Recent Editorial Work – Volkswagen Jetta VR6
Client: Speedhunters Intent: Editorial Date: November 2015 Location: Waterford, Ireland. Original Feature: http://www.speedhunters.com
Recent Editorial Work – Toyota Starlet EP70
Client: Speedhunters Intent: Editorial Date: October 2015 Location: Waterford, Ireland. Original Feature: http://www.speedhunters.com
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 – KS Motorsport BMW E90
Client: Speedhunters Intent: Editorial Date: July 2015 Location: Rudskogen, Norway. Original Feature: http://www.speedhunters.com
Recent Editorial Work – 2JZ Powered BMW E30
Client: Speedhunters Intent: Editorial Date: June 2015 Location: Mantorp, Sweden. 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
Recent Editorial Work – Milestone71 Porsche 964
Client: Speedhunters Intent: Editorial Date: May 2015 Location: Wörthersee, Austria. Original Feature: http://www.speedhunters.com
Recent Editorial Work – Volkswagen T5
Client: Speedhunters Intent: Editorial Date: May 2015 Location: Wörthersee, Austria. Original Feature: http://www.speedhunters.com
Recent Editorial Work – Gepfeffert’s Carbon Volkswagen Golf GTI
Client: Speedhunters Intent: Editorial Date: May 2015 Location: Wörthersee, Austria. Original Feature: http://www.speedhunters.com
Recent Editorial Work – Rotiform Audi R8
Client: Speedhunters Intent: Editorial Date: May 2015 Location: Wörthersee, Austria. Original Feature: http://www.speedhunters.com
Recent Editorial Work – Ford Escort Cosworth V6
Client: Speedhunters Intent: Editorial Date: April 2015 Location: Tipperary, Ireland. Original Feature: http://www.speedhunters.com
A Classic – The Players Golf MKI
Since the article has just been published on Speedhunters, I can finally share the results of this shoot which took place last month outside London. Rather than try to repeat Ben’s words from the article, I thought some of you might be more interested to read about the photography side of things. With the extended winter we seem to be having, we were confined to an indoor location. Thankfully, Richie from Milestone71, based just outside London, gave us full access to his new workshop. The primary light source was via a large frosted window on one side of the workshop. There were ceiling lights but we only had those turned on for one or two shots. To balance the window, I used up to three speedlights on varying power settings and all diffused (two bounce brollies & one small soft box). Some of the exteriors were shot with just the small soft box providing fill in the shadows. All the details were shot with the same single soft box. Being a light coloured car, it reacted really well with the lights. The only difficulty was trying to ensure that the car didn’t appear white, as it’s more of a light cream colour. It was just one of those shoots where things worked, and very little post work was required. I would have liked some alternate locations and maybe some tracking shots, but it just wasn’t going to happen with the weather refusing to play ball.
