Another year has just ended, and it was a great one with so many surprises and unexpected moments. For me, it was a year of change and the six-month break right in the middle, contributed to it significantly. I’ve managed to pull off some great photoshoots, met a lot of interesting people, officially started my YouTube channel, rebuilt nineteen80one website from ground up, updated my retouching flows, learnt a lot of new things, but most importantly – Nineteen80one became a limited company from August. It was a great year.
Some would argue it’s the end of a decade, it’s not, but it is definitely a good time to look back and acknowledge the good job we did, and think how we can learn from our mistakes. I normally create a short summary of my work, but this time I decided to make it not-so-short and more detailed. Every picture has a story, and it is not just a collection of random images without any comments. I want to say a bit more about some of my work and tell you which are the five best photos.
I hope you enjoy this post in the new format.
Happy reading and watching!
Top 5 automotive & aviation photos
I am starting from the top five as these are probably the most exciting shot from 2019. Of course, this is a very subjective list, and it wasn’t easy to choose only five photos from all the pictures I worked on in 2019. It’s a mix of commercial photography and personal projects. There is no rule, as long as I like the photo, enjoyed the project and I believe it is worth sharing it with you.
Watch the video, and I will tell you more about my top 5 pictures from 2019!
Or skip the video and go straight to the list.
5 Autumn Elise Drive
I like this shot and not only because that’s my car. It was taken just down the road where I live, and I was lucky enough to discover this beautiful place. Without all the leaves and autumn mood, this road does not look that impressive, believe me, I see it daily.
The photo is a little bit different compared to my regular work and reminds me that I love bright, on-location photo shoots as much as dark and moody pictures with artificial light.
4 Blackberry Jaguar F-Type R
This is one of the pictures from a photoshoot I did back in October at Silverstone. Definitely, my favourite one and I enjoyed shooting and postprocessing this piece. Most importantly, my client was happy with the final results.
I spent over seven hours retouching this particular shot to get it right. The amount of work put into this one paid off. It also helped me to practice my new retouching flow, and probably that’s why I spent a little bit more time than I would typically have.
You can read more about this car and the photoshoot in a blog post from a while ago – Thrill and Excitement. Jaguar F-Type R
3 Halloween Lamborhini Huracan
This was fun! The initial idea was to find an orange car that will be used to create a Halloween themed image. I had this it in my mind for a while now, and only recently, I had enough time and found the perfect car to make it happen — Matt orange Huracan Pertormante. I’m pleased with the final result.
I knew this photo would require quite a lot of work, but it’s not too hard, so I recorded the whole postprocessing from Photoshop and Lightroom. I then later created my first proper Youtube video, which explains all steps and how pictures like that are created. You can find in my previous blogpost and of course, on my YT channel, so make sure you check it out – The Making Of Series. Lamborghini Huracan Performante.
Mark of Excellence in I-SHOT-IT competition at the end of 2019 is just a cherry on the top of this beautiful orange cake.
2 AgustaWestland AW109
The picture is a visual proof that sometimes approaching things more casually and without a serious plan, can create results beyond our expectations.
We ended shooting the helicopter at client’s site a little bit earlier than expected and decided to use the spare hour the best we can – shooting a little bit more. We towed the Agusta back to the hangar, position it right in the middle (which is not as easy as it sounds), and I took photos for the last picture from the day – moody & dark. It was a great opportunity to try something new as you don’t often see aviation photography like that.
Winner in I-SHOT-IT Competition Transport & Cars category in December 2019.
1 Lotus 3-Eleven #311
Back in 2016, I was lucky enough to shoot at Goodwood the very dealer-delivered Lotus 3-Eleven in green and yellow.You can find a blog post on my website from that day – The fastest Lotus ever. Lotus 3-Eleven. I could not miss the opportunity to shoot another 3-Eleven when I found out this one has a chassis number “311”. A very special car, plus it looks amazing in black matt body with glossy stripes.
I wanted these pictures to be moody and dark. I tried different things including shooting outside, light painting but ultimately I settled down on shooting inside with strobe light. One little twist to this photoshoot – LED light panels to create a different light source and add a bit of distraction to the picture.
I consider this the best picture of the 2019. I love the car, I enjoyed the photoshoot, I had a chance to be creative and do things my way and the final result is just stunning. Definitely one of my best pics not only this year, but probably from the whole decade. You can see more o this car on a blog post I created a while ago – Chassis no. 311 of 311. Lotus 3-Eleven.
