous in motorsport with success and David’s illustrious career has ensured that association won’t be changing any time soon. A racing career spanning nearly thirty years with multiple wins in a variety of classes at Le Mans and a host of other successes across a variety of championships including F1, JGTC and ALMS to name but a few. David would be one of those who you would forgive for having any airs or graces about him but the man behind the visor is as welcoming and as nice as anyone you could ever meet. A true gentleman of motorsport. More images after the jump …
Ride-Along with Julian Smith at Gatebil
[vimeo width=”800″ height=”600″]http://vimeo.com/26436495[/vimeo] It’s slightly more difficult than you’d imagine trying to hold a video camera steady as you’re being flung mostly sideways around the Norwegian countryside in a 500+BHP ER34 Skyline. Soundtrack by Garage D / Nissan RB
FIA GT1 World Championship – Silverstone
Any of you that follow my activities on Speedhunters (or look below this post for that matter) may have seen my recent stories from the FIA GT event at Silverstone. It’s quite an experience shooting events of this scale, it’s an even bigger experience shooting the GT1 class. I’ve gathered together a couple of my favorite images from last weekend below. I hope you enjoy !
Mondello March Drift Practice
The now monthly drift practice days at Mondello Park rolled around once again last month. As the start of the 2011 drift season edges closer, some of the pro-class competitors were out testing their updated machinery for this championship year. A large amount of kudos must be sent in Mondello Park’s direction, they’ve always been a huge supporter of drifting in Ireland and these practice days are helping the sport to further evolve. More images after the jump along with a link to the full gallery at the bottom of the post …
Project ZED
Being built by John Bradshaw as the sequel to Project GTST, Project ZED is on target for six second quarter mile passes with nearly 1900BHP on tap.
Project GTST
Simply put, the world’s quickest Nissan Skyline. The quarter mile covered in 7.45 seconds at 187 miles per hour. For the rest of the images of this incredible car just follow the ‘Read More’ link below …
FIA GT at Paul Ricard / Saturday Qualifying & Race
The Saturday of the FIA GT event at Paul Ricard saw me take to the trackside for most of the day. In sweltering 35+°C temperatures, it was a challenge lugging around a 400mm 2.8 prime attached with a 1.4X extender to the 1D. However, Paul Ricard is a vast circuit and even at 500+mm you can still struggle for focal length. The track is unique in that it does not have any gravel traps. Instead, it employs the use of the Blue Line Concept. The concept utilizes different surfaces with increasing levels of grip to slow down the cars. The areas marked with blue stripes have more grip than the race surface and gently slow the car whilst the red areas aim to stop the cars. The following shots are from the Saturday qualifying and race sessions.
Nexen Tires 1JZ S15 Silvia
You may have already seen the preview here or the full feature on Speedhunters but as always I like to show the images a little bit larger here with no watermarks. It’s a very special car owned by Christy Carpenter, built from the ground up by the folks at Garage D and the 1JZ built by DeaneMSPORT. The car puts down in excess of 600BHP through it’s Nexen N8000 18″ tires. More after the jump …
Nigel Colfer 180JZ Preview
Spent today shooting Nigel Colfer’s recently victorious 1JZ powered RPS13. I’m pretty happy with how it all went although we did spend over two hours searching for a location the results may just be worth it. Here’s a quick edit from the last shot of the day back at Nigel’s place. Now to finally start into the backlog of work that need’s to be cleared !
Behind the Scenes
Just a quick snap from a shoot this weekend gone on Christy Carpenters Nexen 1JZ S15. Keep an eye out for the full feature coming soon …
Karnage Maxxis Onevia
This week gone, I got the pleasure of tackling Dean ‘Karnages’ Kearney Maxxis endorsed Nissan Onevia. The shoot turned into an eventful one, first it rained and then rained some more. It was also the first time I got to grips with my new rig, albeit in its shortest configuration as the rest hadn’t been completed in time by my fabricator. The best of the shoot after the jump …
Rig shots …
2008 saw me acquire my first rig. It’s served me well but It’s limitations are starting to get on my nerves. Since I’m about to retire it, I thought I’d show some of the best shots it created …