Hive at WRC: World Rally Championship - Akropolis | Hive Sponsored Web3 Job | Mega photo post

[rubencress]

Let's kick it off with a disclaimer/CTA

Use any of these photographs to publish on your own Web2 Social Media accounts to spread awareness of Hive's existence! It is a wonderful world, and it would be even better if more people knew about Hive. This post is a mega post filled with the photographs that I took during the World Rally Championship - Akropolis (WRC2023) #wrc2023.

Enjoy the photographs, and if you must, you can read the whole blog about the journey. It has been quite an adventure from our perspectives. A lot of chaos, quick-thinking situations, travel time, long waits, amazing sights, and of course the incredible Rally Championship experience itself.

It has truly been a blast, it was amazing. Thanks a lot, Hive, for this amazing Web3 Job opportunity! I'm here to deliver, and I hope it will be an overkill of photographs of the entire event that I intended to share with you from the start. Hive brought me to the event, now it's my turn to bring the event to our Hive community.

Enjoy,
Ruben

---

---

The flight to Athens

It was a bumpy road, but I wasn't very well aware of it at the time of making my way to the airport. From Izmir, it is just a 1-hour flight to Athens, where I would be picked up by Jovan and Vuk, two amazing companions that I got to know during the collaboration. But nothing is as good as it seems, right? I started with a 1-hour delay on the flight. I informed the guys immediately, as I knew they had a long way ahead of them. I mean... A 16-hour drive, turned into a 20-hour drive, not much later.

While the 1-hour delay wasn't too bad, I received word from Jovan that whole Greece was flooded, and that Athens not so much later started to look like a lake. Friends and family sent me videos of the situation and wished me safe travels. And sure I did need those wishes, as the 1 hour delay turned into another hour... while being high up in the air. There were thunderclouds. And it wasn't like gentle thunder either. The weather was so bad, that our pilot flew over Athens, and back to Mytilini, a random remote island of Greece.

"We do not know when we will be able to fly to Athens, and we might need to go back to Izmir" was the word of the captain. Oof... was it really that bad? And boy would I find out not much later when we flew back to Athens. The thunder was insane, and not much later we flew -inside- a cloud full of thunder. It was a real underground techno party.

Thor and Zeus were having some serious discussions about who ate the last steak or something... And, alas, 5 hours later, I finally arrived in Athens, and the guys were waiting to pick me up. Rain was pouring as Jovan and I rushed to the car. We continued our journey to Lamia, where our Airbnb was located. Just another 3-hour drive.

The cops stopped us plenty of times, making sure we would not travel beyond Lamia (there is some luck there), as everything was inaccessible above Lamia. At some point, we had to wait a couple of minutes, but in general, the cops were pretty kind and understanding of our situation and what we were ready to do.

Once we arrived at our final destination, we got a warm welcome in the middle of the night from an old Greek lady, whose son owned the Airbnb and a restaurant/cafe. He opened his cafe for us when we asked if we could get a beer somewhere. We were so lucky to be able to finally drink a beer together and call it a day.

What a day we thought... it was the most unique way to end the day and the start of an epic adventure of three guys working on a Web3 project for a protocol called Hive. We were excited and relieved that we made it.

---

---

Getting our passes so we can start scouting the area

The next morning we contacted Georgio, one of the team-members of Slaven, who provided us our press-accreditations and tickets for the Super Stage, located in Athens. We drove from Lamia to Athens as we had to be there 3-4 hours ahead of time opening hours. If we didn't make it, we would not be able to enter the area. The challenging part of this was that there were two locations to go to. Jovan and Vuk split up, whereas Jovan went to the Opening Ceremony, and Vuk and I rocked the Super Stage, as we had received only two tickets. In the end, we didn't needed the tickets as we were allowed to get a bit closer to the cars than anticipated.

One of the first things that I like to do, is to scout the area, to find spots where we would be able to photograph and film the rally cars. This was also a great time to get some additional footage of the surrounding area, and to get into the pit. It all feels pretty surreal, as we're pumped with adrenaline after yesterday's bizarre journey. I didn't even realize we were at the World Rally Championship, which is a good thing, as my mind does not get clouded by expectations or whatever. Hyperfocus, and getting done what needs to be done.

