Brands Hatch part 3 - Clearways

As improvements to health and safety lead to the erection of higher and more sturdy fences, there are now very limited spots on the Indy circuit for the amateur photographer to get a good vantage point. The inside of Druids is an excellent location for panning shots: one is close to the action, there is a 1m high fence and the sun is coming from a perfect angle in the morning. All the panning shots in my first post were taken here.


The other popular place on the circuit is Clearways, particularly late afternoon as the sun swings round. The downside is that the bikes are farther away so more reach is needed, ideally in the form of a 400mm to 500mm lens. There is a small open 'window' in the fence around Clearways where it's possible to sneak a few photographic stints. The opening in the fence is fairly narrow so panning is not possible and the stock image taken here is where the bikes are cranked over on the apex of the curve. That said, it's possible to capture the speed and skill of the riders - judge for yourself from the shots below.

In the background is the bike which did not make it round the previous corner

My favourite shot of the day

I tried to keep the shutter speed to 1/2000th or faster, achieved by shooting in aperture priority mode, carefully monitoring and selecting aperture value (f/5 to f/7.1) and ISO (400 to 800).

Brands Hatch part 2 - a photographer's view

A large proportion of spectators at Brands last Friday are also budding photographers, trying to get some action shots of their heroes. However, this post attempts to capture the mood of the day, with 'behind the scenes' shots rather than pure action.


It was great that Ian was there to furnish us with local knowledge, including a suggestion to stroll around the Lower Paddock area. Ian wanted so get some of his prints signed by the riders so Anthony and I took time to immerse ourselves in the paddock activities, watching the teams preparing and repairing their chariots. It was clear that there is a huge range of funding behind the sport, from the overtly commercial to the 'one man and his mechanic' teams, each operating in harmony in the melting pot together.

We bumped into Ian a few times and outside of one marquee he pointed out John McGuinness, the second most successful TT racer of all time.

John McGuinness exiting his garage

I was surprised that there were still a number of two-stroke machines racing - those unmistakable engine notes and fumes! I also, from my youth, associated the Austrian KTM manufacturer with off-road bikes but this is clearly not the case.

Waiting for a spare part?

All the sidecar teams were based in the Lower Paddock and they could regularly be seen cruising through.

Team colours

Of course, being part of team makes the paddock a great playground for youngsters.

Junior riding shotgun

Kent Bad Boyz Photography AKA John Manclark at Druids

Ian had met John Manclark via social networking but it was the first time they had connected in the real world. Ian introduced us and I have now joined John's virtual world. John is clearly working as hard on his marketing as he is on photography - good luck!

Back out on the track and I was looking for a few shots to capture the essence of the day.

Rounding Paddock Hill bend

On our way round the circuit towards Clearways (where we would spend most of the afternoon) we spotted this great typo on a concession stand.

Never tried them before?

I decided that a bit more reach was needed so I went back to my car and picked up my 500mm lens and set up my Wimberley for a few shots of the bikes as they negotiated the S-bend made up by Surtees and McClaren (just before the long sweeping right-hander that is Clearways). A pictorial shot: leading lines, curves and a splash or two of colour.

Out of Surtees and into McClaren

What I really appreciated during the whole course of the day was how friendly and courteous everyone was. Quite often, a few photographers try to muscle in on the best pitches but this was so not the case, making for a relaxed and enjoyable day - fantastic! I guess it's helped by the fact that the professionals are inside the safety fencing and we are on the outside.

[I'm in the process of improving my Lightroom skills at the moment and have set up a few presets for processing race track images. I put them in a Quick Collection and exported it as a set of JPEG without touching Photoshop, saving time without compromising quality]

Brands Hatch part 1 - panning

Anthony and I spent a day with our friend Ian at Brands Hatch yesterday for British Superbikes testing and practice. We were hoping that it would be on the full GP circuit but were a little disappointed to find out that it was restricted to the Indy; nonetheless, the weather was kind and great day was had by all.

Being the first day of the school holidays meant that there was little traffic on the roads and we got there early and once we had got our bearings headed for a coffee. The smell of breakfast greeted us in the cafe and three bacon rolls were swiftly ordered and consumed.

Having spend much time recently photographic orchids and in the studio it was great to get out and do some action shots for a change. We 'limbered up' with some gentle panning at Druids in very good light, working with different angles and shutter speeds. I found that I could get a reasonable number of sharp 'keepers' at 1/100th second but below that was a disaster.

If you get some time to see some of Ian's motorsport images you'll see that he is seriously good! I could not resist a quick grab-shot of the master in action - camera and photographer working as one.

Ian 'Panning for Gold' - excuse the pun

As well as the BSB there was a myriad of other attractions on the track, including sidecars, T3 racing, juniors etc.

I filled 3x8GB CF cards on the day in single-shot mode, culling 600 of the resulting 900 images based on sharpness and composition. A further round of 'weeding' will follow - thank heavens for Adobe Lightroom and not using burst mode.

Most of my panning was done with a 70-200mm lens but after a chat with Ian I tried with my 50mm prime. I got this wide-angle vista which gives a different perspective to the closely-cropped style that we see so much.

50mm focal length; 1/40th at f/14

The T3 bikes were out early and provided great subjects as they exited Druids.

Getting in a bit tighter but keeping the advertising in-frame (Tom Ward)

Ben Taylor

Chri55y Rouse

Gary Horspole and Robert Biggs

There's only so much panning one can do so we headed of round the circuit to find some alternative vantage spots - images to come in future posts.