News / Blog - Motorsport News

I think that the air of excitement that surrounded the first ever Speed Event on the twisting road bordering the St Saviours reservoir must have rubbed off on me a bit too much.... read on!

There is no doubt that the competitors were barely able to hold in their eagerness to get started on this new event. The Guernsey Kart & Motor Club members really made every effort to support the Committee who had put so much work into making the 30 year wishes come true. There was great help with the set-up of the track and the very tight pits area.

As a Motorsport photographer I was really looking forward to having a new track to work on. I'd already walked the full length a few times eyeing-up the possible shooting opportunities. In the end, on the day, some of my planned shots didn't work out - but there were many more successes :-)

This is where I became a little over excited and I fired off a lot more shots than normal. It isn't only the racers who get an adrenaline rush it seems! The enhanced level of excitement and awareness is a good thing though as I certainly have to keep my wits about me when working so close to 'barely in control' racing cars, bikes and karts.

I've already spent over nine hours on the first edits from the weekends racing and have added the first pics to a new Gallery.

More Car pics will follow together with the Bikers & Karts....
The first to be featured are here:
VIEW THE FIRST RESERVOIR SPEED EVENT PICS

The updates are coming think and fast....

I've just added a new Gallery of pictures featuring the last Sand Racing at Vazon bay.

The next event is the British Sand Ace Championship featuring Sliders and Sidecars... this is going to be a fantastic event to watch. Be there, you won't be disappointed. It starts at 11am on 22nd of June on Vazon beach, Guernsey.

Last meetings racing van be viewed here:
VIEW THE LATEST SAND RACING PICS

Whoever is in charge of these things managed to keep the sun under cover until the Guernsey Powerboat Association's own race on Sunday ;-)

It would have been nice if they had shared a bit with the Venture Cup Ocean Powerboaters as this would have helped my pics look a lot more interesting!

As I mentioned in my previous blog, the conditions for the Venture Cup races were far from ideal in both light and closeness of access. If you wonder just how this affects a picture take a look in the two Galleries... the difference is HUGE!

Race five of the GPA's Championship was held over the Havelet Course... in sun as previously stated... and this offered much better, vibrant colours together with the ability to capture close crops of the action.

Let's have more of this please, especially when the Venture Cup returns in 2014!

Pics of the GPA's Powerboat race are now online:
VIEW PICS OF THE GPA's CHAMPIONSHIP - RACE-5

It must be about a decade since a race featuring Ocean going Powerboats was held in local waters so it was a pleasure to welcome them back last weekend.

The event was titled as 'The Venture Cup - Ocean Class Powerboat Racing - The Prologue' and the Guernsey Powerboat Association played a big part in helping the organisers arrange the logistics for their stay in St Peter Port and also had teams working in Race Control and up on Castle Cornet to ensure everything went smoothly.

This was just a 'warm-up' race to check on all the logistics ahead of the main race in 2014 when competitors will race from London all the way to the Med, a distance of 2,400 miles!

I was out and about for the various races in local waters and was impressed by the larger boats taking part. Actually, it was probably even more impressive that the smaller Ribs had completed the run across the English Channel... there wasn't much protection from the elements in those!

Unfortunately the weather really wasn't very helpful for us photographers as it was generally dull and grey. It was also a great shame that no dedicated Media boat was available as this greatly compromised the pics I could capture. I was actually out on a boat positioned at the finish line for the arrival of the racers but as the line was about three-quarters of a mile wide I was frustrated when nearly all of them crossed on the distant side :-(

Having said this, it was still nice to see this premier class of racing benefiting and enjoying our fantastic coastal waters... bring on 2014.
VIEW A GALLERY OF PICTURES FEATURING THE VENTURE CUP POWERBOATS

One of the hardest things about my job is the repetition.

OK, I'll concede that this is probably true of just about anybody's work. It is almost inevitable that 'an average week' will include quite any element of routine.

