the ginkgo blog

Johnny Herbert Celebrity Karting Challenge 2009 - Photos from the day - Yet another great days racing and mingling...

 
This year, due to my email system being a total and utter pain in the arse, my seat for the race that I have done for the last 7 years was taken up by Martin from Brawn (or Mercedes depending on when you read this). A lovely chap, who still owes me a bacon roll and a coffee!

But, being a committed team member, myself and my neighbour (who introduced me to the event and team) set out on Sunday morning to show our support for the team and to get some pics of the day to add to the event gallery. Team Forum are our boys and girls and we have always taken very great pride in being there for fun and not getting silly about the whole thing. It's a charity event after all!

Plus the fact that it is pretty much a guarantee that our kart will be the most under powered and under steering of the fleet. But it is something that we just accept in the pursuit of fun.

 
 

Not expecting to participate, it was a great and welcomed surprise when I was offered a slot by Rooney - our boss...  Managing a best time of 44.2 seconds, with our best team time set by Andy at 44.1, with the best lap times of the day in the region of 41.1, it's pretty clear we were totally off the pace.

Now most would say we were just blaming the kart for our lack of lap time when it was in fact our lack of skill. But, given that lap time was set by Andy in a four driver shoot out before the race - oh and the fact that he is the European Karting Champion, I think we are justified in saying our kart was a very real piece of crap...

  

To see a selection of other pics from the race day, click below to open up the post  and have a good flick through.

Clipper Round the World Yacht Race 09-10 Race Viewer - Keep your eyes on our sponsored yacht - Uniquely Singapore with Sally Kettle...

Clipper Round the World Yacht Race 09-10 Race Viewer 'Uniquely Singapore'

The yachts’ positions will be plotted every three hours as they race across the world’s oceans. You can see the winds they’re expecting to encounter, get expert commentary from the Race Office and replay the race so far. More

Clipper Round the World - Dress rehearsal for Clipper fleet as the teams battle it out in the Pilgrim Race - 02 September 2009

As Sally Kettle nears the end of the delivery leg of the Clipper Round the World Race, here is a recent article from the official web site...
 

"Due to favourably strong southerly winds the Clipper fleet is speeding towards the Humber, as each of the ten competitors put their newly learned skills to the test to win the Pilgrim Race to Grimsby. The inaugural 175-nautical mile race from the UK’s south coast to the Humber is taking the form of a time trial and Clipper Race Director, Joff Bailey, explains the format.

“The Pilgrim Race is a time trial race, similar to the time trials that the cyclists complete in the Tour de France,” says Joff. “We have chosen a start gate near Ramsgate and a finish gate near the entrance to the Humber, a short distance from Donna Nook Firing Range. The difference between a sailing time trial race and a cycling race is that the skippers of the yachts can choose when they want to cross the starting line so as to

 benefit from the best wind strengths and angles.

“This is a very tactical race and so the skippers and crews have had to study the forecast and choose the optimum time to cross the start line. The winner is not the yacht that takes line honours but the team with the lowest elapsed time. So we will not know who the winner is until the last yacht has crossed the finish line, which will most likely be early afternoon on Thursday,” he added.

The pressure will be on for Hull & Humber to win the relatively short race into their home port and the skipper and crew made the decision to delay their start until midday today in order to benefit from move favourable wind and tide conditions. They were joined by six others with only Team Finland, Spirit of Australia and Uniquely Singapore opting for an earlier start.

Speaking from Hull & Humber this morning, Piers said, “The crew is really excited and we hope that our decision to wait it out will pay off. The weather is nicely set and we plan to cross the start line around midday when the tides are at their most favourable. We could have gone for it six hours earlier but the wind wouldn’t have been as good. I’m confident we’ve made the best decision.”

The forecasted weather is expected to deliver some fast sailing conditions up the North Sea, with strong southerly winds of more than 30 knots propelling the fleet north at speeds of up to 18 knots. These favourable conditions have meant that the fleet is now expected to arrive in Grimsby onThursday afternoon and will begin to lock in to the Marina at Grimsby Docks from 16:30 BST.

In celebration of their arrival, a reception is being organised by North East Lincolnshire Council to formally welcome the 200 crew members to the port and to present the Pilgrim Cup to the winning team on the evening of Friday 4 September.   

Over the weekend of Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 September the public will have access to a viewing point overlooking Humber Cruising Association’s marina, where the boats will be moored. There will be live music, stalls and fairground attractions and with the boats decked out with flags and banners it promises to be a lively and colourful occasion. The open days will run from 10:00 to 16:00 BST on Saturday and from 12:00 to 19:00 BST on Sunday. The public are also invited to attend a multi-faith service between 09:00 and 10:00 BST on Sunday."

via www.clipperroundtheworld.com

The adventures of Sally Kettles round the world sailing exploits begin...

Sally set sail on Sunday/Monday morning on the delivery leg to take the 68ft ocean going yacht, the Uniquely Singapore up to the starting point for the Clipper round the world race in Hull, Humberside. And as of this morning is currently docked in Dover along with Sit Robin Knox Johnson and Hilary Lister.

As I have mentioned previously, we are hosting her journal here for you to all to keep up to date and hopefully get some amazing images from her voyage. Why - Because we are official sponsors...

So here are a few snippets and links to the 'live' journal we are hosting for her...

Sally Kettle - Meet Sir Robin Knox Johnson... Hanging with the big guns.

I've never been one for autograph albums but I'm slightly disappointed that I've not invested in one. Not only did I accost/meet Sir Robin Knox Johnson, with whom I shared a tale or two about sore bottoms, but Crew Singapore bumped into Hilary Lister a quadraplegic sailor who has literally just arrived in Dover after her circumnavigation of Britain.

