Last month I flew out to the Sierra Nevada in Southern Spain for CAR Magazine to photograph the launch of the new Renaultsport Clio 200 Turbo EDC.
With both Ben (Road Test Editor) and I being a fan of it's predecessor, how would the new Clio RS fair with it's paddleshift dual clutch gearbox and turbocharged lump?
Find out in May's issue of CAR Magazine (Issue 610) as it's challenged by Peugeot's long awaited 208 GTi.
Get Set, Go! Finally, a long overdue facelift to the website. This time, focusing around the majority of my workload, automotive subjects.
The new design brings with it a whole range of advantages;
What's more, the very blog that you are reading has now been migrated within the site. Makes sense don't you think? With that in mind I aim to blog regularly with what I'm up to.
Have a browse around, let me know what you think and leave a comment below :-)
For most of us, cold winter months usually conjure up thoughts of snow, log fires crackling and putting up your feet... Not in Formula One where teams are hard at work developing the cars to shave hundredths of a second from their lap time in order to battle for next year's title.
New to Oxfordshire's "Motorsport Valley", Caterham work around the clock at their new factory in Leafield to ready CT03 for the season ahead. With it's high gloss floors and bright white walls, the factory at Leafield seems almost otherworldly. Things you would normally associate with an automotive subject are immediately thrown out of the window. Grease, oil or tyre marks are no where to be seen. Despite owning Domke roller cases, carrying them across their immaculate setup felt more appropriate. This wasn't just going to be an incredible experience, but an unforgettable one!
At the time of writing, all of the cars for the 2013 season have been revealed, and Caterham's was the one I anticipated the most. Why? Photographer or not, most Formula One fans would give their left (and/or right) arm to get up close with an F1 outfit. The past couple of months have seen various visits to Leafield to work with the Caterham F1 Team. This meant I had seen hints of what was to come, and to say it was exciting would be an understatement.
Deep within the heart of Southern Spain lies 2.7 miles of challenging tarmac, a circuit which plays host to four days of winter testing for Formula 1 Teams. Caterham unveiled CT03 early Tuesday morning at Jerez, with an updated aerodynamic package and pearlescent green/matt black livery (not pictured). With the thoroughbred-racer currently being put through it's paces around the tough terrain of Jerez, this blog takes a look back at last years contender, the CT01. The very car that Vitaly Petrov and Heikki Kovalainen used to propel Caterham to 10th position in the Formula 1 World Championship.
To take a closer look at Caterham's 2013 car (CT03), head over to their website to see it in all it's glory.
Over a century of automotive history, all displayed within 25,000 square feet. Forty years in the making, Studio434 is now the home to over 160 cars and 60 motorcycles. An extensive and privately owned collection, it's primary use is as a museum and storage facility, whilst offering rental options for advertising and TV. By no coincidence, at the back of the mezzanine floor lies a purpose built photographic studio with an infinity cove.
Working with Studio434 to photograph their impressive collection, it soon became clear that this could be a service available to private clients and car clubs. This has proved a huge success with top marques such as Aston Martin and their Heritage Trust, collaborating on their centenary project.
With the cyclorama measuring 8x8x2.2 metres, the studio space is able to accommodate almost any vehicle. Working in a controlled environment, it is possible to change lighting setups from shooting in high key to changing the mood and creating automotive art with dramatic effects. Better still, whilst your pride and joy is in the spotlight you are welcome to look around the impressive collection at Studio434.
Located just two minutes from junction 24 of the M25, we have seen clients travel from as far as Wales. If you are interested in having your car photographed, please feel free to get in touch.
Stratford, the East End of London. Once a construction site, now the centre of the worlds attention as millions of viewers tune in for the Olympic and Paralympic games.
Last night we were lucky enough to witness the incredible atmosphere that is the London 2012 games. Having been glued to the television for almost all of the Olympic and Paralympic action so far, being able to witness it first hand was an unforgettable experience.
With a buzz about the park and high-fives from energetic games-makers, we headed to our seats inside the Stadium. With various lens restrictions in place, I promised my other half I would only take one lens, travel light and enjoy the experience. Armed with my 17-40 wide angle, we found our seats only to realise we were sat three rows from the 100m start line, it was going to be a brilliant night of sport!
Of all days to visit, watching Mickey Bushell take home Gold for Team GB in the T51 100m Sprint with a 80,000 strong crowd behind him was a unique experience. Rapturous applause filled the stadium as the national anthem bellowed around the stadium.
On the build up to the Paralympic games, we often heard the phrase 'Superhumans'. No other word in the english language can describe these athletes better, achieving feats that most would dream impossible. Events such as 100m, 200m, 400m, 5000m, Long Jump and Javelin took place on the night, meaning there was always plenty of action to watch around the stadium.
Sad that our night and Paralympic experience had come to an end, although privileged to have been part of that home crowd. As we left the stadium it was cycling through a multitude of colours. It only felt right to capture it as it shone gold, symbolising the great achievement by all of the athletes who have competed in these games. Inspire a Generation? London have done just that!
