Sutton images are one of the world’s leading Motorsport picture agencies. Mark Sutton is one of the company’s main photographers. He is now known around the world as one of the leading, most respected photographers. Mark and his brother Keith co-own Sutton Images and have taken the company from strength to strength. Both Mark and Keith have taken been taking professional Motorsport photo's for 30 years. Since the 1960's Sutton Images have built up over 700,000 Motorsport photo's in their archive.
I spoke to Mark and got a better insight into the life and mind of a photographer. I recently interviewed Darren Heath, another respected F1 photographer, so I was eager to see the similarities and differences between their views. Here is the interview, behind the lens, with Mark Sutton.
My Dad was a huge race fan and went to Oulton Park back in the late fifties and early sixties with his mates from work, so then when we were born, my mother said get them out of the house to give me a break, so we were taken as young boys to the races, then at 17 my brother got a pass to make the photo's at Oulton as my Dad knew the circuit manager and using a Practica body and two lenses he was able to get closer and feel what it was like in front of the fence! and get more and more experience. We both went to college to learn photography and worked at photo studios in Manchester, mine was Kilham and Cartwright in Ardwick, where we did studio photography, so learnt about lighting and the bigger format, but this taught me allot. My first race was 1983, Keith had been already Senna's photographer from 1981-1983, so I helped him when he was covering other events, I took a Nikon FM with no winder and was there as Senna went down the inside of Brundle, 'Click' and wind, next thing they had crashed on top of each other and I clicked away as Senna got from out his car and looked at the Wreckage, I sort of got the lot and those images were used everywhere,
shame I did not have a motordrive.
2) What was your first experience of F1? Have you always been a fan?
My first experience of F1 was at the F1 testing session at Silverstone again in 1983 and also that year covering the Senna Toleman and McLaren tests at Silverstone, I was very scared and not sure what you were allowed to take photos of and how close you could go, but I watched and looked at the other photographers and learnt and also always checked the magazines and images in those editions at the angles and way they take the images of
the F1 cars.
After 1983 I got a full time job at the Studio in Manchester and like I said before it was an amazing experience, then in 1985 I joined my brother Keith to work at his house he bought in Towcester and we started Sutton Photographic from a three-bed terraced house and my bedroom was the office as well, I then started covering a race nearly every weekend to learn
everything and gain experience, so FF1600, FF2000, F3, BTCC, Le Mans, F3000, anything that moved in those early years I covered in the UK and Europe.
In fact my first race as a professional I was at Silverstone F3 meeting in March, it was a practise day, raining hard and I was out there in the pouring rain, god knows why, but I wanted to be there and shoot every session and then I was trying to shoot in the mist and Anthony Reid in his Saab Reynard tried braking but was too late and he hit the car in front and launched over the somersaulted over again and headed towards me and the catch-fencing and stopped and I had taken the whole lot, I also got a shot of him walking away to finish the sequence and show he was ok. I went back to the office immediately and processed the film in a dev tank and saw the negs and it was an amazing sequence, then set about printing them all afternoon and finished late in the evening with about 20 sets and next day headed with Keith into the Media centre and handed out the sets to the media. Next day Monday Daily Express used X5 frames, wow what a buzz it was so exciting and I wanted more and more.
4) Do you have any favourite tracks to photograph?
I love Monaco, although because of safety the fencing around the track has increased every year, but there are still some amazing positions where you could touch the car if you wanted as they go past you at near 200MPH, its the fact there are Yachts/Famous buildings/Corners/Glamorous women and amazing collection of road cars around the whole area and then when the F1 cars stop, they open up the roads again to normal traffic in the evenings. So as a spectator you can walk where Button or Hamilton might have been
racing a few hours ago and there is the Pirelli rubber on the side of the road or the tyre marks on the Kerbing. Also there are lots of events in Monaco far more than any other race and an extra day for the principality to make extra cash at the casino and charge you for X5 nights in the hotel, but its always buzzing and lively, in fact never a dull moment. I think also the key is getting in the building which you also want to shoot against like the Cafe de Paris or Hermitage, these offer amazing views from the bedrooms or balconies, with yachts and the sea as the backdrop, this is also important to offer variety, not just tight in car shots, Monaco is not about that.
