Had my first real attempt at bikes at speed when I went to the qualifiers at Thruxton on Saturday. The last time I went to a decent bike event was the TT in the Isle of Man back in 1977. In the past I have taken plenty of shots of enduro and trials events, but with those, speed and access is not really an issue. Totally did not know what to expect, managed to take far too much kit as I did not know how close you could get to the action or even what I would be able to photograph. So along with my 1D3, I packed my new Siggy 120 - 300 f2.8, both the 1.4x and 2x converter as well as my old trusty 35-350L - with the expectation of comparing the results. God that Siggy is a wrist breaker, thankfully I had it on a sturdy monopod and a nice 'frotto gimbal head which helped take the strain. I was really impressed with Thruxton, access and views were great, the rain possibly helped keep some of the crowds away, but I was able to get some great positions. A packed schedule saw qualifying and racing from 9:00 through to 6:00 in the evening - plenty of opportunity to fill your cards, which I managed to do… Anyway, onto the pics, must admit I was rather chuffed with them.
1 - 3/4 Panning shot, 1/125" at f8 ISO200 - Siggy at 160mm - love the action in this...
2 - another slow shot, 1/160" at f7.1 ISO 200 at 120mm
3 - moving up the beast scale - in the dry, 1/200" at f7.1 ISO 200 at 300mm
4 - loved the wet - not sure why I was on these settings, but I was trying lots of different things, but it seems to have worked 1/320" at f2.8 ISO 100 at 197mm
5 - 1/320" at f4 ISO 50 - lens at 292mm
Amazing day, definitely will do it again, qualifiers was only £16 for the day, main event on the Sunday was a bit more expensive at £26, but a grand fun day. Happy to post some more if people interested??
1 - 3/4 Panning shot, 1/125" at f8 ISO200 - Siggy at 160mm - love the action in this...
2 - another slow shot, 1/160" at f7.1 ISO 200 at 120mm
3 - moving up the beast scale - in the dry, 1/200" at f7.1 ISO 200 at 300mm
4 - loved the wet - not sure why I was on these settings, but I was trying lots of different things, but it seems to have worked 1/320" at f2.8 ISO 100 at 197mm
5 - 1/320" at f4 ISO 50 - lens at 292mm
Amazing day, definitely will do it again, qualifiers was only £16 for the day, main event on the Sunday was a bit more expensive at £26, but a grand fun day. Happy to post some more if people interested??
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