Jul
17
This was my first time at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, working for the fantastic folks at Petrolicious. You can see my coverage with them here.
Since the dust settled the other week, I’ve been trying to put the Goodwood Festival of Speed in to context with some other events I’ve worked at.
It’s this truly magical concoction of car, driver, and crowd. And an amazing venue. Cars that won concours are taken away from their stands and are taken to the start line, marked with original bricks from Indianapolis, and then cajoled up the hill by some absolute legends. Not every car makes it to the finish line. Case in point – the 1989 Le Mans GTP winning 767b found its demise at the end of some hay bales. But that’s no big deal at Goodwood, just tidy it up and send the next legendary car.
It’s this spirit that makes the Festival great. It’s not the suits and ties, the tuxedos, the designer watches; it’s the love and fascination with the machines that move us. The ones that made history on the ribbons of tarmac that we revere. The brave souls who piloted unimaginably fast cars for their time.
The fire, the fuel, the grit. It’s a celebration and a monument in its own right. And I’ll be back next year for sure.
Thanks for looking!
Apr
30
The 2012 Britcar 24H was the first ever 24 hour race I photographed. It was quite refreshing to come back to it with a few years’ more experience under my belt and see if I could improve on my work from three years ago
For more images from this event, please get in touch.
Motorbase Performance Porsche
As someone who has spent the past four years as accredited media at the vast majority of the events I’ve photographed, it’s very easy to forget how spoiled for choice we are at circuits. The growing base of enthusiasts have it much harder. I got to spend the day in their shoes this weekend, at the opening round of the British GT Championship at Oulton Park. Having the restrictions was a huge challenge, but I think that it made for some fantastic images.
M-Sport Audi R8
Photographing the drivers and cars in the paddock was a huge challenge. With the teams often closing the fronts of their awnings, and this year shielding the back of their pit garages, I could often only get a fleeting glimpse of the paddock activity.
Used Tyres
It’s the little things.
FF Corse Ferrari 458GT3
Out on track, the Armco made getting the full car in frame a challenge. Improvisation is a good skill to have in these situations.
United Autosports McLaren MP4-12C GT3
There were, however, one or two spots where you could see the cars in their full glory.
MTECH Ferrari 458GT3
One of the great things about Oulton Park is the back end of the circuit, where the circuit runs through some quintessentially British woodland. It certainly made for some interesting compositions.
JRM Performance Nissan GT-R GT3
Especially with some of the springtime greenery. Though the temperature was more like mid-winter!
888Optimum BMW Z4GT3
The sun peeked through once or twice luckily.
IDL-CWS Ginetta G55 GT3
And then the fire of the Ginette helped warm us up a little more! Luckily, the driver got away in time from the blaze.
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Sep
23
Britcar 24 at Silverstone is the first time I’ve ever attended, let alone photographed, a 24 hour endurance race. It won’t be my last.
Silverstone is a vast circuit. I’ve never shot the full track. Even as a spectator at the British Grand Prix in 2007, I’ve always been situated in the Brooklands complex of the circuit.
I absolutely love the varied mix of cars running in the Britcar 24. This classic Porsche was my personal favourite, with a beautiful GT-86 and a Honda Jazz tied for second place.
Silverstone is an odd circuit for me. I’m very used to being close to the cars, but the large, F1-minded runoff areas mean that I’m actually a huge distance from the cars. Except at the entry to the famous Maggots complex. The cars enter at blistering speeds, it’s a great feeling.
There’s a true beauty to racing cars. Sometimes, it’s hard to find. But I’ve yet to photograph a race-built car that I’ve turned away from. The way this chrome-painted Aston Martin GT3 reflected the late afternoon sun put a huge smile on my face.
There’s nothing better than to be bathed in warm light, while race cars tear past you. It’s something I’d only previously experienced while at Pikes Peak, but here, at Silverstone, it happened again.