MotoGP wall art for 2012?

VR46 #58 limited edition giclee canvas print

I thought I had added this update to my blog...but with Christmas and the decompression that takes place after the end of the season I overlooked this one medium.  OOPS!  I wanted to add that these have been rather popular, so if you're interested in having something a little bit different to hang on your wall follow this link for information on how to order/purchase, but don't wait too long!

Actual product - photographed outside in natural daylight 24"x18"

To find out more and order your print click here

AutoMotoPhoto 2012 Calendars

Whilst I am writing about items of beauty, it might  also be worth mentioning that my annual AutoMotoPhoto calendar is still available for purchase.  In fact, not only can you have it custom made with your favourite MotoGP rider, but the start month can also be changed.  So if you'd like you calendar to run from February to February, this can be arrange.  I have included below a photograph of one generic calendar, and two custom calendars so you can see the quality of the finish as well as how beautiful they look...

To find out more about the 2012 calendar click here

Ciao Marco - The Minute

The massed tribute at the Circuito Ricardo Tormo in Cheste

The image (for me) says it all.  We'll just leave it at that.

AutoMotoPhoto 2012 Motorcycle Racing Calendar now available

Available to order now...

Andrew Wheeler's 2012 AutoMootoPhoto GP Calendar

Last years high quality calendar was a roaring success and so I am offering this calendar yet again. With 12 uniquely different images taken at MotoGP races all over the globe during the 2011 racing season this calendar offers a traditional calendar starting on Sunday combined with a photograph chosen from one of the races I have covered.

Also, what makes this calendar special, is to be able to specify your own favourite rider from the MotoGP class to have as a custom calendar at no additional cost.  

For ordering information click here and to view actual photos of the 2011 calendar (on FaceBook) click here .....

#CiaoMarco - A selection of images from 250cc to October 23, 2011

Today was his funeral.  

Today I put together a selection of images I hope reflect the man.

I also have the same gallery here on FB

2011 RD0 MOTOGP MARCO SIMONCELLI  

Images by Andrew Wheeler | AutoMotoPhoto

If anyone is interested in using any of these images. Or wishes to purchase prints etc, please contact me.

Until Valencia.

Ciao Marco

From happy to sad in less than 120 minutes. Goodbye Marco.

I never knew him that well.....

Marco Simoncelli locking down the 250cc Championship in Phillip Island 2008

..but when you travel constantly with the "MotoGP" circus you become a familiar face. Over time you'll receive a "ciao" or a "bongiorno" when passing in the paddock in the morning, during the evening or even as these people walk through the media centre. However, it was in Phillip Island in parc ferme where Marco recognised me when I asked him to look down into my camera for a goofy shot of him waving.  He obliged.

This was only my second trip to Malaysia covering MotoGP and the heat and humidity aside, it is a happy place to visit, even if this is work (!).  You have people who seem to have a positive gene in their DNA.  Nothing is too much trouble if you need help, directions whatever.

hopefully they buy their tickets sequentially....or do they swap t-shirts if not?

I never thought that the heat would become so transparent simply because the energy of the people who live here rises above this little niggling thing.  So it was after the end of the Moto2 race I simply decided I would sit on my scooter in front of the grandstands and stay in the shade.  Rather than go back into the media centre and then have to go through the painful process of acclimatizing to the heat from the cold once again, it just makes sense to simply "stay out".  Which I did.  So here I am, sat in front of all these fans who have travelled from all over the region (from Indonesia etc for this race weekend) and they're smiling, waving and asking me questions about "the job". I felt so connected and so not far away.  Knowing I only had a race day and Monday here in Malaysia this makes the day complete for me. As I have mentioned before, I love this place, even with the crazy drivers and crazier scooter riders.  It's fantastic.

