2024 Through My Lens

121,000 photos, 50 events, 25 articles, and 29 racetracks including five interstate.  The numbers are cool to look at, especially when compared to last year, but they don't tell the entire story.  The tales told, moments captured or the highlights among them.  So again, I thought I'd share my coolest adventures and favourite photos of 2024.

2024 Australian Speedway Champs

Finding Speedway Motorcycle fascinating and downright gutsy​, I tagged along to the final three rounds of the 2024 Australian Speedway Championships.  Joining the action at Albury/Wodonga Motorcycle Club and following the show to Olympic Park in Mildura and finally Adelaide's Gillman Speedway.  Max Fricke and Rohan Tungate traded victories and also collided on track.  However, it would be Rohan Tungate who became victorious after ten days of travelling and racing, from Brisbane to Adelaide.

51st Annual Sprintcar Classic

I was very lucky to be able to photograph Australia's biggest Sprintcar race, the Classic at Premier Speedway, three nights full of action provided by the best drivers in the country, and abroad.  That weekend would also throw me in the deep end, capturing the entire event from the outside and the pits, but luckily, Premier Speedway has plenty of vantage points, and I got a handful of my favourite Speedway photos I'd ever taken, as Aaron Reutzal claimed his biggest prize pot for Saller Motorsport.

Phillip Island Classic

I'm a bit of a sucker for historic motorsport meetings, and the Phillip Island Classic is arguably Australia's best.  There is so much to learn about not only the history of motorsport but the men and women who have shaped it when in the presence of thirty-plus year-old machinery.  ​You never know what you're going to find, which is what makes this such a great weekend.

Speed Series at Phillip Island

Phillip Island always delivers, no matter the weather, and during the third round of Speed Series, we got rain, sunshine, cloud cover and rainbows.  In addition, both the Ford Mustang GT4 and Ferrari 296 GT3 would debut competitively in Australia, both taking immediate success.  I also had young photographer Jake Dunn (Northline Media) tethered to me for the whole three days, and it was a rewarding feeling to be able to share my knowledge with someone so passionate.

2024 Keep it Reet Drift Championship

For Keep it Reet's three round Drift Championship, the gang brought me along to capture photos for the championship's sponsors.  This was actually quite tricky, having to include sponsor boards and signage in the same pictures of the on-track action.  Regardless, I learnt a lot from the exercise and witnessed a close championship battle between Patrick Barlee and Roger Ianson, that came literally down to the final battle.

Street Machine Photoshoots

For some reason, Street Machine entrusted me to shoot two cars for their magazine, a 'Young Gun' feature on Bailey's TF Rodeo, and a full feature on Dean's Holden HR Sedan.  Although I've still got aways to go before I get to the quality I'd like, seeing your work spread across multiple pages in physical form is special, something 13-year-old me wouldn't have thought possible.

World Time Attack Challenge 2024

World Time Attack Challenge is a highlight every year, and the 2024 installment was no different.  Class, personal and lap records were broken all over, as some of the favourites suffered drama.  The Open Class came down to the wire, as Dream Project S15 took a worthy victory, and Barton Mawer broke the lap record not once, but three times in the RP968!  The Garrett International Drifting Cup would crown young blood once again, as Saxon Moyers fought through thick competition to stand on the top step, capping off an incredible WTAC festival.

Street Machine Drag Challenge 2024

The toughest week of the year, Street Machine Drag Challenge.  We'd begin at Calder Park, but unfortunately not for drag racing.  Mildura's Sunset Strip would be competitors first chance to grab a timeslip before heading to The Bend's 1/4 mile, then finishing at Heathcote Park for two full days of action.  Adam Rogash's Ford Capri would fight him all the way, yet he would still claim victory against stiff competition, as others obtained personal bests, or unfortunately, broken cars.   

Bathurst International

If you look at a map of Bathurst, Mt Panorama is actually a bit tricky to find, as from above it looks like a tiny suburb.  However, before you arrive in the town of Bathurst, you become aware of its presence.  You can see the famous lettering on the side of the mountain before you even arrive in town, as it looms over the land.  My first trip to Australia’s greatest racetrack would be for the final Bathurst International and the final Speed Series round ever, where the racing would be action packed, champions would be crowned, and the scenic views would be breathtaking.

Favourite Photos of 2024

Let's start with the first day of the year, attending the final round of Sprintcar Speedweek at Premier Speedway as a spectator.  Trying new angles from the outside, I found a gap and tried to include the nicely positioned race lights.  Sticking my camera right up to the fence at f/2.8 for a narrow depth of field so you can't see the fence directly in front of the lens and waiting for a Sprintcar to drive into the gap, that driver being eventual 2024 Australian Sprintcar Title winner Lockie McHugh.

When you're at Australia's biggest Sprintcar event - The Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic - you'd be silly to not get pictures of the drivers, they are heroes on dirt.  When shooting candids, I like to include the driver's number on the wing as a foreground.  During a break, I found Kerry Madsen sitting on a Hoosier Tyre, angling my camera to include as much of the Mobil 1 (or obil 1 as it turned out) as I could.

