How to stand out in a crowd. Confessions of an Isle of Man-iac
I must confess, the Isle of Man TT has pulled me in deep. Unless you have gone to the greatest race on earth, it is hard to explain. Being a photographer, I have thousands of photographs that blend all together in the sea of photographers. I started looking at my pictures and could see that I needed to stand out in the crowd. I have an art background and all the tools I needed, so I let my brain take over.
It didn’t take long to finish my first work of art, well actually it did and 6 months later, I have completed over 100 of them. Some of them are simple, some are complicated and some of them are completely off the hook! The process seems to evolve every time I sit down to the computer and pull out my graphics pad.
2018 was a very sad year in the road racing world as we lost 3 great racers that competed on the Isle of Man course. I spent a very long time working on a tribute that included all 3 in it, Dan Kneen, James Cowton, and William Dunlop. I have included the 3 men in quite a few of my pictures because it keeps their memory living and helps heal the heart.
All of my images did start as a photograph. I usually start one by changing it to a black and white image, then make an outline of the motorcycle and rider and then I let my imagination take over the digital brush. I have made some very plain, mundane pictures into something that I never would have planned and imagined. I may add multiple images together or I isolate just a part of the picture. One of the last ones I did was of Peter Hickman, the winner of the 2018 Senior TT race. It started as a boring, poorly lit photograph with a cluttered background. it was just a snapshot. I painted the background black, pumped up the color and went to work on the lighting … it turned into one of my favorite works!
I am headed back to the Isle of Man in 2019 and will be spending 9 days photographing the men and women that make up this little thing called the Isle of Man TT. It will be my 3rd trip across the pond and hopefully not my last.
I have been involved with Born To Ride for a very long time and I thank Ron for letting me share my passion whenever I can. I have a website, www.scottfodell.com if anyone is interested in seeing more of my work. I am still a photographer, I just need to stand out in the crowd a little louder.
Scott Odell
