Olympic Stadium and Paralympic Games

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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!

Build your own 1959 Le Mans Winning Aston Martin DBR1...

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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!

"I Am..." an Olympic Table Tennis Player

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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!

"I Am..." A Pilot

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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!

 

Blancpain Endurance Series - Von Ryan Racing's McLaren MP4-12C GT3

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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.

Events - DTM 2012, Brands Hatch

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You'd be hard pushed to describe DTM cars using words alone. The 2012 season is well underway, and this weekend sees the British round take place at Brands Hatch Race Circuit in Kent.

It's great to see BMW making a comeback in the series with their devastatingly good looking BMW M3 DTM. The 4 Litre Naturally Aspirated V8 engine makes a brutal noise as it thunders round the 1.1mile circuit, throwing flames from the side-exit exhaust:

Seeming to deny the laws of physics and navigate corners at impossible speeds, this is one motorsport event I look forward to each year.

With this being Brands Hatch, and one of my favourite 'spectator' circuits to photograph from, the obligatory 'Druids' shot was repeated on the impressive looking BMW M3 DTM of Augusto Farfus, lights ablaze...

This years coupes look fantastic, and interesting liveries/aerodynamic packages make it my favourite motorsport event to photograph. Gary Paffett placed his AMG Mercedes C-Coupé on pole, with home crowds having high hopes for the Englishman to take victory on home turf tomorrow.

Photoshoot - Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato In The Studio

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With the car currently under auction at Monaco, this is one Aston Martin that James Bond won't be getting his hands on. After our photoshoot in the scrapyard, the last thing Evanta wanted me to cover was some studio style 'brochure' shots. These images would be used in the upcoming DB4 Zagato brochure and fact sheets.

Using the infinity white cove at Studio434 was a first for me, and a great chance to experiment with some different style shots. Not only that, it was a great chance to witness the impressive collection that resides in the very same building. I could have happily spent hours taking a look around the collection of fascinating cars.

The detailing and execution on this car is simply stunning. I briefly mentioned in my previous post that this DB4 GT Zagato had a customised Oxblood Red Hide interior, combining certain components from the original DB7 donor car. With it still retaining luxuries such as air-conditioning, airbags and heated seats, this Zagato is certainly a pleasant place to be. With these cars being built to order, measurements are taken for pedal and seat size to ensure a bespoke fit.

Working in this cove meant the use of constant lights, something i'm not overly familiar with (but soon grew to love) and can see myself working further in this way. CT Gels are necessary when mixing flash and constant light as there is always a big discrepancy between colour temperatures. With all of the necessary shots now captured, we turned off the house lights and started to get a little creative with the Elinchrom Quadra's day-light balanced modelling light.

Lightpainting, a technique whereby an external light source is 'painted' selectively over the car, illuminating or highlighting certain areas of your subject. Conditions were not ideal with some natural light entering the studio from nearby skylights, which hindered the shutter speeds somewhat. As such the above and below images were created from multiple (6-7) frames, having different sections of the car illuminated each time and composited later.

It creates a surreal effect and makes the car take on a whole new appearance, emphasising the curves of the car (ideally suited for the nature of this car). In my personal opinion these shots stand out above the rest and will no doubt be found printed onto metallic papers in my portfolio. Working in ways like this just goes to show how versatile one piece of equipment can be, and the Elinchrom Quadra system which I could no longer be without has come up trumps again!

Once again it was an absolute pleasure to work with Evanta on their DB4 Zagato. If you're interested in checking out the auction of their car, you can visit COYS website here. Thanks for reading and if you found this post interesting, don't forget to share it! :-)

Photoshoot - Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato

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For most, the thought of returning to work hours after landing back from holiday isn't appealing. That is, until you see whats booked in. At the London Motor Show in 1960, Aston Martin unveiled another masterpiece. Their DB4 GT had been placed in the capable hands of coachbuilders Zagato, where a smaller, lighter and more aerodynamic version was hand sculpted. With initial plans to build 25 cars, demand at the time was low and Zagato ceased production after their 20th unit. This makes the DB4 Zagato one of the most valuable sports car of all time, with opportunities to purchase one being extremely rare.

