Land Rover spirit captured in exhibition

A collection of 60 photographs representing the spirit of adventure has been brought together for a special exhibition at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) in London, to celebrate Land Rover's 60th anniversary this year.

The exhibition, called 'Portraits of Adventure', opens on Tuesday and runs until August 3.

The exhibition includes 50 rarely seen archive images from leading landscape, portrait, action and travel photographers, as well as 10 specially commissioned giant four-metre high portraits by top British photographer Alastair Thain, featuring adventurous personalities such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Zara Phillips.

Over 3,000 photographs were researched to find the chosen 50 archive pieces. These include images of explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes and mountaineer Todd Skinner, as well as some more surprising takes on the idea of an adventurous spirit, including Marilyn Monroe, a New York cab driver, David Beckham and a group of UN peace keepers.

The exhibition is accompanied by a large-format coffee-table book containing all the images, and proceeds from the sale of the book will be used to benefit the British Red Cross. Land Rover is donating 60 vehicles to the British Red Cross Society and its sister national societies around the world.

The vehicles were officially handed over to the president of the Red Cross, The Prince of Wales, during a garden party at Buckingham Palace earlier this month. In an unprecedented move, the vehicles, a mixture of Defender, Discovery and Freelander models, were arranged in the form of the Red Cross flag in the quadrangle of the palace.

Half of the donated vehicles will be taken across the globe where they will deliver vital supplies and emergency response personnel to those in desperate need. The remainder of the donated vehicles will be dispersed throughout the UK to help with regional operations such as local flooding, off-road emergencies and public events.

Some will undergo minor ambulance conversions.