Thursday 12th April 2012

PH Blog: why stills photography still matters

You might be surprised to hear that, as a video man, Harris is advocating the old-fashioned still image...

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It is not possible to have zero interest in photography if you are a motoring journalist - if you did a large portion of your working life would be consumed by an activity that offered no reward or satisfaction. Just as many car photographers become decidedly handy behind the wheel because they spend hours chasing roadtesters around Europe, so many keyboard-warriors end up quietly knowing a thing or two about DSLRs.

At this point Garlick will berate me for my shoddy iPhone images.

Photos like this still beat video, says Harris

Anyway, hacks may not like to admit as much, but imagery became the most important aspect of motoring media many years ago. Just try selling a package of words and pictures as a freelancer and you'll quickly learn this. Great pictures, average story? Easy sell. Hemingway on the N24 and a few grainy iPhone shots? You won't shift it.

I have always loved being involved with taking great still images. There's an unparalleled professional synergy at work, and when you get it right - a particular piece of driving, on a rigorously researched location, captured with optimum use of light - it is the most rewarding part of the job for me.

The lead shot was the Nurburgring in 2004. Great weather with a friend driving my then long-term Clio V6 and, one of the very best auto snappers in the business, Mark Bramley hanging from the passenger window. It's the perfect action photograph: vivid, fast, intense. You can see the hand on the wheel - it makes you want to be there, in that car.

Sometimes, of course, it just happens with no warning. No set-up, just a moment of instinct and a result you can't believe. This is equally enjoyable.

Sideways Porsche, 'ring ... spot a theme here?!

Again, the Nurburgring, this time 2007. I was just messing about the night before a VLN test and met one of the very best F1 snappers (and 993 devotee) Darren Heath in the car park. From memory, he was shooting a new Rolls Phantom with Nick Mason for a Sunday Times feature. Anyways, being the arch idiot that I am, when I overtook them later that evening I pulled a silly slide. A few days later he sent me this. I could have spent hours setting this up with a lesser talent and completely failed to capture the frame. It's not a perfect image, but it perfectly captures that moment in a way a video clip never could.

Now everything's digital there's instant gratification too, but it wasn't that long ago we used to wait for strips to come back from the processing lab and leg it over to the light-box to see the results of derring-do. And the occasional shunt.

However much I enjoy the added drama of seeing a car moving, often sliding in full HD video, there is something about a great still image that I find more powerful - just as a great novel always defeats the most intense film experience.

Why all this photo talk? This video on the Drive channel I produce content for went live a few days back. It's a deliberately indulgent piece about going out and taking great photographs. It just reminded me how much I enjoy the process.

Chris

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See here for info on PistonHeads photo sessions.

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[GTiFrank]

This was a rather dull video by drive's standards IMO. Great photos ruined by a roof rack!

[LayZ]

I thought it was a pretty good video. GTS looked great, even after 991 launch. Want to go to Colorado.

[GFWilliams]

GTiFrank said:

This was a rather dull video by drive's standards IMO. Great photos ruined by a roof rack!

Agreed.

And also

"shall we clean the car?"

"No"

Shame that as the shots would be 10x better with a clean car...

Also found it slightly amusing the way they made it out as if they were the first professional photographers to actually do photography for a bit of fun!

Photos are still good, just not as good as they could have been IMO

[angelsguardian]

Being rather old fashioned (I fear I should have been born with a car with a tiller rather than steering wheel) there is much ore satisfaction in a good photo and words than a video.

[Codswallop]

Love this pic (good enough for POTW?)

[CK_N4S]

At which corner was that second shot taken??


Only asking because the first one is obviously Brünchen Exit to my eyes.

But the second one looks like another slight uphill righthander - and there arent that many around of those on the Ring - Could be exit of Wippermann, but I believe there should be less gras and more rubble on the background then.

Not Hohe Acht either, as at that angle the shed midcorner should be visible, non?

Galgenkopf is probably my best bet - but I'm not sure about it.

Please enlighten us all

CK

[buggalugs]

GFWilliams said:

GTiFrank said:

This was a rather dull video by drive's standards IMO. Great photos ruined by a roof rack!

Agreed.

And also

"shall we clean the car?"

"No"

Shame that as the shots would be 10x better with a clean car...

Also found it slightly amusing the way they made it out as if they were the first professional photographers to actually do photography for a bit of fun!

Photos are still good, just not as good as they could have been IMO

I disagree I thought it really worked. But I'm a big fan of the used & abused look. Where you can see the miles the car's done and see the story, it feels real, not artificial, but still very beautiful.

I guess for me if the car's too clean it doesn't look like they're having any fun!

[theboyfold]

GFWilliams said:

"shall we clean the car?"

"No"

Shame that as the shots would be 10x better with a clean car...

Photos are still good, just not as good as they could have been IMO

IMO dirty cars look cooler!

[JohnGoodridge]

I always find it easier to imagine it's me behind the wheel when staring at a gorgeous still even though I know it's not.

When I look at a video I can't; it's just incontrovertibly not me, even if the action is undeniably cool.

[GTiFrank]

theboyfold said:

GFWilliams said:

"shall we clean the car?"

"No"

Shame that as the shots would be 10x better with a clean car...

Photos are still good, just not as good as they could have been IMO

IMO dirty cars look cooler!

Some dirty cars look cooler. I think a muddy dirty especially on white looks better, but with black cars anything other than pristine looks wrong IMO. But motorway grime and brake dust definitely doesn't look cool.

[corcoran]

surely "Just Instagram it" covers it?

[jamespink]

Been "driving" round Mt Evans on street view... I could help driving a 911 round there! My number is 07........

[HeavySoul]

I love it when they don't wash a car for a photo shoot personally. As others have said it adds to the story and is how the car would look in reality if I owned it.

There are some nice 'dirty' shots in the R8 GT piece in this months Evo magazine.

But then I love the sight of a 911 with a roof rack so what do I know

[Chrisw666]

olly22n said:

GTiFrank said:

This was a rather dull video by drive's standards IMO. Great photos ruined by a roof rack!

Roof rack

I concur, though I can't help thinking they are a bit scene.

[cuda]

Bang on Chris - and having attended Garlick's excellent photography workshop a couple of weeks ago I now realise how hard - or lucky - it is to get a shot like that. The other thing with a photograph is that you can keep looking at and enjoying the one image - whereas a video by its very nature keeps changing.

Here's a few of my favourite shots over the years...

Cheers,

cuda

[Greg 172]

olly22n said:

Dirty is cool.




Get over it.

Lordy that looks good.I like a clean car, but something like this, or the S63 AMG (or whatever variant it was) that featured on Top Gear's foreign dictator/mafia thing shows how dirty can be good.

[AndWhyNot]

GFWilliams said:

"shall we clean the car?"

"No"

Shame that as the shots would be 10x better with a clean car...

Yeah, cos a bucket was just what that roof rack needed

For me, dirty was the right choice. As photographers we're in the story telling business and everything about that GTS- from the snow tyres and roof rack to the road grime- contributes to the tale of that car in that location at that time.

[Chrisw666]

olly22n said:

True. But not half as bad as yellow headlights.

Spending money on cosmetics only leaves bork to appear in unseen places that matter you know.....

[Vocal Minority]

how on earth can a roof rack be scene?

[Turbo Harry]

I liked the dirty car and I didn't really have an issue with the roof rack. It just looked as if it needed to be accessorised with skis or a snowboard or something. What looked like a doggy old fishing tackle box and a couple of rags just didn't work aesthetically. Made what could have been cool shots look slightly half-arsed.