---

---

People were joining the Super Stage

After scouting, and having some lunch, the event started and people started to come in. This was great! We could finally get some footage of the atmosphere and the vibe of the whole event. It is a huge event after all, with big sponsors and a few things to do and experience as visitors. It would've been amazing if Hive is able to be part of this branding in the future, to be honest. But I can only imagine the price tag of such sponsorship. While the visitors slowly transitioned from people walking across the event, to a patient audience ready to see some cars fly, drift, and make swift moves in the pit, it was ready to get to our scouted locations and take some photographs of the main event, the Super Stage.

---

---

The main event: Super Stage

At this point, Vuk and I were enjoying working here for a couple of hours already. I, being a total rookie at photographing Rally cars, was looking forward to testing the shit out of my camera and lens, while praying for the best, so I made my way to the cars to start photographing them. While the Hive rally team was one of the last teams to take the stage and shine, we had to keep in mind the weather as well. As the Sun is up now, it probably won't be much longer until it gets darker. At this point, I was hoping my Full Frame 43MP would cope well with the ISO. And shit, it did the job.

There were some amazing drivers, the first ten for example were so fast, it was incredible to see, and hard to follow through my viewfinder. One of the good things about having a press accreditation is that you can go to places where not many other people can go. After showing my badge, one of the guards allowed us in to take footage of the cars a bit closer. I did feel a bit uncomfortable there, but why not? Let's take some amazing shots of the rally, for the love of the rally, and for the love of photography!

Enjoy the photographs!

---

The Hive Rally Car

The moment has come! Our team finally made it through, and we were excited to photograph Slaven for the first time at this Rally. I can't wait to meet this guy in person. The Hive Rally car looked amazingly wrapped with @crimsonclad's design. Kudos to her!

The whole experience around the Super Stage was just amazing. A build-up for everyone to see the cars drive through and present themselves with their own unique style of driving, showing off their skills. I'm happy that I took so many photographs because if I would only be photographing the Hive Rally Car, we would be missing out on so much around it, as the World Rally Championship is not just any event. It's huge.

This was just day 1 of the event, there's more to come, and much more work to do, so please be patient, and follow me to keep up to date.

So, I'm gonna leave you guys with the photographs of the Hive Rally Car, and head to bed. Because I'm still recovering from the insane 8 days in Greece, where #teamnosleep is most definitely in order.

Cheers,
Ruben

---

And please: share ANY of these photographs with your Web2 Socials, tag Hive, no need to credit me.

Comments

[incublus]

These photos are excellent my friend, thank you so much for being there for us and taking these wonderful photos. You are one of the best photographers I've ever seen. #web3isHive!

[rubencress]

Well, big shoutout and thank you to the Hive community for entrusting me with this task. Happy to welcoming all of us with these snapshots 💪.

You are one of the best photographers I've ever seen

Thanks a lot man!

[hexagono6]

I think, if Thor and Zeus start arguing right when I'm on a plane, I'll die on the spot 😂😂😂😂, definitely quite an adventure.

What AMAZING photos, I congratulate you in a thousand ways, we definitely must accomplish the mission of taking #Hive to all corners of the world. Cheers my friend!

[rubencress]

Haha, I think a few of the passengers thought the same thing. The turbulence was quite present to say the least.

Thank you! ^^ Please share these photographs, a few, or one, on your socials with a link to Hive, this should help to get a bit more awareness for Hive ^^ If you'd like to of course.

[hexagono6]

Of course, my friend. Count on it! We must take the platform to every corner.

[iskawrites]

I'm glad you had fun from the event. The picture tour was amazing and felt like I was there live on the show.

[rubencress]

Nice. Glad to hear, if you feel like this, my goal is achieved!

[saqibajmal]

There is no doubt that lovers love hivi blong .I want to appreciate your photography, these are really well captured

great work ❤️

[rubencress]

Thank you for the kind words, glad you liked them.