The difficulties presented to us photographers... who consider ourselves to be some of the 'creatives' in this world (NOTE TO SELF: Andrew, you're beginning to sound a bit pretentious!) is that we are always trying to find different and new ways of capturing whatever genre of photography we pursue.

This is, in a nutshell, exactly what makes my continued coverage of Motor Sport sometimes difficult to keep enthusiastic about.

Whilst there is an amazing amount of Motor Sport organised in the Channel Islands, after many years of shooting mainly the same competitors at the same venues - usually in the same racing cars/karts/bikes... you get the idea. It often feels like I have already 'got that shot' in my database of pics!

However, whilst sometimes I struggle to motivate myself out of the door for another event I still do get a real buzz from being close to the action and also being part of the Motor Sport scene.

The other challenge to keeping me interested in returning to another event is the knowledge that sales of my pics will be minimal :-(

It would be great if you racers helped me to justify the time and money spent on photographing your racing. It is quite a frustration knowing how many pics are simply copied off my web site - horrible watermark and all - when for just a couple of quid you can get a properly optimised version, without the watermark and at a bigger size than my web site displays.

I apologise for the lecture but it's of my chest..... for now :-)

Getting back to the challenge of keeping interested in taking action pics.

I was really pleased with last weekends Karting shots. The Track has a very small number of successful shooting positions so I really enjoyed using a new position that has only just become available since some conifers had to be felled after getting damaged in the heavy snowfall.

This new spot allows an angle of view that offers a chance to capture what I call a 'stacked' shot of Karts in line. I like the results. Please take a look and see what you think:
VIEW KARTING PICS AT THE TRACK FROM A NEW ANGLE

I love it when I can tick the box that says 'Job done'.

And I have just marked the 'update Hill Climb Galleries' box after finishing my uploads featuring the Guernsey Kart & Motor Clubs Bank Holiday event.

As I mentioned in the last Blog, the weather was fantastic and quite a number of new records were made.

I also made a little sales pitch to try and encourage you to buy a picture or two. What about it, eh?

Go on, you know you wanna ;-)

So the new picture Galleries give coverage to the Bikers and Karters. Check the action here:
VIEW THE HILL CLIMB BIKER & KART GALLERIES

Wow, that was a special Hill Climb at the Val des Terres....

Our local competitors continued to lower the records on a hill that was presented in perfect weather. We keep our fingers crossed that all the other events this summer have the same dry days.

I have had a quick check through the results and I think this is the list of record-breakers. Please let me know if I have missed someone or made an error.

The names taking their place in the Club records are: Lee Corbet, Zef Eisenberg, Angus Torode, Scott Rayson, Paul Priaulx, Brin Harrison and Jack Le Tissier. That is quite a list for one meeting.

There were also many notable performances with competitors getting within fractions of a second of the old times.

I have been continuing the task of editing the latest pics. As I mentioned in my last blog, there has been a lot going on over the last few days. Combine this with such a big entry for the Hill Climb and I have more work than normal :-(

But it is nose to the grindstone and I've just been able to make a few updates.

Keeping this web site up to date and offering such a full coverage of local Motor Sport takes a huge amount of time. There is also quite a large cost to run the web site and keep my equipment serviced etc. My photography is my only income.

Perhaps I can drop a little 'sales pitch' into this blog and remind you that you can buy a favourite pic (or two!) from as little as £4.00! Of course (I think) a print is always the best way to see any picture.

I know that loads of my pics are copied from the web site... maybe you will consider purchasing a few - and you get rid of that horrible WATERMARK then, yippee!

The latest Gallery features the Cars from yesterdays Hill Climb including a sequence that shows the moment that the rear wing failed on Steve Brehaut's car which launched him into the bank at the top of the straight...
VIEW PICS OF THE CAR CLASSES AT THE HILL CLIMB

It's been all go this Bank Holiday weekend...