Fire Up the Quattros
The recent Ultimate Dubs show, held at the Telford International Centre, was your typical UK VAG show. That is, a gathering of the cream of the UK VW & Audi scene under one roof. Although there were plenty of cars present which caught my attention, it was these three Audis that stole my heart. An S2, A2 and a Group B inspired tube chassised S1 all presented in white, but each showcasing three different approaches with a similar end goal in mind. We’ve already taken a closer look at three cars on Speedhunters, and we’re hoping to feature the three cars in-depth over the coming months. What I wanted to – briefly – write about here is shooting cars on a show floor. Most shows I attend are usually well attended, so getting the right shot can be difficult. Ultimate Dubs however was absolutely chock full of paying spectators, often two and three people deep at the more interesting cars. I needed to constantly re-visit certain cars during the day to capture extra details, but even so I was still missing images. As a work around I started shooting some long exposures from a tripod. An ND8 filter was too dark for the indoor venue, but a circular polarizer and a mid-range f/number was just about right giving exposures of around ten seconds. The advantage to shooting a show with long exposures is quite obvious – in that the spectators will often blur and vanish through the frame. The other, and maybe not so obvious, advantage is that by shooting with a tripod, people become more aware of your presence and make an effort to stay out of shot regardless. Working with the awesome Ben Chandler at Ultimate Dubs, we wanted to show off the Audis in a story that was […]
Kremer Porsche 962C-K6/03
It’s not often that someone throws open the doors to their collection and tells you to pick whatever you want, but this was exactly the situation I found myself in earlier this year. I shot an overview of the facilities at Mondello Park last year, including an overview of their racing collection which included this Kenwood liveried Kremer Porsche 962C which raced at Le Mans in 1989. I returned in the middle of January to shoot the car in isolation for an ’80s theme on Speedhunters. You can read the full story which is linked at the bottom of this post, but for now here are some excerpts from the shoot. Shot exclusively for Speedhunters.com / Full story here
Toyota GT86
Early last month I picked up Toyota Ireland’s GT86 for a week of ownership. The two litre naturally aspirated FR coupe has been gathering a lot of attention since its release earlier this year, along with being lauded by the motoring press. I was lucky enough to shoot the GT86 earlier this year for CAR Magazine but I was still very excited to spend a week on my own with the car. My experience was nearly all positive. I liked the balance, driving position, gearbox and even the engine which most seem to have deemed as being underpowered. For a standard factory car with a warranty, I thought the two litre flat four 4U-GSE was more than capable. Although lacking in torque, its responsiveness more than made up for it. I couldn’t help myself by blipping the throttle on each and every shift, both up and down the gearbox. The only downsides for me were the tyres which I found to be a little bit too hard and the fact that the car was probably a little bit too hardcore to be a daily driver. As a second car for weekend and trackday duties, I can’t think of anything else currently on the market that would get my money. You can read my full report on Speedhunters, be sure to leave a comment letting me know what you think.
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.
Gatebil Mantorp Park
Following some recent health issues, I’ve been out of action for the last few weeks. On the plus side, I’ve a couple of interesting shoots and stories to share with you. After the Bavaria City Racing Dublin event, I took to the skies once more. Destination? Sweden for the annual Gatebil show at Mantorp Park, a couple of hours south of Stockholm. Unfortunately on arrival, I found my 5D MKII was unresponsive having presumably taken a knock somewhere in transit. My 5D2 has been a reliable work horse for the last three years so I was pretty bummed out by its loss. Thankfully, I had two other great cameras in reserve but it did put a bit of a downer on the event. The mayhem at Mantorp was even better than expected. Having experienced the Rudskogen event the year previous, I thought I would be prepared for the Swedish take on the popular event. I wasn’t. Check out the full coverage on Speedhunters below … Read the full Speedhunters coverage here.
McLaren in Dublin
If you only ever do one thing in your automotive life – make sure you experience the sight and sounds of a contemporary Formula One car. Nothing can prepare you for the feeling that hits you when that 2.4 litre V8 revs to 18,000RPM for the first time. Despite comical organization and an almost impossible lack of access, I managed to grab a handful of images when Jenson Button unleashed his MP4-26 on the streets of Dublin last weekend …
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 …
Prodrift Punchestown
I owe a lot to Prodrift. What started as a small series quickly expanded into one of the most respected and innovative drift series’ on the planet. Although the recession has hit Ireland hard, the quality of driving at Prodrift events has show no sign of dropping off. From the amateurs to the pros, the standard of driving at any Prodrift event is unnaturally high. Congratulations to Damien Mulvey on his pro-class win. Not the first time the Cork man has topped the podium and it certainly won’t be the last …
Nürburgring 24HR ’12 – Part Three / The Race
I’m sure I’ve certainly said this before, my year revolves around the Nürburgring 24HR. It’s the centre of my world, an event that I dream of during the winter, look forward to in the spring and reminisce about during the summer and autumn when it’s over. It’s an event that has everything, and I mean everything – the greatest racing circuit on earth, changeable weather, an almost impossible variety of cars, hundreds of thousands of animated spectators and fierce racing. This, sadly, is my final N24 post for 2012 but not my last Nordschleife related one. Be warned though, there are around 40+ images after the link so these might not best be viewed on a mobile device …
Nürburgring 24HR ’12 – Part One
I’m quite a lucky person. I’m working in my dream job, traveling the world and photographing fast cars. I honestly couldn’t ask for more. Even the variety of events that I attend is often breathtaking, there’s never a dull moment. When you have it so good and yet one event still stands out above all the others, then you know it’s special. For me, the annual Nürburgring 24HR is the centre point of my year. It’s such a challenge to shoot but it’s just so rewarding in many different ways. We’ve just wrapped up our coverage on Speedhunters (which is well worth a look as always) so I thought I’d start catching up with things on here too. The first part of this story documents our arrival at the ‘ring on the Wednesday before the race …
The Lady in Red
Earlier this month, I met with a local Ford connoisseur to feature his car for a Speedhunters story. Whilst you can read the details over on SH, I thought I’d just share a couple of images here too.
