They say a picture paints a thousand words.
As a writer at DirtFish, I’m tempted to offer a little defense! But I am equally one of the first to marvel at an epic photograph taken from the side of the stages in the World Rally Championship.
Just like with any art, it’s subjective. One person’s Monte Carlo at night with the fireworks is another’s mega sideways yump in Finland. But what’s clear is it takes a lot of skill, passion, dedication and preparation to nail the money shot.
For Sophie Graillon, the perfect photo looks a little something like this:
“Beautiful light, a beautiful setting, beautiful action, few photographers, no remote cameras placed everywhere, no labels or advertisements… in short: only one of these conditions can make an almost perfect photo, but all combined makes it perfect,” she tells DirtFish.
“Finding this is almost impossible, but it’s something I try to find on each rally!”
Sophie has worked with Ogier throughout all eras of his WRC career
Graillon’s been touring the world with the WRC for years, currently working for the renowned McKlein agency as well as eight-time world champion Sébastien Ogier. Not a bad pair to be sending your invoices to!
“There is something miraculous about freezing a moment to make it eternal,” she smiles.
“My interest in photography comes from marvelling at the very simple things in life and wanting to capture and share them. But it was rallying that pushed me to always try to do better, to want to improve.”
It’s interesting to learn that the mentality of a WRC photographer really isn’t all that different to that of a WRC driver.
But before we dive deeper into that angle, let’s first examine where Sophie’s love of rallying stems from – a bit of a cliché move at this stage of an interview, but this tale involves the Lancia Stratos so it’s more than worth sharing!
The biggest challenge remains finding new spots each year; as the route of the rallies change very little from year to yearSophie Graillon
“I spent my childhood near the roads of Monte Carlo, close to the Malijai-Puimichel stage,” Graillon shares, “and since I was little, my father took my sister and me to the special stages of this wonderful event.
“He would wake us up even in the middle of the night to go and attend the parc fermé in Digne les Bains. The roar of the Stratos has stayed with me forever!
“As we grew up, of course, we continued to go to events with other friends and we almost never missed the Monte Carlo Rally.”
Combining her love of taking photos with her love of rallying was an obvious net result, but Graillon particularly enjoys mixing the rallying action with jaw-dropping landscapes.
“Little by little I got caught up in the game of trying to take photos not only showing a car in action but a beautiful image,” she explains.
“From the Andes to the coral reef of eastern Australia, via the reserves of Kenya, the different countries of Europe, the temples of Japan or the parks of the American west, our sport offers us such beautiful and different atmospheres which are a real playground for a photographer.”
Sophie loves capturing a landscape when shooting rally cars
So how is it done? What goes into being one of the world’s best at snapping the world’s best?
In a word: planning.
Just as the drivers will study for weeks before the rally in an attempt to learn the stages and refine their pacenotes before confirming them on recce, photographers need to scope out where the best locations are before travelling to the rally, before then checking them for real on rally week.
Graillon explains: “I’ll prepare for each event by studying the route and comparing it with previous years, then like the rally drivers I try to recognize the special stages and to try to find the best places by imagining the crazy images it could give.
“Being able to organize and choose your own timing of the day: which special stages to do, where to go, where to position yourself exactly, is absolutely key. Sometimes you are walking several kilometers in a stage to find a corner with few people and enjoy the passage almost all to yourself.
“The biggest challenge remains finding new spots each year; as the route of the rallies change very little from year to year.”
Life as a WRC photographer is certainly no picnic.
The work that goes into taking a photo like this is impressive
“We have to get up very early to leave for the first special stage, and in a day we will continue on to the second, third, fourth and sometimes even fifth before ending the day in the service park,” Graillon adds.
“All of that without forgetting between two stages to send the photos to the boss as quickly as possible! In short, it’s a race within a race where we sometimes don’t even have time to stop to eat at lunchtime!”
But would Graillon change any of that? Would she heck! Asked what she loves about her job, she simply smiles: “It all!
“My motivation also comes from a driver whom I followed closely since his debut in the WRC – who gave me his trust and never let me go: Sébastien Ogier.
“It is an enormous sense of pride for me to take his photos on the WRC and to have followed his career.
“I am also honored to work for what is, for me, the largest and best photographic agency in rallying, McKlein, since 2018.
“This is what pushes me on each event to give more than 100%!”
