The Green Hell

[MattyW]

The Nordschleife has been one of those circuits that I've dreamed of shooting for a long time now. I was over at Spa this weekend, and the opportunity arose to shoot the VLN Endurance Championship race on the famous circuit. Arriving in the hammering rain, with only shorts and t-shirt wasn't ideal, but with the help of a bin-bag, I was able to fashion a modicum of waterproofing, for my shoulders at least! Still, it drew some funny looks from a lot of the locals, sat in their gazebos, or under tarps.
The race was wet from start to finish, which didn't make exploring on foot the easiest, but nevertheless, the rain was good for something, as it threw up a lot of spray, and added to the atmosphere of the event.

1) Karussel - Surprisingly difficult to make a shot here.
gck by Matty, on Flickr

2) A Zakspeed prepped SLS which was on the money all through the race, and looked fantastic
khgdkg by Matty, on Flickr

3) My first time shooting GT Cars, and my word, they look and sound fantastic
khgdkg by Matty, on Flickr

4) Trying desperately to fit in some of the tradmark grafitti.
jhvkf-22 by Matty, on Flickr

5) The gloom opened up for a moment to reveal some of the background
khgdkg by Matty, on Flickr

6) Trying to find a little colour
gck by Matty, on Flickr

7) Lights ablaze - I wish I had more opportunity to shoot this sort of thing in the UK
jhvkf-23 by Matty, on Flickr

8) Finishing with a little bit of light, and a Falken Porsche.
khgdkg by Matty, on Flickr

Thanks for looking

 

[Russy]

Great shots there Matty, especially #2. I was shooting the Spa Ardennes challenge earlier on and that weather was temperamental to say the least! Got absolutely soaked while packing up my motorbike for the ride home, lovely track though.

Don't think my shots will match yours for dramatic effect mind

 

[MattyW]

Great shots there Matty, especially #2. I was shooting the Spa Ardennes challenge earlier on and that weather was temperamental to say the least! Got absolutely soaked while packing up my motorbike for the ride home, lovely track though.

Don't think my shots will match yours for dramatic effect mind

Cheers Russ, the Saturday was killer for weather, but I made it back to Spa for the 3h race in the evening, and we were treated to a lovely sunset. It was a mixed weekend all round for weather, but I'm not complaining, as it makes it a little more interesting for shots. Hope you had a good time at Spa, its an awesome circuit, and the Summer Classic is a really good meeting, always seems to have a great atmosphere.

 

[Kodiak Qc]

and my word

•


…say no more and let the pictures
do the talking!

#2 and #4 are doing it beautifully!

 

[photosample]

Amazing shots !
The rain add to the atmosphere as well.

 

[ukaskew]

The weather elevates these shots so I appreciate the effort! #1 and #2 are exceptional, the angle and technical execution of #1 is right on the money, and #2 is superb with the misty spray hanging in the background. Love them.

 

[MattyW]

•


…say no more and let the pictures
do the talking!

#2 and #4 are doing it beautifully!

Cheers buddy, marvellous what a bit of water can do to spice up some shots eh!!

Amazing shots !
The rain add to the atmosphere as well.

Thanks Kalin, it close on broke a few cameras at the ring, but I'm all for a bit of rain! Photo-Gloss!!

The weather elevates these shots so I appreciate the effort! #1 and #2 are exceptional, the angle and technical execution of #1 is right on the money, and #2 is superb with the misty spray hanging in the background. Love them.

Thanks Chris, Karussell was a nightmare to shoot. I went with the idea of shooting from the inside of the track, which would effectively be the outside of that corner, and getting the cars dipping into the corner, but this wasn't possible, so I had to come up with an alternate plan! As tough as the weather was, it made for some interesting shots to my mind, and its always good practice to react to situations like this. Pleased they hit the mark and much appreciated!

 

[PBP27]

Wow what a treat you had, I've just seen your Spa shots on Flickr too, really on the money well done. #2,3,5 & 7 if I had to pick, although they are all outstanding to me.

 

[MattyW]

Wow what a treat you had, I've just seen your Spa shots on Flickr too, really on the money well done. #2,3,5 & 7 if I had to pick, although they are all outstanding to me.

