BARC Championship Racing

[Simon Harrison]

You wait all day for a bus, and then two come along at once!

Like IanH (see separate thread), I spent the weekend at Croft Circuit for the BARC Championship Race Weekend meeting. Plenty of variety of machinery, and some big grids, some were at capacity and even had reserves! I spent quite a bit of time experimenting with some wider angle stuff (even if still shot at 300mm!) to try and put the cars a bit more into context. I'm finding that my style and preference of shot is changing and heading more towards the 'wider angle' these days, but as ever variety is the spice of life.

Anyway onto some pictures: -

#1 Formula Renault lifting a paw at the entrance to the chicane.
http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/BARC/BARC5.jpg

#2 MX5's fighting for position into Tower
http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/BARC/BARC4.jpg

#3 Caterham Graduates charging into Clervaux.
http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/BARC/BARC3.jpg

#4 A very pretty Legend rounding Hawthorn.
http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/BARC/BARC2.jpg

#5 A capacity grid of Formula Renaults charges down towards Clervaux.
http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/BARC/BARC6.jpg

#6 Legends at Tower Bend
http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/BARC/BARC7.jpg

#7 Very close racing from the Pickup Trucks.
http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/BARC/BARC8.jpg

#8 Finally, pushing to hard into Clervaux usually only has one outcome.....
http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/BARC/BARC1.jpg

All of the shots were taken with a 1D mk I and a Sigma 120-300 f2.8. No TC's with any of these. I gave myself a challenge to shoot the majority of the weekend without using them. I managed to do this, but both the 1.4 and 2X TC did get used a little - old habits die hard!

Anyway, as usual any comments or feedback on the pictures is always welcome.

Cheers,

Simon.

[DOverton]

Great Stuff

Tack Sharp, Number 1 is my fav :)

Dan

[Simon Harrison]

Great Stuff

Tack Sharp, Number 1 is my fav :)

Dan

Thanks Dan!

Simon.

[GAELICSTORM7]

I love no 4, stunning colours.

Alan

[GSH]

I really like those wide shots with plenty of cars Simon. The colours on the Stars N Stripes Legend are fantastic too, i don't think i managed a decent shot of that car :rolleyes:

Great timing on #8 too, you can be in the right place at the right time and it's still easy to miss those. :)

[IainY]

Great pics from everyone else who's posted so far from this event. I went along on the Sunday to try out a Sigma 170-500mm lens I found in Cash Convertors for £120.

Here are some of my best efforts:

# Trevor Newman in a Caterham 7 panning shot.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/189/506634981_221dd8eb4f_o_d.jpg

#Steven Durrant in a Formula Renault taking a gravel shower.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/211/506629477_4c929c7521_o_d.jpg

#Pat Hynds turning into Hawthorn.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/222/506603340_f929df8768_o_d.jpg

#Peter Morton smoking on 3 wheels.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/230/506602902_ef4d14c4ae_o.jpg

All taken with a Canon EOS 400D and Sigma 170-500mm F5-6.3. No cropping and only auto levels applied.

Also, how do you get "signed on" to get onto the trackside?? (aside from buying a hi vis safety harness from Halfords!) Do you need your own insurance etc??

Thanks,

Iain.

[Ian_H]

Nice shots Simon, really like the photos from the start/finish straight and that particular Legend was very photogenic.


CHeers
Ian

[Ian_H]

Also, how do you get "signed on" to get onto the trackside?? (aside from buying a hi vis safety harness from Halfords!) Do you need your own insurance etc??

Thanks,

Iain.


I'm afraid it takes a little more than buying a hi vis safety harness from Halfords, in order to sign on as media you have to be working for a recognised media outlet and you have to prove that by providing letters from editors, tear sheets etc and you have to carry £5m of public liability insurance also.

Cheers
Ian

[IainY]

Thanks Ian,

I had a feeling you had to be a professional. Don't worry, I'm not going to try and sneak in courtesy of Halfords although one of the marshals I spoke to did joke about doing that as he didn't know the correct answer.

Cheers,

Iain.

[Simon Harrison]

Also, how do you get "signed on" to get onto the trackside?? (aside from buying a hi vis safety harness from Halfords!) Do you need your own insurance etc??

Thanks,

Iain.

Thanks Iain.

I think that Ian_H has answered your question about trackside access. If you're a Teesside local, you might have seen shot #2 in the local paper on Tuesday night (car #7 is a Guisborough competitor), and Autosport Magazine is also using one of my shots this week.

Cheers,

Simon.

PS Forum rules dictate only 8 images per thread, and if you want some feedback on your pictures you're probably better off starting off your own thread.

[Simon Harrison]

I love no 4, stunning colours.

Alan

Thanks Alan.

The light on Saturday morning was really nice. It was good and bright, but the cloud cover kept the harshness down. Perfect for getting some nice contrasty images!

[Simon Harrison]

I really like those wide shots with plenty of cars Simon. The colours on the Stars N Stripes Legend are fantastic too, i don't think i managed a decent shot of that car :rolleyes:

Great timing on #8 too, you can be in the right place at the right time and it's still easy to miss those. :)

Thanks Geoff. I must admit that my preference these days is for group shots of the cars actually racing.

#8 was taken while frantically zooming out to keep the car in frame. Even with the 120-300 being parafocal, it coped without any problem whatsoever :D .

Cheers,

Simon.

[GSH]

Thanks Geoff. I must admit that my preference these days is for group shots of the cars actually racing.



You should have plenty of opportunity for group shots over the BTCC weekend. The Clio Cup grids are huge this year and they're up to their usual tricks. The gravel traps will need re-filling on Monday morning :D

I reckon there could be a good battle between Plato & Giovannardi too, given that Croft is Plato's "home" circuit. He's been staying mostly out of trouble so far but he'll revert back to his old form sooner or later ;)

[danccooke]

I love #5 I love the heat haze and the silhouette of the man on the tower.

[Simon Harrison]

I love #5 I love the heat haze and the silhouette of the man on the tower.

Thanks Dan. Must admit that it is one of my favourite views of Croft as well.

Cheers,

Simon.

[Simon Harrison]

You should have plenty of opportunity for group shots over the BTCC weekend. The Clio Cup grids are huge this year and they're up to their usual tricks. The gravel traps will need re-filling on Monday morning :D

I reckon there could be a good battle between Plato & Giovannardi too, given that Croft is Plato's "home" circuit. He's been staying mostly out of trouble so far but he'll revert back to his old form sooner or later ;)

:lol: Looking forward to it already Geoff. Just hoping this rain doesn't make the ground too wet. I can still remember the car parks a few years ago after a lot of rain leading up to the event......nightmare!

Cheers,

Simon.

PS any news on the mk III yet?

[KevB]

Very nice Simon. That #4 is perfect :D

[GSH]

:lol: Looking forward to it already Geoff. Just hoping this rain doesn't make the ground too wet. I can still remember the car parks a few years ago after a lot of rain leading up to the event......nightmare!

Cheers,

Simon.

PS any news on the mk III yet?

Ahh i remember that wet BTCC weekend...the Tractor Driver was a busy man. Thank god for traction control :D

Err...what's a MKIII ? :rolleyes:
Let's just say my patience is wearing a little bit thin now. Canon have made a complete hash of this launch and the dealers are getting the flak for it. I've only called RGB once when the price changed on their site but i got that cleared up ok ;)