JohnyCook//Blog

Over the weekend I was given the opportunity to work with...

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:42:40 +0100

Over the weekend I was given the opportunity to work with Brentjens Mountain Bike Racing Team (http://www.mountainbikeracingteam.com) over in Germany at the first round of the UCI MTB World Cup.

For the most part events I shot at are for myself or working with one person but working with a full team was a pleasant change. Although usually I photograph the purpose of this trip was to document life around the races and make a short edit of the weekend. This will be arriving shortly!

Working solely with a team was a very different task as with shooting for yourself you don’t really need to talk to with riders and build up rapport. Luckily enough the team had its own truck and proved to be a great place to catch the team and get to know them.

Unfortuntely I have had to come home and will miss going with the team to Nove Mesto but hopefully I will be able to meet up with them at one of the other rounds.

Right now I am out in Albstadt, Germany filming and...

Sun, 19 May 2013 08:18:39 +0100

Right now I am out in Albstadt, Germany filming and photographing with Brentjens Mountain Bike Racing Team (Superior Bikes). Yesterday was the U23 men and woman with Anne putting in a solid run and coming out with 9th overall.

Today will see the Elite men and women and not in the greatest of conditions with rain start to come down.

Managed to stay on my bike for quite a while when riding in...

Thu, 09 May 2013 17:47:08 +0100

Managed to stay on my bike for quite a while when riding in Inverness but soon had to go and get my camera. The temptation is always there but I do end up getting the shot that I want!

After being in Germany for 10 days I really wanted to go riding...

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 23:56:59 +0100

After being in Germany for 10 days I really wanted to go riding myself and get away from filming for a few days. I have managed to get a few days off and came back home to Inverness.

I didn’t manage very long with out using a camera so tried out the GoPro remote which although took a good few minutes to finally connect it was brilliant and convenient once linked.

Yesterday myself and Andy walked up the Die Teck to meet Rab for...

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 09:01:30 +0100

Yesterday myself and Andy walked up the Die Teck to meet Rab for some filming of the local trails we found. It was brilliant filming it over 3 hours, editing in the evening and getting it online by 2am.

GoPro Diary #2 With our first race done we are glad to have a...

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 19:09:33 +0100

GoPro Diary #2

With our first race done we are glad to have a few days to relax and see a bit of Germany.

Rab came 30th overall out of 80 riders with an impressive time of 1:29.38. Now with our next few days off Rab will be training, Andy working on the bike and I shall be following it all with my my camera.

You can keep up to date on my page http://www.facebook.com/johnycookphotography and keep an eye out for the next GoPro entry.

GoPro Diary #1 We finally made it into Germany after a bit of a...

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 10:44:20 +0100

GoPro Diary #1

We finally made it into Germany after a bit of a delay which did result in us getting money off flights, free food, the KLM Lounge and unlimited beer. Wonderful.

Yesterday was the first day of practice and gave Rab a good chance to ride in his new Trek Factory Racing Superfly. We are really lucky to be staying near some amazing hills and scenery with a great hotel, unfortunately we have no WIFI which goes to show how wrapped up in our phones we get!

Today is the first race with Rab who is in a good position on the start line and ready to compete. With the temperature finally rising almost to 20 it should be a rad day of shooting and riding.

Since I am heading to Germany shooting for two weeks I thought I...

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 00:24:03 +0100

Since I am heading to Germany shooting for two weeks I thought I would clear up all extra photos from shoots found in the depths of my hard drive. I was pretty pleased to come across this shot of Chris Currie from about a year ago that’s never been used.

Who grabs their seat these days? Grab your pedal!

Franny Wright getting stylish in Spain with this turn down -...

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 01:13:47 +0100

Franny Wright getting stylish in Spain with this turn down - www.johnycook.com

Photographing in the North Sea is becoming a bit of a habit.

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 09:41:07 +0100

Photographing in the North Sea is becoming a bit of a habit.

So I got a little bored of shooting on land and decided to...

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 01:02:54 +0100

So I got a little bored of shooting on land and decided to experience the water a bit more. I wouldn’t say that the North Sea (Scotland) would be my first choice but it definitely showed me a new world I want to photograph.

Here is a preview of my new series “At The Shore”....

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 21:50:35 +0000

Here is a preview of my new series “At The Shore”. Hopefully I wont be getting covered by a wave this weekend when I am out shooting as it has happened once already.

This series has definitely been inspired through my following of the surf world especially viewing the works of Chris Burkard and Mickey Smith. Without getting into the water or on a board I can see why they love the ocean.

So recently I was invited along to film for ABD BMX on their...

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 18:34:01 +0000

So recently I was invited along to film for ABD BMX on their trip to Spain. The edit will be out soon but here are a few photos from the trip.

This morning I tried to take a walk down the beach.

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 15:09:09 +0000

This morning I tried to take a walk down the beach.

Euan's MK1 Caddy

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 21:15:01 +0000

After speaking to Euan the last time I was in Edinburgh we decided on shooting when his Alpine Turbines were on. The Caddy has the standard 1.6 diesel engine with a clean and simple look giving it great character. With an engine conversion starting in the near future the pickup will be running a 1.6 turbo diesel!

It’s quite useful having a pickup while shooting as you can just lay in the back or hang over the side hoping that the driver doesn’t hit a bump that sends you flying.

Stevie's MK2

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 22:39:45 +0000

Another couple of days off and I managed to get down to Edinburgh and shoot Stevie’s MK2 GTI (also Euan’s Caddy which will be followed shortly). Stevie was good to shoot with as he just left me to get on with it while he skated around on the ice. It certainly wasn’t the warmest shoot I have done but it was a joy to do! The car has character and as usual I found the best bit which was the door handles. The trigger opening is insane!

Barny's Passat

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 00:25:23 +0000

This afternoon I headed to Leith to shoot Barny’s Passat. I had only known Barny from what stories I was told and his Instagram. His Instagram feed is filled with photos of various knives, axes, chainsaws, cars and of course BMX. Funnily enough when we had a look in his car we found all of these things plus a bit more (sadly no chainsaw).

9n2 Polo GTI

Sun, 06 Jan 2013 00:07:54 +0000

This weekend I headed over to Glasgow to shoot Scott’s 9N2. Absolutely lovely! Note the way that the petrol pump is held together….

Lupo GTI

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 22:15:29 +0000

This evening after getting lost on the backroads a few times I had a shoot with Greg’s Lupo GTI. This car is absolutely lovely and puts out a great noise. Although the outside is stunning it was the interior details that topped the car off.

I have never been one to get up early unless I absolutely must!...

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 18:57:39 +0000

I have never been one to get up early unless I absolutely must! When I I stayed with Richie (View his work here) I was usually the last one up in the morning while he was shooting photos or working on something creative. I never really had the motivation to get up early but then always found I had wasted part of my day.

This morning I managed to be out on the road to the coast by 630am and found some amazing spots to shoot. Having started early in the day I managed to shoot, have a cooked breakfast, edit, clean the flat and print my photos from this morning.

I would suggest taking something hot to drink on these early mornings.