Why the trees in Tasmania grow so tall

When you shoot a motorsport event in Tasmania in the middle of winter you have to be prepared for some inclement weather. When that event is held in the wild and remote area surrounding the delightfully named Savage River and also in the dense rainforest of Hellyer Gorge it is almost inevitable. Last weekends Rallye Burnie explained just why the trees in Tasmania grow so tall. Rallye Burnie is a 2 day tarmac event held on closed public roads in the beautiful north west of Tasmania. A small but competitive field brought out all the usual suspects like Jim Richards, Jason White and ex V8 supercar driver Tony Longhurst.


Day 1 was wet, wet, wet ( good name for a band ? ). For Jim Richards to be leading at the end of the day was a testament to his supreme driving skills. Competing in his old 2wd Porsche 944, which he brought out of retirement as his new 4wd hadn't arrived from Germany in time, the old master showed everyone why he is held in such respect. Jason White had a weekend to forget as he crashed on the same corner as last year and caused serious damage to his uncle John's Lamborghini Gallardo forcing their withdrawal. After spending all day in wet weather gear, sheltering under an umbrella tucked into my photovest I was glad when the day was over so I could dry my feet off !


Day 2 and we were in the spectacular Hellyer Gorge, but thankfully Nick's wife Robyn kept us topped up with hot coffee all day as conditions didn't improve for either the photographers or drivers. Hellyer Gorge is a tight, twisty and slippery piece of road that makes for some testing conditions. As ever my most important piece of photographic equipment proved to me my big golfing umbrella that I seemed to spend all day under. Jim continued to lead until the final stage of the day when David Catchpole in his 4WD Mitsubishi Evo took the lead and thus the event win.


As you read this my wet weather gear, boots, camera bag and cameras are all still drying out. But when I think back to when I was standing on the bridge over the Hellyer River and these cars are shooting past at high speed only inches away and then look at all the great shots I got it was definitely worthwhile. Congratulations on your win, David, it was tough out there for all of us !

Why eating dust ?

There is something exciting about being up close and personal with a very fast racing car. I have been lucky enough to have done so from both inside and outside of one. As a motorsport photographer I am constantly trying to look for different ways to shoot my subjects and one of the best is to try and get as close as possible. With rally cars that is not always possible as you will inevitably end up "eating dust" or getting hit on the head with big rocks. Dust gets every where just ask the poor guy who bought one of my old Nikon digital camera bodies. I always thought I kept the sensors pretty clean but then I mainly shoot with an 80-200 or 300mm at f2.8 or f4. He decides his going to use it for stop frame animation and shoots with a 17mm at f22. Lets just say his seascape sequence looked really good apart from a lot of very stationary seagulls in the sky.


Anyway at the last round of the Australian Rally Champion ship, the Subaru Safari Rally Tasmania I was employed by the organisers, Octagon, to be the official event photographer. Safari Tasmania is unlike any of the other ARC rounds in that it is held on very fast wide forestry roads. Being based in the far south west of Tasmania in mid winter means the weather can be a real challenge. Freezing overnight temperatures, thick fog and misty rain can make shooting difficult not to mention pretty uncomfortable. But one benefit was when the sun did shine there was no dust to contend with. Still lots of big rocks to avoid though and no thanks to Darren Windus in his Subaru for one particularly big rock to the back of the head.


On one particular stage there is superb sweeping bend that the cars take at very high speed normally leaving a big cloud of dust behind but with the condtions as they were I could get right on the apex of the corner. I fitted my 17mm wide angle to my D2x, squatted down and waited for the first car to come through. The first 2 cars swept round the corner really nice and then eventual winner Dean Herridge came round really tight and I got the shot I was looking for. Really up close and personal with one of the fastest drivers in the ARC. Yes, he was getting very close in fact the next shot in the sequence cropped the front and back of the car off! Hope you like the shot as much as I enjoyed getting it.