Getty Images’ photographer Simon Galloway is a legend on the motorsport scene, and the lead photographer on its Formula E coverage. We sat down with the Brit to hear all about how he captures the all-electric series.
The dust was truly on show during the Jakarta race, perfectly kicked up by Pascal Wehrlein driving the (1) TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team as he leads Zane Maloney in the Lola Yamaha ABT Formula E Team Lola-Yamaha T001 and David Beckmann driving the (3) CUPRA KIRO. Nikon Z9, 70-200mm at f4 ,1/1600 sec, ISO 250. Simon Galloway/Getty Images for Formula E.
1) Can you tell us about yourself, and how you got into this work?
My name is Simon Galloway, and I'm a staff photographer of Getty Images, who have the contract for Formula E. I've been a photographer now for 30 plus years. I've always been a motorsport fan, which really helps.
I've shot a whole wide-range of Formula E images. I've done it for the last five seasons or so now. The last two years, I've become the lead photographer, heading up the World Championship.
We have a team of five photographers working for us here. In addition to our contract with Formula E, we are also team photographers for Jaguar, McLaren, Andretti, Cupra Kiro and Lola-Yamaha.
This photo of Sebastien Buemi of Envision Racing was taken from up high on the media centre roof, a position that we had secured during the first-ever visit to the Jakarta E-Prix. Quite often it's not all about showing a big car full in the frame, rather it's more about telling a story of the location we are in, and this elevated position does just that to a grand scale. Nikon Z9, 70-200mm at f4.5, 1/2000 sec, ISO 320. Simon Galloway/Getty Images for Formula E.
2) What does race day look like?
It's quite a busy schedule. My brief is basically to cover the track action as much as we can, but also to manage the other photographers.
Formula E is, I would say, one of the hardest motorsports to cover because we're not normally at circuits where we've got photography towers and windows, so it can be quite challenging at some places.
This photo of Pascal Wehrlein of TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team was taken during qualifying. Quite often you have a very small window of opportunity to capture drivers getting ready, and as it happened he got ready in front of a door in the back of the garage, so I quickly decided to try to shoot a silhouette of him and go for something a bit different. Nikon Z9, 70-200 at mm f2.8, 1/5000 sec, ISO 1250. Simon Galloway/Getty Images for Formula E.
You're always looking for an image that shows the location that you're in, so that can be quite hard in some places. But I think with the knowledge that we've got, we can work around that.
For instance, this is the third year that we've been here in Jakarta, I have done all three races. Certain places can be hindered by the weather, as we had this weekend in Jakarta. These are very hot conditions to work in: it's exhausting, and you can walk 20km a day easily, while carrying 20 kg of kit with you.
So, it's tough going. It's not for the faint hearted, and the rain conditions can also have a massive factor in what type of pictures we’re shooting as well.
“It's always interesting when you go to a track for the first time because you have no concept of what is going to be like. So, the first thing we do is we go to Google Maps, we call up the road, and we'll have a look at routes, and we’ll think ‘oh that looks quite good’.
But in reality, that might be different when we get here - if we've got a fence or a zone or things haven’t quite worked out with the light.
This is another photo taken during qualifying. Like most motorsports, working in a garage can be quite a challenge as the space is limited - and there is a lot going on, like mechanics getting tyres on, so the last thing you want is to be in the way at such a critical time. So awareness is key during such times, you need eyes in the back of your head sometimes. This photo of Dan Ticktum sat in his CUPRA KIRO is quite nice as the green tint in the foreground comes, incredibly, from a wet wipe packet! Nikon Z9, 70-200mm at f2.8, 1/500 sec, ISO 1250.
There's a track walk for drivers, which we’ll go on. It's not ideal for us because we’re concentrating on photographing drivers and stuff like that, so what we tend to do the day before is walk the track, but actually, on the perimeter - around the outside because we're looking for access points, gates, all things like this.
The next part of the jigsaw is the podium. We'll have one photographer on a tower, we'll have one outside, one on another side to just try to get all the angles covered off.
Motorsport is not just about the 22 drivers out on track, it’s also about the hundreds of people who work behind the scenes. And part of my brief is to ensure we capture magic moments like this - when Alex Hui, Team Principal of CUPRA KIRO, celebrated in the garage as his driver Dan Ticktum took the team’s maiden victory, Alex was overcome with emotion as his driver crossed the line! Nikon Z9, 24-70mm at f3.5, 1/320 sec, ISO 4000. Simon Galloway/Getty Images for Formula E.
But a new track, when you come to a new track like Jakarta – it’s all about, let's try and find the best places we can go. We’re always looking at our sun calculator, seeing where the sun is going to be.
“The other side of Formula E is the access that we get is great. You know, in Formula One, they have very different drivers who hide away - you very rarely see a Formula One driver. But in Formula E, they’re always out and about. They're very approachable, and all the drivers are really cool to work with.
Walking along the back off the garages I spotted Andretti driver Jake Dennis taking a few minutes out from his hectic schedule. You’re always on the lookout for such moments, and this worked out well as he was perfectly placed in-between some colourful flowers! Nikon Z9, 70-200mm at f2.8, 1/250sec , ISO 80. Simon Galloway/Getty Images for Formula E.
“The only things that you adapt to it is the lack of noise, and not being caught out by the start. In Formula One, you can hear 20 cars coming from hundreds of metres away.
In Formula E, you have to be ready, and we’ve all seen people who have missed starts because it's caught them off guard as there’s no formation lap. I quite often tell the local photographers, get ready - this is the start!”
This photo was taken during the same practice session as the shot from the media centre roof. It shows TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein negotiating a very dusty track – which would become one on the big news stories of the weekend. The sun was slowly setting and my aim was to try and capture the track conditions and some of the backline light. Nikon Z9, 24-70mm at f4, 1/1000 sec, ISO 250. Simon Galloway/Getty Images for Formula E.Practice on Saturday morning saw us presented with a damp track, I was photographing this from a photo tower with the attack zone below me, as Jake Dennis entered the attack zone. I had noticed how dirty the cars we’re getting, so I opted to focus on the cockpit showing the drivers in fairly dirty cars. Nikon Z9, 400mm at f4.5, 1/1600 sec, ISO 500. Simon Galloway/Getty Images for Formula E.It’s a recurring theme here, but this is another photo of CUPRA KIRO’s Dan Ticktum. I had spotted that it was golden hour and the light was perfect to grab a quick shot of Dan with his winners’ trophy. I've known Dan since he joined Formula E, so I knew that he would be happy to pose for me. Part of the job is building up a good relationship with drivers and the staff at Formula E. Nikon Z9, 70-200mm at f3.5, 1/320 sec, ISO 800. Simon Galloway/Getty Images for Formula E.Credit: Joe Portlock/Getty Images for Formula E
