Through My Lens at the Geelong Revival

This year we got a double dose of the Geelong Revival.  First in March and again as always in November, celebrating classic motoring from vintage automobiles to unique racecars, mixing it up against modern day performance titans and the future of the motoring industry.

On the Saturday, I wanted to focus most of my attention on the motorsport side of this festival, the quarter mile sprints! This meant heading straight to the pits to check out the competitors.

From Mini Muscle Cars and tissue box style racers to full-size classic muscle and smoking gassers, anything and everything was having a go down the Geelong waterfront parking, that had beaned temporarily turned into a quarter mile dragstrip with a slight right turn.

The start line gave the best vantage point to see all the cars line up in preparation for one of their three runs of the day, and to see how much traction they would have off the line.

I always try and make time for shooting the drivers right before they head on track, seeing them get into their machines and make any last-minute preparations.  The Geelong Revival was no different.

Draped in fireproof armour and protective headgear, they looked ready to go to war against the clock, riding their chariots down the quarter mile, slamming on the brakes as they crossed the chequered flag.

Riders on two wheels would also join in, leaning through the long right hander that made up the quarter mile.

The best vantage point by far to watch the runs was on the hill, with the colourful pits and Geelong Bay shining in the background.  I spent majority of Saturday panning, trying to get that colourful blur.

Before finishing for the day, I made sure to have a look at the display at the east side of the festival.  This was where old school internal combustion contrasted against electric power.  There was plenty of talk about electric vehicles and its future during the Revival, particularly thanks to Teslas being some of the fastest cars during the sprints.

On Sunday, my plan was to focus more on the array of displays around the Geelong Waterfront, first checking out this colourful collection of vans.  Van culture is a small yet noteworthy part of car culture that particularly grew in the 70's in Australia thanks to the infamous Holden Sandman.  Van life is all about freedom, living out of your automobile or (as was the case with many on display) a great way to display individual artistic talents and other obsessions.

Take a closer look at any of these vans, particularly inside and you'll notice that each had its own theme.

This leads me to something I've mentioned many times before, the dedication and patience to keep these cars in not only a beautiful condition but also drive them across the state (and in some cases interstate) is extremely notable.  Seeing these three Shelby Cobras on the road during my drive to Geelong, in the early morning cold and drizzle is a perfect example of that dedication.

Like any good car show, you could find anything parked up on the grass and along Eastern Beach Rd.  From Australian legends to hot rods and French lightweights like the Alpine A110. 

You'll even find the bizarre like this two-faced Holden Torana, one with an engine and the other with a built in BBQ.  I can't think of anything more Aussie than that!

Despite the range of metal on display, I couldn't help myself and spent the rest of the day sitting on the grass photographing the sprints.  It's also hard to ignore Matt Mingay and the Hot Wheels Stunt Team making tons of noise, entertaining the crowd with jumps and burnouts.

Although the main theme of Geelong's yearly motoring festival is to revive classic machines and historic race cars, to see ​modern performance vehicles with tomorrow's technologies at the same time gives a great contrast and shows how far the motoring sector has come, whilst still having as much enthusiasm and passion as the cars of the past.

Bonus Gallery