Well, not quite but how many of us remember those "AirFix" kits with the intricate and fiddly pieces we had to glue together? Why not try your hand at something larger, with this 1:1 Scale Model of the 1959 Le Mans Winning Aston Martin DBR1 race car!
Piloted by the late Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori, the number 5 Aston Martin DBR1 Race Car stormed to victory at 24hr Le Mans playing an important role in the history of Aston Martin Racing.
This unique piece was created as a tribute to that iconic 1959 Le Mans win and measures a staggering 6.35metres by 3.30metres. As you may of guessed, that means this car is life size, full scale, 1:1! Hand crafted by the Evanta Motor Company (the brainchild behind the Carbon Kevlar Aston Martin DB4/DB7 GT Zagato I photographed a while back) this overwhelming scale model features the highest attention to detail by Incorporating such items as; four 16" Aston Martin Wire Wheels complete with eared spinners, a "Mota Lita" 15" AM Racing Steering Wheel, Racing Seats in the correct AM weave, full dashboard with smith gauges and a replica of the Le Mans Trophy. Lastly, but most significantly the piece de resistance has to be the Aston Martin baseball capped signed by both of the late drivers making this a true collectors piece...
Although this structure is collapsable into two transportable pieces, it was challenging to photograph in a way which the background would not distract from the overall magnificent structure. With that in mind, miraculously we managed to source a 8mx6m black screen. In the shade and rigged behind the sculpture itself, the above images were created on my Canon 5D Mark II. It's hard to get a sense of scale with photographs, so below we parked an actual road-going Aston Martin DBR1 replica (also created by Evanta)!
This item is currently on it's way to be auctioned off at the Goodwood Revival on the 16th of September where some lucky bidder will be the owner of not just a significant art piece, but piece of automotive history!
Ask a professional table tennis player to serve eight balls towards the camera lens and guess what happens?
Eight out of eight shots soar into the lens hood at breakneck speed, blink and you'll miss it. This just goes to show why Andrew Baggaley will be representing Great Britain in this year's London Olympics.
With Andrew holding the title of Britain's leading Table Tennis medallist of all time at the Commonwealth games, it didn't take long for him to showcase his talent. Precision, stamina and tactics all play an important part in the game he explains. Ranked as England number one in every age category (U10, 11, 12, 14, 17 and 21) and coached by his brother Stephen, the Baggaley brothers are a force to be reckoned with.
Having recently attended the kitting out session at Loughborough, Andrew arrived home to his training ground of Milton Keynes complete with various Team GB outfits. Unbeknown to me, Table Tennis is actually ranked as one of the most watched Olympic sports worldwide. Enjoying a quick game or two myself, it would of been rude not to knock up with Andrew, and as you can imagine I didn't stand a chance.
Sponsored by the Swedish brand Stiga, Andrew currently plays for SV Pluderhausen in the German Bundesliga and can often be found jet setting between various international venues. Highly regarded as a possible medal winner for the upcoming games, Andrew was selected as one of the London 2012 Olympic Bid ambassadors. I'm sure you will all join me in wishing Andrew the very best, hoping he can bring home another gold medal. If you are on twitter, follow Andrew's progress here and send him some support!
Surround yourself in the company of nearly half a million bees and the natural reaction for most is to run.
Meet Andrew Copley, a beekeeper from Hertfordshire with fifteen hives across two sites. Living in St.Albans, "Copley & Buckley Honey" is produced, extracted and bottled by hand. Shortly after arriving at Andrew's hives, a lone bee managed to sting my hand. At this point I thought to myself I was in for a challenging morning. Andrew very kindly loaned me a suit for the duration, not only supplying me with protection when approaching the hives, but for comedic value with how silly I thought I looked.
Andrew pumped smoke into the hive to calm the bees, opened the lid and began talking me through the processes involved in beekeeping. By now, several bee's had landed on my suit, camera and mask. You name it, it had bees on it. Fascinated by these intelligent creatures, I stood amazed as I watched thousands of bees work amongst the hive. Concentrating on the job in hand and attempting to operate the camera with thick protective gloves, you soon forget about that natural instinct to run. Still, putting your face to the camera where 15-20 bee's are currently exploring was slightly off putting.
It's clear to see that Andrew is passionate about what he does, informing me that bees are the only animal able to share information between other colony members about the direction and distance to nearby nectar and pollen by means of a 'waggle dance'. Through the length of movement and direction relative to the sun, the bees effectively draw a map out on the honeycomb for others to read. Incredibly it's estimated to take around one million flower visits to produce one jar of honey.
In a single hive there are around five thousand (male) drones, fifty thousand (female) workers and one queen. It is the drones' responsibility to mate with the local queen who will then lay up to 3,000 eggs a day. All other jobs in the hive are carried out by the female workers, which include looking after the queen, raising young bees, collecting pollen and nectar whilst building the perfect hexagonal honeycomb.
Keeping it local, 'Copley & Buckley Honey' travels less than one food mile from the hives to where it's sold at Carpenter's Nursery. Luckily I was able to sample some straight from the hive where it tasted completely different to how I expected. A real privilege to sample honey in its purest state.