Two 1/4 of a second speedway pans; first of Will Carrol, shot from above at the 51st Sprintcar Classic, and second of Cameron O'Brien as he drove onto Blue Ribbon Raceway for the B-Main, using a flashgun for extra effect.

I've seen plenty of photos taken at Sandown that include the bushes on the front straight but have found them a bit boring.  During the first round of Speed Series, held at Sandown Raceway, I wanted to make the bushes interesting, and this shot of Marcus LaDelle on his warmup lap was my favourite.

Do you know how difficult it is for three drifters to spray champagne at the same time?  I thought it was impossible until Round 1 of the Keep it Reet Championship.  Marcus McCathie sprayed my camera directly, getting champagne everywhere within the frame.  Plus, the sunlight meant I used a shutter speed of 1/2000th, rather than 1/100th at night which is when the champagne is usually sprayed, meaning I could freeze all those droplets.

I was waiting for the man helping Frank Karl strap into his McLaren to move out of the frame before I snapped this overhead shot.  I noticed Frank had his arms outstretched over the steering column, which I thought would be a cool visual.  However, as soon as the frame was clear, Frank suddenly held the steering wheel flat below my camera, and only for a split second.   Rarely does the photo I get turn out better than what I anticipated because of a small, unexpected movement by the subject.

Yep, another 1/4 of a second pan, this time at the top of Lukey Heights.  I've done it before, and I'll do it again, but this shot is probably one of my best at one of my favourite corners to photograph.

A day later from the 1/4 pan, still at Phillip Island, the sun was out, and the Porsche Michelin Sprint contenders were lining up in pitlane, allowing me to nab this photo of a racer in their element, calm before the competition began.

Not only had I never seen as much mud at a racetrack before as I had at Timmis Speedway during their vintage meeting, but also never a willingness to get what was a perfectly clean historic racing car covered in mud.  The less-than-ideal track conditions didn't phase Mark Kuypers, who pushed his Super Modified to the limit, and absolutely covered it in mud.  Now that's how you're supposed to treat a vintage racer!

You can count on Patrick Barlee to put down a clinical qualifying run, but I can't always count on myself to be in the perfect spot to capture such a run.  This time however, I was ready and waiting behind the Thunderdome fence, with my camera pushed out as close as I could get it, freezing the carbon kevlar Corvette as it barely scraped the wall, and Barlee went on to take the top qualifying spot with a 96-point run, making for one of my favourite drift photos I've ever taken.

As Barton Mawer crossed the line to break the Sydney Motorsport Park lap record once again, I knew he would stand on top of RP968, just like he did earlier that day, and last year.  I had my star filter on, and I went with my gut feeling, 'it doesn't matter which way Barton is facing, I need lights in the background to create a star like effect behind him'.  Luckily, he didn't have his back to me as he climbed atop the Porsche and pumped his fists in celebration.

This year, we lost one of the biggest personalities in Australia's street car and Drag Racing scene, Harry Haig, devastating those who had spent time with him, both here and in the United States, as he left an unfillable hole.  During a Test 'n Tune event at Heathcote Park, many had showed up for last minute testing before the Hardass 1000 (Harry's own Drag and Drive event) and Street Machine Drag Challenge.  As I was about to leave, Harry's son Corty arrived at the burnout box, and I snapped a photo of him looking towards the quarter mile (thanks to no back window). 

During the Sprintcar Jackpot at Avalon Raceway, I was able to try some fancy filters that I'd been waiting to purchase since trying a few at Wahgunyah Speedway I had laying around.  One of those filters I had on when Glen Sutherland slid way up the track.  This prompted a photographer on the infield to grab a pic, using their flash, which I caught at the correct time, giving a ghost like effect to the spectators in the foreground.

One of the highlights of each Drag Challenge is hunting down the competitors on the road, and if you’re lucky, nabbing some rollers.  This behind the scenes style shot had Street Machine video guru Matty Hull targeting Andrew Natoli’s VK Commodore.

Friday practice at the Bathurst International for us photographers was all about the top of the mountain, as the morning fog delayed the start, but rolled away slowly.  As the drivers arrived at Brock's Skyline, they'd be above the clouds before dropping down into The Esses, barely able to catch a glimpse of the view.

The last time I properly photographed burnouts was back in 2022, and I had been itching to go back.  Particularly, because I had been inspired by Simon Davidson, who portrays burnout’s beautifully with wide angles and lots of colour.  I’d get the opportunity during the Castlemaine Invitational at Avalon Raceway, and this shot of ‘MR CHOW’ would be my favourite, with large colourful clouds that look like cotton candy.

Photographers are always yearning for golden hour, but it comes less frequent than we'd like.  Freestyle Kings would have their demonstration before the sun would set on Keep it Reet's last Friday Night Drifts of the year, and I wanted the sun to be directly behind them as they jumped.  I had to walk further along the Thunderdome grandstand side than I thought, but I found the right spot, and it was worth it.  This is also the one time I like the many poles around Calder Park, as it adds some height and context to the image.