Porsche Museum
With a day to spare on a recent European road trip, I couldn’t fight the urger to head south to Stuttgart and take in Porsche’s famous museum. Far more than just a typical automotive museum, the Porsche Museum is an attraction for both car fans and non-car fans alike. The first thing that greets you is the incredible exterior of the building. I would never claim to be an architecture aficionado, but this left me in complete awe. But for all the steel and glass on the outside, how the museum itself is laid out, in its ever so slight upwards spiral, is a true work of art. During my visit, the museum was celebrating 50 years of the Porsche 911 and as such, the majority of the collection reflected arguably the greatest sports car ever built. Still, there was plenty on display to satisfy the appetite of even this part-time Porsche fan.
Photos of the Year 2012
It’s actually quite difficult to write a review of a year whilst trying to avoid every cliché available. I guess it is always good to take the time to look back and appreciate things and learn from mistakes. Speaking personally, 2012 was a bit of a hit and miss year. Although there were certainly some fantastic moments, there was also a lot of time that needed to be endured rather than enjoyed. Photography wise, I don’t think I built upon my technical skills and ideas as much as I would have liked to, mostly due to a lack of field work in comparison to other years. However, these are all things I can focus on for 2013 and try to evolve further as a photographer. I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who comes here, to those of you who take your time to send me e-mails and everyone I’ve interacted with over the last twelve months. I hope that your best moments of 2012 are your worst ones in 2013.
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 […]
2011 ADAC Zurich Nürburgring 24 Hour – Part One
I’m slowly trying to come around after a couple of very intensive weeks of work. Bouncing from the legendary Nürburgring twenty four hour race to the wild festivities of Gatebil in Norway has taken its toll on this Speedhunter. There are quite a lot of shots from the twenty four hour that I want to share so I’ve decided to split the coverage into two, chronologically ordered pieces. The first part will take you from our arrival in Germany on the Tuesday before the race to the Thursday night after qualifying. The rest of the story is after the break …
FIA GT3 European Championship – Team Need for Speed at Silverstone
As part of my Speedhunters duties at Silverstone, I was required to cover the Team Need for Speed Schubert Motorsport BMW Z4 GT3 in as much detail as I could. With our Creative Director, Rod Chong and GT veteran photographer Jonathan Moore present to cover the track, I was left to focus on the behind the scenes and pit lane activity. More after the jump !
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.
FIA GT at Paul Ricard / Friday Practice
Last weekend I had the rather excellent opportunity of shooting the FIA GT races at the Paul Ricard HTTT near Marseille, France. It would be the very first time I had ever shot an FIA sanctioned event, let alone the pinnacle of tin-top racing at the most advanced racing circuit in the world. I was present to cover the event for Speedhunters.com and my aim was to concentrate on the #76 and #77 cars of Team Need for Speed in GT3 and the #22 and #23 cars of Sumo Power GT in the GT1 class. This set of photographs is from the Friday practice sessions. More 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 …