Over the past few years I think Sebastian Vettel, I cover a lot of the track walks which happens every race, every year the driver walk the circuit with there engineers and trainers to check the track condition, Kerbs, paint on the Kerbs, run-offs, cones and just generally get a feel which I think gives them confidence and reminds them of each track, I tend to follow then down to the first corner then wait for the next one, its a long process but when Seb arrives he normally is chirpy and laughing before he arrives and then starts joking and enjoying his lap and waves his arms or pulls silly faces, I love it and fire off a great sequence and then his trainer says, 'another great sequence Mark', look forward to laughing at them later with Seb and it brightens up my day as well. There are others as well that provide great expressions and of course the Parc Ferme is all smiles and the podium as well.
Well I have not really done much photography in the UK for years as I have been covering all the F1 races now since 1992 season, but did cover a week day test last year at Donington Park and was great to go back there, where its not really changed and I loved it on track, some great angles to shoot and easy access in your car to drive around the outer or inner roads like my old days of F3 and BTCC, its a great place to start your photography and
I also remember the amazing lap of Senna in 1993 in the McLaren.
Yes, it changed allot the situation for where to position yourself in the race, as we never really saw so much overtaking, but tyres also played a big part in 2011 and there was lots of issues with them going off which then created more pit-stops, I think DRS and were mainly used together to get that overtaking, its a bit gimmicky for me, but creates interest for
the fans and TV loves action and incidents, so its staying for 2012 and I hope we get a closer season with all the top teams competing. I think for sure one of them will again invent something new and try and move ahead of the game and find away around the rules as always, there are so many clever people out there in F1.
The only negative is being away from my family and the travelling can be tiresome by the end of the season, but now we have a X3 week break in August to re-fresh our batteries for the final races, so I think now it's perfect for everyone in F1, the positives are when you get an image exclusive or a crash sequence or you make a decision to try something new
and it works perfectly, everything is right, shutter speed, exposure and framing, its so nice and a buzz when everything worked out perfect. I remember shoot Jenson Button 2009 he had just won the championship, I had got nothing after he got out of the car and then ran down the pit lane, we were all falling over each other and the images were so bad, then I thought I go to the fence, we shouted to Jenson' Get your helmet off' and I decided
right throw your camera to the floor as I saw him then coming towards me, I let go of the body and 70-200 it hit the floor hard and raised the 2nd body and 14-35 I had borrowed from a Brazilian photographer up and then there he was right in front of me smiling /shouting/raising his finger, one-two-three-four I shot and then he went away! I got it! I shouted as well, in fact screamed it was pure emotion and I was shaking, I looked in the back of the camera, they were amazing images, right I looked up and off to the wire room! The images were downloaded and sent and I thought nothing of it, maybe someone uses them, maybe not. We arrive back in the UK on the same flight as all the big agencies and they start looking at the papers for their shots, but no its ALL my images and Yes I did it and it was all worth the while and then more and more! Amazing buzz!
Yes, we are going to back to the USA and Austin, Texas, I was lucky enough to visit there in June last year and meet lots of people at the track and make some great images and see the city of Austin and I am sure they are going to really like F1 and F1 is going to like Austin and the city of Texas and the people there, they will really embrace F1 and I know it will
be a huge success and the track is going to be amazing, like all the best circuits and corners put together into one, the drivers actually helped design the track with lots of their ideas. Kimi is back and there will X6 World Champions on the grid in 2012, so its going to be amazing to see how he goes and if we can get X6 teams battling together for each race, that is what we want to see.
12) Finally Do you have any advice for people who are trying to get into the industry you are in? Any pointers and tips to make the photo's the best they can be?
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| © Sutton Images |
1) Firstly thank you Mark for answering these questions, i am sure we will see a completely different insight into Motorsport and F1 Photography. How did you get into the photography Industry? What was your first project?
