About
The Photographer
Ton Roeloffs
Ton has a passion for technology, cars and photography. Add these three together and you end up with Formula 1 photography. Ton has been doing this for twenty years now, and he’s always had a great time doing it. He has attended numerous races abroad by now. Whenever he’s travels somewhere, he likes to combine it with a nature vacation. Would you like to see more of Ton’s F1 photos? Take a look at tonroeloffs.nl
Technology and cars
I’m absolutely
passionate about technology and cars. It’s not for nothing that I’ve enjoyed working as a car mechanic for many
years now. Photography is another big hobby of mine. I find taking pictures of Formula 1 events particularly
inspiring. Something I’ve been doing since 1994. That’s the year I attended the Portugal Grand Prix on the
circuit of Estoril with a couple of friends. We had decided on spending our vacation in the area and grab a
Formula 1 race while we were there. Up until that moment I had only seen Formula 1 races on TV. But a race like
that leaves a far greater impression in real life. Roaring engines, drivers pushing the limits, mechanics making
split-second tire changes, not to mention the daredevil overtakes. There’s so much going on during a race! I was
sold right away.
Wonderful weekends with the guys
After that weekend I attended many other
Formula 1 races. Not just in Europe but further afield as well. That way, I visited the United States, China,
Japan, Malaysia, Canada and Singapore. Singapore and Canada are particular favourites. Fortunately I have a
great friend, Henri, who shares my passion for photographing Formula 1 races. We have been travelling to GP’s
together for many years. Whenever we do, we make a real men’s weekend of it. We already start taking pictures
during practice and qualification laps. When evening comes, we chill out at a cozy camping site nearby.
Comparing photos and dishing up great stories with a nice beer.It helps looking back at your pictures on your
laptop as well. You get to see a lot more detail than you do on your camera display. It gives you a chance of
finetuning your settings for when the actual race begins. Nothing can hold us back on the day. So we take
pictures to our heart’s content.
A Personal gift
Looking at my photo book from 1994 now, those pictures put a smile on my face. Photographic techniques and, with it, the quality of the pictures, have improved enormously since then. As have the photo books, come to think of it. I used to put photographs into blank albums myself for a long time. That all changed when a female friend gave me a wonderful, digitally designed photo book as a present. We had been on vacation to Suriname with a couple of friends. Pretty soon after we got back to the Netherlands, she surprised us all with a photo book. That was such great fun! Ever since then I’ve been working with CEWE’s design software myself. A bad experience with an external hard drive helped push me in that direction as well. I had all my pictures stored on my hard drive, which suddenly started crashing on me. Unfortunately, I’d never made any back-up, which meant I lost all my photos in an instant. Since that day I have my most beautiful pictures printed in a photo book. It’s much more satisfying that way, I can tell you. My bookcase is crammed full of XL photo books now. That size (30 x 30 centimetres, ed.) really makes my photographs shine. Especially when you create double page spreads. Sure, it’s not cheap, but the quality you get with CEWE is top notch. The photo books are memories for life.
A Story with its own picture
After every race weekend, I make two photo
books. That gives me plenty of space to print my photos at large sizes. I also enjoy adding in my own race
reports. I look for matching pictures to add to those race reports. That way, I can pick an old photo book from
the bookcase and tell you who won that race or which race car crashed. Letting me live the race all over again.
Crashes are an integral part of Formula 1, I feel. Of course you hope everything goes well, but crashes really
do lend that extra oomph to the races. No wonder images of crashes always turn up in the media.
Unique images
Obviously, being a hobby photographer, you don’t get the same access professionals with a press accreditation do. Which makes picking a good spot a bit of a challenge sometimes. I would love to attend all the Formula 1 events again, as a press photographer, just for one season. But it doesn't always have to be a drawback. In 2010, for example, I photographed the collision between Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button on the circuit of Spa in Belgium. Because I was standing in a spot without press photographers, I took pictures no one else had. The next day I saw pictures of the crash in the newspaper. Much to my surprise I had better photographs than the press photographers. I then got in touch with a famous press photographer, Peter van Egmond, and sent him my pictures. He immediately called me back and said: ‘If I had had these pictures yesterday, we could’ve made some serious money’. A lost chance for me, at the time, but since that day we always meet up briefly after every race. I then show him my pictures and he checks whether there’s any interesting images that might be of use to them. I want nothing in return for it. Just the fact that my photographs are being appreciated and the socializing aspect is worth a lot more to me.
Zoom in on wild animals
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Whenever we can, we combine
the races abroad with a vacation. Since you’re there, why not enjoy the scenery, right? The thing we love to do
most is head out to nature. In 2006 Henri and me were in Canada. A country that should be on every nature
traveller’s bucket list. So, after the Canada GP, we headed out to nature, looking for wildlife. And boy, did we
get some. Tip: Photograph something new from time to time
Change your subject matter every once in a while, choose a new environment or different equipment. It could help
you discover a new photography genre you might like to explore further.
I very vividly recall us sitting in the car and spotting a black bear pacing about. Over the moon, we parked the
car and stepped out of the vehicle to make some pictures. The bear was running along the banks of a river below.
We were on higher ground, so we were safe, we figured. So there we were, photographing away, as the bear kept
moving around. Until we noticed the bear had actually been closing the distance between us all the time. So we
quickly retreated to the safety of the car. Bears are predators, after all. Besides that black bear we saw
plenty of other wild animals, as well: from whales, seals and orcas to moose and even a bald eagle. Once in a
lifetime experiences. Using a telephoto lens you can pull in the animals really close to you. That way, my
telephoto lens doesn’t only come in handy with Formula 1, it’s a perfect fit for wildlife photography, as well.
Summary
Ton is a hobby photographer with a passion for Formula 1.
Together with a close friend he attends multiple
race weekends a year.
Whenever they can, they combine it with a vacation.
And he’s always packing his
telephoto lens.
Because Ton also loves animal photography.
Ton became a photo book enthusiast after
receiving one as a present himself.
Together, his photo books make up a very special library he consults and
looks back on with pride.