Photography at the 2013 Isle of Man TT

I finally made it to the Isle of Man to do photography for the Isle of Man TT. For those who don’t know, this is arguably the most dangerous motorcycle race in the world and the only one of its kind. The entire island has its main road systems shut down to become an extremely difficult racetrack. After learning more about the history of the island and the race I decided write an article in addition to my photographs with permission from my editor. I will be writing about the Dunlop family, who have been involved in motorcycles for over three generations. They also continue to be top performers on the TT racetrack. It has been an incredible experience.

ALL MY PICTURES CAN BE FOUND HERE (if you want some without the watermark just email me).

For my story I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing William Dunlop, Motorcycle Racer, John Harris, Vice President of the Joey Dunlop Foundation, and Barry Steels,
UK Representative for the Joey Dunlop Foundation. I also have phone interviews planned with Michael Dunlop and John McGuinness who are both motorcycle racers

6/1 – 6/2 This was a 28 hour travel day that On my travel day I had the pleasure of meeting Stan (pseudonym “Stan Dando”), who was an adventure writer. He travels the world and writes about his crazy experiences for number of in print newspapers. We parted ways in London and I power-toured the city (Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, the Parliament Buildings, and London Eye) during a 4 hour layover. Through ridiculous luck I managed to secure a bed & breakfast for the night with Cindy at Berkeley House in Douglas, IOM. Upon arriving at the island I learned the bus system was on strike, but managed to find a ride into Douglas. I dropped by stuff off in the B&B I hauled up to the press office at the grandstand to finalize my accreditation. Now that business was done I reached out to Sean & Niko, the two Canadians I met on my first day in Dublin that planted the seed of coming to the TT. When I connected with them they had met two Englishmen, Kyle & Fraser. All of us went out for a few* beers.

6/3 I met up with Kyle & Fraser who gave me a ride to photograph at Ballaugh Bridge, one of the most famous spots on the racetrack. Here the racers have their motorcycles go airborne for brief moment before accelerating to over 150 mph after. Sean and Niko were already waiting for us at the bridge. After watching the 1st supersport race and superstock race with a sidecar lap in between, we quickly went to Quarry Bends for a different view. This was followed by a few* beers in a Ramsey pub on the ride back to Douglas. During our drive back to Douglas though the Mountain section of the course we ran into a freshly fallen motorcyclist. We stopped to help and while calling in for an ambulance, which in turn called in a helicopter (don’t worry, the rider was okay, just bruised up). In Douglas I split from the group to do photography for a Motocross event held on the Promenade. Cindy has arranged for me to stay at a different bed and breakfast, The Greshham, for the rest of my stay, since she was at capacity every other night. Gill and Peter Bradley, who ran the Gresham, hosted me and took excellent care of everything. That night Kyle, Fraser, Sean, Niko, and I all went out for a few* beers again.

Ballaugh Bridge

Motorcycle Accident

Douglas Promenade Events

The rest of the week went in a similar fashion. I would wake up to the most delicious full English breakfast cooked by Peter Bradley and then proceed to photograph the race. Afterwards I would do photography for events on the Douglas Promenade followed by beers with Kyle, Fraser, Sean, and Niko.

6/5 My last day followed the same routine, but I had to be at the airport for a 6:15 flight. I managed to arrange a pickup from a corner of the race course at Barragh Bridge. This allowed me to do photography for the 2nd Supersport Race race and then get picked up immediately after. Oddly enough everything worked out and I’m off to Amsterdam!