Car: Ferrari 458 Italia
Client: Private owner
Location: Perth
Gear used: Canon 5D MkII, 17-40L, 70-200L, Elinchrom Ranger RX

This past weekend we had the Jaguar XKR-S in stunning French Racing Blue and one listen to the noise it makes downshifting from 3rd to 2nd and you forget all about the heat! First up was a track session at the RAC Driver Training Centre to test out the cars limits. Unfortunately an issue with the cars cooling system meant we ran out of time to do static shots afterwards so we reconvened at 6am the following morning. I hired an Elinchrom Quadra from the guys at Camera Electronic for this shoot to test it out and compare it to the Ranger kit I hired for the BMW 1M shoot. It was only 400Ws but given I wasn’t in direct sunlight like last time it was more than enough. One of these days I’ll buy a portable strobe kit..

A full review by Karl Peskett can be read at Teamspeed.

There are a number of things I would change about the shots (framing the Gallardo more to the right being the main one) but I guess thats the beauty of looking back and seeing how you have improved over the years.

So here are the two photos…

First up the Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 just before we unleashed it on a tunnel in the Italian Alps…

and the Techart Cayman GT Sport which we tested in Germany

It was another eventful year with some great automotive experiences and also improvement in my photos. The main development was a better use and understanding of off camera flash (strobes), something that I’m hoping to push even further in 2012 with the purchase of either an Elinchrom or Alien Bees setup. I also learnt a few new techniques in regards to post processing my photos in Lightroom and Photoshop, something which is becoming very important for photographers these days – like it or not. Gotta keep up!

In terms of cars that I shot it all started with a pair of Aston Martins. Karl Peskett, the journalist I work with on a lot of my shoots, has a good working relationship with Aston Martin in Australia so we were fortunate enough to spend some time with the Vantage S and Rapide. Days like the one we had with the Rapide where we drove around Perth and its outer suburbs all day experiencing the car and finding photo locations are what make me love this job.

Probably the most amazing car of the year however was the Lamborghini Aventador. The first example turned up in Australia in July at the Barbagallo showroom in Osborne Park, a LHD version in a stunning metallic grey. I was blown away by the appearance of this futuristic looking car and could only imagine what it would be like to drive. Luckily enough I got a huge break later in the year when I was invited to the Sepang F1 circuit in Malaysia to help cover the Aventador launch for Lamborghini. One of the best trips of my life saw me not only photographing this amazing car but also spending 4 laps behind the wheel of it around a Formula 1 track! I look forward to working with Lamborghini again in the near future. Stay tuned!

As I’ve done on three previous occasions I headed out to Alice Springs in the Australian Outback with a bunch of supercar owners to provide some photographic memories of what has become a tradition. I would love to have more time out there with all my equipment to get some truly stunning photos of the cars with such a unique backdrop but driving is the priority on these trips so I have to make do. I look forward to a return in 2012 or 13.

In the final couple of months in 2011 there were a number of less exciting cars to photograph for various reviews but we finished it in style with the BMW 1M which has all the major publications world wide salivating. We shot this car on track after 1 hour of pushing it to its limits and this is where I developed my love for the aforementioned Elinchrom strobes – bright midday sunlight was no problem!

Just in time for Christmas I produced another calendar which can be found on Red Bubble. These are mainly for friends and family although anyone can purchase it, plus it gives me a chance to look back at my photos and work out what I could’ve done better or differently.

Who knows what 2012 holds, but I’m excited to find out!

However, when I found out that we’d be getting some time with the awesome new BMW 1M on track during the middle of the day I knew I had a problem. I needed more power! I’ve been eyeing off Elinchrom gear for some time and this provided the perfect opportunity to test some of it out. So I decided to hire the Elinchrom Ranger RX Speed AS light kit from the guys at Camera Electronic. This provided me with 1100Ws of sun killing power from the two heads provided. Usually you would use the native Skyport triggering system but in this instance I was given some Pocket Wizards which worked just fine. The Ranger kit was amazing, worked perfectly and provided beautiful results in some harsh conditions. The cable length from the portable power pack to the heads was a bit short at times so you were slightly limited with placement – however extensions are available. The whole kit is quite heavy so you’ll get a workout dragging it around, but its worth it!

For more thoughts on the car please read Karl Pesketts review on Teamspeed.