This is drifting and that is the Tannery. All in Portlaw, Co Waterford. Visit their Facebook page and save the date of their next drift day in your calendar.
I will write more about the Tannery some other day. This post is all about drifting.
A fan of Fast And Furious, I am happy that just a half an hour drive from Waterford there is a place where I feel so wonderful. I am truly grateful to those who run the local ‘drifting rink’ in the old parking lot of the derelict tannery. So many young lads stay out of trouble because they are busy doing something good. Something they enjoy doing. This short amateur YouTube video gives you an idea about the atmosphere on the site. The drivers come to the Tannery from as far as Donegal.
To take these pictures I pan my camera along with the moving cars. I use a low shutter speed – not faster than 1/30 sec- and usually focus either on the driver or on the surface of the car that is close to the driver. You can guess that using this technique only a tiny fraction of the shots can be called a keeper, 10% may be, but I love giving the shot a feeling of motion rather than freezing the action. If the environment doesn’t add to the shot, it is better to leave it blurred. It would be a different story if I took pictures of a swimmer or surfer: the waves look gorgeous around a surfer 🙂
You can tell that car is moving if the wheels are spinning. The cars are not necessarily moving straight in these pictures even if they look so.
Some drivers like to impress the spectators with a cloud of smoke.
I make myself comfortable on the concrete barrier. From here I can see everything quite close, and if I turn around I can see the cars on their way to the ‘drifting rink’ and back.
The last advice before the start?
Age doesn’t matter, we all love drifting.
I think I have picture of these people in the same place but in their winter clothes 🙂 The tires are gone though. Somebody put them on fire.
Auto Chem, one of my favorite teams. I move my rug so that the weeds wouldn’t get into my next picture.
All kinds of minor accidents happen during the drifting. Tire blowouts are the most common. I have seen a deflated tire hula-hoop, roll away, make a circle and return back to the car.
This car was doing just great, and then there was a loud boom.
This car is loosing its rear bumper but the driver never bothers to stop. After a few seconds the bumper frees itself from the car and flies away.
This car hit the tires during the drift and got its bumper damaged.
Old tires can be quite agile when pushed.
“Sorry, give us a second!”
Sometimes a car has to be pushed using manpower.
After the drift.
Some lads make alterations to their cars. I am not an expert to understand the purpose of this one. Improved aerodynamics or an emergency exit? Looks cute anyway.
I take a peek inside the car.
The cars are so clean that it makes me ashamed of mine…
They use a motorcycle engine in this car. Doesn’t it look like a heart?
I hope you love cars as I do. Enjoy your January, and if you are drifting stay focused like the driver in the picture.
Have a wonderful week!
Making memories 
Great pics. Also a fan of Fast and Furious.
Delighted to hear this 🙂
Brilliant pictures as always!!
Thank you so much! 🙂
I’d say those boys are pretty rough on their cars! Good shots however…
Thank you! 🙂 Most of the lads take a good care of their old cars, and they have their own code of ethics, give a hand to each other etc. It is like a brotherhood. And I have never seen anyone argue with the boss 🙂 The Tannery is a special place with strong traditions, and Fiona is like a mother hen for all these rough drivers 😉
Do they call these places “skid pans” in England? Here in Canada, the equivalent would be (as you experienced!) driving on ice. Every now and then you can find an open parking lot covered in snow in which to practice donuts and handbrake turns. There used to be (40 + years ago) an ice racing series in Quebec for amateurs but I don’t know if they still do it. Looks like fun and a great photography challenge. And I’m glad to see the drivers wearing helmets.
Thank you so much! This place is very isolated, which makes it safe. Yes, they do wear helmets. The guy who runs the place is always watching 🙂
Once more I have to seek you out as you don’t appear in my Reader! WP issues are irksome. Still find you I did and it seems you had a fantastic time. As ever, a super read and wonderful photography.
Thank you Mike! I had some fantastic time last summer, indeed 🙂
Yes, WordPress is becoming very annoying. It is very difficult to follow other blogs.
Too true, Inese.
Inese
im not a fan of cars or pics of cars but i am a fan of yours and these are great photographs
Big Hugs
john
Thank you so much, John! 🙂 I appreciate your kind comment 🙂
Many Hugs!
That is an interesting facet of your hobby! I must say, you have captured the intricacies of motion photography well enough.
Thank you so much! Practice and more practice 😉
I have tried before to pan, it is nice and relaxing. I don’t now much about cars but enjoyed the insides, have a Mad Max feeling. n_n
Thank you Francis! 🙂 I too have a good feeling being around the cars 🙂
Cool! I didn’t know you were into cars. I enjoyed Fast and the Furious too. How did you find out about this location for drifting?
