BMCRC Championship from Cadwell Park

Featuring the PistonClick guide to the exposure triangle

14 Aug 2020

The BMCRC Championship featuring British Sidecars replaced the International Sidecar Revival that usually takes place around the rolling hills of Cadwell Park this time of the year. The Sidecar Revival has been a must do event for us for a few years as it has an excellent mix of modern to classic sidecars and a great selection of classic and modern racing motorcycles for us to watch. 

Nikon D3X 1/125s f8 ISO 160 70mm Taken at the bottom of the Mountain using the Nikon 70-200mm f2.8.

Last year's report can be found in the 2019 archives. Due to the CV19 travel restrictions the international sidecar competitors couldn’t make the trip to the mini Nürburgring so a race card of domestic rides was brought together for this meeting, focusing on two wheels instead of three. 

Nikon D3X 1/100s f5 ISO 100 70mm Taken just after the bridge just before the fist corner to the Mountain Nikon 70-200 f2.8.

With five of the PistonClick team out at a very misty Cadwell we decided that a photographic comparison would be the way to go for this report. This enables you to have a look at our camera settings and compare them to yours and we will look at the locations the images were taken from. 

Nikon D3X 1/400s f5.6 ISO 320 500mm Taken at the bottom of the Mountain Nikon 200-500mm.

So why are we doing this? Well there are two reasons. First CV19 regulations have restricted access to parts of the track at Cadwell and has forced us to find new locations to shoot from.



We pride ourselves on producing photographic guides to all of the main tracks in the UK. The CV19 restrictions hasn’t made these guides redundant but we have been pushed to new locations and we want to let you know about them so that you can explore them for yourself.

Nikon D3X 1/400s f5.6 ISO 220 500mm Taken from the banking looking down into Mansfield Nikon 200-500mm.

Secondly, I've been contacted a few times about including the camera settings used in taking the images on the site. As a tester I did this for one of the articles, but to be honest there are so many variables it was pointless.

As we found and know all to well, the weather conditions on the day will have a massive effect on the setting you put into your camera. The focal length of the lens will have an affect on your settings as will the aperture and not forgetting the ISO, which for this weekend was set higher than normal due to the low light/mist and generally dull conditions. 

Mist and heat haze are two of the most troublesome weather conditions for the long range sports photographer. Light as a wave form travels in straight lines, so on a nice clear sunny day you will get nice sharp colorful pictures. Putting a load of moisture (mist / fog) between you and the subject will soften the image as the light is scattered by the water droplets.

It also has the effect of reducing the contrast and fooling the exposure meter. Top tip, you might need to add 1/2 to 1 exposure compensation depending on how misty the conditions are.

Nikon D3X 1/320s f5.6 ISO 200 Taken in DX mode 750mm at the beginning of Park Straight exiting Charlies Nikon 200-500mm.

Most of the PistonClick team use full manual camera settings when taking a shot, some use auto ISO others don’t. My recommendation is to use auto ISO. To achieve a correctly exposed image you need to balance the exposure triangle - shutter speed, aperture and ISO. If you need to increase the shutter speed you need to adjust one or both of the other settings in the exposure triangle.

All good quality DSLR cameras come with two control wheels, one for the shutter and one for the aperture. The ISO (sensitivity of the image sensor) is usually controlled by a combination of button presses and/or the internal camera menu which can make it difficult to adjust quickly. 

By placing the ISO on auto it gives you a number of advantages, the first and most important as the camera is controlling the most unimportant part of the exposure from an artistic point of view.

This enables you to concentrate on capturing the action in front of you using the shutter speed and aperture combination that you want to use to get the final effect on the image that you desire.

Canon 450D F/10, 1/125th sec (taken from the dip in Park Straight) Sigma 150-600mm

Let me give you an example. You have a long lens that has a maximum aperture of f5.6 wide open which you are using as the light is a little low, your shutter speed of 320th of a second is giving you the correct exposure. A crash happens in front of you. To capture the action you could do with a much faster shutter speed.

On my Nikon I would immediately flick the shutter control wheel to the right to increase the shutter speed therefore freezing the crash sequence. Automatically the ISO adjusts, increasing the sensitivity of the sensor to compensate for the loss of light by the increase in shutter speed. I can't adjust the aperture to let in more light as it's at it widest setting of f5.6. 

Canon 450D F/6.3, 1000th sec (taken from exit from Park Corner) Sigma 150-600mm

A lot of spectator photographers will be using shutter priority to either freeze the shot with a fast shutter speed, blur the background, slow shutter speed (while panning) or more likely something in between to get the vehicle sharp and the background a little blurred to give that sensation of speed.



When you adjust your shutter in shutter priority mode your aperture will auto adjust but it could get to the to the point of over or under exposing your image with a fixed ISO, the auto ISO will compensate, so I recommend it while using this mode as well.



However, keep an eye on that viewfinder exposure meter as auto ISO not infallible but it could help you capture that must-get picture. 