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The best pictures of 2019
Now, since we’ve got the Top 5 out of the way, let’s have a look at other pictures from the last year. These are again a mix of different type of photoshoots. From personal projects, through events, motorsport, commercial, car and aviation photography. This year I even managed to add some product photoshoots on top of my regular work. Please note that this is a small selection from everything I did and even some of these pics I never posted last year on my website, Instagram or Facebook accounts. I will make sure to fix that soon and share more, once I have a few spare moments.
Caterham 420S
I haven’t shared pics from this photoshoot as I’m still working on them. Beautiful Caterham 420S in probably the best colour I have ever seen – Volcano Red. This is the car I also used for this year’s Christmas and New Year card.
Agusta AW109
You saw the hangar shot with the Agusta, and this is what we were doing outside — shooting at Biggin Hill airport in the beautiful morning sun. All the pics came out lovely, but I like this one in particular.
Aircraft Interior
tLuxury interior of an AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter in a “board room” configuration. Well, if you need to fly in style and peace, this is a machine that will tick all the boxes. It is an excellent example aviation photography and how beautiful aircraft interiors can be.
Bicester Heritage
This was my first trip to Bicester Heritage, and I really like it. Although the event was about stance and tuning, I couldn’t resist snapping this beauty. The background works very well and the car was simply stunning. I loved the light coming through massive doors, and that shadow… Perfect.
Go-karting Truxton
Go-karting session at Truxton. Not only photos, but we also had a proper go around the track, and it’s lovely. These karts are properly fast and a lot of fun. I’m surprised we did get such good weather too.
10 Years
Lotus Evora owned by the organiser of Lotus meetings at Newlands Corner, shoot through glass of a Lotus Elise. It has been 10 years since we started our tradition of regular bacon rolls in the morning.
Hennessey Venom F5
Amazing Venom F5. I took pictures of this car a long time ago, but only recently had a new idea for postprocessing. You can find more photos of this fantastic machine on Instagram and Facebook.
Ferrari California
This is another shot (set) with a massive delay. Ferrari California anbd only recently I found some time to come up with a new idea. I always thought a car like this must be fun to drive from the south and sunny coastline to mountainous and curvy roads in the north of Tenerife island.
Alex Fiorio & Didier Auriol
Although I took some pictures of cars, my main focus throughout the day was following Alex, Didier and Eduardo Bresolin. This was at Castle Combe at Rally Legends event – a day fully packed with rally cars and legendary rally drivers. It is always great to be out and do something a bit different.
I appreciate being able to give a brief and have complete trust to capture what I need for my projects.
Tools of Art
More product photography, but this time I focused on my gear. The main goal behind this photoshoots was to create some imagery for the website. I believe if you are serious about what you do, you shouldn’t use stock photography to represent it.
Honda CR-Z
That’s what happens when you decide to do some light painting in the middle of the night. My daily driver and a trip to a random car park to test an idea about lighting a subject. I love this shot, as it really shows the car from the best possible angle.
Lotus 3-Eleven
I’ve got some amazing details shot from our session with the 3-Eleven (the same I mentioned in the Top 5). I had to include this one, as it stands out and shows the beauty of the car coming out of the blackness.
I’ve worked with Andrew on several occasions and always enjoyed the results. I can highly recommend if you are looking for something special. – Lotus Silverstone
Jaguar F-Type R
You already saw this F-Type on a picture in the Top 5 from pit garages. We also photograph the car lapping Silverstone, and you can even watch a video from one of the laps. Not sure if you noticed, but ceramic brakes can get really hot!
BMW M2 London
Absolutely random trip to London with fellow photographers to shoot this lovely BMW M2. We visited a few different location (and this one above is actually quite popular), took some cool pics and had fun.
Client at work
This was a photoshoot at Beaulieu Motor Museum with Auburn. I truly enjoy watching people at work, doing what they are good at, and having the opportunity to photograph the results of their efforts. It’s also an excellent opportunity to learn something new. Proper car detailing and paint correction is a lot of work.
I wanted to work with a professional photographer who understands what I want to achieve, and I found one.
Product photography
Trying something new and again a bit different. I love this Coca-Cola picture due to the lovely light and gradient from the backlight. I was not expecting Coke to look yellow/red-ish with intense light from behind. Interesting…
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Car and aviation photography
Throughout the years, we’ve been working with multiple clients and brands, helping them build their social media content and advertising campaigns. You can find some of our work across a variety of automotive magazines around the UK in the form of editorial or advertising photography. Automotive photography is the core of what we do.
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