Spa weekends... not the papmering type!

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Spent a very pleasant and unseasonably warm and dry long weekend in Belgium earlier in the month - at probably the prettiest motor racing circuit in the world - the fantastic Spa-Francorchamps in the Ardennes, for the second round of this year's FIA WEC.

A great first outing for the new toy, having just upgraded from a 40D to a 7Dii a week or so beforehand. Still getting used to the almost-telepathic AF compared to the 40D, and the various customisations.

A select bunch below, in three sections. C+C, as always, invited...


So, first up, support races from the Porsche Carrera Cup and the TCR series...

 

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Next, WEC pit lane action...

 

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And the race proper...

 

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Thanks, guys...

Those LMP cars are something else.

They are indeed - though from the front, the new Audi does rather look like the b@$tard love-child of Darth Vader and Henry the Vacuum cleaner...

 

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Thanks for the feedback; you're the second person to comment on the tight crops, so some learning there - though previous comments from motorsports events suggested tighter cropping... I guess some element of personal preference but I'll go wider next time out...

I guess the media go with faster shutter speeds to get sharper images and therefore higher keeper rates, with the resultant frozen motion. I quite enjoy the challenge of getting sharp panning shots at 1/125 - 1/200th at 200+mm with fast cars - a sense of satisfaction when they come out well but the keeper rate drops off which is not ideal when you have bills to pay and editors to keep happy...?

 

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OK, so responding to constructuve suggestions, I have re-visited a few shots and tried t either allow a bit more room around the cars, or bring in some more landscape or feature to "earth" the images.

Would welcome thoughts regarding success or otherwise....do these work for you?

Through the Bus Stop...

Around La Source...

Up the hill at Eau Rouge/Raidillion....

And, for comparison.... Can't make up my mind whether I like the added context of the camera guy or not...