Le Mans 24h - the race (many pictures)

[menos]

It took me a while, to find a place with enough Internet connection, to do a server update and upload some shots to the net ;-) Sorry for that - a 11" Mac Air and tethered mobile solution is on my wish list for next year's Le Mans 24h.
It has been a crazy race with some of the usual Le Mans moments, leading to 21 entries not finished.

Anthony Davidson in the No.8 Toyota TS030 Hybrid survived an horrifying high speed accident with a broken back in the 4th hour of the race. Contact between his car and a Ferrari 458, breaking for the first chicane of the Mulsanne straight, lead to the Toyota launching into the air and crashing into the tire wall of the chicane. Both drivers could leave their cars by themselves.

One car, also sacrificed to a very sad Le Mans moment, was the Highcroft Racing Delta Wing prototype. The Delta Wing was pushed off track into a concrete wall by Kazuki Nakajima, when the safety car phase was lifted. He must have completely overlooked the Delta Wing in his Toyota TS030 Hybrid.
The car had enjoyed many curious fans and only positive comments from its drivers in interviews at Radio Le Mans during the race. I have just a few shots of this racer as of it's early withdrawal, damaged beyond repair.

Please have also a look on my website for some upcoming photos.
I wish, I would have had the chance of using one of the available Leica M Monochrom pre production cameras around, but this was just not possible.

Here are some first picks for you, as planned this year, most shot with a Leica M8.2 and Canon 100 f2 LTM lens.

1

"the winning Audi R18 e-tron Quattro No.1 - Sunday morning"

2

"Flying Lizard Motorsports - Porsche 911 GT3 RSR"

3

"class winning Larbre Competition Corvette"

4

"Zytech Nissan"

5

"beautiful Norma Judd"

6
scary moment:

7

8

"Rebellion Racing Lola"

9

"Aston Marting, just for Dave ;-)"

10

"Audi No.2"

 

[menos]

ISO640 was the highest, I shot with the M8.2 - the Canon 100 f2 LTM wide open, this was, when the light went off. I took some shots with the Noctilux, but then called it a day and did a few hours of sleep.

11

"Noctilux @ f1"

… and a few shots around the track:

12

"at the fun fair"

13
… some had a race during the race:

"funny hat racing"

14

"sleep"

15

"cute hair style"

16
… the breakfast, that saved my life: croissant + coffee, 2x please:

"breakfast"

17
… first cigarette in the morning:

18
… the closest, one can get to the cars - the first fence:

19
It was over much too early … much too early:

 

[paulfish4570]

nice work. i might like the sleeping shot best ...

 

[kdemas]

Terrific Dirk, thanks for posting. I'm glad you got a shot of the Deltawing, fun to see a whole new concept on the track. Too bad Nakajima decided to punt it off the track.

I hope you had a great time. I think I'm going to hit it next year, it's time! Any excuse for me to go to France is a good one 🙂

 

[dave lackey]

Great photos, Dirk! Something I always wanted to do!

I reckon this shows what an obsolete rangefinder camera can do, huh?

Superb.

 

[robert blu]

A good work with many great phots, thanks for posting and ...bringing me to such an event!
robert

 

[dave lackey]

Hi, Dirk...

You know, the M8/M9 cameras would have been the last choice for me to shoot a race because I can't imagine getting the locations that you must have had to be able to shoot a 100 mm (yeah, I know it was a crop effective 140+ focal length due to the digital factor), but still, the location must have been very good.🙂

And then, adding the superb talent of the photographer....

Bam! Great photos emerge that are more exciting than the race was!:angel:

 

[Speedfreak]

I have a feeling, these would look far better in color.

 

[dct]

I'm always reading RF cameras doesn't rule for sports...
Thank you for your excellent counterproof!

 

[Scheelings]

Amazing shots... high speed cars, f1.0, manual focus in low light. Simply outstanding!

 

[seakayaker1]

Enjoyed the photographs, thanks for posting!

 

[jay_kay]

I have a feeling, these would look far better in color.

This. I want to see the orange glow of those brake discs!

Still superb shots though. I love LMP cars.

