A SHOCKING photo of a fire engine on its side near Winchester is one of a drone photographer’s top images of the year.
The picture, which shows the vehicle having punched through a hedge before coming to a stop on its side, was taken on the A272 near Cheesefoot Head by Chris Gorman, of The Big Cheese Photography, in March.
Chris, who has been a drone photographer for more than seven years, said that he took the photo after accidentally stumbling across the scene.
He told the Chronicle: “I just happened to drive past it. I was on my way to another job in Bath, and I drove past it, I saw it, I originally thought it was a lorry on its side and thought ‘What’s going on there?’
“I thought ‘If I can stop for a picture, I will. If it’s easy, I will. If not, I’ll carry on’. Luckily for me, it was easy to stop on this country road, so I pulled in, got my mini drone out, flew it over the field and got the photo. It was only when I pulled it up on screen that I knew it was a fire engine!”
Chris explained that every year he puts together a list of his favourite photos that he has put together that year. He included the fire engine due to it being different to the images he normally photographs.
He said: “I’ll be honest, as you can see most of my pictures are landscapes, but that picture went bananas when I took it. It actually took me by surprise, if I’m honest. I put the picture out to newspapers and then I gave it to (the Hampshire Chronicle). Sometimes, as a photographer, it’s like being a reporter, you put stuff out and you think ‘That’s really good’ and you put it to your editor, and no one cares. Pictures are very much like that. Every news outlet has its own agenda, and sometimes it can sink like a stone.
“So, I put the photos out and thought ‘Oh, I think it’s quite good, I don’t know if anyone is going to be interested in it’, and everyone went bananas over it. It was used by The Mail, The Mail Online, and the Daily Star used it, bizarrely. It went viral on Facebook. I guess because it’s a fire engine and the unique angle to which it’s shot.”
Other photos that Chris has included in his best-of-the-year round-up include a photo of the Neuschwanstein Castle – one of the inspirations for the castle in the Disney logo – as well as Stonehenge and people lounging on lilos at the Petersfield Open Air Swimming Pool.
To see a selection of Chris's photos, click the image at the top of the article. Alternatively, all of the photos can be found on bigladder.co.uk/bigladderpicturesoftheyear. Chris is also selling calendars featuring his photos, which can be purchased from his website – the proceeds are being given to Dementia UK.
Chris also currently has a limited edition print on display at Sage & Salt Studio in Petersfield.
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