[saqibajmal]

welcome boss .....yes I like them

[derangedvisions]

This is so awesome. The Hive car looks amazing. Love the colors.

[rubencress]

Thanks homie! It was really good to be there. What an experience.

[opidia]

All the shots are just amazing and my favorites are the two last shots
or maybe just all of them.

[furkanmamplam]

wow... It's so amazing, it's the first time I've seen that at an event like mine it's like the hive that we're fighting for will spread all over the world, I'm happy to see mobi that have the Hive logo at an event like this.
Amazing in my opinion.

[beerbod]

Hive is everywhere! Time to “rally” it up! Yeah pun intended.

[katerinaramm]

Amazing shots!!!
Loved them.
You did a great job, and you went there during a very difficult time for Greece..

[joanm897]

Incredible photos. I hope one day to be able to attend a rally championship live. Seeing the Hive logo on one of the cars is when you realize how big the community has grown in recent years.

[daltono]

I'm obsessed with the Hive Rally Car. You took many excellent shots, my friend. That car looks amazing.

[rubencress]

Appreciate that Daltono! It was pretty cool to see the car. In action, with drivers/without drivers, idle, getting repaired, clean, dirty, and damaged! I've seen it in all stages 😎

It's a beauty!

[daltono]

I bet it was such a thrilling experience. I've been to some races, but never any quite like that one.

[gabrielatravels]

That's amazing to see another rally so soon! And damn, the pictures are so amazing!!!!

[rubencress]

Thank you, Gabriela :))

[albertocova]

Rally espectacular, bellas fotos y magnífico evento.

[ycarola]

Who would have won the steak?😆
I love the photos, they allow us to see everything there is in a rally, the design of the cars, the workers and promoters, the preparations until the race, it must be very exciting to be there.
I love being able to see these things through HIVE.

[rubencress]

I think they overcooked it with the lighting strikes... Happy to serve :)

[balikis95]

Geez.... I am gobsmacked and my lips were just out. The pictures are freaking amazing. The shots are great and I love them.

.... and the Hive rally car got my eyes almost out of the socket, lol. It is interesting. I love how derailed your journey was and glad you made it despite this;

Thor and Zeus were having some serious discussions about who ate the last steak or something..

Which was hilarious. I am still laughing so hard at it. Hehe. Thanks for this beaut and you've got yourself an added follower on Hive and on my favourite list. I want to see more.

[rubencress]

Thank you so much! The journey was quite the adventure! At some point I was a bit worried if I would still make it to Greece. It was an amazing experience for sure! Had great companions like Jovan and Vuk, they're amazing guys, and we got to collaborate quite well with each other. Hardcore mode!

[queenstarr]

Exceptional❤️ These are beautiful photographs. You brought the scene right to us, thank you Ruben🔥

[rubencress]

Thank you very much! Trying my best, you know :D

[coldbeetrootsoup]

Beutiful images @rubencress 😍

[rubencress]

Thanks homies!

[victorg30]

Awesome!

[strecoza]

wow great!

[hivebuzz]

Congratulations @rubencress! Your post has been a top performer on the Hive blockchain and you have been rewarded with this rare badge

Post with the highest payout of the day.

_{You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word STOP}

Check out our last posts:

LEO Power Up Day - September 15, 2023

[oasiskp2]

Wao, this is awesome a tour, even if I d attend in person, I have attended it through this great post. Nice job.

[albertocova]

Acrópolis lo máximo en Rally..

[indiaunited]

This post has been manually curated by @steemflow from Indiaunited community. Join us on our Discord Server.

Do you know that you can earn a passive income by delegating to @indiaunited. We share more than 100 % of the curation rewards with the delegators in the form of IUC tokens. HP delegators and IUC token holders also get upto 20% additional vote weight.

Here are some handy links for delegations: 100HP, 250HP, 500HP, 1000HP.

_{100% of the rewards from this comment goes to the curator for their manual curation efforts. Please encourage the curator @steemflow by upvoting this comment and support the community by voting the posts made by @indiaunited.}

[pizzabot]

PIZZA!
The Hive.Pizza team manually curated this post.

_{Learn more at https://hive.pizza.}