Watergate Bay Speed Hillclimb 2019

Andrew Hocking

Sep 16, 2019

2 min read

ONE OF MY FAVOURITE CARS (MAYBE AS MY FIRST CAR WAS A MINI!) -

CAR 65, ROVER MINI, ROBERT HOWARD

Here's something a little different to my usual landscape photography!...

Last Saturday (14th August 2019), I attended the "Watergate Bay Speed Hillclimb" near Newquay.

The sun was shining and there were plenty of interesting cars in the competition - it was an enjoyable afternoon of motor racing on the Cornish coast. Among the cars were some beautifully presented classic examples (my favourites were the "real" Minis and Ford Escorts) and ex professional rally cars driven by the likes of Richards Burns in their past lives.

Now, I have been known to snap cars at shows in the past - but never moving ones! This presented a new challenge for me. I didn't want to just up my shutter speed to "freeze" the cars as they hurtled up the hill. Instead, I wanted to show that they were moving at speed.

So, I found a "Panning" setting on the camera and did my best to capture the cars as they whizzed past. As the afternoon went on, I began to have more success. I was a little too close to the action though, to use the Panning setting as (I believe) it's intended - to shoot the cars' side profile in focus with a blurred background. Instead, I was getting just the front of the car in focus (or none of it in focus at all in most cases!) - which could be said, gives the impression of speed I was aiming for.

All images are Copyright. Although if you'd like a print or to use them online, please contact me.

www.watergatebayhillclimb.co.uk