A few weeks back, I joked on twitter about it raining at the Goodwood Revival.
I was pulled up by a friend who told me that it’s not nice when it rains at the Revival; I was of course joking and made my excuses that I was attempting some form of reverse psychology on the weather. By asking for it to rain, I was assuring that the sun would blaze down on the most perfect day of all.
It rained, of course. Hard.
I usually like shooting in the rain. It adds a different dynamic to your images, and helps you capture the speed in still images with all the spray, and the drops of wet stuff make the racing that little more exciting and on edge.
Watching priceless classics tear around the Goodwood track like they are on an ice rink is a spectacle to behold, especially as the vehicles involved are for the most part devoid of any modern technology that might aid them in such conditions.
No traction control, period tyres, tiny wipers and rubbish heating that causes a world of steamy windows.
They just don’t make P-Zeros in a 135 R14.
Seeing these priceless beauties dance around the glistening tarmac at breakneck speed is exhilarating to watch. It’s raw driving skill and the wet weather only widens the gaping mouths of onlookers as man and woman get all discotheque around aged steering wheels.
And then there’s the bikes. Wowsers.
I’m not a big bike fan, but watching GP and TT riders find the limit on machinery that by rights should be reserved for sunny days, was thoroughly impressive. Nervous, but thoroughly impressive.
Having fallen for the Revival in a big way – in fact the whole classic car racing is fast becoming a real favourite, especially after my first visit to the Silverstone Classic this year – I was incredibly keen to get down to this years event and make the most of my single days attendance.
My minds eye had already envisaged the images I would take.
But I had cursed the weather with my daft twitter japery, hadn’t I.
Like I mentioned, I do like shooing in the rain, but the relentless drizzle, topped off by a howling, sideways pièce de résistance at about 16:30 really finished me off.
Despite my non-period attire I took to keep me dry…I was soaked through by about 2, and that’s not the best when you are trying to muster the enthusiasm to create interesting images as the water drips off your hands.
I chose the wrong lens combo too.
Yes, I had taken a selection, but I decided to leave the more appropriate one in the car thinking it wouldn’t be needed; those who have shared the Revival experience will understand when I say that going back to the car is not an option, for fear of missing out on the world of things to see and do.
So there I am. Drenched, inappropriately equipped and a little uninspired with all the umbrellas, brightly coloured gortex meandering around, not forgetting regular stops at the food vans to ask for napkins to dry my gear off.
Those burger van napkins are incredibly absorbent.
If I was to take a positive from this years experience, it was that the gloom of the day enabled me to get my shutter speeds down and attempt some really slow pans, without the usual over exposure problems that I often suffer on sunny days, but that was a small respite from the kill-joy weather.
So without further ado, please do take a gander at my gallery from a very wet Friday at the Goodwood Revival. Personally, I’m not that happy with the results, for a variety of reasons. That’s the first time I’ve felt compelled to actually mention that in a blog.
A disappointing day from my point of view and from the weather. There’s always next year.
Thank you for taking a look and I hope you like them.
0 Thoughts on It Never Rains.