What a great experience I have had over the past month gaining motorsport media accreditation with AASA capturing Melonaid at The Bend Motorsport Park, then with Motorsport Australia at the Adelaide Rally and I have just completed a massive 5 days covering the Adelaide 500.
Melonaid was my first motorsports media accredited event granting increased access to get closer to the action and immerse in the high octane rev limited sport that is motor racing.
Melonaid was an enduro event of 25hrs split over 3 days with multiple drivers per team changing every 2 hours. I went for the longer second day to maximise my time and to beat the heat that was coming on the following day. Melonaid used The Bend’s biggest track layout which is 7.77km long (the second biggest racetrack in the world after the Nürburgring in Germany. Thankfully this track allows for media to use their vehicle to circumvent the track, stopping at each corner to get a few classic shots. It would have been a gruelling day if I had to walk it, I was pretty exhaused by the end as it was… It was a great event of grass roots motorsports. Images of Melonaid 2024 can be found here.
The second bigger motorsport media event was that of the Adelaide Rally conducted over 3 days with 30 stages. MatWin Media was at 4 stages (Gorge rd, Aldgate Valy rd and 2 at Strathalbyn town). This was a difficult event to photograph as there are a heaps of different entries all with differing abilities and therefor varied speeds. To conduct panning shots and get a blurred background the photographer must calculate the speed of the vehicle and match its speed to his panning (moving left/right) to match that of the vehicle keeping the vehicle in clear focus and the background being blurred by the movement, a slow shutter speed is required to achieve this. The issue with a slow shutter speed is it lets in lots more light (blowing out the image with highlights) and if not done with precision, the entire image could easily be a big blur.
Rallying also poses challenges as a photographer as there are limited location to shoot from (requiring prior approval) and if its your first time to this location (yep), then sometimes it looks a bit different or parts are barriered off from what google maps had shown… fair to say most of my shots at the Adelaide Rally were taken with a higher shutter speed.
The third and biggest event I gained motorsport media accreditation for was the Supercars event, Adelaide 500. I have taken over 8000 photos and a heap of videos from wed-sun of a smorgasbord of motorsports from the circuit action of Supercars, Super2, Porsche carrera cup, Transams, Stadium jumping trucks (with epic crashes), then with the dedicated Supercross track to capture the aerial stunts from dirtbikes and the purpose built $3M Speedway track…. wow, it was a lot to take in and photograph!
I was granted so much access to the Supercars event via our media accreditation. I also made my way to the Gravity Media compound to apply for filming accreditation from Supercars, which I obtained (although I didnt really maximise it, I did do some filming in the garages). To do the grid walk before the race, watch the national anthem and the F/A-18F Super Hornet flyover while on the grid, getting up close with the drivers and foxsports presenters and get access to the garages, be in the mix of the celebrations in pit lane after Will Brown won the race and claimed the Supercars Championship, then be in the media room for the live press conference interviews was not something I am greatful for and want to do more of. MatWin Media will be stepping up its Motorsports Media attendance and coverage and our images can be seen over at Australia’s newest Motorsport platform, Motorsport Digital. Take a look at pics of the event @ https://motorsportmedia.au/adelaide-500
And the excitement might be topped next year when Adelaide is host to the first ever Supercars Grand Final… im already getting exhausted just thinking about that one but an event that is sure to please every motorsports fan in Australia.
Do you have an event (sports or corporate) that you would like photo and/or video coverage of? MatWin Media are professional event photographers and videographers ready to assit in capturing your presentation, celebration or competition. Contact us for a quote for your next event or business branding requirment.