That is, until now. Built to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the original Zagato, Evanta Motor Company have created a classic Gran Turismo fused with modern day technology. This blend, on what is often regarded by many as the most beautiful GT car of all time makes the culmination of over two years hard work time well spent.

With just five days between completion and shipping it off to Monaco for auction, we headed to a contrasting location to capture some publicity shots. Evanta's creation is simply flawless, with it's one piece body shell being hand crafted from modern day carbon fibre and kevlar materials.

There's more to this car than meets the eye, as some of you may have noticed that this DB4 Zagato in particular features widened arches and no door handles. That is because this 1960's based Aston Martin has well and truly been brought into the 21st century.

Life for this car started out as an Aston Martin DB7, before Evanta removed the heavy exterior bodywork and reduced the wheelbase from 102" to the Zagato's original 93". The exterior stays true to an original Zagato (bar a few touches here and there), but the similarities end there. Nearly every component on this car is bespoke, from the suspension and braking system to the Oxblood Red Hide interior.

Evanta certainly made this DB4 Zagato look the part, and they wanted to make sure it had the power to match. Shoehorned in under the bonnet is the V12 engine from the donor DB7. That means that this classic GT features a modern day ECU-Driven, Tiptronic fed, Aston Martin V12 Supercar engine.

Creature comforts such as air-conditioning, airbags and remote controlled door actuators are all features on this car whilst a race-spec roll cage is hidden beneath the interior. One can only imagine what it is like to drive this race-bred GT, but being the only car of its kind in existence I doubt I will ever get to find out. If the noise it makes is anything to go by, it will simply be phenomenal.

The car is currently making it's way to Monaco to be auctioned. If your interested in finding out more about this truly unique, one off creation, you can visit Evanta's website here for a photographic build diary.

With a keen passion for everything car related, I really enjoyed working with Evanta and the beautiful DB4 Zagato. Look forward to seeing what other creations roll out of their workshop in the future!

Keukenhof, The Netherlands

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Acclaimed as one of Europe's most valued attractions, the Keukenhof is unique in providing worldwide visitors with a vast display of 7 million flower bulbs each year. More than 44 million people have visited the park in the last 60 years and apparently holds claim to being the most photographed place in the world.

Keukenhof translates as Kitchen Garden, stemming from the 15th Century where the land was used for hunting and gathering herbs.

Having seen many idyllic images of the intricacy which makes the Keukenhof so unique, we jetted out in the early hours of Sunday from Heathrow. At this point, I might add that I was shooting a wedding in Dorset the night before, and as such arrived at the terminal running on adrenaline and caffeine after just three hours sleep.

Conditions were less than perfect, as grey overcast clouds and spits of rain seemed to be the theme for the two days we were staying in Holland. Not to be deterred, we spent two full days walking the Keukenhof and their 10 miles of footpath.

To our luck, a 'Bird of Prey' display was taking place on the days we were visiting. Fascinated by the nature of birds and their sheer beauty, we stood patiently in the rain whilst these magnificent creatures soared about the grounds. I lied, we actually knew about the show and as such I packed my 70-200 F2.8 IS L and 2x Extender to make the most of this opportunity. Love this next shot of the Bald Eagle as rain falls from its beak...

With the weather taking a turn for the worse, we turned our attention in trying to capture a different look on the flowers at Keukenhof. Hannah recently purchased a Canon 100mm F2.8 IS L Macro lens and it really came into it's own. Close focusing distance, incredible 4-stop image stabilising system and being tack sharp open wide, it shot this almost 'fine art' image of a rose bud at 1/10th and F2.8

Rainfall really brought out the scent in the flowers, and despite the wet weather we had a fantastic time. The precision in which these flowers are grown, and the colour combinations really make it a visual feast.

In summary, the Keukenhof is a great place to visit. Being a short flight from the UK (about an hour) it makes an ideal weekend break and I can certainly see ourselves returning in the future. One thing I can highly recommend is the waffles, you can't beat waffles. To finish up heres a few more images from the weekend away...