Deadpoet’s Cave

I attended a talk - no, a gathering - with Darren Heath, a photographer who makes F1 look fantastic.

Darren, whose career roughly follows David Coulthard’s motor racing journey, has been taking trackside photos for about 20 years. His interest started when he was a teenager. With the support of his father, he attended races all over Britain, honing his skill and interest.

He is as British as they come, with a dry sense of humour and a mock (at least, I think its mock) disdain for the French and their race. I also sense that he favours Hamilton and McLaren, but acknowledges that Ferrari makes most F1 photos look terrific, thanks to that striking scarlet red.

What stands out about his shots are his panning shots. Shots that track the cars as they zoom by on track. Doing that, you get a blurred background, car in focus effect, giving the photos the feeling of motion and speed. His panning shots are truly amazing. He hates what he calls (and I paraphrase) the car-parked-on-the-side-of-the-road shots.

While he has taken some cliched shots - hey, you have to please clients - he tends to infuse those with his own brand of style. Darren talked about what he has to do during a race weekend. There is a lot of planning and preparation involved. When up close with the characters of F1, communication and camaraderie is essential.

The photo which got the biggest reaction from the crowd is the one which you can see at the top. Despite all the planning and anticipation that goes into his photos, often, it is the totally unexpected which makes the best shot.

Critter vs Hamilton - that photo speaks for itself. If you look closely, you can see that the little fellow’s front feet are off the ground. The timing, the framing, the juxtaposition in the shot… just astounding.

Darren also had some tips for the general photographers in the crowd. He takes shots from the stands sometimes, so I’m sure his tips will come in useful. Despite the fact that I don’t have a lens which costs five figures…

Oh yes, Darren, you were wishing for rain - you got it this morning. But that was more like a light shower. I’m afraid if it really pours during the race, it will probably be too unsafe…

Thanks to NLB for hosting this event!

NLB’s Pod (the UFO top level of the National Library) has a nice view of the Esplanade portion of the track. Too bad I left my big-ass camera at home.

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