Many thanks to Andrew for taking the time out to explain beekeeping to me. A truly fascinating insight that will result in me never looking at a bee in the same way again. If you enjoyed reading about Andrew and his beekeeping, please feel free to share and leave comments below. Interested in having your career featured? I'd love to hear from you! :)
It's been a little while since the last instalment of the "I Am..." Series, but it's straight back into the action with another 'high-flying' career.
Panshanger Aerodrome was built during the second World War as a decoy location to divert German bombers away from the factories in Hatfield. Complete with a Bellman type hangar, dummy aircrafts and smoking chimneys, the diversion was so successful that even a few British Pilots proceeded to land there. Now home to the North London Flying school and teaching the general public to fly since 1993, it's a great feature with a brilliant story behind it.
Working at one of the busiest flight schools within the United Kingdom, Ivan has flown for 8 years, 4 of which as an instructor at Panshanger. With the original hanger still standing, it was a great opportunity in which to photograph Ivan and the type of plane he commonly flies.
Until recently, flying is something that has been quite 'alien' to me. It's strange to think that this method of transport is deemed 'normal' for those who work at Panshanger, as I never before saw flying as an everyday occurence. Panshanger and its 875m grass runway is regularly used as a commuter route, with more than 400 pilots joining in the last year alone.
Although I was offered the opportunity of a flying lesson, judging by the amount of controls in the picture below, I think it's best I stick to the controls of a camera for now...
Despite our short amount of time with Ivan, it was a fascinating insight into the world of flying and great fun to photograph. The "I Am..." Series has some great features lined up, be sure to follow me on Facebook or Twitter to stay updated. If you have a career that you think is worth featuring then please feel free to get in touch, I would love to hear from you!
Come rain or shine, the opportunity to involve myself with a professional motorsport outfit such as Von Ryan Racing is something I would grab with both hands. That said, the weekend just gone was very much filled with the earlier part of that statement....rain.
Some of you may recall last year when I photographed Stephen Jelley and his Porsche Carrera 911 GT3 Cup car. This year, Stephen is racing around the globe for Von Ryan Racing in one of their McLaren MP4-12C GT3 race cars, and I headed off to the only British round, Silverstone, to meet the team.
With only 20 race-prepped 12C GT3's being manufactured for 2012, Von Ryan Racing were announced as one of the first teams to get their hands on two marques for the Blancpain Endurance Series. CEO of McLaren Racing, Martin Whitmarsh said "Our clients are looking forward to receiving a GT car full of Formula 1 technology". It's thanks to this that you will find features such as a steering wheel design deployed by Lewis Hamilton in his MP4-24 Formula 1 car.
With the rain continuing to hammer down outside the pit lane door, it gave me the chance to get up close and personal with the 12C-GT3 race car. Ron Dennis (Executive Chairman of McLaren) is well known for his 'clinical' nature, with his factories having workshop floors so clean, you'd happily eat off them. With that in mind, for the next shot I created a minimalistic look, losing distracting elements and detail outside the door as a McLaren GT mechanic continued to work on the car.
The Blancpain Endurance Series competes across international circuits such as Monza, Spa Francorchamps and Silverstone featuring grand tourer race cars modified from production road vehicles. With the three-hour race drawing closer, the team of mechanics set about final preparations, one of which included bringing the engine up to temperature. The thunderous noise of the 3.8L McLaren V8 Twin Turbo echoed throughout pit garages as numerous sets of wet weather tyres were prepared...
Before the team made their way to the water-logged grid, the first of the Draper brothers strapped himself into the hot seat for the first stint, whilst other team members eagerly looked on at the timing screens...
These cars can exhaust all of their fuel in little over an hour, so pit stops are a chance to refuel, fit new tyres and swap drivers. Air jacks are fired from underneath the car, where single nut wheels are removed with airlines, meaning a tyre change takes only a matter of seconds. The tank is brimmed with 97 litres in less than 40 seconds and the new driver is strapped in. An exhilarating, adrenaline filled experience.
Unfortunately Von Ryan Racing's second car (pictured above) suffered a collision in the opening stage of the race, splitting the radiator and resulting in a loss of coolant. Undeterred, the team of mechanics set about fitting a new radiator during a pit stop and managed to get the car back out in the race with little time lost...
The 12C GT3 car features a new front splitter, door blade, rear wing, diffuser and louvres in the front fenders which make it look at home on any circuit.
It's only the second race meeting for these cars, but they have quickly earned the title of 'worlds most expensive flame-thrower'. Apparently, during a 24 hour race at Spa, it's not uncommon to see these cars produce blue-flames down the entire length of the back straight, something i'd love to see and capture!
The clatter of spanners and smell of race fuel brought back fond memories of when my brother and I used to compete many years ago. I thoroughly enjoyed being back in the pit lane and documenting the atmosphere of a high-brow race team, an absolute pleasure to work with such a fantastic crew. For a full gallery from the day, please feel free to click here.
