Start Your Engine

I like this time of year, the days are getting longer, the Champions League is reaching an interesting stage, Charlton Athletic are pushing for promotion (well, they will be next year) and the F1 season is about to start. I spent 11 years traveling the world photographing the Formula 1 World Championship and loved every minute of it. Following the championship around the world, I'v worked in the desert heat in Bahrain, tropical rainstorms in Brazil and 80% humidity in Malaysia, not to mention the cold wet July days spent at Silverstone, happens every year.
My time in F1 was dominated by Michael Schumacher. My first year ('94) was the year he won his first world championship. He clinched it in Adelaid, Australia. We arrived in Oz from Japan having worked at the wettest race ever, 3 days after the race I was still trying to dry out my gear! Micky the shoe retired from the race after trying to punt off, sorry, after a collision with his championship rival, Damon Hill, who had to retire in the pits handing the championship to the German who was still stranded out on the circuit, standing by his Benetton car. He won again in '95 before losing out to Hill in '96 and in '97 he was again involved in controversy, trying to punt off his championship rival Jacques Villeneuve, this time it was Schumi who lost out, Villeneuve winning the championship. A couple of years in the wilderness followed before he came back with a record breaking five consecutive championships.
So it all begins again this weekend in Oz. I dont mind telling you, one thing I dont miss is sitting in cattle class for a 23 hr flight followed by another 23 hr flight home a week later! It looks like being a good year for racing with the various rule changes and new teams at the sharp end instead of the usual McLaren and Ferrari battle. My money's on Jenson Button......you can just feel its his year!

Rugby......It's Just Not Football!

Shot the Worcester v Wasps rugby union match last Saturday. Over the years I must have done 50 or 60 rugby match's, I dont do many now but a few years ago I shot plenty. Guinness Premiership, Internationals at home and abroad and the Heineken Cup. After all those games I'v got absolutely no idea of whats going on. I cant fathom out why they do things, for instance, I obviously know that each team is trying to get the 'ball' over there opponents try line, so why, when they get the ball in their own half, do they kick it back to the other side? When they do start to run with the ball, the opposing team commit GBH to stop them (that could be why the guy kicks it back to them!). Then they just go into what looks like a free for all, people standing on each other, punch's swapped and general mayhem until the ball pops up with someone else who runs another couple of yards before someone grabs them round the neck and it all starts again! On days like this I really miss shooting football. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for people enjoying their sport, it would be a dull world if we all supported Charlton Athletic, not to mention the problems you'd have getting tickets, and I'm happy for everyone who enjoys playing it from grass roots to premiership, but the RFU have got to make it a bit more user friendly. If a casual observer cant work out what's going on, he's not likely come come back often. My son has just started playing it at secondary school and he loves it as he can "splat his mates all afternoon". Beats doing geography I suppose. Thing is, he's not interested in watching it, either on TV or live at a match. I offered to take him on Saturday but he wasn't having any of it. At all. That's how football wins every time, kids see it on the telly, they want to play it in the parks and they want to go watch it, because even if they dont know the off side rule, they can see whats going on! If you had 10 youth's playing rugby in a park, it would resemble gang warfare braking out! Shooting a rugby league match in a few weeks time, first time I will have photographed that code. Have all my fingers and toe's crossed that it will be better than the union version!