Happiness is infectious

Time to go to work.  First up the starting grid row girls that show the grid rows...then the teams roll out accompanied by the umbrella girls that keep the sun off the rider...the grid is prepared with tap crowd barriers around the various locations on the grid where the riders are placed.  The grid is full, aside from the riders.  The bikes are fired up, they head out on track, and the final wave of crew chiefs, mechanics come to join the their various crews out on the grid... dignitaries arrive and the clock starts ticking down to "go time"  The mad scurrying of TV crews, photographers, people who have been granted access to the grid all trying to capture, talk to or see their subjects makes it a challenge, but a fun one at that.  The back drop sounds of fans chanting "Rossi" "Rossi" make this feel somewhat gladiatorial.

Alvaro Bautista keeps himself focussed and cool

With the clock ticking, and most photographers having got their required images, it's a mad scrambling of crazy scooter riding to the first corner (or wherever)...with everyone in place, you watch from distance the grid clear.  Warm up lap.  The bikes leave in no particular order for the last lap before race start.  The anticipation grows within.  Next, you see them arrive on the grid.  The flagman at the rear confirms everyone is in their place, the flagmen at the front and rear, signal to each other then clear off the grid..the lights come on and we're under way.  The bikes come at you and everyone is capturing the race start.  The pack disappears around the corner and you hear the roar of bikes in the distance racing.  

Next you hear them coming down the track on the other side of the grandstands, then they're in full view coming at you, here comes lap two. They pass, then we all break out to a new location.

The "last lap" for Marco Simoncelli

Then the red flags come out.  Silence.  Nothing on the jumbotrons except replays of the start.  Then we see why there is a red flag.  The normally smiley faces of photographers turns to worry.  One mentions to me that "his [Simoncelli's] helmet came off.  We knew that wasn't a good sign even from where we were standing.  But speculating isn't what we do.  So we wait and wait and wait.  Then the call comes, race cancelled.  Deflated.  We knew something was not good.  We head back to the media centre.  There's an eerie silence.  

The loudest noise in a normally very noisy media centre is the air conditioning fans.  

Then it is announced that Marco Simoncelli has succumbed to his injuries. People who you know have seen so much through their lenses now have red eyes.  No one speaks.  There was a press conference at 5.45pm to provide an opportunity for questions. People seem to be in a state of disbelief.  Surreal.

Thank you for being so colourful, vibrant and full of life - image taken at Phillip Island, 10.15.2011

Marco was different. Cavalier, dynamic and and was loaded with energy.  You'll be missed. My thoughts go to his family.  I'd also like to send some get well wishes to Colin Edwards as well.

Tragic day.

Casey Stoner - World Champion

Casey Stoner atop his motorcycle in parc ferme after winning the race, and the World Championship

A quick update from last weekends MotoGP Round 16 at Phillip Island in Australia..and a simple update at that...with nothing more to say...Casey Stoner really put his stamp on the season and pulled off the race win, the championship and it was his birthday to boot...not bad going I guess.

The trip to Phillip Island was, as it always is, a lot of fun.  I know some wonderful people who visit the island over the race weekend that it almost feel like a family gathering.  So thank you to all who made my visit most enjoyable. Also a big thank you again to those who attended my first seminar and to Paul Stafford of Spice Island for being able to host it.

Images from Phillip Island and previous rounds are online in my AutoMotoPhoto MotoGP Photography searchable archive.

Next up, images and tales from Malaysia....where I am penning this update.

You can't keep it all to yourself - Sharing and helping others to "see"

I admit I was nervous.

But after we had the meet and greet, and the av-display had been set up and connected to my laptop I felt that something clicked within me.  This just felt right.

That's me!  AutoMotoPhoto inaugural seminar Phillip Island

My wife Emily had suggested I take my photography and what I know in a new direction and this was it.  The day went well and I was amazed at the level of enthusiasm of the people who had joined me for the day.  We ran through the program I had put together, with the morning focussing on image ideas, "seeing" and thinking differently as well as taking a look at peoples images and taking input from people on not only each others images and ways of thinking, but also my own images.  In the afternoon we looked at self promotion, marketing, search engine optimisation as well as how to use the freely available social media outlets to build or share your work with others.

The day ended with dinner and a few beers before everyone headed off for the race weekend....

