Chasing Light & Speed: A Film Photography Road Trip Across France & Spain with the Audi R8 Spyder V10
A Road Trip Through France & Spain – Capturing the Audi R8 on Film
Hello team! I hope you're all doing well. I wanted to share an update from a recent trip across France and Spain with a childhood friend. For once, this wasn’t a 100% work trip—though, of course, I couldn't resist capturing the journey through my lens.
Let’s start with the facts before I share some images with you!
The Car – A Supercar with a Soul
We had the pleasure of driving the Audi R8 Spyder V10 Performance RWD Edition S tronic—a machine that embodies both precision engineering and raw emotion.
Total Route: 2,777 miles across 9 days
Camera Setup: Leica MP + Summilux 35, Summilux 50 & Summicron APO 90
Film Used: Kodak Portra 400, Silbersalz 250T & 200D
Film Lost: One roll didn’t initiate properly (RIP)
For car enthusiasts, the Audi R8 is more than just a supercar—it’s a chapter in automotive history. Since its debut in 2009, the R8’s naturally aspirated V10 has been its soul, delivering a soundtrack that’s nothing short of a mechanical symphony. The experience of downshifting through the Pyrenees, listening to that V10 echo off the mountain walls, is something I won’t forget anytime soon.
Audi has refined the R8 over the years, but it has never lost its essence. This trip felt like a fitting tribute to a dying breed of supercars—no turbos, no hybrid assistance, just pure, unfiltered performance.
Automotive Photography – Capturing the Spirit of a Car
For me, automotive photography is a blend of art and engineering, a way to freeze the emotion and beauty of a machine in a single frame. Every car has a personality—some are aggressive, some elegant, some purposeful—and as a photographer, it's my job to convey that through light, composition, and location.
Shooting the Audi R8 on film felt like an exciting challenge. In the digital age, everything is about perfection—sharpness, clarity, and technical accuracy. On the other hand, film photography introduces imperfections that feel more human and raw. The grain, unexpected colour shifts and occasional light leaks add character to the image, like how a car develops a patina over time.
I love the contrast between modern supercars and vintage photography methods. It’s a way to break the rules—shooting a cutting-edge machine with a classic Leica MP, letting film dictate the outcome, and embracing the medium's unpredictability.
The biggest challenge with film? Patience. Unlike digital, where you can instantly review and adjust, the film forces you to trust your instincts—the light, the exposure, and the composition. It’s a waiting game until you finally get the scans back, but that moment of seeing the results for the first time? Unmatched.
Let’s talk about film
The film stocks I used also played a massive role in shaping the final look of the images:
Kodak Portra 400 – Known for its soft, natural tones and beautiful colour rendering, it is perfect for Spain's sun-drenched streets and countryside.
Silbersalz 250T & 200D – A cinematic stock that adds a slightly moodier, more dramatic feel.
Final Thoughts – The Magic of Combining Cars & Film
This trip reminded me why I love automotive photography—it’s more than just capturing a car; it’s about telling a story, blending motion with emotion, and engineering with the environment.
Shooting on film made the experience feel even more personal. There’s no burst mode, no autofocus tracking, no instant playback—just a car, a road, and a camera, with each frame carefully considered before pressing the shutter.
