Velux 5 Oceans - A new dimension in race photography

by Velux 5 Oceans on 7 Aug 2010 Velux 5 Oceans has today revealed plans designed to take the photography of the 2010-11 solo ocean race to new heights. The round the world race will use an innovative three-tiered structure designed to meet the diverse needs of the media and race followers around the world:

Official Race Photographic Agency: onEdition
Lead Creative Photographer: Richard Walch
Travelling Photographer: Ainhoa Sanchez

The Velux 5 Oceans has engaged onEdition as the Official Race Photographic Agency for The Ultimate Solo Challenge, which starts in La Rochelle, France, on October 17, 2010. onEdition will be tasked with creating and distributing all news images including the pre-race archive photography and on-board photographs sent back by skippers, as well as covering every Ocean Sprint start around the globe on the epic nine-month adventure.

onEdition will equally manage the race online press portal via their World Wide Images platform, hosting all the race’s photos, video, audio and news files. The multimedia content will be free to download in low and high resolutions for all media that register.
As official photographers of the last edition of the race, onEdition won a number of high-profile awards, including the prestigious Sven Simon Prize from DIE WELT/ WELT am SONNTAG in Germany for the Sports photograph of the Year 2007 and also for the British Press Photographers Association’s Sport Feature of the Year 2007.

Dan Towers, Managing Director of onEdition, said: 'We are very excited to be involved with the Velux 5 Oceans again. Last time was a great success for us and the race lends itself to news photography as there is so much drama and action which resonates with those not involved in sailing as much as those within the sport.'

In a bid to take the imagery of the Velux 5 Oceans 2010/11 to an even higher level, they have also secured the services of top sports photographer Richard Walch to handle and lead the creative brief.

Richard Walch is a world-renowned sports photographer, lauded for capturing movement and action in his shots on snow and water. Having captured amazing images of the America’s Cup, he will be given free-reign to photograph the Velux 5 Oceans in a new creative way. Working before the race, and at the La Rochelle start and Charleston stopover, Walch will build a library of work that highlights the visually stunning nature of the race, and the powerful images will be used for marketing activities as well as offered exclusively to print titles around the world.

Walch said: 'I am delighted to be involved with the Velux 5 Oceans race. I find sailing a beautiful and exciting sport to photograph and I’m always looking for innovative ways to take shots that make people think a little deeper about what they are looking at. My goal is to bring you closer to the power of the sea and the drama on board.'

The photography team will be completed with the addition of Ainhoa Sanchez, a talented young Spanish photographer who has proven her abilities in the world of sailing photography with her outstanding work on the Audi MedCup. Sanchez, will travel to each of the race stopovers, recording the arrivals and being present to record the daily activities of skippers on shore. She will ensure that her shots encapsulate all the visual elements of the race, providing images to both onEdition and Richard Walch.

For further details on the race please visit www.velux5oceans.com