A fantastic day, and a big thank you to Helen, Frank, Anant, Simon and Robert who signed up.  A good sized group which allowed for everyone's questions and discussions to be heard and answered.

The next Andrew Wheeler AutoMotoPhoto Seminar is being organized...

AutoMotoPhoto - Website is now updated...

Casey Stoners RCV212 in parc ferme, Motorland Aragon

A quick mention to let you know that my main website, AutoMotoPhoto has been refreshed with images from every race I have covered in 2011...and in total there is nearly six years worth of racing images that could kill some time over a wintery weekend..


Join me and others at the Phillip Island MotoGP Photography Seminar

MotoGP Phillip Island Exclusive! AutoMotoPhoto seminar and dinner!

AutoMotoPhoto Seminar Poster

Many people have asked me if I would run a seminar. I have gotten together with a good friend who lives on the Island and we're going to be putting on the inaugural AutoMotoPhoto Photography Seminar and Dinner in San Remo. Wednesday (10/12) before the race weekend is when it's going to happen.

Also!!! After a long day of instruction, critique and big thinking, Paul and I will be cooking dinner for those who will be attending.

This seminar is designed for amateurs who have a solid understanding of the principles of photography but want to develop their skills in this one day intensive class.  We'll cover subjects such as your goals, peer reviews and critiques..how to make do with the equipment you already have and how to think outside the box...we'll also go into how to sell or market your images using current methods including social media tools...and how to approach the mystical world of getting published...I can't teach you how to have a "style", but I will hopefully impart enough information to fuel that desire to enable you to think differently and to feel confident about your work.

Seating is limited due to the nature of this class.

For pricing and further information simply send an email to me, Andrew Wheeler here and by return I will send you the schedule and a link for you to sign up and pay for your seat! To download the poster click here

I look forward to hearing from you and we'll see you there....

Jorge Lorenzo, Casey Stoner...from Misano to Aragon. The Renaissance, castles and the countryside...

Valentino Rossi at his "home" race wearing his special liveried Misano special helmet

I love castles.

Gradara

So it's rather interesting that we go from the Adriatic and the home of Lucrezia Borgia (and all that lovely warmth and kindness as the perfect dinner host she was) to Aragon, where the two regions are actually loosely connected by families marrying one off to the other.  I love this region of Italy, the coastline that becomes extremely dramatic not too far inland with huge outcrops of rocks topped with castles.

Urbino

Last years trip to Misano started out tinged with sadness  of the loss during the race weekend prior at Indianapolis. Little did we know that the race weekend at Misanowould also end in sadness (see the previous blog entry).  Fortunately, this years events ended with no tragedies but with an excellent showing of racecraft by Jorge Lorenzo...

Jorge Lorenzo and his crew celebrate his crossing the finish line

A side trip was in order to Valentino Rossi's village, Tavulia, although the mood in the village did seem a little a little quieter than last.  

Valentino Rossi's hometown

The banner that shows his 100 victories has faded somewhat, but in many of the windows as before, there are cardboard cutouts of the maestro himself watching over the visitors.  One thing that was different from last year was the video booth.  This appeared so as fans visiting to send Valentino a personal message if support.  

the VR46 video box in Tavulia

Gone was the life-size cardboard Yamaha team cutout and garage that was very popular with folks who wanted to have a picture of themselves taken with whoever works in the garage.  Maybe next year there'll be a Ducati version.

This year I stayed at a fabulous little flat in the city of Cattolica with Ben Spies Fan Club creators Luca Ottolini and his fabulous wife Chiara.  We had a great week of good food, laughter, Jesus ducks and of course being less than 3 minutes from a gelateria, gelato.

The fan club!

Lots of gelato....thanks again to Simone for being such a help in having the apartment for us....looks like next year we're all set for Misano too!

Ben Spies rounds turn 9 at Misano

With that, it was back home for a few days before heading off (again) to Barcelona for the Motorland Aragon experience!  Arriving late into Barcelona it was then a solid 2-3hour drive to the lovely little village of Beceite. 

