Who could ever pigeonhole Jon Nichloson’s photography. Here’s a man who travels the globe documenting the richest sport on earth - Formula 1 - yet creates personal projects that transport us to places we’ve only seen in the movies. His book ‘Cowboys, A Vanishing World’ tells the story of an America that struggles to adapt to change and to the modernisation you and I are all too familiar with.

We caught up with Jon and found out how he got involved in the biggest sporting circus on the planet along with viewing his stunning Ethiopian slideshow and finding out what’s really going on over there.

Steal-Life.com - When did you take your first picture?
Jon Nicholson - I don’t know when I took my first snap, professionally though, it was 1984.

SL - What’s the idea behind the slideshow you’ve submitted?
JN - This is a camp in Ethiopia where people have been moved as they have no food or the ground cannot produce food. They have aids and many other severe illnesses to deal with too.

SL - Your book ‘Cowboys, A Vanishing World’ documents the few remaining cowboys living in the Wild West, how did the idea come about?
JN - There are still plenty of cowboys around but their life is
changing, the project came about from the work I was doing with Wrangler. I found that a way of life that I had known through western movies was on its way out.

SL - You’ve been documenting Formula 1 for years, is it a sport you love?
JN – At first it was just sport that inspired me. The F1 thing came about because of my friend Damon Hill when he was racing. We did a few books together around when he went on to win the championship.

SL - The F1 calendar is a mad dash around the globe, how do you find the pressures of living out of a suitcase?
JN - The travelling is a drag; airports are a pain in the arse, never having shaving foam or toothpaste. But always end up in a good hotel. With the other work I do I don’t even know where I am staying, which I prefer. Keeps things interesting.

SL - Many people associate the sport with a high society lifestyle, what’s it really like?
JN - I don’t really like F1 but I think that helps me, I can be objective in my study, it’s the people that fascinate me, not the cars.

SL - Do you use digital; if so do you think it’ll change the way you work as a photographer?
JN - I use both digital and film. The OLYMPUS E1 is amazingly light and easy to use, I am concerned for film but will still use both.

SL - What’s next for you?
JN - I am shooting a story in the USA on the Joshua tree, in October on route to Japan for the last GP of the year and I’ll continue to lecture at Cardiff University Art College.