Nick Dimbleby General Portfolio

clifton_cameras_nick_dimbleby_journal

Sunrise at Le Mans.

Shot on Canon EOS 1DS III (Discontinued - See Canon EOS 1DX Mark III). Canon EF-70-200mm F2.8L IS II USM Lens (succeded by the Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS III USM Lens).
Planning where to be at sunrise at Le Mans is important. I have a great App called 'SunScout' on my iPhone which shows where the sun will be at any given time - perfect to plan the shot before you take it. After that, all you need is a good sunrise and a bit of luck!

clifton_cameras_nick_dimbleby_journal

Bolivian girls in Toyota.

Shot on Canon EOS 1DS III (Discontinued - See Canon EOS 1DX Mark III). Canon EF-70-200mm F2.8L IS II USM Lens (succeded by the Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS III USM Lens).
Shot on a recce photo trip for the Land Rover G4 Challenge. These girls drove past us in a village in Bolivia, and when then the Toyota parked up I gave them a wave and a smile, framed them up and took a series of five photos. This one worked out the best.

clifton_cameras_nick_dimbleby_journal

Scrapyard, France.

Shot on Canon EOS 1DS III (Discontinued - See Canon EOS 1DX Mark III). Canon EF-70-200mm F2.8L IS II USM Lens (succeded by the Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS III USM Lens).
We came across this scrapyard of old cars during an assignment to cover the Beaujolais Run. Luckily it was fairly early in the morning and the light was perfect!

clifton_cameras_nick_dimbleby_journal

Pitstop, Le Mans.

Shot on Canon EOS 1DS III (Discontinued - See Canon EOS 1DX Mark III). Canon EF 300mm f2.8L IS II USM Lens, Canon Extender EF 1.4x III
Shooting in the pits at night during the Le Mans 24 hours race is great - there's loads of emotion and lots going on. I wanted to do a shot that was different from the usual wide angle stuff, so sat at the end with my 300mm f2.8L with 1.4x converter on a monopod. Fortunately there's a fair amount of light, but the image stabiliser on the lens allowed me to get away with a relatively low shutter speed of 200/sec.

clifton_cameras_nick_dimbleby_journal

Pits, Le Mans.

Shot on Canon EOS 1DS III (Discontinued - See Canon EOS 1DX Mark III). Canon EF-70-200mm F2.8L IS II USM Lens (succeded by the Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS III USM Lens).
After 16 hours of racing at Le Mans, everyone's tired, so it's a perfect time to sneak into the pits and get some candid resting shots.

clifton_cameras_nick_dimbleby_journal

Jaguar growler.

Shot on Canon EOS 1DS III (Discontinued - See Canon EOS 1DX Mark III).50mm f2.5 macro
Canon's macro lens are a great way of getting tight details. Shot wide open at f2.5 and processed in Lightroom with their cross-processing filter, it's a nice clean shot. The 50mm macro has been made redundant now, since I purchased the Canon EF 24-70mm f4L IS USM Lens (succeeded by the Canon EF 24-105mm f4L IS II USM Lens). It's macro facility is easily as good as the 50mm, if not better - amazing!

clifton_cameras_nick_dimbleby_journal

Land Rover G4 Challenge convoy.

Shot on Canon EOS 1DS III (Discontinued - See Canon EOS 1DX Mark III), Canon EF 24-105mm f4L IS USM Lens (succeeded by the Canon EF 24-105mm f4L IS II USM Lens).
Shot on the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, a salt flat the size of Wales, this convoy shot was a series done 'ad hoc' from the event helicopter. I used the Canon EF 24-105mm f4L IS USM Lens to help with camera shake created from the helicopter's movement - that lens has now been replaced for me by the Canon EF 24-70mm f4L IS USM Lens. Shot just after sunrise (hence the long shadows), it was truly a once in a lifetime experience!

clifton_cameras_nick_dimbleby_journal

Aston Martin DBR9s - Gulf livery.