My Dad was a huge race fan and went to Oulton Park back in the late fifties and early sixties with his mates from work, so then when we were born, my mother said get them out of the house to give me a break, so we were taken as young boys to the races, then at 17 my brother got a pass to make the photo's at Oulton as my Dad knew the circuit manager and using a Practica body and two lenses he was able to get closer and feel what it was like in front of the fence! and get more and more experience. We both went to college to learn photography and worked at photo studios in Manchester, mine was Kilham and Cartwright in Ardwick, where we did studio photography, so learnt about lighting and the bigger format, but this taught me allot. My first race was 1983, Keith had been already Senna's photographer from 1981-1983, so I helped him when he was covering other events, I took a Nikon FM with no winder and was there as Senna went down the inside of Brundle, 'Click' and wind, next thing they had crashed on top of each other and I clicked away as Senna got from out his car and looked at the Wreckage, I sort of got the lot and those images were used everywhere,shame I did not have a motordrive.
2) What was your first experience of F1? Have you always been a fan?
My first experience of F1 was at the F1 testing session at Silverstone again in 1983 and also that year covering the Senna Toleman and McLaren tests at Silverstone, I was very scared and not sure what you were allowed to take photos of and how close you could go, but I watched and looked at the other photographers and learnt and also always checked the magazines and images in those editions at the angles and way they take the images of
the F1 cars.
3) What was your first F1 Photography project?
After 1983 I got a full time job at the Studio in Manchester and like I said before it was an amazing experience, then in 1985 I joined my brother Keith to work at his house he bought in Towcester and we started Sutton Photographic from a three-bed terraced house and my bedroom was the office as well, I then started covering a race nearly every weekend to learn
everything and gain experience, so FF1600, FF2000, F3, BTCC, Le Mans, F3000, anything that moved in those early years I covered in the UK and Europe.
In fact my first race as a professional I was at Silverstone F3 meeting in March, it was a practise day, raining hard and I was out there in the pouring rain, god knows why, but I wanted to be there and shoot every session and then I was trying to shoot in the mist and Anthony Reid in his Saab Reynard tried braking but was too late and he hit the car in front and launched over the somersaulted over again and headed towards me and the catch-fencing and stopped and I had taken the whole lot, I also got a shot of him walking away to finish the sequence and show he was ok. I went back to the office immediately and processed the film in a dev tank and saw the negs and it was an amazing sequence, then set about printing them all afternoon and finished late in the evening with about 20 sets and next day headed with Keith into the Media centre and handed out the sets to the media. Next day Monday Daily Express used X5 frames, wow what a buzz it was so exciting and I wanted more and more.
and my first F1 race outside Europe was Phoenix in 1990 and it taught me so much more and was amazing to see all those experienced and famous F1 photographers from the images I was still seeing in the F1 magazines and now try and emulate them and get better.
I love Monaco, although because of safety the fencing around the track has increased every year, but there are still some amazing positions where you could touch the car if you wanted as they go past you at near 200MPH, its the fact there are Yachts/Famous buildings/Corners/Glamorous women and amazing collection of road cars around the whole area and then when the F1 cars stop, they open up the roads again to normal traffic in the evenings. So as a spectator you can walk where Button or Hamilton might have beenracing a few hours ago and there is the Pirelli rubber on the side of the road or the tyre marks on the Kerbing. Also there are lots of events in Monaco far more than any other race and an extra day for the principality to make extra cash at the casino and charge you for X5 nights in the hotel, but its always buzzing and lively, in fact never a dull moment. I think also the key is getting in the building which you also want to shoot against like the Cafe de Paris or Hermitage, these offer amazing views from the bedrooms or balconies, with yachts and the sea as the backdrop, this is also important to offer variety, not just tight in car shots, Monaco is not about that.
5) Who are the best drivers to photograph in F1?
Over the past few years I think Sebastian Vettel, I cover a lot of the track walks which happens every race, every year the driver walk the circuit with there engineers and trainers to check the track condition, Kerbs, paint on the Kerbs, run-offs, cones and just generally get a feel which I think gives them confidence and reminds them of each track, I tend to follow then down to the first corner then wait for the next one, its a long process but when Seb arrives he normally is chirpy and laughing before he arrives and then starts joking and enjoying his lap and waves his arms or pulls silly faces, I love it and fire off a great sequence and then his trainer says, 'another great sequence Mark', look forward to laughing at them later with Seb and it brightens up my day as well. There are others as well that provide great expressions and of course the Parc Ferme is all smiles and the podium as well.
6) What do you think about photographing here in the UK at the British
tracks?
tracks?
