Hey there. Assuming barely anyone on here knows me, let me introduce myself. I am Lukas, 27, from a small village near Bonn, Germany. First let me disappoint some of you by telling you that I am not the typical „car guy“ as many of you would expect me to be. I do not hang out with that many tuning guys and gals and rarely attend car meets or stuff like that. But don´t worry, my heart is fueled by gasoline. Motorsport is what gets me going. The love started early and having the Nürburgring 45km away helps a lot to keep the fire burning. At one of my visits to the eifel-forests I brought my mum’s cam. Not to actually „shoot racing“ but to capture what I was seeing as personal memories. From that point on the whole photography thing got a little out of hand and developed into what I am doing today.
Travelling through Germany and the surrounding countries to capture racing in all its variety and showing the outcome on LWPhoto. Whether it´s endurance racing, rallye or drifting, anything with screaming engines, cars and drivers being brought to their limits is fine for me. Shooting cars and evolving my skills brought me more and more into the world of photography. It´s time-consuming and expensive but on the other hand it´s so rewarding to compare between your imagination and the actual picture. That being said leads me to my plans for the future. The main one is spreading my range. Events like WRC Finland, Gatebil and Le Mans are on top of my list. Maybe I will even get the chance to cover one or two races as an official media-guy with track access. But before getting lost in future dreams let me show you what I´ve been doing so far, because thats what I am here for.
ENDURANCE RACING
Nordschleife. 24 Hours. My home turf. This is where my love for motorsport started many years ago. Hearing high-reving engines, squeeking tires and screaming exhausts for the first time got me hooked. This special shot was taken from a spectator point at the Wehrseifen-section in 2014. The sunflares and the MarcVDS Z4 put me right back in the mood I had when I took the picture.
(EOS550D | 28-70 F2.8L @ 28mm | F9 | 1/60sec | ISO200 )
This long exposure was taken during 2014 qualification race for the Nürburgring 24 hours. The red line makes you realize how far you can actually see the cars. Shots like this one make me love night time racing even more. It creates a feeling of competition, risk and total commitment without even seeing a car.
When sex was safe and racing was dangerous. Taken during the Nürburgring WEC weekend this picture shows what it’s like to race old cars. Exhausting, expensive and dangerous but even more exciting and beautiful to watch.
( EOS5DIII | 70-200 F2.8L + 1.4 extender @ 280mm | F4 | 1/500sec | ISO100 )
RALLYE
Rallye. When it comes to photography, rallye is the most rewarding form. Taking place on public roads makes it impossible to apply and enforce the same strict regulations for spectators which you would have to face on racetracks. The spots to shoot from are endless. This was taken at my first event in 2014. Boucles de Spa. No polarizer yet. One of my favourite rallyes. Many different historic cars driven the right way. Due to the time of the year the drivers mostly have to face tricky conditions which also makes it interesting to watch and shoot. Leafy, slippery corners, fog, maybe even some snow.
( EOS550D | 70-200 F4L @ 200mm | F4 | 1/320sec | ISO200 )
This stage was special. During the 2014 East Belgian Rallye, one of the more crowded ones of the country, me and my companion decided to take a walk into the forrest, away from the official spectator spots. Walking that extra mile is something I highly recommend doing on rallies because you can find places like this. A high-speed right-hander with no other photographers, spectators or marshalls in sight. Of course there are safer areas to stand than on the outside of a fast corner. But with a mix of experience and common sense we were able to judge where it was safe so duck and shoot. Gravel flying past your head, hitting trees and gear is just part of the game.
( EOS550D | 70-200 F4L @ 90mm | F5 | 1/250sec | ISO800 )
Stage rallye at night is just something else. Especially when you arrive when its already dark. You just don´t know what to expect until the first car comes in sight. My intention on this one was to capture that strange but exciting „arrival“-feeling I had during this stage of last years East Belgian Rallye. And I really wanted to know what my new 5DIII was capable of on high ISO. I can say I´m pretty pleased.
( EOS5DIII | 70-200 F2.8L @ 170mm | F2.8 | 1/40sec | ISO12800 )
Same rallye as the above. This frontal shot is the result of taking the long way again. We arrived early and just walked the stage in opposite direction. We did our homework, studying last years onboards, so we knew that there were some sweet spots ahead. In fact that’s the essence of shooting rallye for me. Find out which stage is worth a visit and be there early!
( EOS5DIII | 70-200 F2.8L @ 105mm | F2.8 | 1/500sec | ISO100 )
Try and error. Somewhere in the Eifel forests during the Eifel Rallye Festival 2014. Hunting a Lancia Stratos in the middle of the woods is certainly not easy. Shooting at 1/10sec just does not make it easier. Luckily there were some not-so-awesome cars coming through before this beast so I had time to get the right swing. The outcome is one of my all-time favourites. Remembering the infamous noise of the Ferrari heart beating gives me chills every time. The ERF is the place to be for all of you who love historic, accurately restored, original rallyecars. As a bonus the drivers are „authentic“ too. When the windowsticker says „Röhrl“ „Waldegard“ or „Blomqvist“, be sure it doesn´t lie.
