You might be wondering why the title of this post is called ‘Honda Nationals from the Pit lane’. I mean what kind of photographer comes to a track focused event and doesn’t take on-track shots? What a lazy and incompetent photographer! Well this weekend I was ‘that’ photographer and I’ll tell you why I was. When the Honda Nationals was introduced back into the scene two years ago it was organised and promoted as a social event. In 2011 and 2012 I competed in the Cars For Hope Honda Integra; I had a great time at these events because I was very close to the Honda scene, almost everyone in the paddock was a friend and if they weren’t a quick conversation would fix that right up. Unfortunately our car wasn’t quite ready to compete this year but I was still very keen to make the trip down to Winton raceway to have a look. Usually when I’m on the job as a photographer I’d have a set brief that I’ve been assigned from my employer and I’d have to follow the brief meticulously. This weekend I could create this brief myself and that meant hanging out with mates, ALL DAY! I did make it out on to the track but I was simply too busy in the passenger seat shouting at my mates to get on the gas earlier at corner exits or driving their cars myself. There was almost no time to whip out the camera except for a few moments throughout the day and those moments are captured below.
Overall Results:
1. Brandon Lockwood BYP Racing – Integra Type R (DC2) – 1:31.3800
2. Adam Casmiri JDM Yard – Integra Type R (DC5) – 1:33.3770
3. Duncan Shiu – Integra VTi-R (DC2) – 1:34.9470
It’s New Year’s Eve, well New Year’s day now as I’m writing this post.
We’re driving back to Sydney from Gosford.
We spot this Nissan on the freeway.
There is a Cars For Hope sticker on the side window.
We don’t know whose car it is or how the sticker got there.
But we know what that sticker means.
It means that millions of people struggle with depression.
It means that there are even more supporters, friends and family of those suffering from depression are also struggling.
It means that what we do with our pain – how we respond to it – matters. Perhaps it is one of the biggest questions we get to answer in this life.
It is still a misunderstood mental illness.
Love and depression are very similar. They can both be turned into awful clichés and so we reject them for their commonness, their fallacy. They are paraded like teenage girl ideals and nothing more. Yet when it truly happens to you, it feels so personal, like it has never happened to anyone else before. Like no one, even someone experiencing the same thing, will ever understand the way you feel at this very moment.
And we know this because we are, in fact, real life, people, human beings.
Deep down we know that you can snap out of being unhappy or a bit down, but you, cannot, snap out of an illness.
We know that nobody wants to be sick and unable to function or enjoy life.
But it is our absolute pleasure and honour to say that hope is real and that recovery is possible.
We have heard stories from all over the world.
From all ages, genders and races.
We have heard from people helping people.
We have heard from those who were once confused with what depression actually is.
We have heard from people taking the brave steps towards help and healing.
We have heard from people sitting across from their doctor or counsellor for the first time,
And we will continue to hear from people pursuing stability and full recovery.
Here’s a set of photographs from the 2011 World Time Attack Challenge. It’s an old set which I’ve transfered from my old blog which is now obsolete but I hope you enjoy them anyway. Funnily I also never got around to uploading my shots from last years event so I’ll be dropping a set of fresh shots from WTAC 2012 very soon.
