ABOUT TWELVE PHOTOS

(1) The Tour Auto in April 2014 on the road to Chablis.  A Lancia Fulvia leads an Alfa Romeo.

A look back over the last four years of this blog and some of the photographs that have been a significant part of the journey.   Not necessarily my best photos but ones that represented the next step in my photographic journey.

(1) The first motor sport event I covered for Rouen-les-AFX.blogspot.com was the Tour Auto back in April 2014.  This shot, above, was taken on the road towards Chablis.    I got down into a ditch so that I was reasonably low compared to the cars and panned at a medium shutter speed so that I got a little movement into the picture.  A classic "on the road with the Tour Auto" shot with the rape seed field giving colour in the background and the iconic sixties cars in the foreground.   This was taken at a time when I was looking for a new hobby and suddenly that day I had found one.   At this stage I just had a Panasonic Lumix compact camera, but it gave me enough control to be a little more than point and shoot.

For all of my photos of the 2014 Tour Auto, click here.

(2) June 2014 at Chanteloup les Vignes and a Simca-Fiat Berlinette Le Mans.

(2) Back in 2014, I chose not to go to the Le Mans 24 hours as I am not a fan of big crowds and chose to go to a Montée Historique at Chanteloup les Vignes near Paris instead.  This was the venue for one of the Worold's first ever speed hill climbs.  I always want to capture the venue as much as the cars and thus I like this photo of the Simca-Fiat and the house behind it which might have been there in 1898 when Jenatzy won the first hill climb here.

For more pictures of the Chanteloup les Vignes hill climb, click here.

(3) 2014 and the start of the Buggy final at Bourges-Allogny.

(3) I am always looking for unusual places and angles that as an amateur we usually don't get the opportunity to capture.  Thus at the Bourges-Allogny autocross event I was fascinated to be behind the grid of cars as they made their start.

For more pictures of the Bourges Allogny Autocross and Sprint Car event, click here.

(4) A BMW 2002 Ti speeds through Reims just after the start of the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique in January 2015.

(4) I have never been much of a rally fan but nevertheless the Monte Carlo Rally has always fascinated me.  Thus in 2015, I jumped at the chance to go to Reims for the start of the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique.  The start doesn't happen until after dark and thus the challenges of taking good pictures multiply somewhat.  Thus, I was very pleased with this picture of a BMW 2002 Ti taken in the streets of Reims just after the start.

For more pictures of the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique, click here.

(5) Pit stop at the 2015 Le Mans 24 hours for the Pegasus Racing Team LMP2 car.

(5) 2015 was very special as it was my first visit to the Le Mans 24 Hours.  It was even more special to be a guest of Gareth Rees and Total.  This gave me the opportunity to take some shots which I wouldn't normally be able to take such as this pit stop at night.

For photos of almost all the cars at the 2015 le Mans 24 Hrs, click here.

(6) Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell at the Porsche Rennsport Reunion V at Laguna Seca in 2015.

(6) The Porsche Rennsport Reunion V at Laguna Seca remains one of my favourite events ever in nearly fifty years of following motor sport.   It was great to see so many of my motor racing heroes in none place at one time and to be able to take some photos of them.   The USA seems to do these events so well. It is not just the cars wqe want to aee it is he drivers as well.

For more photos of many Porsche cars and drivers at laguna Seca for Porsche Rennsport Reunion V, click here.

(7) Renault Clio R3 accelerates away from the start of a stage and into a turn on the 2016 Rallye de la Côte Fleurie.

(7) At the end of 2015 I decided to upgrade from my faithful Panasonic Lumix compact to a Canon DSLR.  It took a while before I got noticeably better results.  This was my first event with the Canon 7D Mk2 and here I am using a wide angle lens as I am very close to the action.  It captures the speed nicely.

For more pictures of the 2016 Rallye de la Côte Fleurie, click here.

(8) Le Mans Classic 2016 - a DB driver gets it all wrong entering the Esses.

(8) I most certainly don't like seeing cars and drivers get damaged but it is always good to see a few incidents that liven up proceedings. As amateur photographers we then want to capture this.  Thus I was happy to catch this incident at the Le Mans Classic. I am happy to report that incredibly neiiher car nor driver were hurt and both continued to race during the weekend.

For more picture of the fifties Sports Cars at the Le Mans Classic, click here.

(9) Le Mans Classic 2016.  The lead group of the 1966 to 1971 cars in the evening light at the Esses.

(9) Attending events where you see the cars at dusk or dawn always allows an opportunity for some special shots.   Thus, I was very pleased with my shots at the 2016 Le Mans Classic.  Even better that the shots contained such iconic cars such as the Lola T70, Ligier JS2 and Porsche 917.

For more pictures of these cars at dawn and dusk, click here.

(10) The 12 Hours of Sebring 2017 - Mazda RT24 cars at the hairpin.

(10) Capturing crisp shots of the cars whilst capturing movementis at least half the challenge of taking motor racing shots.  Visiting new circuits and finding the places to take good shots is half the fun.  I was pleased with my haul of shots from this year's Sebring event and enjoyed visiting this historic endurance circuit.

For more pictures of the 12 Hours of Sebring, click here.

(11) Le Mans at night in 2017, with the lights, Dunlop Bridge and cars leaving you in little doubt where you are.

(11) It is perhaps becoming clear, that when it comes to photography, I am a bit of a night owl.  Circuits change over time and a few years ago this shot wasn't possible for amateurs but the addition of a new bar means that we can now take iconic shots such as this.   Despite the crowds, Le mans has won me over because of dawn and dusk.

For all the LMP2 cars that competed in the 2017 Le Mans 24 hours click here and then follow the links for the other classes.

(12) Ferrari 512M leads a Chevron and a Lola during the 2017 Dix Mille Tours at Paul Ricard.

(12)  It took me a long time to find the right place to master this shot.  At last I found the right corner at Paul Ricard.   The front car is completely crisp but the following cars are slightly blurred and we see all them from the front.

For more from the Dix Mille Tours, click here.

Impossible to select the right twelve photos from literally thousands!   I look forward to 2018 and taking further steps forward.

To peruse all my motor racing events that I have attended inn the last four years, click here.

John Etherton asserts his copyright to all of the photos on this blogpost.  However, you may post the photos elsewhere on the web as long as you credit the photographer, John Etherton, and this blog post, Rouenlesafx@blogspot.com and provide a link to this page.

John Etherton affirme son droit d'auteur à l'ensemble des photos sur ce billet de blog. Cependant, vous pouvez poster des photos ailleurs sur le web aussi longtemps que vous créditez le photographe, John Etherton, et ce blog, Rouenlesafx@blogspot.com et fournissez un lien vers cette page.