 

[jonasv]

Not that I wouldn't want to see the colour shots, but the B&W oddly strikes me as very fitting for this subject... even though it's unusual.

The viewer's attention is drawn much more to the atmosphere, the shape of the cars, ... makes you see something different than the bright-coloured sponsor ads on the cars, for once.

 

[menos]

I am so sorry guys, I just found this thread burried, me never following up - it just was dig under i suppose.

nice work. i might like the sleeping shot best ...

Thanks Paul - these are the moments of a 24h race, making it unique - it's so different from leaving a race track already, sun still shining after a afternoon's sprint race.

Terrific Dirk, thanks for posting. I'm glad you got a shot of the Deltawing, fun to see a whole new concept on the track. Too bad Nakajima decided to punt it off the track.

I hope you had a great time. I think I'm going to hit it next year, it's time! Any excuse for me to go to France is a good one 🙂

Yes Kent, that moment was so unfortunate and one really could feel, that the Delta Wing pilots had bitten their teeth very hard, not to get their true feelings about this incident out into the cameras and microphones … the car ran great.

Dirk, another good year @ Le Mans for you!

This also reaffirms that the M8.2 is far from obsolete!

Oh yes, it was (not as good as I hoped, but it was. The M8.2 is far, far from getting retired. In fact, most racing shots during good light were done with the M9.

I am contemplating about a M Monochrom, once, they are available and rethought my M8.2 as well.
These racing shots really make it impossible, to sell the M8.2 even with other digital M bodies around.
The M9 is technically the worse camera, to shoot these.

Great photos, Dirk! Something I always wanted to do!

I reckon this shows what an obsolete rangefinder camera can do, huh?

Superb.

Thanks a lot Dave ;-) The Leica M is far from obsolete, but we RFF folks should know this, eh ;-)
In fact, in regards of manual focus cameras, the rangefinder is by far the most accurate and fastest method of focussing (I can't get a SLR to focus like this at all).

Of course is the Leica M not the ideal tool for this kind of stuff, but does it matter? I love shooting RF cameras and love motor sports, so what more is needed - hehe.

A good work with many great phots, thanks for posting and ...bringing me to such an event!
robert

Thank you Robert! I hope, you get the chance to be there one day - nothing is like the Le Mans 24h!

Hi, Dirk...

You know, the M8/M9 cameras would have been the last choice for me to shoot a race because I can't imagine getting the locations that you must have had to be able to shoot a 100 mm (yeah, I know it was a crop effective 140+ focal length due to the digital factor), but still, the location must have been very good.🙂

And then, adding the superb talent of the photographer....

Bam! Great photos emerge that are more exciting than the race was!:angel:

Haha - no it really is just finding ways of make things work.
While with long lenses and SLRs, one has the comfort of bigger windows of operation, it's interesting, to search the accessibilities for shooting shorter glass.
It means, one is limited in a lot of places to slow shutter panning shots, making fence fragments disappear or shoot very fast lenses close up to fences, that are very close to the track (if one can get there).

Unfortunately security is getting sharper by the year, making it harder and harder for us, to get such shots.
I really hope, I can get something figured out for next year, to get behind the fence again.

I have a feeling, these would look far better in color.

… for folks, who like color shots maybe. I have no big interest in color, but do shoot color, when using Nikon DSLR gear with super telephotos (which frankly, I don't enjoy as much ;-)

I'm always reading RF cameras doesn't rule for sports...
Thank you for your excellent counterproof!

Well, actually, they really don't rule for sports, but let's see it that way - it worked half a century ago with some of the great masters of photography doing astonishing photographs from Grand Prix races back then, so why shouldn't it work today.
The only limitation today is indeed, that one cannot get as close to the action as back in the days.

Amazing shots... high speed cars, f1.0, manual focus in low light. Simply outstanding!

Haha - thanks - most of the shots though were done with the Canon 100/2 LTM ;-)
I am really happy, I made the last minute decision, to not bring a Leica lens for the main part of the shots (my actual motor sports lens is a 135 APO-Telyt). I hope, some people see these photos also as a credit to the wonderful late Canon rangefinder lens designs, which I love!

