Mark Sutton: “I can't wait to visit Baku again next year”
When did you start your career in motorsport photography? Do you remember your first visit to Formula 1 race? How many GPs have you visited since that time?
1983, yes a long time ago, my brother Keith Sutton was Ayrton Senna da Silva photographer 1981-1983, they became friends, he asked me to assist by covering F3 races at Oulton Park and I went to a place out the back of the track, but I was lucky they crashed in front of me and that photo sequence is VERY famous incident and that helped me see my potential. In 1984 I worked as assistant in Photo studio in Manchester making catalogue this was also great experience and I learnt a lot of things about lighting and decorating. Then in 1985 my brother said lets set-up an agency and call in Sutton Photographic and this is where my story starts.
Have you ever calculated the total amount of your pictures?
No, it's too many, all I can say is that we upload about 3-4,000 images every F1 race weekend and now our website has 1.25 Million images online on www.sutton-images.com and a total of five million in Black & White, Colour Transparency and Digital from 1960-2016.
Why did you decide to make your career in motorsport photography?
My father took me to the track from when I was born, my mother told my father take the kids to the races to meet your friends and let me see the cars and racing, so basically I was brought up on Motorsports & F1, then later we went to many F1 races as Fans, like Brands Hatch in 1976 when James Hunt crashed with Lauda you see in the film Rush, the crowd shouting & jeering, we were there on Graham Hill bend doing the same. Then my brother got a pass aged 17 for our local track Oulton Park in Cheshire near Manchester, he would come back every weekend and I would help process the films & print the images in our darkroom in our cellar.
Which driver of all times do you respect the most? Why?
All the F1 drivers I give lots of respect, but of course the legends of the past are my hero’s and Ayrton Senna will remain the one idiolized from shooting him in F3 to F1 and then being there in those tragic circumstances was a very bad weekend with Barrichello & Roland Ratzenberger was also my friend who lived close our offices and visited us regularly. One thing I remember about Ayrton was his smile and in press conferences the Journalists tried to dig deep and ask him crazy questions, but he always took his time and thought about his reply and the reasons for that reply, I really had respect for that.
Which person in the F1 world is the hardest to take a photo?
Lewis Hamilton, I followed him from a small boy I saw first at the Autosports show in Birmingham back in the 1990’s and he was awesome and then really in GP2, but he was always on the radar, we supported Vitantonio Luizzi in Karting and was champion in 1999 and Lewis was there with Nico with full factory support. In GP2 he was awesome and I remember shooting him after winning against the sun, sort of an artistic photo and how cool he was and never a moan or issue. Now the F1 world & money changes your perspective in life and how your seen, so when he left McLaren he changed his profile to try and be more in control and I understand that totally, but as a photographer its very difficult & he now sees us as news/celebrity photographers which is not true, we love taking amazing images and if he would just give us some time each day we would prove it. On track he's the best and quickest you can see it and you know its a quick lap.
What is the funniest moment of your career?
I think the funniest moment was when Bernie Ecclestone the boss of F1 came into the media room in Bahrain in 2013 when he wanted a quick tour to see who was there he came over to see me and saw my computer cover attached to the screen and wondered what it was for and then took it off and placed in on my head and I looked like the pope and he laughed as I did and my brother took the photos so it's a very funny moments you can see.
What is the most memorable GP of you?
Brazil 2009, Jenson Button winning the World Drivers championship in the Brawn 001, it was a crazy day. I had dropped my code lens earlier in the day and no spare lenses available, so one kind photographer had lent me his spare which was like a 14-24mm much wider than I would normally use. The race started and at the end we knew Jenson was champion, we followed him from Parc Ferme he ran to his trainer Mike and then into the main Parc Ferme as he was not on the podium. I took shots with his helmet on, but I wanted the face and emotions, so I was shouting get your helmet off! I then had the wrong camera & lens, I literally threw it to the ground as I needed the wider lens, I was shouting Jenson, Jenson here, I knew him well as we sponsored him and supported his early career, so he came to me with incredible emotions shouting and screaming it was an amazing set of images and then I dropped of my card to our technician who posted them back to the UK and national newspapers. Then on arriving back into the UK on Monday morning I set for the news stands just to check what they used and every paper in the UK has used my images, it was amazing and one I will never forget!