Beceite, Teruel

I stayed here last year and we loved it so much not only did we come back, but we rented the entire building to avoid the racket we suffered at the hands of a rather large group of excitable motorcyclists who were upstairs.  

Base camp Beceite!

This year, I shared the upstairs apartment with Andrew Northcott, Jules Cisek and his wife Bernadette.  Mr Motomatters, David Emmett, Jarno from Holland, Abraham (from Spain) and his friend occupied the floor we stayed on last year.That meant we had normality and tranquility upon our return from a busy day at the track.

Quite the dramatic scenery commute to work...

As before the drive to the track winds through some seriously spectacular scenery.  Jules Cisek ran his Go-Pro during one of our morning drives and hopefully, when he has edited the footage, we'll have something to share here...we'll just back track a bit.

Motorland Aragon race day

Motorland Aragon, as I explained last year, is out in the middle of nowhere, not far from the town of Alcaniz, which is also, out in the middle of nowhere.  That said, this area is chock full of history, especially related to The Renaissance, the invasions by the Moors, and long before that, the Romans and Greek.  Evidence in the forms of minarets, aqueducts and castles show the various cultural influences in the area.  It is well worth visit and a stay.

Tortosa

Race weekend came, sadly Friday was a morning only job.  A local transformer blew up and caught fire and that killed the power to the race track.  In the afternoon, because there was no timing and scoring, or power for anything it was decided to abandon the afternoons sessions.  Personally I felt the riders could've gone out and done some fan laps on scooters because there were an awful to of very disappointed fans in the stands who'd stuck out the heat and winds waiting for something to happen.  

The Great Wall of Aragon - dramatic and the perfect backdrop

But that's me I guess.  Someone was so miffed off that they threw their sandwich at ME!!  I thought that was funny, but still.  I do feel something should be on hand for moments like this.  After all, this is all about entertainment IMO.

Hayden rounding the mini-corkscrew

Race day rolls around, the factory Honda's roll out a rather interesting race day livery in some shocking orange colour (which initially I wasn't too keen on - but it looked good in photos).  

MotoGP Aragon race winner Casey Stoner

The race wasn't exactly earth shattering, and Casey Stoner didn't surprise anyone by winning...with Aragon in the bag, it was back to the house.

A cava moment with Casey Stoner

With my flights to Barcelona that would take me to Amsterdam leaving on Tuesday afternoon, I had all day Monday to futz around and take it easy.  So, I left the house about 1pm and drove over a huge range of mountains to coast and the seaside town of Peñíscola.  It was just a zip trip to snag some photos of the castle on the Mediterranean (and I was reliably informed that this was the location for the making of the film El Cid by David Emmett) and so with some images captured I took the long route back to the house.  

The castle at Peniscola

Returning in time to finish up dinner and celebrate Jules and Bernadettes wedding anniversary.  Which was a rather nice way to cap off a wonderful week in the Spanish interior.

The view from room 503 at CitizenM

Tuesday, I would drive to airport.  Eventually find my good friend Abel, have lunch, board my flight to Amsterdam and then spend a nice evening in my favourite hip-hotel at Schipol, CitizenM. The next day it would be an easy walk to the airport and eventually home.

Padron peppers - happy anniversary to Jules and Bernadette

Next up, Australia, Malaysia...but for now, I am enjoying my time at home.

......48

Shoya Tomizawa - Qatar 2010

Racing is dangerous. The week before 'we" lost the lovely Peter Lenz at Indianapolis, the sadness continued at Misano when "we" lost Shoya Tomizawa.  It was too much really.  When there's a death at a race track the air changes, the velocity at which things happen slows down to where you feel you're in some weird time warp. We're made painfully aware in a very short space of time how fragile life is.  For me, I think it wasn't a bad idea not to have a memorial at the race track.  Racing is about going forward, an optimistic sport where one is always looking to get to the front to win.  Everyone who enters or partakes in this sport, or any motorsport where high speed and hard objectives fly together knows the risks.

