Trevor McGrath Motorsport Photographer
My interest in rallying started like many other Irish rally fans with the Circuit Of Ireland back in the 80's. This time was a golden age of rallying in Ireland and I was lucky enough that the circuit navigated the full coast of the Ireland and used my home city of Waterford as an overnight base for a number of years. I was in my early teens and was fascinated by the rally cars and drivers of the day. Cars like the Opel Manta 400, Audi Quattro, Ford RS200, Lancia Rally 037, Metro 6R4, Peugeot 205 T16 And the Porsche 911. Drivers like Billy Coleman, Jimmy McRae, Russell Brooks, Bertie Fisher and Ari Vatanen. During one circuit a special stage passed my home.My best memory of that time was watching the coastal stage of Kilmurrin on Easter Sunday afternoon in 1984. Billy Coleman behind the wheel of an Opel Manta 400 was the top Irish driver. Over the following few years the Carrick On Suir Motor Club organized their annual stage rally the "Ravens Rock Rally" and a number of single stage events near my home and it was only then that I learned about the network of motor club throughout the country. By now the rallying BUG had taken hold. Over the years I have marshalled on events like the Ravens Rock Rally, the Carlow Stages Rally and The Stonethrowers Rally. I have also work on midpoint and stage start radio on the Ravens Rock Rally and Carrick Forestry. Being involved in motorsport has two more important factors:
- You get to travel the length and breath of Ireland and see the most picturesque parts.
- As you travel to events the same people keep popping up and over the years I've made and continue to make friends in every county in Ireland.
(Irish) Billy Coleman, Austin McHale and Bertie Fisher
(WRC) Carlos Sainz, Juha Kankkunen and Didier Auriol
Favourite Rally Cars:
There could only be ONE the Toyota Celica Turbo ST 185
Favourite Rallies:
(WRC) Finland
(Irish) To hard to call. There's great stages on every rally all over the country plus weather conditions and the time of year makes every event unique.
Why Motorsport Photography:
I always had an interest in photography and video and with the advances in digital photography over the last eight to ten years the time from snaping the shutter to being able to view the image has gone from days to seconds.
Ambition:
To build rallyprint.com into a credible site and to gain respect from the club officials and the other photographers in the Irish motorsport field.
Equipment Used:
I only use Pro Quality Canon equipment.
Camera Body: Canon EOS-1D Mark II N
Flash Guns: 2 Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash
Camera Bag: Lowepro CompuTrekker Plus AW
Lenses:
- Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II
- Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
- Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L IS USM
- Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
- Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
- Canon Extender EF 1.4x II
- Canon Extender EF 2x II