When you wish you could smell it!
Motorsport vibes and what to do when you can't be there in person...
Like all things, Motor Sports has suffered over the past 12 months. Us fans would have found ourselves missing the excitement that the live atmosphere provides when at the track or other motor event. Media coverage does fill some of the void when you are not able to attend an event in person but it also leaves a bit to be desired when you feel that deep urge to be amongst the action, to feel the vibrations, hear the noise and smell the vaporizing tires! I thought I would open a discussion and just touch on a few ways I have tried to keep immersed in the culture when world events, life commitments or unexpected potholes interfere.
Porsche Goodness at The Bend Motorsport Park, South Australia -Photo by Marcus Cardone 2020
Youtube - Yes, the bottomless pit makes my list. You can find yourself spiraling down the rabbit-hole looking at hours of unfortunate people hurting themselves or armed Texans shooting watermelons with the biggest guns they can get their hands on. Along with the bizarre, there is some really great content there too. If I don't get distracted by Salad Fingers or Happy Tree Friends (for your health -do not look these up), almost every form of motorsport is there with endless amounts of material to pore over. During my JDM phase, I probably lost days watching Tōge battles through the Japanese hills and Drift Runs around Ebisu. Besides the niche categories I find myself looking at old Bathurst Highlights, GT Footage, hill climbs and good 'ol Kenny Block throwing his insane cars round a Gymkhana.
Photography - For me this is a big one! I find a lot of inspiration looking at my favourite photographers' work such as Castle Car Media, Alex Penfold and North Borders to name a few. I learn so much from these artists and always look forward to their new content. Along with the heavy hitters, I also enjoy discovering new talent in the scene. The benefits of social media these days has made this an effortless process. It may seem like the space is oversaturated with everyone doing the same thing but it has also given us the opportunity to see budding talent from all corners of the world. One can be easily distracted from the work-focus by ogling other people's creations but generally I find it helps hit the automotive "spot" when I can't do the creating myself.
Sifting through my old photos of Motorsport or previous car shoots can provide a welcome relief to boredom whilst also finding hidden gems that were overlooked. During a lot of the Covid lockdowns it was heartwarming to see the photography community come together virtually and share their previous works with each other. When we were unable to go out shooting there were many editing sessions, working on other photographer's raw photos and sharing them around to see people's different styles. Even for non-photographers, I suggest you do a quick search for "edit my raw" challenges to see people's different takes on the same shot.
Video Games - Although I don't indulge in these as often as I used to, I still return to the likes of Forza and Grand Turismo to get some epic driving experiences in exotic cars. As many of you know, today's video games are insane! The artists that work on these productions are so talented - they create realistic representations of familiar locales to speed through with your friends. Tour the countryside leisurely or compete neck and neck with other hardcore gamers! These games have also sprouted an amazing hobby of virtual photography. Recent years have seen crazy development in authentic photography synthesized on-screen. It is so good, that often I can't tell if it is the real deal or not! Not only that but I know of several real life photographers who started in such a place and still hone their skills in the game-world. One of my all-time favourite real-world photographers Castle Car Media (check him out @castlecarmedia on Instagram) has roots in this space. He was gracious enough to give me a gallery of his virtual work - see below.
Local Meets - Cars & Coffee or just a group cruise. Back in the days when I used to cruise around with my mates in my 1995 Nissan 180sx, most of my socialising revolved around car culture. These days, everyday life demands can make this difficult but the car community has you covered! In my city, there is a meet, cruise or Cars and Coffee event almost every weekend. Although I only attend a couple of my favourites regularly, there are a vast number of other organised events available. Whether your thing is Muscle cars, Classic only, Porsche Club or Utes and Pickups, each gathering is a hub for like minded people who are up for some eye-candy and a good chat. The social aspect of these events is just as central to their success as are the cars that go. I have met so many great people at these things and really look forward to them each month.
Online magazines - Speedhunters in particular has been an all-time fave. The quality of articles and photography they put up really is on par with traditional hard copy magazine publications. I have come across some of my favourite journalists and photographers here. All genres of Motorsport and car culture is discussed with tier 1 photography to accompany the prose. If you haven't come across this, I highly recommend putting it in your favourites! Their "featured images" section at the bottom of their page is an essential!
Drivetribe - Yep, this place is a godsend when it comes to being immersed in everything cars. The sheer volume of quality articles, photo galleries, quizzes and news is astonishing. I am a bit ashamed to admit that I was fairly late to jump on the Drivetribe band wagon. I heard about it a few years back but never looked into it. It was only when a content creator asked if they could use some of my images in their Drivetribe article that I had another look. Now that I am on the wagon, I feel like I am riding shotgun! This place really feels like a "community", people are encouraged to share and take part in discussions while their experience can be tailored to the niches of interest.
McLaren P1 GTR making an appearance at The Bend Motorsport Park, South Australia - Photograph by Marcus Cardone 2020
How do you get your Automotive therapy? I would be very interested to expand the points listed above but also hear different ways you get your fixes when you can't get to the live events. I will also list below a few of my favourite artists so you can check out their galleries when you are in need of quality shots to get you by...
Castle Car Media (Special thanks for the virtual gallery)
Card1 Photos (my gallery)
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Comments (3)
Thanks for the mention! ;-)
No worries, going to be doing a series of interviews here too, are you interested?
Sure, you're welcome to send me a DM (here or IG, got no idea how this page works) and we'll fix something 👍🏼