Driving me Mad

Well, I should say I’m mad for not driving. This week, I invited myself along to the Rebel Motorsport Club exclusive track day at Llandow Circuit. In the past I have been a paid up member of this great little club, but since the arrangements of buying a house started to take place I’ve become a bit of a ghost. I missed those guys! This seemed like a perfect opportunity to take a day off work, stand in a field and take photos of cars as well as mingle with some old faces and new ones.

The day was off to bad start with my bed gripping me tightly and not letting me go for at least 20 minutes after my alarm had gone off. It’s been doing that a lot lately. I did however manage to escape it’s grasp, shower and drive the 30 or so miles to the track just in time for the safety briefing.

John is quite a character. I’ve attended a few of his pre-track day chats and I’m not sure that there are many people who can get the seriousness of track safety across while making people laugh at the same time. It’s an interesting concept and it works, not that I had any doubt that a day in the company of this club would be anything other than safe!

With the drivers briefed and the engines warming, I plodded around to try and get a good vantage point. I’ve been to the circuit for the last 4 years I think, with Rebel so I had a fair idea where to setup camp.

I’ve driven the track on two occasions, and it takes it’s toll on your body. Your adrenaline is up and down throughout the day, your body is forced through g forces that exceed the ones on your daily drive to the shop and it all adds up to make you tired as ten men. I didn’t think just photographing the even would have the same effect. Though it could have been that my bed should have clutched me for longer.

After lunch, I needed a break, the sun was out and my eyes had just about had enough of squinting from the sun and winking down the viewfinder. I managed to take advantage of a small handful of passenger laps, just to finish the day off nicely.

 I’d recommend a visit to Llandow, they’re doing experience days every month now where you can drive just about anything from a supercar to a hovercraft. It’s not necesseraliy a local club, people come from far and wide to spend time out with Rebel, but if you like cars and more specifically, driving your cars rather than looking at them or talking about them, check these guys out!

Thank you to Rebel and Llandow for having me for the day!

 

Wire Wool Survival

I’ve managed it again. Being out in the dark with a bag full of wire wool and managed to not set myself or any objects within a 10 meter radius on fire. Who thought playing with tiny molten bits of metal could be so safe!?

There are wire wool spinning photos all over the internet and I don’t confess to mine being any different. I just enjoy the whole process of working with it.

The sound of wire wool being spun at night is almost deafening, but I love the way it whooshes around hitting the floor and surrounding objects or fizzing on damp grass or water. It is said that if you loose one of your senses, that the others become more prominent. I’m sure this is the case a lot of the time during night photography, because your eyes aren’t picking up everything in the pitch black, you are a lot more aware of the sounds around you.

Have you spun wire wool? What are your experiences?