Just another Daily Mail article about Knightsbridge...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3197127/My-week-Blingmobiles-SARAH-RAINEY-joins-Middle-Eastern-boy-racers-flying-supercars-eye-wateringly-vulgar-spin.html

If you keep up to date on these articles, you will see... it's 99.9% the same as any previous article discussing the "Ramadan Rush" with the "crazy wraps" or the "loud noises" that "disturb residents."

Well...

This article is essentially narrated, like a children's story in parts, for example: when referencing The Wolf Of Knightsbridge and his dispersing of the crowd. It kind of read like a retelling of The Three Little Pigs, as though he was huffing and puffing till they all blew away!

Whilst on the subject of TWOK, the way this story made Angelo, TWOK & the owner sound was just... arrogant! I can tell you from personal knowledge of these people, that's been written so dramatically.
"I am forbidden from touching the plush red-and-white leather interior; forbidden from pressing the astounding array of buttons and levers that dot the dashboard; and, above all else, forbidden from putting my foot anywhere near the accelerator." YOU ARE IN SOMEONE ELSE'S CAR!! You are in THEIR 6x6, it's not a regular G63 or anything. Of course you can't just go touching everything! They don't let just anyone sit in there either.

One thing I have commonly noticed with these articles, they send women. Now I'm basically the only female to take pics in Knightsbridge of the cars, I've written in the past and made a video with a great friend of mine about how difficult being a female in this male dominated industry is. When these female journalists show up, with no passion or knowledge of these cars, the way they portray them is awful! Not to mention stats and figures are often HORRIFICALLY misquoted. On that note, the "Orange" which is more like Red & Black McLaren P1 is by MSO and quoted at £850,000... I'd try somewhere more in the region of a million plus.

The article actually tells of how much money these visitors spend, which is a great boost to the local economy. The article uses that lovely term "Ramadan Rush." The thing is, that's not why they're here. It's to escape the heat in Kuwait, Qatar, Dubai etc. The dates of Ramadan change yearly, so it just doesn't make sense and is such a cringe term used by the press.

"These cars may be dazzling to look at, but with them comes trouble: traffic chaos as they stop on yellow lines, hurtle down one-way streets and fail to pay parking fines." Yes, they may be dazzling. Trouble doesn't tend to come from them. Chaos more often than not is caused by London Taxis, with ridiculous numbers lining up way outside of the allocated bay of the Taxi rank. Followed by minicabs and chauffeurs (in UK plated cars) just stopping in the narrow one way streets surrounding Harrods to collect or drop off passengers. Hurtling is far from what a good proportion do! You may have the odd one or two who will put their foot down, but the articles make it sound like EVERY single Arab guest is just wanting to break the law by having a lead foot!

Shmee150 has done an amazing video highlighting the speeding, sound, disturbance, nuisance complaints regarding the Arab cars - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxLDItrQoWc - and yet again, the paper fails to mention how it's the Brits who are the main perpetrators for the noise and speed on Sloane Street.

I just feel the press want to constantly make this a huge deal and it's frankly boring and pathetic. Can someone at least get a new angle on this topic?! Like... maybe how the average speed of the new Aventador SV visiting from Qatar was 13mph!!! Not 130, 13!!! Yet, 2 seconds after that goes cruising by, an English plated BMW M3 goes flying down the same straight strip at terrifying speeds!

It's so annoying! Anyway, I could continue but that's my rant over. Goodnight.

Skully x

Oh... also mentioning the Swarovski Crystal Mercedes is a bit of a fail in that article - it's English NOT Arab.

Supercar Siege 2015

Now I saw this event advertised by Mulgari Automotive, who were sponsors of the event. The other thing that caught my eye about this event was the charity, The Royal Navy and Royal Marines Children's Fund - I come from a military family so any way in which we can donate to any supportive charity, I'm game.

I arrived incredibly early BUT it was so worth it to see a LaFerrari in my rear view mirror as I entered the gates of Leeds Castle (which isn't in Leeds... It's in Kent) I lead a convoy of a LaFerrari & a 458, with Ross one of the organisers in front of me.

 

As we passed through the windy tree covered entrance road we approached a massive Royal Navy helicopter along side a Pagani Zonda F and a Koenigsegg Agera N.

 

It was such a beautiful setting and although I was there incredibly early, I was quite glad I was. I had these incredible cars essentially all to myself for pics! No people walking past! No battles for angles with other photographers! It was lovely... albeit cold.

