\u2018The two biggest things in my life are photography and mountain biking. Both came to a stop during lockdown. I was furloughed, all university study was based from home. That\u2019s where the idea blossomed. To be able to travel, ride and photograph while sticking to the Covid rules. The idea had been floating around for a while, lockdown was the ignition to get started,\u2019 explains 23-year-old Alex McDowell, part-time sales assistant at Clifton Cameras and second-year photography student at Gloucester University.<\/p>\n
Alex sourced a van from the several dealerships he could walk to during lockdown, eventually settling on a 2011 Peugeot Vivaro 2900. After it was stripped, cleaned, insulated, sanded, fitted with electrics, roof vent, solar panel, windows, tiles, worktop, taps, cupboard, cabinets, bed, mattress and off-road tyres \u2013 after several months of graft, Alex was ready to go and he didn\u2019t hold back, shooting a large portion of his 17,819km British coastline project in the van.<\/p>\n\t\t
![\"2011](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/2_VAN_Alex_McDowell_VanStudio-3.jpg\")
<\/a>\t\t\tAlex McDowell uses his 2011 Peugeot Vivaro 2900 van as a pop-up studio photographing for The South West project<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n
Despite travelling far, Alex has also been utilising the van closer to home. Inspired by Richard Avedon\u2019s book, In the American West<\/em>, he set out to document people living within a 30-mile radius \u2013 Freeminer, Field Sport Enthusiast, Allotment Owner and Horse Academy Rider. Following the Avedon pop-up studio technique, Alex hung a white backdrop from his van or nearby structure.<\/p>\n Using a simple Speedlite flash and softbox set-up, he captured subjects on a large-format camera using black & white film. Energised by his successes, he\u2019s about to add to his fleet. \u2018I\u2019m going to build another van, a small darkroom that can be driven around. I do a lot of Collodion-based practice, it will open up so many opportunities.\u2019<\/p>\n Walking across the wooden floor at Clifton Cameras, we meet 57-year-old buyer (and former optics specialist) Martin Drew. In the summer of 2016, on a trip to South Stack off the northwest tip of Anglesey, as hundreds of Manx shearwaters streamed past the famous lighthouse, Martin had an epiphany.<\/p>\n\t\t A wooden interior was preferred for McDowell\u2019s van build<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n In the clifftop car park he witnessed a scene that would have life-changing consequences \u2013 a grey VW camper van: the side door was open, one occupant swivelled on the passenger seat, another lolled on the fold-down bed, the smell of coffee pervaded. \u2018We\u2019d arrived early in the morning and it was clear that the VW dwellers had overnighted there. We could only wonder at the truly spectacular sunset views these lucky people must have experienced the previous evening. We left South Stack subtly changed \u2013 for the first time in our lives, we really wanted a camper van!\u2019 reveals Martin on the Clifton Cameras blog, www.cliftoncameras.com.<\/p>\n Four years rolled on and the image wouldn\u2019t fade. Fuelled by his passion for birding and his developing interest in astrophotography, the search for the perfect family photo-van was on. \u2018We had pretty much decided to go for the classic short-wheel-base (SWB), pop-top roof set-up as this would allow the van to be used as an everyday vehicle rather than just used for trips away.<\/p>\n We considered a number of brands \u2013 VW, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Ford. On Boxing Day 2020, we found ourselves 130 miles from home inspecting a recently converted SWB Renault Trafic. The van was in really nice condition (albeit in boring white) and sported a standard side conversion featuring a twin gas burner, sink and numerous cubby holes for storage.<\/p>\n\t\t Horse Academy Rider, Georgia Cabb \u00a9Alex McDowell<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n A rock & roll double bed provided sleeping space for two and the pop-top roof concealed an elevating bed suitable for one smallish adult \u2013 ideal for our then-15-year-old daughter, Jess.\u2019<\/p>\n During family excursions, Jess began to take a lot more notice of the remote natural world that Raven (as the van was christened) was able to take them to. She photographed waterfalls and experimented with shutter speeds. Jess is now in the first year of sixth form taking photography as an option. Despite the family fondness for Raven, their wings felt clipped and have traded her in for Skye: \u2018The single most important thing for us is to be able to stand up.<\/p>\n With Raven we had the pop-top which is great but if you\u2019re just popping into a lay-by for a cup of tea it\u2019s a bit of a faff. We like coastal locations and if you park somewhere and it\u2019s windy you have to be very careful as you don\u2019t want to buckle the struts. Being able to stand up is huge for us, we\u2019ve gone from two metres high to 2.5 metres.\u2019<\/p>\n\t\t Ullswater, Lake District National Park \u00a9Thomas Heaton<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n Restocking the Olympus cameras in Clifton Cameras is 35-year-old sales assistant Craig Pitts. Travelling every year since he was 19, lockdown made Pitts stop. Going stir crazy at home, he dreamt of owning a VW Transporter T5 but his wallet said no. Undeterred, he researched online and discovered a community of individuals building stealth camper vans, vans converted to a camper or living quarters but having the look of a regular van.