Up & Humber - Uniquely Singapore round the world race yacht arrives in Dover...

I'm feeling the hot flush of the tired. I'm experiencing waves of nausea and a general disquiet that can only be associated with our arrival in Dover.... not because of Dover, by the way, more because our delivery has been knackering already and we've only been away from Gosport for a day and 'arf! It's been tough though, I'm not complaining but I'm convinced our watch draw the short straw having to wake at 2am for a four hour stint till dawn.

Sally Kettle in the Clipper Round the World Race 09-10 - Ginkgo Studios are proud to be official sponsors of this amazing challenge...

We here at Ginkgo Studios are very proud to be official sponsors of Sally Kettle in her part in the Clipper Round the World Race 09-10 on board the Uniquely Singapore. Not only will we be providing updates and images from her voyage here on the Ginkgo Blog, but we will also be hosting her official round the world journal here on our servers.

For more information on Sally and her previous adventures, including rowing across the Atlantic (twice) and her public speaking and modelling career, click here to have a look at Sally's site.

More to come very soon...

Formula One photographer, Darren Heath provides the BBC with their photography. Here is just a sample of his stunning work...

Anyone who knows me knows I am a complete petrol head. This afternoon I will be shooting the new Nissan GTR with the single purpose of communicating what this car means to its owner. I am also chomping at the bit for the next race of the F1 season (which has to be the most thrilling for decades), the European GP. I love almost everything about the sport. The exception being the politics - I hate that in everything, not just F1.

But one thing I love above all else in F1 is the photography. There are hundreds of photographers covering each race weekend and the pap sessions in between. But they are in the most all the same.

Darren Heath has been shooting F1 for over 20 years and it doesn't show one little bit. His work continues to be fresh and emotional. So much so that the BBC commission him for their website in the form of the F1 Big Picture.

I like his approach and of course his output. Plus their is always a story. Taken from the BBC, here is one of his latest images with the associated story. Plus links to a bunch more and of course, his site. Even if you're not a petrol head or even a follower of F1. His work is well worthy of a sneaky peek.

"In the world of photographing Formula 1 the composition of a photograph is - as in all forms of the art - king.

"Whilst obvious attention is given to the big-in-the-frame action shot it's often a good idea to shoot a tad loser using the visual stimulus of the surrounding landscape to compose a picture that can have almost equal amounts of drama.

"When framing such a shot it is of paramount importance to have in mind the rule of thirds.

"As all professional lens men should know, the rule states that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections.

"By adhering to this simple yet often ignored technique, rather than simply centring the subject, one's resulting pictures will have more drama, energy and interest.

"With the rule etched in my mind from an early age, I see almost everything through an imaginary grid. This study of Lewis Hamilton perfectly illustrating the rule's fundamentals.

"Seemingly alone at the Hungaroring Hamilton is seen well on his way to McLaren's maiden victory of 2009."

Camera: Canon EOS1DS Mark 3. Lens: 600mm. Exposure: 500th second @ f11

A few more pics after the jump...

The London 2012 Olympics logo is whilst being hideous, actually a representation of...

Maggie Simpson giving head...

Try getting that one out of your head next time you see it. Below is their first draft of the logo, but it was deemed far too obvious...

At least this one was honest...  I'm sure that there is a law against images like that!

2008 in Pictures - the New York Times put together a quite effective collection of the year that was 2008...

The splash page to the New York Times '2008 - The Year in Pictures"...

   

The New York Times has popped together a quite effective gallery of the year that was 2008 in pictures. In nice and, no-doubt very technical 'full screen' web-based slideshow.

Even though it is very US-centric (hardly surprising for a nationally respected US based newspaper really is it), it is a good little summary of the year covering some of the major themes that helped to define 2008. From the Olympics in Beijing, the devastation caused by the collapse of the banking system (are you allowed to shoot bankers for sport yet?) through to the arts and entertainment that will help to create an image of 2008 in the annals of history.

If photography is your thing. Be it journalistic, commercial, social or amateur - This a definitely worth a browse and a bookmark.

Key galleries:

1. The Election
2. The Nation (US) 
3. Iraq & Afghanistan 
4. Sports 
5. The Economy (you bankers!) 
6. The World
7. The Region 
8. Arts & Entertainment 

Feel free to discuss - Or as is often the case - Don't.... 

PoV - Point of View - A great example by Nike...

Those of you that know me and my team are only too aware of how I like to play with point of view (PoV) in my photography, whatever the situation. If we can get a point of view shot in that illustrates the every day in a way in which the viewer is unlikely to have viewed it before - then I will. If you get it right, the impact is pretty much always greater than one from a conventional perspective.

It may not be the shot that the clients goes for, but at least it is there for them to see something different and more importantly, it is there for me.

There’s a guy in the states who’s work and ethos I quite admire - which is pretty similar to my own who in many ways. He is also a great advocate of playing with the point of view to achieve a quite unique result - Who? - Chase Jarvis. I highly recommend taking a peek at his new site and work. http://www.chasejarvis.com

He’s identified a Nike sequence on YouTube which is a pretty good illustration of taking the ordinary and to be honest, quite mundane - and turning it not something really quite effective and cool. But then it’s Nike, so I should hope so...

This sequence is technically excellent and I hate to think how long it took to make. I’m no football (soccer) fan - I’m more a rugby and motor sport man - but I can see the power and emotion this sequence would evoke. In fact, it has already given me an idea for a project - So feel free to check back in about 6 months and hopefully you might even see it in its completion. Anyway, here’s the Nike ad...

Impressive......