Saturday, 15 December 2007

Almost not the City of Discovery... !



Part of what I do for a living has little to do with photography, quite the contrary, in fact. Of course it’s travel. The brain-straining ability to get off my backside in the middle of the night has become a fairly frequent exercise. Assignments on the other side of the world are often the easiest - as all I really need to do is make it as far as the airport. The pilot sees to the rest. No, the jobs I dread most are buried away in tiny corners of the UK, or in this case, Dundee. Once you get past the northern-most M6 stretch the journey is pleasant enough - unless you’re shooting at Silverstone the day before, it’s evening rush hour, and it’s a Friday.

Dundee is an interesting city full of history. So full in fact I couldn’t find any! By now it’s 11 am on the day of the shoot, storm clouds are gathering and a blizzard is forecast. I’ve also got my deputy editor’s words ‘must shoot’ still ringing in my ear holes. Finally, I managed to get the two trucks down to Discovery Quay and begun a two hour process of frantic lighting. Looking at the pictures however, you’d have to agree the heartache was worth it. Shot for Truck & Driver’s next front cover, the 500 bhp Volvo F16 is a splendid piece of 14 year old engineering - a truck way ahead of its time back in 1993 - in terms of living standards and power. I just love the lines of the grille, particularly the way the light dances in between the curves.

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