As I mentioned way back when the incident happened (on this blog).  I met Shoya when I had to shoot some images for Motorcycle Racer Magazine.  Polite, kind and with a permagrin on his face.  Although I can't say I knew him well, but from that point onwards there was always a good morning and a nod when you passed him in the paddock.  Anyways, if someone comes across this post then it's worth remembering that it's always a good point to leave people with good memories of oneself, when that day comes it would be nice to know that people missed "you" in the same way as people miss this talented and rather pleasant young man.

Indianapolis, Spies, Stoner, Rossi, AC and the flu

It was hot.

Casey Stoner

I thought the flu would be done and gone by the time the trip to Indy rolled around.  I guess I was wrong.  In fact the flu I contracted during the weekend at Brno, simply got worse.  The high temperatures and never ending air conditioning (AC) everywhere only served to cause me to think that I had actually spent my whole life working in a mine and had gone down with emphysema.  Every time I started to cough it never stopped, and never stopped, and never stopped and then only finally stopped when my lungs had completely expelled all the air contained within and I was dizzy from lack of oxygen. Fortunately for me Bob Starr at Yamaha had very kindly arranged for me to have a scooter.

Dani Pedrosa coming at me during the first lap

This was the first time in as long as I could remember that Emily would not be joining me for the race weekend due to school and work obligations.  So this would be the trip where I would not get to see her in over two weeks.  Something that does not fill me with joy.  However, I would spend the weekend with a good friend Nic Coury who is a journalist at the Monterey County Weekly.  So the company was more than welcome, and also it does help keep the costs down by being able to split the cost of food, accommodations and transportation.

Colin Edwards

I may have mentioned it somewhere else before, but Indy is a very challenging location to shoot racing.  The lack of service roads, having to negotiate crowds whilst on a scooter and lack of locations to shoot the track from can make for rather repetitive imagery. So there's a need to really test ones creative skills when working there.  

Gorls

So the weekend was hot.  The surface of infield section of the track had been repaved and was subsequently rather greasy for the riders.  The weather being so hot made me almost wish for the rain we had the year before, only because it adds another dimension to the imagery, and it does make life a little more tolerable, even if one has to deal with wet weather gear, protective covers and the lack of convenience that dry weather allows.  

Simoncelli

Once again all eyes were on Ben Spies, but also on Hayden and the other American Colin Edwards. This is the second home race of the season and as we remember, both Hayden and Spies have done well here in the past.  Did I mention it was hot over the weekend?  One thing you always forget about when you visit this huge concrete and steel structures is the residual heat that is reradiated back up from the concrete.

Tom, Greg and Ben, parc ferme

But it would turn out to be a weekend that neither Nicky Hayden or Valentino Rossi will want to remember...especially when it came to race day.....

Valentino Rossi

As I mentioned above, good friend Nic Coury was joining me for the weekend and was having a blast.  having never seen all three classes at one race (Laguna only has the GP class) it was a firs for him.  But boy howdy did that guy not need a scooter.  He walked everywhere and I was suitably impressed by the energy output!  Plus, he captured some really different images.Race day came, and even though it was dominated by Casey Stoner, with Dani Pedrosa coming in second, it was good to see Ben made it to the podium again for his home race.

The Pagoda and pitlane, race day morning

After getting up at 4am to run Nic to the airport for his trip back to California, I went back to the hotel, back to bed for a couple of hours and then packed up the car, headed to the airport and left for Italy and the next round from Misano on the Adriatic which is where I am writing this from now.

Italian country spicy sausage and vegetable soup, Indy style

However, even though I wasn't feeling too chipper, I still managed to crank out some fine dinners for us over the weekend in Indianapolis...however, I might just add, the blueberry bagels do not go too well with a country style sausage and vegetable soup, but they worked somewhat.  

Thanks for reading..

MotoGP is back! Stoner flies and Brno gets some colour...

Pretty.

When I first came to Brno, the apartment blocks you see in the distance were grey. Each time I visit some more of the apartment blocks have been painted, the colour just beams out during sunset as the suns' rays hit their structures. For me I love this view....at the end of this entry, you'll see an early morning sunrise over the same...

