MCE Insurance British Superbikes at Croft August 11th, 12th, 13th 2009.

If you are planning a photographic day at a motorsport event then I can offer the following advice: take a lens longer than 200mm as the action can be quite some way off, 1 camera battery is not enough, take at least one spare and camera memory is so cheap now, it's got to be worth buying and taking more. Keep the shutter speed high 1/400th or faster else you will find lots of your images are marginally blurred when you see them on your computer or in larger printouts.

You will also find focussing is very difficult to get right, keeping focus on the front of the vehicle is difficult, as the f number is likely to be around f4 - f6, sharp focus (depth of field) is only a very short range, the majority of my photos end up with the middle and back of the vehicle in focus, but the front not quite!

Panning with the vehicle is the best bet (following the moving vehicle with the lens), as the background can be slighlty blurred and the vehicle fairly sharp, often giving a better feeling of a moving subject. Take plenty of shots and be prepared to lose loads when you see them large on your monitor.