Cheers Paul, It was an action packed weekend for sure, I was really impressed by the Nurburgring, though a 4 hour race flew by. I am going to have to return for either the N24 or the Oldtimer GP to make a bit more progress exploring the track. The rain and crappy light made for some interesting shots though at least!
I'll whack a thread on here for Spa when I've finished running through. Cheers for taking a look through the flickr shots too - appreciated!

 

[PBP27]

Cheers Paul, It was an action packed weekend for sure, I was really impressed by the Nurburgring, though a 4 hour race flew by. I am going to have to return for either the N24 or the Oldtimer GP to make a bit more progress exploring the track. The rain and crappy light made for some interesting shots though at least!
I'll whack a thread on here for Spa when I've finished running through. Cheers for taking a look through the flickr shots too - appreciated!

I'll have to see if I can make a visit to both one year, they do look fantastic circuits to shoot at, even with the inclement weather !

 

[Neil.]

Top set of shots Matty, really like the compositions and as others have said, the conditions really add to the images.

 

[GAZA62]

Superb set of pics as above great comp and atmos in these 3 is my winner

 

[User.30879]

Fantastic set Matty, but 2 really stands out for me. Well done with the conditions mate

 

[Craigus]

All great, #2 especially is great! Well done.

 

[qplate]

Superb set of photographs. Very atmospheric. #2 & #4 are my favourites and really show what the 'Ring' is all about.

 

[MattyW]

I'll have to see if I can make a visit to both one year, they do look fantastic circuits to shoot at, even with the inclement weather !

You certainly should, its surprisingly cheap and easy to get to meets over there. And its definitely worth the investment!!

Top set of shots Matty, really like the compositions and as others have said, the conditions really add to the images.

Thanks Neil, for sure the weather helped me out here. Though it didn't feel like it at the time. Much appreciated!

Superb set of pics as above great comp and atmos in these 3 is my winner

Thanks Gary, 3 has a similar perspective to some of your shots from Brands that I've seen before i think. Pleased you like the set mate

Fantastic set Matty, but 2 really stands out for me. Well done with the conditions mate

Cheers buddy, I think i've just about dried out now. Im quite happy with 2 as well!

All great, #2 especially is great! Well done.

Cheers Craig, another vote for 2, it was a cracking looking car

Superb set of photographs. Very atmospheric. #2 & #4 are my favourites and really show what the 'Ring' is all about.

Thanks very much, Im glad that it conveys the atmosphere, I'd love to go back and have another crack at the Nordschleife, its an epic place to shoot!

 

[r1flyguy]

Great shots, love the 'Ring' been a few times on the bike & in the car

No. 8 is the only one I wasn't keen on. I'm a huge 911 fan so personally if the car was fully in focus I'd have really liked it

 

[Paz]

Very atmospheric shots with your editing, the weather is so changeable at both Nurburg & Spa it's quite unnerving!

3 - nice sharp shot with a cold, wet ambience.
5 - nice bit of context to the shot, really depicts how dire the weather was.
7 - love the piercing lights in this one.
8 - I'm a big fan of this type of shot, the flare to the left is fantastic.

 

[RedSquareImages]

Lovely stuff. Keep meaning to post my last trip. Well done.

 

[MattyW]

Great shots, love the 'Ring' been a few times on the bike & in the car

No. 8 is the only one I wasn't keen on. I'm a huge 911 fan so personally if the car was fully in focus I'd have really liked it

Thanks buddy, I love the Falken livery on the 911, I purposefully dropped the shutter speed to give the feel of speed, unfortunately no chance of the whole car in focus at this speed.
Much appreciated.

Very atmospheric shots with your editing, the weather is so changeable at both Nurburg & Spa it's quite unnerving!

3 - nice sharp shot with a cold, wet ambience.
5 - nice bit of context to the shot, really depicts how dire the weather was.
7 - love the piercing lights in this one.
8 - I'm a big fan of this type of shot, the flare to the left is fantastic.

Thanks very much Paz, The conditions really seemed to suit the processing, though its more than I'd usually apply.
Its a good test to shoot in these inclement conditions, both for trying to keep the camera dry (and alive) and also for what shots appear that wouldn't normally catch the eye.
Appreciate your feedback mate

Lovely stuff. Keep meaning to post my last trip. Well done.

Thanks very much, get some of yours posted!!