Interview with Jeff Ayliffe

“ I always seek to find images that capture the character of the athlete, or that in some way tell a story that’s unfolding.”

Jeff Ayliffe is one of those special types, a lone ranger whose heart is so deeply entwined in his work that it shines through in the images he captures. I’ve always loved Jeff’s photography – not only his trail running stills, but his video work on the ocean and from the air, which make my toes curl.

Jeff in his happy place – halfway up the mast of a monohull during the Volvo Ocean Race © Jeff Ayliffe

LD: How old are you, where were you brought up, and where do you spend most of your time now?

JA: I’m 55. No nicknames, I’m afraid. I grew up in Pietermaritzburg and later Durban, and I’ve been living in Cape Town for 24 years.

Christiaan Greyling powering the steps to overtake race leader Kane Reilly during the Otter African Trail Run 2017. Christiaan beat Kane by almost 13 mins, winning in 4:13:15 © Jeff Ayliffe

LD: Had you always wanted to be a photographer, or did you drop another career for the adventures of photography?

JA: I have always had an interest in photography. My earliest memories are of trying to shoot super-creative images of my old K1 lancer canoe, as a 12-year-old. I had an old Instamatic camera, and I used to buy a roll of 12 or 24 exposure film, shoot my images, hand in the film at the pharmacy, and have an exciting wait of about four days before receiving the images back. I started skydiving at 15, and an American freefall photographer named Norman Kent was my creative inspiration to pursue photography as more than a hobby. It was Norman who really taught me the importance of creating your own ‘style’ and ‘feel’.
My career after skydiving became radio, as a sports presenter for commercial radio. This gave me privileged access to many amazing sports events, and soon, I was using that to capture images as well. When I left full time radio, it was to start my media company which offers a complete package, (radio, photography, video, MC, and social media) so I’m still fortunate to cover a variety of events on multiple levels. As I’ve moved along combining sport photography with outdoor photography, my focus has shifted towards video, but I’ve maintained a love for shooting stills, albeit with very limited equipment. I’ve always tried to find images that focus on the character of the athlete, or in some way, tell a story that is unfolding. As a result, many of my images I wouldn’t consider to be classic or even technically good, but for me, they tell me a story of what was happening at that time, a ‘moment’ I’ve tried to capture. I’ve also become an ambassador for GoPro South Africa, so my other big passion in my images is to specialise in putting myself into places that one cannot get with a big DSLR camera, and to capture some really unusual, funky images.

Mark Collins looking pensive, about to make a call on whether to pull the plug on the 2015 Otter Challenge, because of heavy rains © Jeff Ayliffe

LD: Tell us about the range of adventure sports you cover besides trail running – and the incredible places you’ve seen.

JA: Apart from trail running, I cover paragliding and a lot of sailing. I’ve established myself in sailing circles as being someone who is very comfortable as an OBR (onboard reporter), and I’ve managed to get some of my best images aboard racing yachts, in some pretty epic situations. In sailing, you are living life at 45 degrees, with water blasting over the bow, the boats are lurching and really not designed for comfort, you’re constantly fighting for balance, having to move lightly and fast over confined spaces, stay out of the way of the crew, to try to get shots that tell the story. It’s a huge challenge. The Volvo Ocean Race has some of the world’s fastest monohull yachts, and for the past three editions, I’ve sailed on the practice and pro-am races to shoot.

Bernard Rukadza fully focused at the start of one of the days of African X 2015 © Jeff Ayliffe

LD: Do you have any cliffhangers or near-misses you can tell us about? Lost/smashed equipment? Extreme weather conditions?

JA: Probably my most amazing experience ever was being up a 100 ft mast in 30 knots of wind on a Volvo Open 65, whilst shooting. A life memory for sure! At the start of the Cape to Rio last year, I was aboard the top South African yacht Lion of Africa Vulcan, and I filed the start as an OBR, sailed with them for the first few miles of the race, before jumping off the back into the Atlantic Ocean and being fetched by a rubber inflatable. (Watch one of Jeff’s video clips taken in action aboard the Lion of Africa Vulcan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGTeYbyaHNs)

Sailing is super rewarding to get good results, due to the conditions and chaos that you’re shooting in when the weather picks up. I was shooting sky-sport images before the invention of Gopro, and as a result, used to fly with both a (heavy) video camera and (heavy) stills camera attached to the top of a specially built helmet. It certainly wasn’t easy to fly and film, but the reward was showcasing the sport from an angle that showed non-flyers why we loved what we do. A skydiving photographic friend of mine, Keith Larret, put it beautifully: “As an aerial photographer, we take it all in, but then we can give it all back.” GoPro off course has made my skysports work so much easier.

Adventure racer and power runner Robyn Owen, radiating pure trail joy with a handstand on a water-level parallel bar, just metres from the finish of the Otter African Trail Run 2017 © Jeff Ayliffe

LD: What’s the most extreme shoot you’ve done? (any sport)

JA: I guess my most extreme shoot has been during sailing, and again that shoot aboard Team SCA in last year’s Volvo Ocean Race. Up the mast in 30 knots of wind, the yacht was blasting across Table bay, heeling over in the wind, and it was crazy trying to hang on up the rig, with incredible buffering, and try to ensure that I captured those incredible moments. Another shoot I always remember was for a story I was doing on the BMW S 1000 RR Super Bike, and I had a GoPro on an extension arm, and was riding the S 1000 RR through some fast, sweeping corners near Mossel Bay, holding the GoPro extension in my brake hand, whilst keeping the bike stable. That was amazing. Thankfully, it was a beautifully balanced bike, which made things a lot easier.

The legs of a champion – Marc Lauenstein flying across the floating bridge to the finish, shot from the water using a GoPro © Jeff Ayliffe

LD: What has been your most memorable trail running shoot?

JA: That’s easier to pinpoint – it was the Otter African Trail Run 2015. It was the year the impossible happened: Marc Lauenstein became the first, and only man, in history to dip under the 4 hour mark, and I had the truly privileged position of being on the course with Mark Collins at various points to see it unfold behind my GoPro. After Bloukrans, Mark realised the sub-4 was on, and we arrived back at the finish just in time. I had minutes to try to think how I wanted to capture what I thought might be an iconic moment, but the line was crowded with the official photographers, and I was running out of ideas. On hearing the bell, I had a ‘eureka’ moment, and dived into the river and swam to the floating bridge, just as Marc Lauenstein was sprinting towards me with just seconds to spare before 4 hours. I barely got my GoPro on in time, and I thrust it under him as he blasted past me in a heartbeat. It was surreal. The crowds were screaming, the MC, Altus Schreuder, was going nuts on the mic, and I was in the river 50m from the end, not even sure if I’d captured a pic. It turned out to be my favourite story-telling image ever, those long, sinewy legs powering over me, en route to making history.

Marc Lauenstein phoning home, just 5 min after smashing the 4-hr barrier on the Otter African Trail Run in 2015. His eyes say it all © Jeff Ayliffe

LD: What has been the most uncomfortable or dangerous position you’ve had to be in for a shoot?

JA: My most compromising shoots would probably be the sailing ones. The yachts are moving fast, they’re at 45 degrees much of the time, conditions are wet, and you’re almost always off balance, in areas where a fall can be serious. Much of the time, your focus is on getting the shot, so you inevitably take risks.

Kane dibbing at Oakhurst during the Otter African Trail Run 2017. He was still leading the race at this point, but was soon overtaken by Christiaan Greyling © Jeff Ayliffe