200 Pink Ladies and their tractors take to the roads of Suffolk

Since 2012, on the first Sunday of July, my wife Emma has driven in the Pink Ladies Tractor Road Run on her 1954 Ferguson TE20 four-cylinder diesel tractor. Yes, she has a tractor. I’ve had the job of shooting the Pink Ladies, photographically speaking. The first time was shot largely with a Leica M9 with a 50mm Summilux — I was a brave man in those days. Now, with much better high ISO and faster shot-to-shot times, the task has become much easier.

Tractor Road Runs are a time-honoured rural pastime where farmers can block country roads with their slow old vintage tractors.

The Pink Ladies Run has been going for 20 years this year. Magnificently organised by Annie Chapman (who received a CBE¹ in the 2014 Honours List) and her husband John. It was a brilliant idea to take such a traditional rural male occupation, turn it into a women’s event and raise money for Breast Cancer Research.

Pink drapes

Some of the ladies (such as Emma) do actually own their tractors; others borrow them from aficionados who often don’t seem to approve of draping them in pink. At the end of the run, there is always a scurry of anxious men retrieving their darling tractors from the women who have driven them. Greater love hath no man…

The Ladies have been collecting for Breast Cancer Research, and after this year’s run, they have reached a grand total of one million pounds. It’s worth mentioning that every penny of the money collected goes to Breast Cancer Research. Everyone who helps or works volunteers their time or services.

The tractor run consists of a 25-mile course around the lanes in the English county of Suffolk, with some off-road driving thrown in for good measure. The number of tractors varies from year to year, but since I’ve been photographing, it has ranged between 100 and this year’s record of 197 vehicles.

The photography

Above left: The county of Suffolk borders the East Coast, with Norfolk to the north and Essex to the south (Source: Ordnance Survey Public Data). That’s the North Folk, the South Folk and the East Saxons if you look back over 1,100 years. Right: The Pink Ladies Tractor route around the village of Harleston (Google Maps)

It’s an interesting photographic assignment, a mixture of boredom, terror and driving like a maniac.

I try to get four images of each tractor at four different spots on the route. Superficially, that doesn’t sound like such a tall order; but sometimes the gap between the tractors is as little as two or three seconds. Often, one tractor obscures the one behind it. This year, with so many extra tractors, the driving between vantage points was too difficult, so I chose three distinct spots to ensure I would get pictures of everyone.

Using manual focus is difficult because there is such little time, but any kind of zone autofocus can be worse, as the camera invariably tries to focus on the front of the tractor (or the exhaust pipe). Face detect is even more dangerous (the front of many tractors look like faces!). Spot AF seems to be the safest method.

Then there is the problem of the exhaust pipe, which is normally on the bonnet and very likely to bisect the face of the driver. Worse than that, many of the newer tractors have cabs, so trying to get the ladies without the reflection is even more difficult. Fortunately, the cabs usually have open sides, so that’s the favourite, but tricky if they’re going fast.

Missing one of the ladies is unthinkable (not least because some of them are tough Suffolk farmers). They need to use the images for their fundraising activities, so it’s important to get good pictures of everyone.

It takes about half an hour for 100 tractors to pass by, some close together and some further apart, but certainly, there’s no time to change batteries.

When the last tractor has gone, it’s time to leap in the car and get to the next spot before the first tractor arrives with Annie Chapman in the vanguard (the most important shot, after all). Of course, you can’t go the same route as the tractors, so carefully planned alternative routes are used. This year was a special challenge because, with nearly 200 tractors, the time from first to last was longer. There was much less time to get to the next point of focus.

It’s easier to do the photography on an overcast day, where you can set the exposure for a face and leave it at that. Sunshine isn’t too bad either, although then you have to be very careful not to blow out highlights. The real challenge comes with scattered cloudy conditions, as was the case this year. The exposure changes from minute to minute, sometimes from tractor to tractor. It’s no good to use any kind of auto exposure as you end up with wild fluctuations using spot and either blown out or dark faces if you use multi-spot.

The group shot

At the end of the run, there is the traditional and vital group shot. This is the fun bit for the photographer. The ladies are all exhilarated at finishing the run. The group mounts a farm trailer; this year, it was two trailers to take nearly 200 ladies.

This year, for the before-the-start shots, I used a Leica M11 with the classic remake 50 f/1.2 Noctilux. I wanted to get a dreamy look, so most of the shots are wide open

For the shots of the tractors on the move, I used the Leica SL2 with the 24-90 (one-handed as the other arm is needed to attract attention). For the group shot, I used the M11 with the 28 Summilux.

Post-processing has to be done the same night — so that the best images can be sent to the press overnight for inclusion in articles on Monday morning. If the weather has been overcast, it’s not too bad, but with changing light, there can be a lot of work getting the faces properly lit. Of course, with 190 ladies and four locations, that’s 760 photos to process… Emma says it’s like shooting a wedding with 200 brides.

This year the pictures have already been used for articles in several newspapers (local and regional) and on various websites, including BBC News.

Emotional

There are so many amazing women taking part — many of them are breast-cancer survivors — and most have had close relatives who have succumbed to the disease. In the middle of the run, the tractors go through the high street of Harleston, a small country town. It’s incredibly emotional for the Ladies driving the tractors (and for the crowds of people who have come to watch). This is followed by a picnic in the grounds of the Gawdy Hall Estate, people from miles around flock to this to get a good look at the tractors lined up in the field.

The Pictures

Galleries of images can be seen here:

The First Cut – these were images sent to Kate Royall the press officer, on the evening after the run

Before and After the run

Brockdish ‘water splash’

Arriving at Gawdy Hall

Off-road

Here is a link to a larger-sized version of the group picture.

Breast Cancer Research

My wife, Emma Slack, has been taking part in the Tractor Road Run since 2012 and has raised many thousands of pounds as a result of everybody’s kindness.

Two months ago, Emma broke the top off her femur whilst hiking in a local nature reserve. Three ambulances came to the rescue, and she was whisked off to Bury St Edmunds Hospital to be screwed back together again (with a Dynamic Hip Screw).

She was determined to attempt the run again this year, despite the injury (she is currently flying around with the aid of one crutch and several painkillers).

Not only did she manage to complete the 25-mile route (not straightforward on a 68-year-old Fergie tractor), but at the end, she drove the twelve miles home.

If you would like to donate to this incredibly important cause, please click on the link to Emma’s fundraising page. Thank you!

Read more from the author

Visit the author’s website

Signing up for the Macfilos newsletter

The SUBSCRIBE button (below) is now working again. If you have recently been unable to register for the Macfilos newsletter, please try again now. We apologise for the error which crept in during the recent site redesign. If you have any other queries or wish to contact us, use the CONTACT button.

1. Companion of the Order of the British Empire ↩