Well I have not really done much photography in the UK for years as I have been covering all the F1 races now since 1992 season, but did cover a week day test last year at Donington Park and was great to go back there, where its not really changed and I loved it on track, some great angles to shoot and easy access in your car to drive around the outer or inner roads like my old days of F3 and BTCC, its a great place to start your photography and
I also remember the amazing lap of Senna in 1993 in the McLaren.
7) In 2011 there were alot of changed to F1 like KERS, DRS and Pirelli Tyres. Does this benefit your photography and what did you think of the changes?
Yes, it changed allot the situation for where to position yourself in the race, as we never really saw so much overtaking, but tyres also played a big part in 2011 and there was lots of issues with them going off which then created more pit-stops, I think DRS and were mainly used together to get that overtaking, its a bit gimmicky for me, but creates interest for
the fans and TV loves action and incidents, so its staying for 2012 and I hope we get a closer season with all the top teams competing. I think for sure one of them will again invent something new and try and move ahead of the game and find away around the rules as always, there are so many clever people out there in F1.
8) Do you have any favourite pictures you have taken? If so which ones?
My Favourite image and most famous one is called simply 'The Flying Finn' as signed by Mika Hakkinen. I was out on the circuit in Adelaide in 1993 for practise with lots of other photographers, the light was perfect for a pan against the Curb and fence, slow shutter speed at 1/125th of a second, which gave a great blur and your could not see the fencing really, I was positioned behind a advertising board, so difficult to shoot really, but it
was a good shot, then I heard a screech of the brakes and looked over and just fired at the car that leaped over the Curb, three frames I think I got, I was not really sure what I got, the car landed ok and went back to the pits, we all looked at each other and said the same words, 'did you get that' and I said nothing being only my 2nd full year, I was not a big head
who gloated, so just said not sure maybe and the others all said 'no, missed that one', so I went back to the paddock and said nothing, put the films in for overnight processing and waited till the morning. Woke up excited at what lay ahead, the films arrived in the Photographers room and we started trawling through the films that were in long strips of 36 and then came to film on the light box with the magnifying glass and my brother Keith went 'oh my god, its awesome, its unbelievable' and everyone gathered around for a look and I was smiling and then Keith said, right can we get X3 20x16 prints straight away and X50 duplicates off the original please to the lab, they ran back and arrived back within a few hours with everything. Now the move was to show Mika, I knew him from F3 and Lotus F1, so went straight into the hospitality and showed it him and said can I get an autograph please Mika, everyone again crowded around and were amazed how high the car was and then asked Mika why was there no damage and I remember a blip on the telemetry, now we know why! So Mika signed the X3 prints 'The Flying Finn' and mine is above my desk here, one in Keke Rosberg's office and the other to the lab who turned everything around so quickly and then we started giving out the dupes again to sell this image as much as we can
and it sold big time and still sells now and is probably one of the biggest sellers to date!
was a good shot, then I heard a screech of the brakes and looked over and just fired at the car that leaped over the Curb, three frames I think I got, I was not really sure what I got, the car landed ok and went back to the pits, we all looked at each other and said the same words, 'did you get that' and I said nothing being only my 2nd full year, I was not a big head
who gloated, so just said not sure maybe and the others all said 'no, missed that one', so I went back to the paddock and said nothing, put the films in for overnight processing and waited till the morning. Woke up excited at what lay ahead, the films arrived in the Photographers room and we started trawling through the films that were in long strips of 36 and then came to film on the light box with the magnifying glass and my brother Keith went 'oh my god, its awesome, its unbelievable' and everyone gathered around for a look and I was smiling and then Keith said, right can we get X3 20x16 prints straight away and X50 duplicates off the original please to the lab, they ran back and arrived back within a few hours with everything. Now the move was to show Mika, I knew him from F3 and Lotus F1, so went straight into the hospitality and showed it him and said can I get an autograph please Mika, everyone again crowded around and were amazed how high the car was and then asked Mika why was there no damage and I remember a blip on the telemetry, now we know why! So Mika signed the X3 prints 'The Flying Finn' and mine is above my desk here, one in Keke Rosberg's office and the other to the lab who turned everything around so quickly and then we started giving out the dupes again to sell this image as much as we can
and it sold big time and still sells now and is probably one of the biggest sellers to date!
9) What elements do you think make a great F1 photograph?
