Photographer Larry Chen on Capturing Rally Driver Ken Block’s Life and Career

Brought to you by Pixaocean

Motorsport photographer Larry Chen has captured thousands of photos of the late Ken Block, a rally car driver best known for his viral gymkhana videos and founding DC Shoes.

Brought to you by Pixaocean

He recently shared a photo of himself posing with all of his camera gear as part of his association as a Canon Explorer of Light.

Brought to you by Pixaocean

Ken Block left an indelible mark on the world and has given Chen the photographer’s best-known shot. “My most famous picture is the one on Pike’s Peak with Ken sliding off of that corner,” he says.

Brought to you by Pixaocean

Chen says it took him a “few hours” to get out all of the gear for his Canon Explorer of Light photo. “The funny thing is, a lot of people are like ‘Oh, you can’t even carry that much gear.’ Well, that’s true but it’s not just me. Our team is six of us and we all have different responsibilities,” explains Chen.

Brought to you by Pixaocean

Chen says the Canon R3 is like “cheating” because the camera comes with a car-shooting mode. “It can tell if you’re shooting a car, truck, a drag racer, an off-road vehicle, or an open-wheel race car,” he says. “It even has a sub-menu that lets you choose if you’re shooting a motorcycle or if you’re shooting a Formula 1 car, if you want it to lock onto the nose of the vehicle or if you want to lock onto the helmet of the rider.”

Brought to you by Pixaocean

Chen describes himself as a “car culture photographer” and when PetaPixel interviewed him he was supercharging his Toyota truck by adding 150 horsepower before flying off to Indonesia for a car show.

Brought to you by Pixaocean