Foto van Ramon valt in de prijzen!
I've been attending the 24 Hours of Le Mans every year since 2011. It's also my annual opportunity to assess where I stand with my photography; can I take better photos this year than the year before? For several years now, the Sarthe region and the governing body of the major race have organized a photo competition. In 2014, Dennis, a good friend of mine, was one of the winners. He took a photo of me when the Level 5 car caught fire in the pit lane early in the morning of the 2013 race. In the years that followed, we both submitted photos for this competition several more times. I also submitted my photos after the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans . But I'd actually forgotten about it. I hadn't actually planned to go to Le Mans this year either. I already had a trip to Silverstone planned. I hadn't counted on winning a prize in the photo contest either; the winners are usually announced in January. But to my surprise, I received a message at the end of March: my photo of the #98 Aston Martin during a pit stop had been selected as one of the prize winners. 
As one of the winners of the photo contest, I was invited to the panoramic lounge at the Le Mans circuit on Friday, January 28th. I was actually still debating whether to go. But there was a chance that if I won the grand prize, a dream would also come true: full access as a professional photographer during the 24 Hours of Le Mans. That would be a welcome upgrade after years of playing the game of aiming for magazine-worthy photos without professional access (yes, I often set the bar very high for myself). The awards ceremony eventually took place after King's Day, so I had a day off and was able to make it a nice long weekend and take a road trip to Le Mans with my father. So, off we went to Le Mans. That evening, we arrived at the circuit entrance. I was invited to the panoramic lounge where the awards ceremony took place. This lounge is located above the circuit entrance, and we were welcomed there with a beautiful view of the circuit. 
The various award winners were featured during the ceremony. I, too, was photographed by the photographers present and interviewed by the presenter. In a mix of my broken French and English, I explained what I wanted to show in the photo and how I created it. The photo was taken from grandstand 17, with my camera attached to the railing with a mini tripod. Using a long shutter speed, I was able to capture all the activity of the mechanics and drivers around the car as a blur of movement around the car, which otherwise remained still for that period. Apparently, they understood my French-English explanation after all; there was applause, haha. I also met jury president Henri Pescarolo and had my picture taken with him. For those unfamiliar with him: the man is an absolute Le Mans legend. He raced in Formula 1 and won the 24 Hours four times. He also holds the record for the most participations: 33. He then went on to become team principal, sometimes challenging large factory teams like Audi with his small team and limited budget. After the ceremony, many people came to him to have him sign all sorts of things, sometimes stacks of photos and books. He remains incredibly popular. 
Unfortunately, I didn't win the grand prize. But my photo will be on display in the 24 Hours of Le Mans museum (next to the circuit entrance) for the foreseeable future. I also managed to win tickets to the race. So, even though I wasn't planning on it, I'll be attending the race again this year. It's like Le Mans just didn't want to lose me, haha. Who knows, maybe one day I'll have the chance to be a press photographer at races like this. But you have to start small. And, importantly, just keep enjoying it :) We definitely enjoyed it. The next day, my father and I also got free admission to the museum thanks to my prize. After driving around the (public section) of the circuit in his Audi the day before, we also got to see some really fast Audis and even more racing monsters. It was something we'll never forget. Oh, and Le Mans... I'll be back! 
As one of the winners of the photo contest, I was invited to the panoramic lounge at the Le Mans circuit on Friday, January 28th. I was actually still debating whether to go. But there was a chance that if I won the grand prize, a dream would also come true: full access as a professional photographer during the 24 Hours of Le Mans. That would be a welcome upgrade after years of playing the game of aiming for magazine-worthy photos without professional access (yes, I often set the bar very high for myself). The awards ceremony eventually took place after King's Day, so I had a day off and was able to make it a nice long weekend and take a road trip to Le Mans with my father. So, off we went to Le Mans. That evening, we arrived at the circuit entrance. I was invited to the panoramic lounge where the awards ceremony took place. This lounge is located above the circuit entrance, and we were welcomed there with a beautiful view of the circuit. The various award winners were featured during the ceremony. I, too, was photographed by the photographers present and interviewed by the presenter. In a mix of my broken French and English, I explained what I wanted to show in the photo and how I created it. The photo was taken from grandstand 17, with my camera attached to the railing with a mini tripod. Using a long shutter speed, I was able to capture all the activity of the mechanics and drivers around the car as a blur of movement around the car, which otherwise remained still for that period. Apparently, they understood my French-English explanation after all; there was applause, haha. I also met jury president Henri Pescarolo and had my picture taken with him. For those unfamiliar with him: the man is an absolute Le Mans legend. He raced in Formula 1 and won the 24 Hours four times. He also holds the record for the most participations: 33. He then went on to become team principal, sometimes challenging large factory teams like Audi with his small team and limited budget. After the ceremony, many people came to him to have him sign all sorts of things, sometimes stacks of photos and books. He remains incredibly popular. Unfortunately, I didn't win the grand prize. But my photo will be on display in the 24 Hours of Le Mans museum (next to the circuit entrance) for the foreseeable future. I also managed to win tickets to the race. So, even though I wasn't planning on it, I'll be attending the race again this year. It's like Le Mans just didn't want to lose me, haha. Who knows, maybe one day I'll have the chance to be a press photographer at races like this. But you have to start small. And, importantly, just keep enjoying it :) We definitely enjoyed it. The next day, my father and I also got free admission to the museum thanks to my prize. After driving around the (public section) of the circuit in his Audi the day before, we also got to see some really fast Audis and even more racing monsters. It was something we'll never forget. Oh, and Le Mans... I'll be back!