The Motor Sport racers have been out to play and we have all enjoyed some fabulous weather.

So I have had little time for much else for three days. But the varied race formats has kept things interesting.

Saturday set the scene with Sand Racing on the beach at Vazon. This was a nice 'taster' for the British Sand Ace Championship in a few weeks time. The beach was in perfect condition. Let's hope we can repeat this for the big one!

The Sand Racing pics are the first added to my Galleries.

The others that will follow are the Karting Championship and a very busy Hill Climb. Keep checking for updates during the next few days....

Oh, nearly forgot... there was also a fantastic gig by The Recks at the Fermain Tavern... pics will follow.
VIEW PICS OF THE SAND RACING

It was hard to believe that only one day had passed...

After spending a couple of very enjoyable hours in the sun yesterday photographing the Guernsey Powerboat Association's Championship racing... everything went wrong today!

The contrast couldn't have been greater. It rained all through the race, there was a strong breeze and it was dull and grey. The unavoidable result was dull and grey colours in my pics :-(

But that is what was on offer so that is what had to be worked with.

I think the biggest disappointment for me (even more than the persistent rain) was that I couldn't get into the shooting position that I had planned.

My intention was to find a vantage point on the sea-side rocks below Castle Cornet. However I soon found out the the rocks were incredibly slippery after the rain and there was every chance that I would end up smashing seventeen grand of cameras and lenses.
Not a good idea.

So I took the high view and shot from the castle's ramparts. I also turned the poor light into an opportunity and tried to capture a few slow shutter panning pics... now that is a challenge hand-holding a 600mm lens whilst exposed to all that the weather can throw at you!

I recommend not giving up when you think things are far from ideal. Try and turn conditions into an advantage. In this case I dialed the shutter down to about 125th second and used my 600mm lens. The resulting 'pans' give a feel of the racers speed. Sure its a difficult technique to master but it's rewarding to come away with a few successful, pin sharp shots.... Especially after all the discomfort :-)

See what you think of the days work that is now on-line:
VIEW PICS OF POWERBOAT RACE-4

We live on a beautiful Island. However it couldn't be described as large!

Inevitably this can lead to pressure on the available open spaces as the other notable charm of our residence is the huge and varied amount of sports and hobbies that the population pursue in their spare time.

Today was a good example of how we share our spaces so well.... whilst enjoying a sunny day.

Leisure activities included, for some, supporting Guernsey winning the Muratti for the first time in quite a few years, others were in Herm for a beer festival (I was VERY close to joining them)!

Instead I was on the water half way to Herm.... so close yet soooo far ;-)

But that wasn't too much of a hardship as I was offered a ring-side view on Goldie's Rib for Race-3 of the Guernsey Powerboat Association's 2013 Championship. The spirit of sharing our spaces was evident as we headed to our allocated marker whilst the Rowing Club completed a race. Everything had been timed perfectly as you wouldn't want to mix Powerboats with the oarsmen!

To make my day a near perfect one the sun showed its face and I was offered a large visiting cruise liner as a backdrop to make some of the shots a little more interesting.

So well done to our little Sarnia Cherie (If you don't live in Guernsey, that's the term of endearment we use for our little Island) , you did us proud again.
VIEW PICS OF GUERNSEY POWERBOAT CHAMPIONSHIP RACE-3

VIEW AUTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP PICS
How about that for a quick turn-around..... Karting in the morning followed by Autocross racing in the afternoon... and the pics are already on-line!

There is a reason though, I've made a rash promise to my missus that I will get out into the garden next week to re-discover the lawn.

I was caught off-guard obviously. But now the damage is done there is NO way out :-(

So it has been full speed ahead on the picture editing and now Monday is free for chain saws and mowers.

What I really need now to keep me out of the garden are a few 'urgent' orders for prints. Maybe even a request for a Tallpicture :-)

I'm sitting next to the phone and checking my web-site orders page in anticipation, hint, hint!