How many cameras do you have for each Grand Prix?
X2 Nikon D5 camera bodies
Nikkor 500mm F4
Nikkor 200-400mm F4
Nikkor 70-200mm F2.8
Nikkor 24-70mm F2.8
Nikkor 14-25mm F2.8
Nikkor Fisheye 10.5mm F2.8
Nikkor 1.4x converter
X2 Nikon Speedlite SB-910
How many photographers are working for Sutton Images? Which criteria do you have to hire a new photographer?
Things have changed from the 1990’s when we had X8 staff photographers at Sutton Images when it was film and there was mote production work to be done, now with digital its take the best images, edit and upload. Now we employ freelance photographers under contract with Sutton, we can manage our budgets against our workload and also utilize local photographers if within the criteria. It works really well, we have a plan every day and especially for the race is very important to know where we are all and work together. We now generally have X4 photographers at each race, but some races like Baku we more, can be X6 or 8 depending how much work load we have etc…
Which pic do you proud of the most?
Mika Hakkinen ‘The Flying Finn’ - Adelaide, Australia, 1993
My most famous photo is from the Film days in 1993 when was my 2nd year in F1. The race was in Adelaide in Australia. Many photographers went to this particular corner to shoot in the media bus they dropped us. We were all positioned behind a wall as it's a street track and then an advertising board above us, the photo was either a head-on picture with the city or a pan photo the curb or fence shooting at slow speed. I made many pan shots at 1/125th of a second, then I looked up and heard the sound of braking, then a car jumped over the curb very quickly I kept my finger on the button, it landed straight down, no damage and carried on back to pits, I looked around at the other photographers and asked did they see or get that and most of them said what I didn't see anything or I missed it, so I just said not sure what I got. The films were then processed overnight in a local lab and delivered the next morning, my brother Keith went through the films on the lightbox to see them and check the focus with an Eyeglass, then he shouted OMG, this is an amazing photo, wow and its pin sharp, then all the other photographers come to see and say wow, that’s truly amazing. We then ask the Lab to print three big prints 20x16 inches and to also make x50 duplicate slides off the original, so we can try and sell, the print arrived back in the afternoon and I took it to show Mika, he said ‘No, that’s not me, cant be that high’ I said of course you not remember, then the engineers come also over to look and say ‘Wow, that stunning and Mika, we wondered why there is a blip on the telemetry, I got Mika to sign it and he used the word ‘The Flying Finn’ and the mechanics are all ordering this photo and we sold this the most in our history as an agency.
What is the most difficult when you arrive to a new track?
With the new tracks, we know the layout and design, but only the basics, like the drivers we have to study the track, make a full track walk, but slowly to see the positions and see also what buildings, towers, monuments, backdrops are around the track and how we can make the most of these positions and also see the holes that are cut for the photographers. In some cases we have special places to shoot from and make special images and then also to see maybe where there are group photos, sparks, start positions, the podium etc… So this can take a whole day of investigation and then we maybe change this if in practice this didn't work.
Please describe your feelings when you visit Baku this year.
I really liked Baku, although I didn't really see much of the city as we were so busy and with late finishes its difficult, so hopefully in 2017 I can visit earlier and see more of the country and enjoy the tastes and hospitality of the people. But overall it was an amazing experience and its was great to see all the stands full on Sunday Race day and the atmosphere of the whole event was amazing with incredible backdrops and great contrast between old and new in the city of Baku.
What do you remember the most while working at the Grand Prix of Europe in Baku?
Everyone was welcoming from the airport arrivals, hotel, circuit, security, media staff and marshals of course some were Bahraini’s but it was an amazing experience and I love to visit new countries and I did visit the old town to make photos one day and I was lucky to be invited to a balcony with some local people and they welcomed me with coffee and a great position and they were interested in what I was doing and loved the images I showed them and I can’t wait to visit again next year in 2017.