Buddha In A Firesuit

What is it about race car drivers that they seem to have no pulse? In my experience, they are the calmest, most laid-back people you’d ever meet. And Mark Powell, the driver of this rally car, was no different. Soft-spoken, gentle and utterly unflappable, you can almost imagine him yawning as he’s hurling himself and his car off of mountainous dunes at 120 mph or more. It’s really quite amazing to witness. Sixth overall in this year’s Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge - one of the most extreme and prestigious cross-country rally races in the world - Mark, in my mind, is a buddha in a fire suit. It’s why I trusted him so completely when photographing him as he was flying around the Rub’ Al Khali Desert outside of Dubai. For the most part I like to shoot with wide lenses, which means, for the most part, I have to be very close to my subject matter - and in this case, very very close. It may not look like it, but one second after this shot was taken, I was completed covered in sand as the race car flew by just in front of me. It didn’t bother me in the least. I guess that makes me a buddha with a camera.