VIEW PICS ROUND-2 OF THE KART CHAMPIONSHIP

If petrol runs in your veins.... or methanol if you are a Slider rider, you don't turn down a chance to race!

Guernsey's 'National Holiday' is always fixed on May 9th which was the day the Channel Islands were liberated from occupying forces at the end of World War II.

This year the tides seemed to offer the chance to get a few hours of Sand Racing on Vazon beach. So that's where I found myself and it turned out that it was the sunniest part of the day. Nice :-)

It would have been nice to see a few more sliders but the numbers were made up by the new Moto-X Class which is proving popular.

I enjoyed the bright light which helps make the colours more vibrant. There were also a few wet patches so it was fun trying to time a competitors splashes.... always adds a bit of drama!

I've already added picture galleries featuring the racing:
VIEW PICS OF THE LIBERATION DAY SAND RACING

One thing is certain. Even on a Bank Holiday with several major events going on, Motor Sport can still command a good crowd of spectators.

Certainly the beautiful day would have helped - but this could be said of each of the events.

The loyal Motor Sport supporters were treated to a day of highly competitive racing with more than a handful of new records right across the Classes.

It is also a fact that amongst all the thrills an occasional spill is almost regarded as a requirement by some spectators.

The first concern is always for the safety of the driver or rider but after the event and with the knowledge that everyone is OK the talk gets around to how spectacular each crash was.

It is the unlucky competitor who has to nurse a few aches and pains (their ego also perhaps) and they are left with a 'project' to get back on the road.

I was saddened to see (and photgraph) Nigel Ozanne's crash at the top of the straight. Nige races on a budget and this was the last thing he needed. However this popular guy really loves his racing and he has bounced back from worse.
Next time he should make sure he bounces off the bank instead ;-)

We all had a reminder that our sport does have its dangers when Ian Le Messurier had a spectacular crash in the esses. His transport was more plane than car for a few seconds. Ian is not someone who looks for attention but he was certainly the centre of it for half an hour whilst Sarnia Rescue and two Fire engine crews worked to remove him safely from his car. The good news is that Ian has no serious injury.

Once again, like Nigel, Ian and his twin brother Paul are as keen as they come for their Motor Sport. It is highly likely that we will see the boys back on the start line quicker than you can say Bank Holiday Hill Climb!

I have just added new Galleries featuring the days racing:
VIEW PICS OF THE BANK HOLIDAY HILL CLIMB

Today I'm excited to say that this web site has broken through a new landmark figure.

We have now logged more than 4,000,000 viewings!

Yes, you read that correctly, that's FOUR MILLION VIEWINGS :-)

The latest MILLION has taken just over six months so we are well on target to match last year's figure of TWO MILLION in twelve months.

I posted a blog about six months ago when the THREE MILLION mark was smashed.
READ THE THREE MILLION BLOG HERE

At that time I tried to illustrate how the viewing figures could relate to time... how many views each hour or minute of every day. The results were quite surprising!

This time around I thought that maybe I would try to find how the numbers can be associated to something a bit closer to a photographer's heart. That is an actual paper print. But how thick is an average print?

The wonders of the Internet came to my rescue again and after a few minutes of research I had some figures to play with. It is difficult to find explicit references as there are certain variables - not least of which is the thickness of a sheet of photographic paper.

In the end I have been conservative and based my results on an 'average' that seems to be a fair and realistic number. From my searches I found the height calculated for a pile of ONE MILLION sheets of photographic paper varied between 350 ft and 480 ft.

So I am going to use a figure of 400 ft.

Now let's take things to the next stage and try to picture what this pile would look like.

Perhaps if you are a resident of Guernsey (our small but beautiful Island in the English Channel, near France) you will be familiar with the dramatic cliffs on our southern coast. The highest of these are about 350 ft above sea level.... that is less than the height of a MILLION PRINTS in this example.

Try and picture that... are you impressed yet?