Enjoyed the photographs, thanks for posting!

Thank you certainly - I love to shoot these, and like to show them … ;-)

The M8 / M8.2 have a crop factor of 1.33X, thus an effective focal length of 133mm or in essence a 135mm look.

Most road courses I have photographed provide some very close vantage points, much more so than dedicated tracks.

The Canon LTM 100/2 is my go-to long lens for the M8.2, wide open it is very, very good; by 2.8 it is amazing. No 90mm Leica lens has impressed me as does this lens. I have had 3 different pre-asph 90 Summicrons, a couple of different thin 90 Tele Elmarits and a 90 Elmar (I still have a 90 T E and the old Elmar.)

Oh yes, how I would love, to shoot some road course tracks (Officially, the Circuit de la Sarthe is such a track, but unfortunately, all of the spectator areas are as securely detached from the circuit, as on any other modern racing track).
One of the nice examples for me is a photograph in a Leitz manual from the 50's, presenting the M3 viewfinder on a shot of a Grand Prix racer, filling the whole frame (50mm that is !!!).
I would love to do that!

This. I want to see the orange glow of those brake discs!

Still superb shots though. I love LMP cars.

Oh, LMP racers are my absolute favorite racers!

Not that I wouldn't want to see the colour shots, but the B&W oddly strikes me as very fitting for this subject... even though it's unusual.

The viewer's attention is drawn much more to the atmosphere, the shape of the cars, ... makes you see something different than the bright-coloured sponsor ads on the cars, for once.

Thank you for these words - it's indeed one of the thoughts, that make me do these photographs (I am still very deep in developing this stuff).
I truly love vintage motorsports photographs, but don't aim to resemble or imitate such a style, rather than finding myself using similar gear and hopefully …

Here are some shots, I didn't show here yet:

One of my very first shots with the new 21 Super Elmar - what a lens!

some 1/15sec shots:

and a Porsche to go:

I am really looking forward to next year - press thumbs, so somehow, I can get something running for getting closer!

 

[mls64]

Fantastic work Dirk! Are you using a 90mm flange with the 100mm lens and then approximating composition with the 90mm frame lines?

 

[menos]

Fantastic work Dirk! Are you using a 90mm flange with the 100mm lens and then approximating composition with the 90mm frame lines?

Thanks Michael, yes, I use a 90mm adapter on this lens, which works best for me.

The actual difference between the M8.2 and M9 in how their respective frame lines are calibrated actually comes as an advantage here.
I use the M9, to get shots, where I can be closer to the track, while the M8.2 is always my first choice, when I know, that 100mm will not be enough and I would have to crop (the M8 sensor does show more fine detail).

 

[splitimageview]

Great stuff. Love the Deltawing shot and the Flying Lizard Porsche.

I'm assuming you had credentials to get these vantage points?

 

[menos]

Great stuff. Love the Deltawing shot and the Flying Lizard Porsche.

I'm assuming you had credentials to get these vantage points?

Thanks, but unfortunately, I had no real track access, which is the whole dilemma and sole reason, why i couldn't get the shots, I wanted.

Even some of my favorite spots around the track have been entirely locked from spectators and I have been refused by security to shoot, as I did last years - very frustrating experience.
I absolutely must find a way to get behind the fence next year!

This is shot with Leica M7 or MP and pushed TriX @ ISO3200 in D76:

the winning Audi coming into the pits during the night:

The same Audi, taking the win of the 2011 edition of the Le Mans 24h (Leica M9 + 135 APO-Telyt):

I absolutely love endurance racing with the Le Mans 24h always being the crown jewel each season.
I would absolutely love, to being able, to shoot with the Leica M system with short lenses as 21/35/50/85 …

 

[splitimageview]

Well, these are even more impressive if you didn't have credentials. I have shot motorsports events in the past, and it's very difficult if not impossible to get decent photo opportunities without media passes....kudos!

 

[raytoei@gmail.com]

very impressive. i wonder how you managed to shoot at such fast moving objectives with tele-lens even with high iso....