Last week wasn’t a regular week, I managed to schedule 4 different shoots in a row, starting in the South West of England, then later in the week in North Wales. I decided that my Lotus Exige, “Hell Slow”, would make the week away a bit more fun! Little did I know how crazy the weather would be…
The first shoot was for Drivetribe, at their first live event. I was shooting the event for them, but they kindly also let me display the car. Richard Hammond even said a few positive words about the car to me which was a slight pinch myself moment!
It’s always fun to display the car, especially along side some cool and well known cars. I’m sure you’ll recognise “Phil”.
It was the perfect car event, in perfect weather. I stayed in Glastonbury as the next stop was in Bristol area. This gave me the opportunity to stop off at Cheddar Gorge on the way through, and it seems I got the timing perfect as I had the place to myself!
I then proceeded to head down to Exeter for a shoot for Caterham of their Project V electric car at an incredible location. I’m sure that will come in a new blog post soon once the photos are released!
The following day, I was shooting for Mini, the shoot went brilliantly with perfect conditions. Here is a little sneak peak of one of the shots:
The following day, the weather then started to turn, but that didn’t put me off. I set off from Bristol to North Wales, with a couple of waypoints set for some stunning spots.
I have no idea where this road is, but it was brilliant fun!
I eventually set the nav for a place called “Devils Staircase”, which was a single lane road, but with spectacular roads. I can’t say the drive was enjoyable, worrying about scraping the car on steep inclines, but I had a great time shooting the car.
You may be wondering why the car has no wing on it… I designed the car to be able to run with and without the wing, with specially designed fins to fill the slots in the clam when the wing is removed. It’s a 5 minute job to swap over, and I love how the character of the car totally changes.
The drive up was a bit exhausting, so my plans of doing some night photos of the Exige were scrapped in favour of an early night. The heavy downpour also cemented that this was the right choice, and when I woke up the next morning, the light was looking very interesting, so I rushed to the beach for some shots and was met with some incredible conditions, with big puddles all over the beach which gave me some amazing reflections!
The last part of the shoot was for Ring Automotive, and the shots from that will be on their website and channels soon.
One thing I love about the Lotus in Wales is that you actually don’t have to drive fast to enjoy the roads, a combination of taking in the scenery and carrying a bit of speed through the corners is enough to feel worth it. Here are a few shots on one of the beautiful mountain roads we used as a location in North Wales.
I think you’ll agree that Wales can be really quite special!
That evening onwards things didn’t quite go to plan… The rain really came in, to the extent that it was a named storm. At about 11pm, I decided to stop overnight in Shrewsbury so I could finish the drive in nicer conditions the next day. That was a big mistake as I woke up to find it wasn’t possible to leave as the only exit was flooded several feet deep. The waiting game began, and I ended up having to stay another evening to let things clear before the 200 mile drive home.
The Exige made the week away an actual adventure, even if it was frustrating at times, especially having a passenger seat full of camera equipment. I’d do it again in a heartbeat though, and I hope it inspires others that cars are meant to be driven and enjoyed!
