Best photoshoots of 2021

With a decent chunk of Melbourne’s 2021 spent in lockdown, finding new and inventive ways to bring you beautiful images of the cars our team has driven this year, day-in day-out, hasn’t been easy.

But our resident snappers, Ellen Dewar and Alastair Brook, have risen to the challenge to nail every job sent their way.

Here they share the stories of their top three photoshoots of the last 12 months, and why these moments were so special.

Ellen Dewar

2015 Nissan GT-R R35

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One seven-second R35 would probably be enough for most people, but Lance Warren has two in his shed and invited the Street Machine team in to have a look.

At a top secret warehouse location in Melbourne’s south east, Ellen got to work transforming a blank canvas into a fiery, atmospheric lair fit for the 2500hp beast in the dead of night.

“These kinds of shoots can be stressful, you never know what they’re going to be like until you get there,” says Ellen.

“You don’t know what you’ll find when you arrive at someone’s own workshop. There are so many unknowns: Is it really empty? Will there be mess everywhere? How much time will I have?

“When I got to this one I found the wrong car had been prepped for the photos, it wasn't running and was sitting in the back behind a load of stuff with a thick layer of dust on it and no bonnet!

“But once I'd worked around all that, my mind was just blown away by how cool the car was, and I quickly reinvented my whole plan to capitalise on the engine being exposed. I got totally caught up in the excitement and then the next minute it was 1am, how did that happen? But the results were worth it for all the hours.”

You can read Iain Kelly’s report on Lance’s R35 race car here.

2021 Mercedes G400d

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Having not left the confines of her four walls for a while thanks to Victoria’s extended winter lockdown this year, Ellen teamed up with 4x4 Australia Editor Matt Raudonikis and the WhichCar video team in heading out to the Yarra Ranges to put the luxury off-roader through its paces.

“Being stuck at home so much during lockdown, I jumped at the chance to shoot the new Mercedes G400d before the car was officially launched in Australia,” she says.

“We drove three-and-a-half hours on deserted roads so we could test it out on the snow, and almost teasingly there was some sprinkled on the low grass as we climbed through the Yarra Ranges, only to disappear the higher we went.

“Matt was convinced there would be more if we continued on, and hope was almost lost until we rounded a bend and bam – there was snow everywhere.”

The location, snow and the beautiful twisted Alpine gums contrasted the G400d’s dark colour, square-shaped stance and round eye stare.

You can read Matt’s review of the Mercedes G400d here.

2021 Ford Focus ST

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Ellen went on an epic road trip with Trent Giunco and Cameron Kirby from the MOTOR team to recreate the Alpine Rally, as the famous event celebrated its centenary this year.

Visiting a raft of locations across Victoria, including Lakes Entrance, Marysville and Ballarat, the trio covered 1600 kilometres over the course of their four day trip.

“Once or twice a year, a story comes along that takes you on a journey into the unknown,” says Ellen.

“These shoots are fun but also completely chaotic. We had a lot of distance to cover in a short amount of time, travelling many places we’d never been to before. Plenty of early starts and late finishes too.”

The Alpine Rally is the oldest surviving motorsport event in Australia and the second oldest rally in the world. Only a handful of motorsport events, including the French Grand Prix, the Monte Carlo Rally, the Indianapolis 500, Pikes Peak Hill Climb and the Italian Grand Prix, are older. In 1921 the event covered 1000 miles over eight days.

“Each day started rudely at 4.30am so we could capture the sunrise and we kept driving until sunset,” she continues.

“As a photographer this is the ultimate collaboration – working with journalists to tell a story as you travel. You have to rely heavily on your instincts, make quick decisions, and have a keen eye ready to catch small details in the images that add to the quirks of the written word.

“In total I captured around 4300 images from the trip which were then edited down to 290 but only 20-30 ended up in the print story.”

You can read MOTOR’s report on the adventure here.

Alastair Brook

2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1

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Alastair’s number one for 2021 had to be shooting the new Mustang Mach 1 being blasted around the track at Wakefield Park by Scott Newman.

A packed day, with the video team also needing to capture the 5-litre V8 in all its glory, Alastair had the odds stacked against him – this was needed for the next cover of Wheels, but the track was missing some crucial elements for the ‘money shot’ and the car was dirty when it finally arrived four hours late.

“Despite all this, the shoot was super successful and the images ended up being used to show off the new WhichCar website when it launched earlier this year,” Alastair says.

“Furthermore, we were the only outlet with our own specially-created content when the embargo lifted, and the images and copy ended up being used internationally in CAR magazine.

“I love shoots like these where everything is against you, as you win either way. If you do a rubbish job you have no shortage of excuses. If you do a great job you look like a superhero.”

You can read Scott’s review here.

2021 Porsche 992 Turbo

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Another lockdown special, this time Alastair joined forces with MOTOR Editor Andy Enright to find out how the 992 Turbo faired touring across a deserted Wilsons Prom.

“I’m a huge fan of Porsche, so I was always going to enjoy myself on the shoot. That 992 is borderline uncomfortably fast, especially in the passenger seat, and it was my first time down to the Prom too,” says Alastair.

“The scenery there is mega and varied – as is the weather. You get the feeling it really is a bit of Tassie that remained on the mainland.”

It wasn’t long, however, before the pair hit a tense moment – after they decided to park the $400,000 supercar on the beach at Waratah Bay because it “might look fun”.

“This was a classic Andy and Alastair shoot where we end up at one point or another putting a car where it just shouldn’t go,” he adds. “Luckily it made it back up the boat ramp in one piece, otherwise that would have been an awkward phone call to Porsche!

“The next day, for logistical reasons, it was up to me to get the Turbo back to Melbourne. What followed was the greatest trade deal of all time – the Ssangyong Korando support car I had driven down swapped for the 992 Turbo. What a swindle.

“The only problem was that we did the handover at night in the heart of a wombat colony, and what followed was a tense 20 minutes of slowly edging its very low nose around a truly eye-opening amount of marsupials.”

Read Andy’s review of the 992 Turbo for MOTOR here.

Jaguar F-Type R-Dynamic P380 v Mercedes-AMG E53 Coupe v Lexus LC500

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The dream team of Brook and Enright were back together again – this time at the Lang Lang proving ground for a three-way supercoupe showdown.

Backed by a team of four drivers ready to pilot the trio, plus a support tracking car, Alastair had free-rein to show off the GTs together at their best – including use of the high-speed loop for wider shots and standing water wading facility.

“As a childhood Holden fan, Lang Lang is hallowed ground. Sunsets there are always a treat, with its wide open concrete giving clean reflections,” he adds.

Read Andy’s comparison for MOTOR here.