Simon Keitch Photography Blog

Not only did it not rain at this year’s Bontrager 24/12,  the event actually saw the kind of intense heat and dust that I’d normally associate with somewhere like the sponsor’s home of California, and probably had more than a few riders praying for just a little rain to cool them off and damp down the course a little. Kudos to Martyn Salt and his team for organising another hugely successful event at Newnham Park; the challenging eight mile course was praised by every rider I met and the race site had a friendly, positive atmosphere even in the middle of the night, when there was a DJ set-up in the woods and a jazz band providing the entertainment elsewhere. Image above: unknown rider on course at the 2008 Bontrager 24/12 almost 23 hours after the start of the race. 

As part of my coverage of this weekend’s Bontrager 24/12 2008 mountain bike event I arranged a portrait this evening with Keith Bontrager himself who will be competing in the solo 12 hour category (my own personal favourite from my take above). The late evening sun was shining on the race site and with the forecast looking good for the weekend we could see the first dry 24/12 in its three year history in the UK. I’ll be on-site for the entire event from first thing tomorrow morning and will post an update here when it’s all over…

This is one of the selects from a portrait sitting I did with ten-time world downhill mountain bike champion Nicolas Vouilloz when he was briefly in the area earlier this year with bike sponsor Lapierre. Vouilloz still competes in the occasional mountain bike race but now concentrates on his new career as a professional rally car driver and is currently leading the overall standings in the 2008 Intercontinental Rally Challenge. If you require images of Nicolas Vouilloz for editorial or commercial use please contact me to discuss licensing options and to view further images from the shoot.

This is a corporate portrait I shot recently of Plymouth Drake Circus Mall Manager Mike Jones; my simple, creative approach to lighting allows me to be extremely flexible when working with busy clients who need to be photographed on location and between appointments, while still delivering studio quality images. I specialise in location portraits and this sitting was actually done in a small conference room within the Mall Management Suite, and the entire shoot was carried out inside of 30 minutes including set-up and strip-down time; the actual time spent with the subject can be as little as just a few minutes if their schedule dictates it. If you require a commercial photographer in the Plymouth area (I’m also available to work nationally if required) to produce corporate or commercial portraits for your business please contact me to discuss your requirements.