The minute the gates open to all the cars, all hell broke loose!! We had American hot rods, supercar classics, supercars, modified car clubs, japanese cars by the dozen... it was amazing!

 

The mayhem didn't stop with just the cars coming in to set up! People heard just how good the event was once the gates opened and flocked to the castle... and caused major traffic all down the motorway!

The Sporting Bears were there doing passenger rides for donations and they SOLD OUT! Owners took out their pride and joys in the blazing sun putting smiles on peoples faces over a 10 mile track.

Anyway it was an incredibly hot day with a great atmosphere, fantastic cars and beautiful scenery. The event raised over £30,000 if I'm not mistaken, which is just amazing!!

Here's a few more pics and if you want to view all of the, - here's the link - https://www.flickr.com/photos/jkingman/sets/72157653085373876

There's also a link to SeenThroughGlass' youtube video of the day - it's a fab watch so check it out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azKYnBuJqNo

Car Spotting - What is it & why is it a dirty term?!

Many have heard of the term "car spotting" but what is it?
It's spending numerous hours, pounding the streets of high class areas in cities, in search of supercars and hypercars. Both foreign and domestic.
In London's case, Knightsbridge and surrounding areas is where everyone goes.

There's negative connotations surrounding the term, and this can be due to disagreements between owners and said 'spotters'- a comment on social media that someone didn't appreciate, it can be due to someone getting snapped unwillingly, or just due to spotters standing in the middle of the road annoying drivers!

Now, I've been called a 'spotter' yet, I'm not. This isn't due to it being considered an insult or anything, but I don't have the dedication for it. Not like the real spotters do! These guys can walk around from morning till night, in search of something cool. Some travel from hundreds of miles away to visit London, just to do some spotting!
There's a type of hierarchy with all of it, you have the guys who have been doing this for a while and are fairly well known - even having their images published, there's people who have a good social network following due to it but aren't quite as known, and then it trickles down to those who just walk around taking photos/videos... just because.

After speaking to spotters, I've found out why these guys do it. The reasons vary from person to person. Ranging from just wanting to see these incredible vehicles in person, to practicing photography, to how it gives people something to do, all the way to how it's an escape for some people.
One real sad story I heard was how a boy, only around 11-12 years old, was being bullied at school "for running around after cars." He wanted to give up so the bullying would stop. This was really sad to hear. All he wanted to do was see these £250,000 plus cars out and about - yet he was bullied cause of it! I knew of a few people with cool cars who said they'd happily go down to the school in convoy to pick him up one day. Fortunately the bullying seemed to stop and he's still doing what he enjoys.

I love my automotive photography and yes I do walk around with the spotters occasionally, this is to practice my photography or just to go and say hi! But I don't deserve the title of spotter as I mentioned, these guys are just so dedicated to it. For as much as people will say it's pointless or a waste of time, some of these guys are making money from their images or videos! So it can't be that bad. Even those not making money from it, they're still getting to practice or better still, just doing what they love!

Enjoy what you love!

Skully x

Holy Trinity of Hypercars!

Figured I'd kick it off with a photo!

This was such an awesome thing to be allowed to shoot. These cars are just beyond amazing!!
Now my favourite is the 3.8L Twin Turbo V8 with electric ECU motor.... The McLaren P1. It just looks incredible and the sound of the spooling turbos sets your heart a flutter (get it ;) haha)

The 918 with the naturally aspirated 4.6L V8 with it's two electric motors has grown on me SO MUCH! I watched the programme Supercar Superbuild, about this car - as well as speaking to owners & people who helped develop the car, it's all just really made me kind of fall in love with it.

Then we have the Italian Stallion - LaFerrari, with it's great big 6.3L V12, electric motor & KERS system (HY-KERS.) Now this is the "marmite" hypercar - you either love it or hate it. I'm in the middle, it's not my favourite but it's not the worst car ever.

Now the lucky man that owns these, Mr Paul Bailey, is so knowledgeable on these cars and shows such passion for them. His favourite is the LaFerrari, he didn't get out of it for longer than 5 minutes for a coffee in the several hours we were there. He just wanted to drive!!

The purpose of the cars being at Silverstone wasn't to see which was fastest or anything. It was so people could experience being driven round the circuit in the cars for a few laps.

Hopefully I'll be back again soon for more fun shooting these bad boys!

Skully x

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jkingman/sets/72157651384747599