<\/p>\n Last spring, tired of sleeping in the boot of a car with his mate on photography road trips, he bought a Ford Transit Connect to convert into a stealth camper to travel around the UK pursuing his photography.<\/p>\n Pitts made sure a robust electrical system was built to charge all his gear and laptop. In the middle of a pandemic, he took a Welsh summer road trip adventure to Rhossili, Tenby and St Govan\u2019s. Has the stealth van worked? \u2018I don\u2019t want to bring attention to myself where I\u2019m staying. It just looks like a builder\u2019s van. I\u2019ve stealth camped in Elan Valley where they banned camper vans but if you drove past my van you wouldn\u2019t bat an eyelid. You\u2019d think it\u2019s a contractor van; unless I had the door open you\u2019d never know. I\u2019ve not had a bang on the door yet but I kind of want to tick that off!\u2019<\/p>\n\t\t Landscape photographer Thomas Heaton with his Mitsubishi Delica<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n Converting vans and vehicles for the purposes of photography is not new. In the mid-1800s, Roger Fenton captured the lives of soldiers in Crimea from his mobile, horse-drawn studio and darkroom, reportedly converted from a wine merchant\u2019s van. More recently, between 1992 and 1996, Magnum Agency photographer Mark Power drove around the British coast in a VW camper van photographing the 31 areas for his book, The Shipping Forecast.<\/p>\n Photographer Simon Roberts wouldn\u2019t be without a van. Photographing his We English project, an investigation of the English at leisure shot between 2007-2008, Roberts utilised a 1997 Express Talbot Swift Capri for his extended journeys across the UK. To capture people situated in the landscape, he often photographed from on top of the Capri.<\/p>\n In 2013 I turned on the sat nav and slid alongside photographer Anastasia Taylor-Lind in the front of her 2006 Peugeot van as she set off across Europe on her Negative Zero project about fertility rates and population decline. Purchased for \u00a35k, the van with extra costs and insurance took the total to nearer to \u00a37k.<\/p>\n\t\t Raven: Martin Drew\u2019s SWB Renault Trafic with pop-top<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n For her odyssey, she had stocked the van with a coat hanger, electric blanket, baby wipes, Heinz food products, Earl Grey tea, cartons of dry noodles, a fluffy rug and six books. In the hilarious 2017 television mini-series, Confessions of the Paparazzi, controversial pap George Bamby, regales mischievous tales from the back of his van containing pap-essential items \u2013 bunk bed, kettle, football and drone.<\/p>\n In the episode, \u2018Extra, Extra: My First Time with Mary\u2019, he attempts to frame Britain\u2019s baking darling, Mary Berry, by papping her from a lens-sized hole cut in the side of his van. Photojournalist Tom Stoddart decided to stop travelling around in a van for his reportage, The Britons, after he went to photograph a Hull boating regatta, parked under a bridge to sleep for the night and had a rude awakening from doggers.<\/p>\n Landscape photographer Thomas Heaton remembers being Wowed! looking through a magazine back in 2004-5 and coming across an article about photographing grouse in the Scottish Highlands. The photographer talked about his workflow pictured alongside an old motorhome used as a base. Fifteen years later, Heaton got his first camper van, a Ford Transit.<\/p>\n \u2018I left my job to do photography full time so it was like an investment. The problem with camper vans is people buy them then don\u2019t use them because they don\u2019t have the time. I\u2019d always wanted one. Two main reasons for not having one was price and time to use it. The odd weekend in summer doesn\u2019t really cut it. I was full time, this is it, now or never. Got the camper van and never looked back, except to park.\u2019<\/p>\n\t\t Simon Roberts photographing from the roof of his 1997 Talbot Swift Capri for his We English project \u00a9John Roberts<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n Moving on from the Ford Transit, in 2021 Heaton imported a 2002 Mitsubishi Delica camper van from Japan to convert into an off-grid, off-road, go-anywhere 4×4 camper van. He\u2019s cleverly incorporated the van into the storytelling of his landscape photography, making it part of the bigger picture. His YouTube channel has over 508k subscribers.<\/p>\n A new video is posted every Wednesday, many featuring the van. The first of a four-parter documenting his Mitsubishi received over 973,000 views. \u2018For a photographer, especially a landscape or wildlife photographer or any photographer who needs to be outdoors, a van is as important as a lens, or tripod, it opens up the landscape.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t believe I used to sleep in my car, pay for expensive hotel rooms or camp in a tent \u2013 which is great but not practical if it\u2019s bad weather. Having a vehicle to sleep in, back up and edit images, check all\u2019s well is huge. The van encourages me to go out more, see more places and be a lot more versatile. I can check the weather before deciding if I set off north or south. If you don\u2019t have that luxury of versatility and you\u2019ve pre-booked a hotel or caravan then you\u2019re kind of stuck with what you\u2019re given.