Allan de la Plante DTM

  The sheer excitment of being there is half the reward of being a photographer at any racing event.  De la Plante got to mix with the crowds, the drivers and the people that put on these events.  He found that the mix could get distracting when the action of a race weekend is underway, but getting recognition for his efforts made everything worthwhile.

Sir Jackie Stewart - Always the class of the field both on and off the track.

De la Pante's first F1 race was at Mosport in 1967 at the Canadian Grand Prix.  He was hooked!  It wasn't until 1970 that he was able to get right inside motor racing and make it his principal form of income.It is the process of getting there that produced many of the stories of the exciting races around the world.  The tragic events were common and difficult to endure, but it was also part of the glue of the F1 family which even the photographers and journalists belong.  Drivers were approachable then.  Their pace was not quite what it is now with constant promotions taking up their lives.

Francois Francois Cevert in the 1972 Tyrrell.

Gilles Vileneuve just after Lowes hairpin at Monaco during the 1978 Grand Prix in the Ferrari T3.

This is the type of portrait athletes want from de la Plante.  It became his signature.  In this portrait is the head shot used on the Canadian 90 cent stamp.  The shot was taken on the grid at Watkins Glen in the fall of 1979.  It is known as 'Eyes'.  The bottom shot was taken at Lowes hairpin in Monaco in 1979.  The Ferrari T4 is the car Gilles loved best.