Saturday morning, damn track and some overambitious braking caused this little moment. He was unhurt, but the skill is in the eyes. Note; that as much as the bike has left its designed position (upright) he is still focussed on the upcoming left hander. Quite amazing, and even as the bike hits the ground, the next shot shows how he continues to look through he corner....

This was my fourth trip back to the Czech Republic for MotoGP. Each year it gets better and better. I stay in the same lovely apartment in a village just on the edge of Brno, near where the old GP track used to run. It's a short drive to the track, it's peaceful at night and the folks that own the property are simply the kindest, even going so far as to ask if we needed anything washed (Andrew Northcott shares with me here).

I arrived into Prague on the Tuesday, and after the two-hour drive to Brno, I get settled in and go food shopping (as I do everywhere). Come back, make dinner, chat with Emily and head off to bed. The next day I would take a trip to a castle boskovického hradu), similar to what I did a couple of years ago. It's a nice drive through the countryside and small villages with pastel coloured pointy roof houses, whilst watching out for the rather exuberant Czech driver (I have a Opel Astra diesel which isn't sluggish - but I'm determined to not draw the attention of the local police on this trip...plus I'm in no hurry).

The castle at boskovického hradu is privately owned and is a little "rusty" but after a nice stroll up a 1 in 4 hill the view is worth it...however, i decided to not stay too long as is this case in this region, thunder storms brew up pretty fast, and with that comes lightning. Even you regular homes have lightning conductors all over the roof as the storm they get around here can be extremely violent... 

By Thursday I had started feeling somewhat ropy, and as it would turn out by race day I had a full-blown flu. Ugh. Fortunately getting around this huge track, and it is huge, wasn't too bad as I had wheels. Friday the weather was okay, not too hot, but Saturday, as we expected we ended up having rain, however, it blew through and so qualifying wasn't going to be a wet event.

During the morning, and with a rather greasy and wet track it caught a few people out. Sadly, John Hopkins, who had a good Friday practice, would dump his bike in the same spot as Casey Stoner but would fare as well, breaking three fingers and putting him out of contention for Saturday afternoons qualifying. Which, considering his return to racing and taking things a little more seriously, has been impressive. So many people were hoping good things for him from this weekend.

Race day arrives, with Dani Pedrosa on pole, Jorge Lorenzo second on the front row with Casey taking up third spot. Ben Spies being fourth.

Sadly the race would go Dani's way and Jorge had front tyre issues. Ben, suffering a pinched nerve in his necked valiantly battled to fifth.

Marco Simoncelli would come out of the weekend by being the talk of race by actually getting on the podium, and not by race track antics and was obviously very pleased with his efforts.

Sunday, race weekend done and dusted some would leave to head home, and a few would remain for the tests that were scheduled for the Monday. Even though I wasn't feeling too chipper, there's something rather nice about not having any pressure to shoot and get a narrative of a race weekend when it comes to testing. So I simply took it easy and took pictures from places I had yet to discover or use from around the track. Being that I was leaving around 1 or 2pm to head back to my overnight hotel in Prague, I decided that I'd just shoot track.

So initially there were the old 800's running around, and then Ben popped out on his black clad Yamaha M1 2012 1000, Rossi and Hayden were runnign around still working on bits and bobs for the Ducati and Mika Kallio was out on the CRT Suter Marc VDS BMW powered MotoGP machine (which looked and sounded rather good) and the Jorge arrived on his black clad Yamaha M1 1000. The Honda's were out runnign around but in reality, there really wasn't any visual clues as to how different they were from their old 800 models.

So that was pretty much it. I stayed at the Monastery Hotel in Prague, as I do every trip prior to the trip home from the airport, had a lovely stay. Ate in the brewery next door and went to bed happy. Still not feeling that good, but knowing I was going home. Which is always a good thing.

Sadly the next couple of weeks are going to be a little testing. Indianapolis is next, then I fly on to Bologna for the MotoGP at Misano. Hopefully the races will not be as tragic as last years at either event. Then home for a few days before leaving for Spain yet again. I love my wife Emily. I miss her so much when I travel.