Automotive Photographer Profile: Ash Wilson

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SHOOTING FOR?

Since 2012. I picked photography as an elective while I was at University studying a Bachelor of Journalism because I thought it would be a bludge! I didn’t even own a camera, but as soon as I picked one up I realised I had an eye for it and instantly started experimenting with manipulating lighting and shot composition. I challenged myself to capture small details that caught my attention like a person's hands and the expression in their eyes.


 

WHAT DO YOU SHOOT ON?

I’m a Canon girl! My first camera was a Canon and I’m currently using a 5D Mk. IV body. I’ve considered stepping up to mirrorless but the Mk. IV is such a work horse! When I’m at events I chat with other photographers and sus out their latest gear and question whether I should upgrade, but when I’m on the side of pad at Summernats in the heat getting pelted with rubber, or using my camera as a shield getting peppered with rocks at the no-prep drags, I don’t regret campaigning the trusty 5D!

In terms of lenses, I’ve got a 24-105mm that I use for my feature photography and event coverage, or if I’m at the track I have a 70-200mm that I use. Those two lenses have traveled to the other side of the world with me half a dozen times.



WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE CAR SHOW TO PHOTOGRAPH?

I’ve got a few. Summernats is great - insanely built custom show cars alongside tough street cars with heaps of horsepower and personality. And then there’s the people and the burnout cars, they’re just as entertaining to shoot as each other.

I’ve shot Red Centre Nats a few times and love that show, too. I interviewed someone who lives there and you’d never guess in a million years he had dozens of wild, custom cars sitting in his shed in the middle of the desert!

Red Centre Nats is so unique because you’ve got all these stunning locations as backdrops - dried clay flats, huge red dirt walls and desert scapes. Photography wise it’s so cool to have the opportunity to shoot at such a striking location.



HOW IS YOUR EVENT COVERAGE EVOLVING AS YOU BECOME MORE EXPERIENCED?

I was recently invited to shoot World Time Attack Challenge and spent a lot of time in the pits shooting the drivers and their crews - I didn’t interview them like I usually would, instead I shot completely candidly. I’m at a point where I’m confident enough that I can fulfill the event coverage brief, and that allows me the freedom to be in the moment and capture these really unique, genuine moments.

I also flew to Las Vegas to shoot my first SEMA and I have traveled to Indianapolis a handful of times to cover the Performance Race Industry trade show over the years. These shows are on a whole other level and are incredible to experience and photograph.



WHAT'S YOUR PREFERENCE - SHOW COVERAGE OR FEATURE SHOOTS?

Shooting burnouts is one of my favourite things to do. It’s so challenging because it’s completely out of your control and there are so many factors like fires and drivers slamming into walls that raise the stakes. A lot of the time you’re blinded by smoke and the car is completely engulfed.

That’s when instead of putting the camera down I listen for the revs and continue to track where I think the car is on the pad. When it all comes together and you can perfectly capture the formations of the smoke with the car emerging, it’s like a painting. It’s one of my favourite moments and It gives people a chance to see the event through my eyes.

I’m also really enjoying my feature shoots. It’s something I have a lot of creative freedom over so I’m able to experiment with different lighting techniques and shooting styles



HOW HARD IS IT TO ADEQUATELY CAPTURE PEOPLE'S EMOTIONS AT EVENTS?

At a show like Summernats the atmosphere is already electric, and then when you come to a niche like burnouts, you’ve got fans lining the fence that have been there all day. They’re sunburnt and covered in rubber and screaming for more! They’ve definitely got methanol in their veins, but that energy hypes me up - I feel like I’m one of them!

As far as the energy on the pad, you’ve got the driver who’s so intensely focused and then their passenger who’s hanging out the window, taking in the madness of it all. Similarly, I love to find moments of intensity at the drag strip. You can capture so much emotion as a driver is being suited up and buckled in, even with a helmet on you can feel it in their stare.



AND YOU ORIGINALLY STUDIED JOURNALISM, SO YOU CAN YARN TOO?

Yep, I’ve got my Bachelor’s Degree and I write nearly all the events I shoot for Street Machine. I always try to talk with whoever I’m interviewing for long enough that they relax and their walls come down, and you get to see their personality and their sense of humour.

Everyone in the car scene is so interesting - everyone's tastes are different but the passion is shared. I have a lot of respect for anyone who builds a custom car. Someone who has taken an idea, a design they’ve dreamt up and gone through the stress and joy of building it and in the end it’s a piece of them and their passion materialised.



DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A CAR PERSON?

I grew up watching Running On Empty and Gone In 60 Seconds. I think that’s where it all started. I’ve had a love for classic, American muscle for as long as I can remember. Since school, I’d always gone to local car shows, but it was my first Summernats that chemically changed something in my brain! I knew I wanted to do this for the rest of my life.

People around me couldn’t understand my passion and I struggled to put it into words, so I picked up the camera so I could show them.