Photographing the Motor Cycle News Festival 2021

Peterborough

Images by RPW Photography

The Motor Cycle News Festival is run by the popular weekly motorcycle news paper commonly know as MCN. The show has been running for years. It used to be the BMF Rally back in the day and was historically the biking season opener as it is usually held at in the spring. 

Due to COVID last year's Festival was cancelled and the date moved to September. All the tickets purchased before the pandemic were honoured for the two day event, and it was relatively easy to change the date of your visit if it clashed with other events as mine did. 

So what can you expect as a spectator photographer at the MCN Festival? Well no cars for a start, this is a Festival of motorcycling and everything associated with it.

Clothing, helmets, boots, all the gear you could want is for sale at discounted prices so it's a good opportunity to pick up a bargain, or is it?

The march of the online retailer has hit motorcycle accessory sales like it has with everything we purchase in our modern lives. Years ago the sale tents were huge with the distributers shifting last year's stock at a bargain price.

These days the tents are smaller with a corresponding smaller selection of stock. However, if like me you want to try kit on before you buy, the bargains are still to be had. 

Sale tents aren't the most interesting subjects to shoot as spectator photographer but it's not all about kit. There are loads of motorcycle clubs attending, with vintage to modern machines on show for you to photograph.

If you are not sure what you are photographing, the owners will be on hand to tell you all about their bikes. Just like any automotive show, car or bike, the owners are proud of their machines and are more than happy to chat.       

One of the unique aspects of the show is the ability to see and ride the latest bikes. It works on a first come first served method, and all you need is riding gear, a licence for the machine you want to try and a bit of patience as you queue to take the latest model out on a guided group ride.

If you are running a YouTube channel you can get a load of footage riding the latest bikes quite easily and they are immaculately prepared. If shooting static images is your thing they make great subjects to shoot and there are manufacturer's stands to get those detail shots. 

For those of you that like a bit of movement in your images you will not be disappointed. There are stunt shows and demonstrations of motorcycling sports that run at different times over the two days. 

The BMX, Trials and FMX show gives you plenty of opportunities to get some action shots for your portfolio. If the crowds are getting in the way of your shot, incorporate them into your pictures.

If the light is not right, come back later as the shows are run at least four times a day. 

The Live Action Arena was running over the full two days with mainly the Dirt Track Riders Association putting on Flat Track racing around the oval. Flat Track racing looks a little like Speedway but the flat track bikes have a rear brake and gears, unlike speedway.

On the Sunday when the PistonClick team were in attendance, the Moped Mayhem endurance race was being held. I can remember this event form the old BMF days and it was carnage back then.

These days it’s a much more controlled event, but still great fun to watch as the riders and machines are decked out in some "interesting" attire .

So to sum up, the Motor Cycle News Festival is a great event if you ride a motorcycle or just have an interest in motorcycling. It also gives the spectator photographer the opportunity to photograph static and action motorcycle shots in a convenient location. 

Photographic Post Script.

To photograph the show it's recommended that you take a wide angle zoom for the static shots. We used the excellent Nikon FX 24 -120mm F4, and for the DX shooter a 18-140mm will work well. Both of these lenses can be picked up at a reasonable price second hand as a lot were sold as kit lenses.

For the action arena, a super zoom is the weapon of choice as you will be around the 400mm mark when the bikes are coming into the corners.

If you are thinking of traveling by car to the East of England Arena for next year's event which is due to be held over the weekend of the 14th - 15th May 2022, be advised there might be long queues to get in. At this year's event most people arrived in cars which led to some delays.

Don’t fancy the queues? You can also camp at this event, but for me, arriving by motorcycle is the way to go, as long as I'm not buying any bulky kit, or transporting camera gear, or it's raining!