No, well a try at this!

As you have seen, this web site has now had FOUR MILLION HITS since first launching. Take this number and work out the height of that pile of prints and we are talking TALL... LIKE 1,600 FEET HIGH!

If you find it difficult to picture how that relates to the real world, take a look at the picture at the start of this blog which shows the heights of some of the tallest buildings in the world.

NOW YOU MUST BE IMPRESSED!!

The shame is that these numbers are only picture views. They aren't going to make me rich, although I think I would be Epson's biggest customer if I had to produce a print for every web image viewed!

My Epson Stylus 4900 would be working night and day :-)

So a big thank you for spending time viewing my pictures. I am now chasing the next big number.... Pop back again soon.
READ ABOUT THE FIRST MILLION
READ ABOUT THE SECOND MILLION
READ ABOUT THE THIRD MILLION

It's been a while since I have written anything about the equipment I use and the workflow that goes into making the final prints that drop through your letterbox a few days after you place an order.

Today I'm not going to go into much detail about all my kit. However it might be of interest to know some key items.

I'm lucky to have the opportunity to use 'top-of-the-range' equipment from start to finish of the capture process. I feel that when shooting as a Professional Photographer, a high standard needs to be maintained all the way through from capture to the digital darkroom and on to the final production of a print.

I am a NIKON camera user and love the quality and handling that this brand offers.
My current kit includes a Nikon D4, a NIKON D3s and a NIKON D3.
NIKON creates the finest photographic equipment in the world as far as I'm concerned. I await your responses :-)

UPDATE 10-03-2014: I've now added the new NIKON D4s to my kit bag. First impressions are good but it will take a few weeks to fully test. Drop me an e-mail if you want to discuss the latest NIKON body EMAIL ME

I also use NIKON lenses and have too many to list but can call on everything from a 400mm f2.8, a 200mm f2, 24mm Perspective Correction, 200mm & 105mm Macro, 50mm & 85mm f1.4's and many others in-between through to the brilliant wide angle 14-24mm f2.8.
So I hope you'll agreed that there is no excuse to not capture the highest quality of image :-)

The digital darkroom work is carried out using the latest versions of Professional software like Photoshop and Lightroom and this is all viewed on twin 30 inch colour calibrated reference monitors.
All images are then Catalogued and referenced using IMatch allowing quick and comprehensive searching.
Lots of back-ups are then made.... you do back-up your own work, don't you?

But all the work and cost of capturing the sharpest, colour corrected images would fall at the final hurdle if the quality of the prints wasn't to the same standards.

This is why all prints up to the A2 SIZED MONTAGES are individually hand-printed by me in my studio on an Epson Stylus Pro 4900 Professional Large Format Printer using the latest 11-Colour Ultrachrome HDR Pigment Inks. This offers me total quality control of the final output.

This printer is regarded as setting new standards in colour precision offering one of the widest colour gamuts on the market and exceptional longevity of prints.

So be assured that when you order a print from TALLPICTURES every effort has been made to make it as good as it can get :-)

Details of the various print options can be found by clicking this link:
VIEW DETAILS OF THE PRINT OPTIONS

Let's hope that someone has remembered to tell the weather this year as Summer has arrived in the form of the Guernsey Kart & Motor Club's Summer Karting Championship.

Round 1 hit The Track today and the weather was OK... so maybe the word did get out!

On the tarmac it was certainly a hot start to the racing with some very competitve heats which have already signalled the entertainment to come.

There will be regular racing at The Track during the next few months and I recommend a visit on one of the Sunday mornings. You will be guaranteed plenty action to watch. The race dates can be found on the new Club web site:
VIEW THE NEW GUERNSEY KART & MOTOR CLUB WEB SITE

I have added pictures from todays racing to my Gallery.
VIEW PICS OF ROUND-1 OF THE SUMMER KARTING CHAMPIONSHIP

As promised, I returned to the sands of Vazon bay when the sun shone!