\u2019<\/p>\n\t\t Andy Earl drove his Mercedes Benz Marco Polo to Holland to photograph band Birmingham Electric at Radio Kootwijk<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n On a recent warm and welcoming early spring afternoon, I stroll into the Vinyl Cafe in north London to meet legendary photographer Andy Earl. It\u2019s a fitting place to meet the man who\u2019s shot over 120 covers and iconic album sleeves for Pink Floyd, Duran Duran, Cranberries and Bow Wow Wow among others. Earl\u2019s decision to adopt a photo-van also rose out of lockdown.<\/p>\n He sold his elderly Range Rover and in July 2020 invested in a Mercedes Benz Marco Polo. \u2018Covid hit big time so I thought it would be great if I could go along and do photo-sessions and turn up and be completely independent \u2013 sleep in it, eat in it, do everything and not be infectious or infected. That worked quite well but people were still cautious, preferring I set the camera up and walk 2 metres away to take the shot. There was so much nervousness,\u2019 he says, stirring a flat white.<\/p>\n Earl opted for the first-class experience, the Mercedes equipped with Wi-Fi, sink, double cooker, fridge, loo, cold shower, air conditioning, night heater and bed with sprung mattress. You could put the roof up, rearrange the seats, sit comfortably and work in style. The van could be adapted to host talent in an on-board green room and make-up area.<\/p>\n In the end it proved too high-end. \u2018It was so smart you had to keep it clean the whole time. If I\u2019d have got something and converted it, that might have been better. I got a bespoke piece with all the trimmings and that\u2019s what I was attracted to. I was swayed by the comfort, it was lovely to drive, economical. All those were good but that was my only everyday car. That was the problem \u2013 running down to the shops to get a paper you didn\u2019t want to jump in the van.\u2019<\/p>\n\t\t Earl\u2019s Mercedes in full studio mode<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n Earl\u2019s long-term dream was to echo Irving Penn\u2019s Worlds in a Small Room, travelling to meet people and communities to photograph against a heavy plain canvas. \u2018Every time I put a sheet up the bloody thing blew away.\u2019 After just under two years, Earl\u2019s adventures in vanning are over.<\/p>\n He cashed out and cashed in getting back what he paid for it. \u2018It was great when I used the van and great for that time. I enjoyed it. I\u2019ve never done camper vanning before. It got a massive response from everybody wanting to do shoots and then when it came to it they didn\u2019t need the van. I wasn\u2019t using it as a way of earning money by hiring it out \u2013 if you wanted me, the van came too.\u2019 This modernist of photography is now contemplating a SUV size Tesla Model X.<\/p>\n A van may not directly improve your photography skills but will give you more opportunities and freedom to learn. It\u2019s hard work but can be tremendous fun. At the end of another busy trading day at Clifton Cameras, 23-year-old new recruit Megan Bendall joins Martin, Alex and Craig sitting around a white table. The conversation turns to plans for the weekend. \u201cI might take a trip out in my converted 2014 Ford Transit Minibus photo-van,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n Safe travels.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t Inside Earl\u2019s Mercedes, a flexible digital photo studio that enabled him to travel to shoot locations both on and off grid<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n Is it a bird or is it a plane? Capturing Dod Miller\u2019s Birdmen<\/a><\/p>\n How to take stunning starry night scenes this summer<\/a><\/p>\n How photography boosts your mental health: real-life stories<\/a><\/p>\n Follow AP on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, and YouTube<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After lockdown, a rumour has been building about the increase in popularity of photography vans as photographers let loose and take to the road. Peter Dench finds out more<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":164149,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[374,36],"tags":[2821,2820,676],"product-category":[],"class_list":["post-164029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews","category-technique","tag-camper-van","tag-photography-vans","tag-travel"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"wooden](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/2_VAN_Alex_McDowell_VANBUILD-16.jpg\")
<\/a>\t\t\t![\"Horse](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/1_MUSTUSE_Alex_McDowell_Georgia_Cabb.jpg\")
<\/a>\t\t\t![\"Ullswater,](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/2_MUSTUSE_Thomas_Heaton_Landscape03.jpg\")
<\/a>\t\t\t![\"Landscape](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/1_MUSTUSE_Thomas_Heaton_van1.jpg\")
<\/a>\t\t\tHistory of photography vans<\/h3>\n
![\"](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Martin_Drew_image3.jpg\")
<\/a>\t\t\tVersatility<\/h3>\n
![\"Simon](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/SIMON-ROBERTS-2008-\u00a9-John-Roberts.jpg\")
<\/a>\t\t\t![\"band](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/2_ANDY-EARL-RADIO-02__KOOTVIJK-_02_HOLLAND_SHOT13_040.jpg\")
<\/a>\t\t\t![\"photography](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/1_MUSTUSE_ANDY-EARL-8-FINALFinal-camera-CC-1.jpg\")
<\/a>\t\t\t![\"inside](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/1_MUSTUSE_ANDY-EARL-2-OFFICE-FINAL.jpg\")
<\/a>\t\t\t
\nTop ten photography van tips<\/h3>\n
\n
\n\nFurther reading:<\/h3>\n