Glad to know you are into cars too 🙂
They are running the drifting races for a decade. It is only some 20 minutes drive from where I live.
You’ve managed to capture some great shots Inese 🙂
Thank you Andrea! It is my recreation activity 🙂
A different kind of post for you, Inese! Car racing makes me nervous. It looks so dangerous. It must be really fun to photograph though. 😀
Thank you Diana! 🙂 I don’t know why I have never posted about the Tannery. There is always something else to write about. The drifting is fun to photograph, and the site itself is a gem 🙂
That looks like so much fun. What is the surface like? In the video it seemed like it was wet.
Thank you Ken! It was raining I guess 🙂
It is an old parking lot adjacent to the tannery, and it is made of concrete.
Great pictures, as usual. Such a different subject and tempo that I had to rub my eyes to be sure this was you 🙂
Thank you so much, Derrick! 🙂 I love the speed. When it came time to teach me how to drive, my Dad would take me to the old kart racing track. I might have problems parallel parking, but I take bends smoothly and don’t stop before making a turn 😉
🙂
What a very interesting post, Inese! One can tell that you had such fun making the pictures. 😄 How wonderful that there’s the possibility for those guys to have some fun without having to pay horrendous fees etc.
Have a beautiful weekend! xxxxxxxxxxxxx ❤
Thank you so much, Sarah! It is fun to use the panning at a low shutter speed, hold the focus, and never know what to expect 🙂 It is a perpetual experiment. After 3 hours my memory card is full and it is the time to just sit back and enjoy the show. Exploring the tannery is another bonus.
Have a great week, enjoy your January! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ❤
My goodness Inese, while I love abandoned buildings, I love even more the fact you got distracted by fast and furious xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Thank you so much! I love to watch them drift 🙂 If I come early, and if the weather permits, I wander around and take other pictures. The owners of the site don’t mind. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
It is quite a site. I love it. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Very relaxing and homely 🙂 xxxxx
This is so cool and really fun to watch (and take pictures too). I’ve heard of the drifting but only from small remote control cars. They race in parking lot on weekend.
You have pretty good shots of these and thank you for the tips. I will try to remember when taking pictures of moving objects as these.
Thank you so much! 🙂 There are some 30 pictures in the blog and I just had no energy to add a link to a larger image. I might do it later, one at a time 🙂
For the sport photography I like the slow shutter technique much better than freezing the motion because you can actually see the speed.
I like that too than just frozen in the act.
Glad you like it too 🙂
A fascinating post thanks. And the fact that such an activity is provided for and legal must surely stop youths drifting on the streets!
Exactly, Bruce. They are safe, and have plenty of space. And the entrance fee is just symbolic. Everything is well organised, no alcohol on the site, no fights. They are mostly amateur sportsmen.
Different from your usual material. This was a very interesting post.
Yes, completely different 🙂 Just wanted to say thank you to great people.
Looks like a fun and exciting day out 🙂 Great photos!
Thank you! 🙂 This is more than one day.
Just like your photographs, that drifting looks really good. I’m not sure I’d be any good at it though.
Thank you! 🙂 These guys are so devoted to their sport. This is an amateur drifting. The real thing, professional sport is too expensive for a regular guy, and even the entrance fees would cost them hundreds of euro. So would a ticket 🙂 Here I pay 5 euro, take my pictures and have a good fun day 🙂
Have you ever had a go?
No, I haven’t. I am not sure how to do it with my automatic transmission, and my handbrake has barely passed NCT this year. But I did drift and spin on a patch of black ice, and then was tossed to the grass in the middle of the roundabout where all this circus happened. Does it count as drifting I wonder? 😉
‘The Accidental Drifter’ would make a good movie, or song title. If you’ve got the video I’ll write the song and we can go viral on YouTube.
Accidental drifter is a terrific title, and I hope you will use it. The problem is that I won’t go anywhere until July, but as soon as I go I will make a short video, and also will ask the lads to pose for me in the tannery 🙂
In verse, to song, ‘drifter’ offers so much scope for a lyric. We might be able to do something with this you know. ‘Just George’ – that seems to be what they all call me now!
Yes, exactly. I thought about that. I keep going to the drifting, take pictures and hope a good idea will pop up some day.
“Just George’? Ah, ‘that George’ who is so incredibly gifted both in poetry and music creation? Got it, man 😉