After Round 1 of the Guernsey Motor Cycle & Car Club's Sand Racing Championship two weeks ago when the conditions were truly dreadful I'm pleased to say that things were much improved for Round 2.

OK, the wind was still a bit on the chilly side but at least it was dry :-)

Perhaps the improving conditions were the incentive for a couple more Moto-X riders to give beach racing a try and there was a good sized field for the Cadet Class as well. In fact the youngest of the racers produced some of the closest racing of the afternoon.

The sliders Class was dominated by Martyn Guilbert who found ample time to entertain the crowd with his wheelies.

If you want to make a diary date the next meeting is on May 9th at 11.30am. Fingers crossed for another dry and sunny one!

Pictures of the Sand Racing are now online:
VIEW PICS OF ROUND-2 OF THE GMC&CC SAND RACING

No offence meant to the riders and drivers who took part in Round-1 of the Guernsey Motor Cycle & Car Club 2013 Sand Racing Championship, but that was a dreadful start to the season!

When you visit the beach you somehow expect that the water will be in the sea, not falling from above - driven by strong winds :-(

If you combine the awful weather with a pair of boots that have decided to leak and a waterproof jacket that no longer conforms to the Trade Description Act I admit that the overall result is something that I don't wish to repeat for a long time.

It is a fact that some forms of motorsport photography are rewarded by sticking around when it is wet.
For example it is possible to capture great pics at the Hill Climbs and Kart track when the heavens open. The 'roosters' can add something to a picture.

However on an exposed beach with the camera wrapped up in its steamed-up protective gear which greatly reduces your ability to even see any of the settings and then being restricted to the direction you can point the camera because of the driving rain, well, there is only one answer.

So I grabbed a few pics then did the obvious, I went home :-)

I'll be back when the sun shines :-)

My 'part-time' work is now on-line:
VIEW PICS OF SAND RACING ROUND-1

Thanks for noticing my pics....

I'm quite amazed at today's response to the latest pics that I have added to my Galleries (but it could have been even better - read on).
The site analytics show that well over 16,000 picture viewings have been made in the last nine hours. I find this amazing and I have been humbled by the kind comments that have been posted by many people.

***UPDATE*** Viewings actually topped 26,000 in a 24 Hour period!!!

Whilst the interest in my work is all very nice - we all have an ego you know ;-) I very nearly left the Hill Climb early when it became clear that I had missed the very spectacular crash at the top of Le Val des Terres when Michael Beausire double rolled his beautiful Fiat 500 Abarth.
The good news is that Mike is sore but fine... the Abarth less so :-(
I wouldn't of wanted to make that phone call to my father telling him what I had just done to his pride and joy!!!

As a photographer those are the shots you just hope and wait for (we don't mean harm to anybody, honest). But of course you have to 'be there' to get the shot and I was at the opposite end of the hill. Bummer. Catch you next time Mike, promise!

In the end I stayed around and continued to try to capture some of the peak action moments from around the hill. I was even quite pleased with some of the pics... but still disappointed.

So thanks again for looking at my days work and for finding them hours before I posted this blog saying that they were online!

Got to love the Internet haven't you :-)
TAKE A LOOK AT THE LATEST HILL CLIMB PICTURE GALLERIES

Just a quickie this time as I'm preparing my kit for the final Motor Sport extravaganza of the busy weekend... the Bank Holiday Hill Climb.
So whilst the last of the batteries are being charged I have managed to prepare and upload pics of todays Autocross racing at Chouet.

My guess is that Peter Jory will be nursing a stiff neck at the Hill Climb tomorrow after making a complete roll-over - wheels to wheels (take a look at my pics). Pete even seemed keen to continue in the race but the regs insist on car and driver having a check-over first.

Not like the old days, eh!

Check-out all the action here:
TAKE A LOOK AT THE LATEST AUTOCROSS ACTION