( EOS550D | 28-70 F2.8L @ 28mm | F18 | 1/10sec | ISO100 )
Light. During this late afternoon stage of a little Eifel-based national rallye (Kempenich, for the locals) the sun started to set and created this incredible light-scheme. Spectators in the foreground, a backlit roostertail of dust and a happy photographer were the result.
( EOS550D | 28-70 F2.8L @ 64mm | F7.1 | 1/2000sec | ISO800 )
Never shoot into the sun. One of the basic rules of photography. And one of the most stupid rules as well. Shooting into the sun for me is one of the best ways to create a picture that sticks out. The color of this little Japanese fella adds the final touch to it.
( EOS7D | Sigma 18-35 F1.8 @ 20mm | F5 | 1/80sec | ISO125 )
Maybe this is my all-time favourite rallye-pic without a car. On a hot day in the middle of summer the guy tried to keep cool under his umbrella while being passed by historic and modern cars on full throttle. Makes me laugh everytime I see it.
(EOS5DIII | 70-200 F2.8L @ 70mm | F8 | 1/250sec | ISO100 )
Transporting emotions. Thats what it´s all about in this one. Pre-start focus. 3…2…1… GO!
( EOS5DIII | 70-200 F2.8L @ 200mm | F2.8 | 1/50sec | ISO200 )
DRIFTING
Drifting. The latest addition to my motorsport portfolio. First I was sceptical. Drifting in Germany is not a common sight and for most people, including clueless me, not even considered as “real” motorsport. Nonetheless I really wanted to shoot drifting because visually it seemed to be quite interesting. Since there was something called the „Nürburgring Drift Cup“ going on nearby, I just gave it a go. Two years and seven rounds of on-track-shooting in the books I can say that I´m an addict. The intensity of door-to-door battles, the noise of various engines and the tiresmoke adds up to an incredible experience. Being a rather small community results in family-like friendships among the drivers and teams and a huge amount of fun on and off track. Photography-wise the options and opportunities are endless. Stills, atmosphere, slow-shutter panning, people… You name it….
( EOS550D | 28-70 F2.8L @ 53mm | F10 | 1/30sec | ISO100 )
Sometimes I shoot random stuff while waiting for the shot I planned. The strong contrast between yellow, black and purple and a mix of shadows and bright sunlight made this a keeper by accident.
Shot in the pre-grid-area of Nürburgring Drift Cup 2014 round two.
(EOS550D | 28-70 F2.8L @ 28mm | F2.8 | 1/250sec | ISO100 )
This was an experiment and I’m quite pleased with the outcome. It’s actually shot on 35mm film. The natural grain and the fence on the right make it a keeper for me because it’s different. Analog photography makes you think a lot more, changing film rolls and getting them developed takes time and you only have 24 shots at a time but the feeling when you open the envelope and see the results makes it all worth it.
( Canon AE-1 program | 50mm F1.4 Prime | Ilford HP5 Plus | ISO400 )
A good example of what makes drifting worth shooting. The plume of smoke, the angle and a passenger raising his hand in excitement sums it up pretty good.
( EOS550D | 28-70 F2.8L @ 70mm | F9 | 1/60sec | ISO200 )
The drift fans among you might have seen this dude before. Bil Baldwin, the bearded man of drifting. He came over to see one round of the NDC in both 2014 and ’15 and integrated into the European drifting family pretty well. Fun to talk to and basically just a car guy like all of us.
(EOS5DIII | 70-200 F2.8L@ 200mm | F2.8 | 1/500sec | ISO200 )
I think it is quite obvious what makes this one of my favourite shots from last year.
( EOS5DIII | 70-200 F2.8L @ 70mm | F8 | 1/250sec | ISO200 )
LANDSCAPE
Some non-car stuff, sorry guys. One of 5000 shots I captured during last years 3-week-trip to Iceland. The landscape is simply incredible. After the first three days I asked my sister if we should slow down the pace. I was afraid that we would run out of places to visit. My sister, beeing in Iceland for the third time, just started laughing. Basically everything is worth a visit. If you ever get the possibility to go there… DO IT!
( EOS550D | Sigma 18-35 F1.8 @ 18mm | F3.2 | 5sec | ISO100 | ND-Filter )
A two hour flight away from Iceland is greenland. We hopped over there for four days. Incredlible four days full of calving glaciers, icebergs, whales and cloudless sky.
This picture was taken at 2AM, the darkest time of the day. Mind…blown!
( EOS550D | Sigma 18-35 F1.8 @ 18mm | F6.3 | 1/400sec | ISO200 )
Why travel the world when beautiful nature is so close. This shot took me a ten-minute drive before going home from a night shift.
( EOS5DIII | 24-70 F2.8L @ 63mm | F14 | 1/13sec | ISO100 )
Finally all I can say is thank you for reading and showing interest in what I do. If you have any questions, opinions to share or ideas to present just hit me up on Facebook or feel free to send me a mail to LWPhoto@web.de.
Bonus images:
