BEHIND THE LENS

Many of the photographs you see in this magazine come courtesy of Karl Hopkinson. He looks back on a career of many highs and picks out some of his favourite images

April 2020 will signal the start of my 20th year in business as a photographer. From my base in Darwen, Lancashire, I feel during this time spent photographing trucks, I have covered every blade of grass across the UK from the centre of London to the Orkneys – and it’s been great. Trucking is an industry full of friendly and interesting people. It’s been 14 years since my first truck shoot and years later, when I shoot the launch images of a new DAF livery, the interest, enjoyment and challenge has never burned brighter. No two truck companies are the same: the people, the location and the job they do means every truck photoshoot has something different to capture.

Manx Independent

I had the idea of getting the truck out on one of the boat docking jetties before I even arrived on the job. The brief was to create an image that was clearly ‘Isle of Man’ and Douglas Harbour and the ferry is about as ‘Isle of Man’ as it gets.

Derek Heeps

This shoot was a little different as I had taken the same shot a year earlier, but DAF head office requested the same shot, with the latest version DAF for a calendar. It is never easy to recreate a shot, especially a year later but, on arrival, the weather was kind to us thankfully. But the crop was at least a foot taller and the road was never clear. It was roughly a 20-minute loop to turn around, so after multiple attempts I had to settle for an image where I had caught the truck in the right spot. The sun was out, but the road was full of traffic including another truck, so the final product was achieved by a bit of retouching. The original is shown to compare and contrast.

Carrs

Embracing the short days in winter using more flash and creative light, I treated this job like a studio photoshoot with nine studio flashes.

KARL’S KIT

There are standard tools of the trade that we carry to every truck photoshoot. The items include:

Cameras: Nikon D850 and D5 cameras Video camera: DJI Osmo Pro 4K video camera Lenses: 16mm; 16-24mm; 50mm; 70-210mm Flashes: five Lencarta flash lights; eigtht powerpacks; two Nikon Speedlights (ideal for working inside tight truck cabs); six Pocket Wizards (Remote syncs, flash lights can fire from over 100m away) Computer: MacBook Pro and hard drive. Drone: DJI Phantom (we have a fully qualified drone pilot on the team) Go Pro cameras: Three in total • Flash stands • Tripods • Camera sliders • Radio microphones for interviews • Chargers and cables • Ladders • Boots and high vis gear for working on sites.

“Nikon has been part of my camera kit since I was 15. The lenses we carry have grown and become more and expensive as the years have gone by – we keep the camera bodies for roughly 18 months to two years, depending on new model releases. Lighting has been a growing part of my equipment. Up until around 2012, the flash light came with heavy powerpacks and either stored 10-15 flashes or needed to work from the mains, but the latest equipment we now have is totally different. We have five high-powered flash lights that are light, portable and can last on maximum power for hours. Video is a new requirement for us. DAF has asked for more moving images in the last four years and we have invested in equipment to meet that demand. We can now shoot in 4k and carry gimbals and sliders, we also carry two radio mics to record the best possible sound on location. I was intially a little reluctant, but now I really enjoy the video work because it brings a totally different angle to think about on a truck shoot. We also carry waterproof covers for everything as I seem to spend half my year working in the rain or knee-deep in mud! Travelling and being away from home is just part of the job. I have driven more then 30,000 miles for the last 10 years, in 2019 we also took 12 trains and six flights for work.” •

Above: MLG Simply my favourite ever shoot, brand new truck, amazing weather, location and autumn colours.

Middle: HD Ricketts This truck was shot in three different locations. I wanted to use the big arches in Birmingham, so photographed the arches first and, because there had been an all night rave on the street, when we photographed the truck, there were sleeping partygoers everywhere.

Below: Ironside I chose this image as I just loved the shoot. On arrival, I was welcomed in for breakfast with the family. A quiet fishing harbour on the North Coast of Scotland, Gardenstown a beautiful place to photograph trucks.

MGS I’ve selected this image just because I love Scotland. It’s a great location on the harbour, actually taken the day after the image of MLG’s truck. Shot as part of a five-day tour of the North of Scotland, it was probably my favourite week in business.

People

In the last five years or more there has been a real shift by DAF to gear shoots more towards the people, not just the trucks. These days, a big part of my briefs from DAF are about being to capture a story and bring out the personality of the drivers and the company. I like this approach and it has definably been a highlight of my time with DAF – every truck company is different, each with their own little quirks. It takes a team of people to plan, organise and brief a photographer. I’ve been lucky enough to work with the best in the business throughout my career, with Paul O’Malley and Simon Hall in particular, who developed me and have put faith in me since 2012.