YOU need to be pretty quick off the starting line to land a major role in the fast lane of motor sport photography, but that has not deterred Falmouth freelance photographer Lee Edgson from trying to get a place on the front row of the grid.
Over the coming weeks Lee, who also covers sporting assignments for Packet Newspapers, will be submitting a range of images to top motor sport agencies in the hope that one of them will be sufficiently impressed to offer him a career on the Formula1 motor racing circuit.
Lee has been passionate about Formula1 from a very young age. He started watching racing on television when he was ten years old and attended his first British Grand Prix in1987 when he was 14.
He easily recalled attending his first ever race: "I always knew it was going to be better watching the cars live than watching them on television," said Lee," but when I saw my heroes, Nigel Mansell and Ayrton Senna, on the circuit I was blown away with the speed of the cars, the sweet smell of the high-octane fuel, and the whole atmosphere of the event. I was hooked from that day on."
After attending the British Grand Prix for a further ten years Lee wanted to venture further afield and in 1997 he travelled to Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix.
The following year he took in the French Grand Prix and this is where his passion for formula1 photography was born.
"After attending races for ten years I wanted a visual reminder of the cars at the grand prixs. Like many people who start photography as a hobby, their equipment is generally sub standard and mine was no exception.
"Using a low budget roll of film I started to snap away using different shutter speeds and choosing my shots carefully so not to waste film.
"Similar to many amateur photographers trying to capture fast moving images, I found it was not easy as some of my shots were out of focus and some only had half a car in the frame.
"But the majority were ok and overall I was pleased, but I knew that if I was going to improve my skills I would have to invest in better equipment and that's what I did. I invested in better lenses and that enabled me to get closer to the action and take better shots of the cars."
After attending many races on the British and European Grand Prix circuit in the coming years and learning different techniques, Lee's first breakthrough came in 2003 when he entered and won a photography competition in Formula1's official magazine. Run over three one-monthly issues, the ultimate winning image was chosen from one of the monthly winners.
Lees prize was a small digital camera for being a monthly winner plus a professional camera and lens worth over £2,000.
Lee said: "I was delighted to win and to see one of my images published alongside the best photographers in the business was very rewarding for all the hard work I had put in."
But Lee has not stood still and since then has invested heavily in professional digital equipment which will hopefully take him to the next level in his quest to turn professional. He has watched races in Britain, Germany, Hungary, and Italy since 2003 and this example of his work shows he is well on his way to achieving his ambition.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article