Nikon D850 1/320 400mm ISO 250 f/9 Charlies First lap Nikon 200-500mm

So what can we conclude from the images? Two of us were using very old camera bodies, with David H using the latest Nikon D850. It's quite apparent that the image quality between David G from DEEGEE Photography's Canon 450D at12MP, my Nikon D3X at 24MP and David Harby's Nikon D850 at 46MP is quite pronounced, and it's no surprise as technology has moved on in the last 10 years.

If you want the very best image quality get the latest camera.

Nikon D850 1/320 70mm ISO 250 f/9 Coppice Looking down on the action using the Nikon 70-200mm f2.8

As for the ISO, my D3X doesn’t like very high ISO. It will cover ISO 50 - 6400 (just) while the more modern Nikon D850 will cover 32 - 102400 which is an amazing number. So when I'm shooting in auto ISO I cap my ISO at 800, which means I will struggle to see any grain. The higher the ISO the more grain you see in the image.



The D850 handles ISO much better and David was able to fix his ISO at 400 for a good part of the day and have a good midrange f stop to give him more depth of field (more of the subject in focus), while I was at my maximum f-stop f 5.6, which = less of the subject in focus and I had to use a lower ISO to achieve the same shutter speed and keep the image clean with less grain.

Conclusion - get the latest camera if you are going to shoot in low light.

Nikon D850 1/250 70mm ISO 250 f/8 Mountain Passenger mid-transit using the Nikon 70-200mm f2.8

At the end of the day the images used in this report do demonstrate that technology has moved on for the better. The focus tracking and low light capabilities with modern cameras will mean more of your images are sharp and correctly exposed in difficult lighting conditions.

I did lose focus quite a few times during the morning session when the mist was at its thickest, but not when I was tracking a motorcycle. 

Nikon D850 1/250 480mm ISO 400 f/9 Park Straight First race of the day and still misty Nikon 200-500mm.

Setting up the shot to get the exposure right, the grey track and grey mist made the auto focus go nuts and I had to manually turn the focus ring to get back to where I wanted.

Top tip number two - don’t mess with the focus. Set it then leave it and wait for the bikes to appear then hit the focus button or, if your kit is struggling, pre-focus on the track and wait for the bike to hit that spot before taking your shot. My D3X locked on and tracked the bikes with no problem once they came into view. 

Nikon D850 1/320 200mm ISO 400 f/8 Mountain. Where we’re going, we don’t need roads … Nikon 200-500mm

In conclusion, there are many ways to set up your camera to achieve the same results, and these will come down to personal preference. Your favourite location track side might not be available to you due to CV19, but those areas that are harder to get to or get a good shot from will make you think about your photography which is a good thing, stopping you getting stale doing the same old thing. 

As a spectator photographer if you are happy with your images you don’t need to get the latest kit. You can get perfectly acceptable images with older equipment. At the end of the day, if you are satisfied with your pictures and they bring you enjoyment that is all that matters. 

Nikon D3x 1/125s f8 ISO 160 70mm taken just after the bridge just before the fist corner to the Mountain with a Nikon 70-200mm f2.8

Photographic Post Script

The Covid 19 pandemic has had a devastating affect on the economy of the UK and the rest of the world and it's not going to let up anytime soon. From day one the advice is distance will keep you safe, stay at home, stay two meters apart or wear a mask and you can get a little closer but still, keep your distance.

I have now been to six motorsports events that have taken place after the lockdown was eased, and to start with the distancing was good but at the last two I have noticed people not giving the distancing rules the full attention it deserves. Are people getting a bit blasé about Covid 19? If they are they really need to put the distancing rules at the front of their minds when visiting a track. 

Not only are you demonstrating that you are thinking of the well being of your fellow spectators, a lot of whom are in that vulnerable age bracket, but you are abiding by the social distancing rules that have allowed the tracks to stay open. All it takes is a few negative pictures on social media and we will have the tracks and the sport we love barred to us again, and none of us want that to happen.

Until next time Stay Safe, Stay Alert, Follow the Rules and Capture the Action.

Nikon D3X 1/320s f5 ISO 320 300mm Taken in DX mode at the bottom of the Mountain Nikon 70-200mm f2.8

David Gowshall DEEGEE Photography.

All shots were taken with Canon 450D (yes I know I need to upgrade, but it would be like parting with a best friend if I changed it)



I only used my new Sigma 150-600 F5 to F6.3 lens during the weekend as having just got it I wanted to see what it was capable of.

You can see more of David's work here.

David Harbey

My first Bemsee race meeting; my second ever solely for bikes and it won’t be my last. This is undoubtedly aided by the joy that is Cadwell Park with it’s gradients, closeness to the action, green and pleasant backgrounds and relative lack of fences.

I think there’s also a greater connection with bikes as you see the riders moving around on the machines. It’s even more apparent with sidecars - you don’t tend to get that with modern racing cars. I suppose there is also, in my case at least, a sense of them doing something I couldn’t do. Do I reckon I could drive a Fiesta or Clio round a track with some competence ?  Yes, of course, although that is yet to be proven. A bike or sidecar – no way !

You can see more of David's work here.

Nikon D3X 1/320s f5.6 ISO 160 Taken in DX mode 750mm at the beginning of Park Straight exiting Charlies Nikon 200-500mm

The PistonClick photographic guide to Cadwell Park