{"id":50424,"date":"2018-03-07T10:52:19","date_gmt":"2018-03-07T10:52:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.influx.co.uk\/?p=50424"},"modified":"2018-03-07T10:52:19","modified_gmt":"2018-03-07T10:52:19","slug":"focus-dan-bathie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/people\/focus-dan-bathie\/","title":{"rendered":"FOCUS on Dan Bathie"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Our FOCUS for this edition is Dan Bathie
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Taking a love of cars and motorsport and turning that into your career is a dream for many, and Dan Bathie’s skill behind the shutter meant he’s been able to do just that.<\/p>\n

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Influx: How did you get into photography? \u2028 \u2028<\/em><\/p>\n

Bathie: “It actually came from my love of motorsport. I\u2019ve always been a huge fan of cars ever since I could speak really but I didn\u2019t really get into photography until later. In fact, my parents gave me a Fisher Price camera one birthday and I just ended up taking photos of the ceiling. I wasn\u2019t good! I borrowed my dad\u2019s compact camera at the Renault World Series event at Donington in 2007 and found myself enjoying the challenge of capturing the event more than the event itself. From there I got myself a bridge camera, went along to a few events the next year and that was it – I was hooked.<\/p>\n

“I used Flickr to share images and get critique and ended up getting my first professional job through a contact from Flickr. That turned into our creating own magazine, called l’endurance, with a guy called Jake Yorath. It really kick-started my career and I made a lot of contacts which in this industry is very helpful. It was actually one of these contacts that lead me to become a founding member of the Spacesuit collective. I met Shiv Gohil<\/a> briefly one British GT race, sometime later I got a call out of the blue asking if I could cover for him for a Formula E race in Buenos Aires the next week! Next thing I knew, I was part of the team, flying all over the world covering Formula E with Spacesuit.”<\/p>\n

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Influx: What kind of subjects do you like to shoot?<\/em><\/p>\n

Bathie: “Initially it was purely just cars, but as I learnt more about photography, the photography took over as my passion. I enjoy trying to capture the feel of an event or a place if I can – a race is much more than just cars, I\u2019ve learnt. I really enjoy capturing mechanics and team members at work; they often get overlooked but have an incredibly important and tough job, so there\u2019s often a lot of stories to tell. Recently I\u2019ve done more road car shoots with my work for Porsche GB. It\u2019s actually more different than you\u2019d think from motorsport photography, often there\u2019s a lot more you can control which takes some getting used to, but it\u2019s a great challenge. In my spare time, I\u2019ve been trying to do more landscape photography, just as a hobby.\u2028”<\/p>\n

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Influx: Are there any images you\u2019re particularly proud of?<\/em><\/p>\n

Bathie: “There are a few that stick with me, sometimes it\u2019s more for the moment than maybe technically how good the image was. I tend to be quite a harsh critic on myself though, and so while I might love a set of images straight after I\u2019ve taken it, looking back a week, or even a year later I won’t be so happy. It keeps me trying to produce better shots which is a good thing I suppose!<\/p>\n

“The 24 Hours of Le Mans race always offers opportunities to capture amazing images that I can really be proud of. I think it\u2019s a combination of the circuit which is like no other and the history of the place. I feel very privileged whenever I get to go trackside at Le Mans.<\/p>\n

\"Bathie<\/a><\/figure>\n

“This shot was taken at sunset last year. You always hope for a proper sunset, and that year we got one. That light, that circuit, those cars. It\u2019s a great moment not just as a photographer but as a fan of the sport.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Another shot that stands out is one from the British Grand Prix in 2016. After the race, I waited in the pit lane in case Lewis Hamilton came out to celebrate with the thousands of fans. He appeared finally and a mad scramble broke out trying to capture him. It was chaotic but I managed to be at the right place when he reached down to a young fan. It\u2019ll always be a favourite image of mine.”<\/p>\n

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Influx: How do you feel about camera phones?<\/em><\/p>\n

Bathie: “Honestly my phone is one of my favourite cameras. When you carry so much camera gear around for your job at races, there\u2019s something so nice at having a camera that\u2019s in your pocket! Having it with you all the time means you can capture things you\u2019d miss otherwise. In 2012 I went to Le Mans and left all my DSLRs behind and just took my phone and used Instagram to capture the event, which we then made into an online issue for the magazine I was working with. It was actually a big hit and one of my favourite pieces of work. Phones seem to have got more people into photography now as well, which I think is great. Photography should be fun.”<\/p>\n

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Influx: Is there a particular race, race series, person or vehicle you\u2019d love to shoot one day?<\/em><\/p>\n

Bathie: “I feel very lucky to have ticked a lot of my photography bucket list off, but there\u2019s a lot I still want to shoot. I\u2019d love to shoot NASCAR and also the Indy 500 – Americans do the show side of sport very well so there\u2019s a lot of colour and drama to capture. WRC is always something I like to do, it\u2019s so difficult but very rewarding when you get it right. I\u2019ve done the Monte Carlo Rallye once but would love to do it again with more snow and more preparation!<\/p>\n

“Formula One was always the goal when I started getting into photography but it\u2019s faded a bit for me. I was lucky to get to shoot the British Grand Prix twice as a prize for winning the MSA Young Motorsport Photographer of the year in 2016 and while it was an amazing experience, it was just a bit sterile really. Saying that, if ever the opportunity came around to shoot the Monaco Grand Prix I\u2019d take it!<\/p>\n

“What\u2019s great about working with Spacesuit and Spacesuit Collections is that there\u2019s always an opportunity to do something new and cool. The Spacesuit team is always looking for new ideas for shoots or events to cover, and I know that I can photograph whatever it is in an artistic style. You never know what\u2019s going to be around the corner!”<\/p>\n

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Influx: What makes a good photo?<\/em><\/p>\n

Bathie: “That\u2019s a very tricky question! For me, I\u2019m happiest with my own work when I make the best use of a certain lighting condition, or capture that one moment of elation, sadness, interaction, whatever it may be. I think knowledge of the subject you\u2019re shooting really helps to get the best photos: you know what to look out for, whether it be a car sparking at a certain place or a driver rivalry that could come to blows. Sometimes it is pure luck that you get a great photo, but I think planning comes into it a lot.”<\/p>\n

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Influx: What advice would you give yourself if you could travel back ten years?<\/em><\/p>\n

“I suppose I would tell myself to experiment more with photographic styles and portraits, rather than focusing so much on motorsport – take my camera out a bit more, build up those skills that can be applied to any genre.<\/p>\n

“When I started, I thought OK, I\u2019m taking pictures of cars, so that\u2019s all I really need to do. I know now that there\u2019s much more to it than that!”<\/strong><\/p>\n

More of Dan Bathie\u2019s work can be found on his\u00a0website<\/a>\u00a0or at\u00a0Spacesuit Collections<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\t\t