I think what makes a great image is looking at the light and location and thinking ahead of the game and sometimes of course its about being in theright place at the right time, but in most cases its also about checking the locations for the images and seeing where the light is going during the day and deciding if it makes a good image, sometimes you might have some lucky shot, but knowing the circuit, person, car and light really helps, its like its part of your life to know these things. Also having the passion and desire to be a photography, its not just a job, you need to love it and like me its also a hobby as well and having been brought up with Motor sports, its in my blood!
10) What are the negatives and positives of your job?
The only negative is being away from my family and the travelling can be tiresome by the end of the season, but now we have a X3 week break in August to re-fresh our batteries for the final races, so I think now it's perfect for everyone in F1, the positives are when you get an image exclusive or a crash sequence or you make a decision to try something newand it works perfectly, everything is right, shutter speed, exposure and framing, its so nice and a buzz when everything worked out perfect. I remember shoot Jenson Button 2009 he had just won the championship, I had got nothing after he got out of the car and then ran down the pit lane, we were all falling over each other and the images were so bad, then I thought I go to the fence, we shouted to Jenson' Get your helmet off' and I decided
right throw your camera to the floor as I saw him then coming towards me, I let go of the body and 70-200 it hit the floor hard and raised the 2nd body and 14-35 I had borrowed from a Brazilian photographer up and then there he was right in front of me smiling /shouting/raising his finger, one-two-three-four I shot and then he went away! I got it! I shouted as well, in fact screamed it was pure emotion and I was shaking, I looked in the back of the camera, they were amazing images, right I looked up and off to the wire room! The images were downloaded and sent and I thought nothing of it, maybe someone uses them, maybe not. We arrive back in the UK on the same flight as all the big agencies and they start looking at the papers for their shots, but no its ALL my images and Yes I did it and it was all worth the while and then more and more! Amazing buzz!
11) Will 2012 bring anything new and what are you most looking forward to?
Yes, we are going to back to the USA and Austin, Texas, I was lucky enough to visit there in June last year and meet lots of people at the track and make some great images and see the city of Austin and I am sure they are going to really like F1 and F1 is going to like Austin and the city of Texas and the people there, they will really embrace F1 and I know it willbe a huge success and the track is going to be amazing, like all the best circuits and corners put together into one, the drivers actually helped design the track with lots of their ideas. Kimi is back and there will X6 World Champions on the grid in 2012, so its going to be amazing to see how he goes and if we can get X6 teams battling together for each race, that is what we want to see.
12) Finally Do you have any advice for people who are trying to get into the industry you are in? Any pointers and tips to make the photo's the best they can be?
I think just practise makes perfect is a saying that lots people say, but its true in Photography and having a passion for the sports, knowing everything you can, but also starting in the lower formulae and learning with slower cars and then building up the speed, shoot your local football or Rugby, use your kids sporting events if your allowed to get lots of practise at different sports and lighting, use different shutter speeds to experiment and most of all, enjoy it, if your not, then I think maybe its not for you.
Thank you very much Mark for answering my questions. I know after the interview with Darren Heath alot of questions were left unanswered so its great to see so much detail in Mark's answers. Such a great story about when Jenson Button won the title in Brazil, you never see those things on TV but you can imagine how frantic it is behind the lens. I have to agree with Mark too, Monaco is by far one of the best places to photograph. Whenever i look at a photo from Monaco it really makes me want to go there. Plus, i am sure it was not too bad for Mark spending some time there.
All images in this interview are thanks to Sutton Images and all copyright goes to them.
Here are all the links to Sutton Images:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/suttonimages
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/yLs53K
Website: http://www.sutton-images.com/
Thank you very much Mark for answering my questions. I know after the interview with Darren Heath alot of questions were left unanswered so its great to see so much detail in Mark's answers. Such a great story about when Jenson Button won the title in Brazil, you never see those things on TV but you can imagine how frantic it is behind the lens. I have to agree with Mark too, Monaco is by far one of the best places to photograph. Whenever i look at a photo from Monaco it really makes me want to go there. Plus, i am sure it was not too bad for Mark spending some time there.
All images in this interview are thanks to Sutton Images and all copyright goes to them.Here are all the links to Sutton Images:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/suttonimages
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/yLs53K
Website: http://www.sutton-images.com/
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