Shot on Canon EOS 1DS III (Discontinued - See Canon EOS 1DX Mark III). Canon EF 24-70mm f2.8L II USM Lens
To launch the new Gulf livery for Aston Martin in 2008, there was a testing session at the Paul Ricard circuit in France. We managed to sneak the cars off for 20 minutes to do some shots on the circuit's amazing striped run-off strips. Shot early evening and very much done on the hoof, this shot was used for that year's Aston Martin Le Mans poster.

clifton_cameras_nick_dimbleby_journal

Jaguar CX-75 concept.

Shot on Canon EOS 1DS III (Discontinued - See Canon EOS 1DX Mark III). Canon EF 24-70mm f2.8L II USM Lens
Shot just prior to the CX-75's reveal at the Los Angeles Auto Show, this natural light pix was taken in an underpass in Downtown Los Angeles. The location has been used extensively by film, TV and advertising, and is a great mix of artificial and natural light.

clifton_cameras_nick_dimbleby_journal

Aston Martin Rapide concept.

Shot on Canon EOS 1DS III (Discontinued - See Canon EOS 1DX Mark III). Canon EF 24-70mm f2.8L II USM Lens
This studio shot is a composite of various different exposures: car, background and interior.

clifton_cameras_nick_dimbleby_journal

Range Rover TDV8 engine.

Shot on Canon EOS 1DS III (Discontinued - See Canon EOS 1DX Mark III). Canon EF 24-70mm f2.8L II USM Lens
Lit with two Bowens flash heads with supplementary fill lighting from Quantum Q-Flashes, this cutaway engine shot was taken in the workshop where it was cut away for show purposes. The black background is nothing more than a draped piece of black felt.

clifton_cameras_nick_dimbleby_journal

Range Rover Supercharged dial. (Top)

Shot on Canon EOS 1DS III (Discontinued - See Canon EOS 1DX Mark III), Canon EF 24-105mm f4L IS USM Lens (succeeded by the Canon EF 24-105mm f4L IS II USM Lens).
The image stabiliser allowed me to do a longish exposure whilst I revved the engine to get the needle to move.

Aston Martin trim shop. (Bottom)

Shot on Canon EOS 1DS III (Discontinued - See Canon EOS 1DX Mark III), Canon EF 24-105mm f4L IS USM Lens.. Canon EF 50mm f2.5 Macro Lens
Using nothing more than the light on the machinist's sewing machine and a bit of selective focus, produced this simple but effective image. RAW processing allowed me to get the colour temperature just right.

clifton_cameras_nick_dimbleby_journal

Jaguar Design studio.

Shot on Canon EOS 1DS III (Discontinued - See Canon EOS 1DX Mark III). Canon EF 24-70mm f2.8L II USM Lens (succeded by the Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS III USM Lens)
A simple image shot at f2.8 for selective focus. Post-processing to create a black and white image (including film grain), along with a bit of dodging and burning created a shot that could have been taken on film!

clifton_cameras_nick_dimbleby_journal

Japanese actor, Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Shot on Canon EOS 1DS III (Discontinued - See Canon EOS 1DX Mark III). Canon EF 24-70mm f2.8L II USM Lens
A commission for Engine Magazine and Dunhill Japan saw me photographing a Japanese actor at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. This image was taken just prior to the event's black tie dinner, and was a quick grab shot next to a couple of classic Jaguars that were being used as chauffeur transport.

clifton_cameras_nick_dimbleby_journal

Aston Martin Rapide watch.

Shot on Canon EOS 1DS III (Discontinued - See Canon EOS 1DX Mark III). Canon EF-100mm f2.8L Macro IS USM Lens
Using the Canon macro lens allowed me to get nice and close to the precision detailing on the £25,000 Jaeger-Lecoutre Aston Martin Rapide watch. Placed on the centre armrest of a Rapide, a little bit of reflector gave me the bright, natural lighting I wanted. Incidentally, the watch can also be programmed to unlock the car!

clifton_cameras_nick_dimbleby_journal

Jaguar XKR drifting.

Shot on Canon EOS 1DS III (Discontinued - See Canon EOS 1DX Mark III). Canon EF-70-200mm F2.8L IS II USM Lens (succeded by the Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS III USM Lens).
Using a slow shutter speed (60th second) and panning with the car drifting on a closed circuit gives a great sensation of movement. Shooting directly into the sun with lots of lens flare works for me too.

All images copyright Nick Dimbleby