D-Mac’s Carina of Doom
I made a quick visit to Formula D competitor Darren McNamara last week to check in and see what he has been up to over the winter months. Darren is a huge Toyota fan so it comes as no surprise that he always has a couple of interesting projects on the go. His Carina project has certainly attracted a lot of attention over on Speedhunters. It has divided opinions too, but as Darren has said, it’s not really meant to be taken too seriously and is only intended for a bit of fun. Having taken styling cues from a mix of different automotive sub-cultures (VW, JDM, USDM) it’s certainly an interesting project. It’ll be even more interesting when it receives its SR20DET conversion later this year …
Team Need for Speed D-Mac ’86
You may remember late last year that I published a feature both here and on Speedhunters of Darren McNamara’s wild rotary powered AE86 build. I never got around to posting these images of the car during it’s first test day and first two events. Considering it was a completely fresh build, the success it has enjoyed at its first two events is astounding. Rarely do cars work so well out of the box. It’s a credit to Darren and the team at MCN Sport.
BMW at the 2011 ADAC Nürburgring 24HR
I’m sure it’s obvious by now that I have an affinity for a particular German manufacturer. Growing up in a Ford household, which was part of a Ford family, I don’t think I ever saw myself as a BMW sort of person growing up. After pushing the usual stereotypes aside, I quickly came to appreciate BMW’s brand values. It’s not just about their performance, technology or image, it’s how they bring everything together into a package that just works. Every detail is considered and it shows in the the final product. I’m certainly not saying they’re perfect or without their problems but for me anyways, I can appreciate what they bring to the table. Last year, I was lucky enough to cover the annual Nürburgring 24HR for the second consecutive year for Speedhunters. Shooting the Nürburgring 24HR is a very difficult task. The sheer size of the venue, along with its unpredictable weather system does not make the challenge any easier. In 2011, I had set personal goals with regards to my photography. These goals were related to both the approach and execution of shooting an event. In particular I wanted to focus on the basics and taking technically better photographs. This lead to a lot of (and I mean a lot) of rather plain images but they provided a better base to develop from. I recently revisited my images from last year’s event and re-edited them in accordance with what I’ve learned over the year. This leaves me facing into 2012 with the ambition of changing it all again in an attempt to stay fresh and hopefully build on what I’ve learned so far. I hope you enjoy what I’ve put together. If you like it be sure to drop me an e-mail or a message on twitter. More images after […]
Number One
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 …
Gatebil Rudskogen Part Two
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.
Gatebil Rudskogen Part One
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 …
2011 ADAC Zurich Nürburgring 24 Hour – Part Two
I’ll conclude my 2011 ADAC Zurich Nürburgring 24HR coverage with the second and final part of images. These images take place in chronological order from the Friday qualifying sessions right through to the race end on Sunday evening. Nearly a month later and I’m still feeling the effects of the N24. It’s truly the most difficult event one can photograph during the motorsport season. However, it also rewards you for your perseverance. Read on for more images …