So the last two articles we produced for the site were the British Super Bikes at Cadwell and MotoGP from Silverstone. To change the pace a little, when I say little I mean a lot, we visited Grimsthorpe Castle near Bourne in Lincolnshire for the Vintage Speed Trials.

Set in a 3000-acre estate Grimsthorpe Castle is the ideal location for Vintages cars and bikes. Unfortunately I will say straight away it's not a great location for automotive sports photography but you will get something different for your portfolio.

On arrival you are directed to a temporary carpark at the front of the castle. The main action viewing area is to the right of the Castle behind a roped of area. Some nice vintage cars were parked up here to keep you interested between sprints and you get a good view of the finish line.

The weather was not kind to us during our visit but it was great to see the Vintage cars and bikes going through their paces regardless of the weather. 

The track is a single road that is a long right hand curve, so not a lot of action. However, action is not what this event is about. The vehicles on show are not something you are going to see on the open road so it gives the owners a chance to put them through their paces in a safe environment and for us to enjoy the spectacle.  

You can view all of the track from the spectator area but it is some distance away from the action. A 500mm lens will be needed from this location. 

To the right of the roped off area there were a few pegs in the ground warning you of the dangers of motorsport. Chatting to the Marshalls they were happy for me to move down the hill along side of the track as long as I stayed behind the pegs.

The furthest you can go is a lone tree where you are a bit closer to the action. The wide thick branches of the tree also gave us some protection from the rain. There are no barriers so make sure you don’t drift too close to the track or the Marshalls will have a word.

Taking photos of Vintage cars is easy and challenging at the same time, let me explain. Fast moving modern sports vehicles can look dramatic when shot with a slow shutter speed and panning with the vehicle in its direction of travel to blur the background. 

Vintage vehicles are generally slow so require a slower shutter speed to get the blurred background you are after. However, as you are so far away from the action you need a long lens. The rule is that you shouldn't go with a lower shutter speed than the focal length of your lens, 200mm = 200th of a second.

So now you see the problem, to fill the frame I need a focal length of 400mm. A corresponding shutter speed will freeze a vintage car with no blurry background so you might as well have taken the picture in the pits.

The pan is one of the standard shots any motorsports photographer should be able to reproduce time and time again. Most of us have a go-to setting to get a picture in the bag. For me it's shutter priority around 250sec at f8 regardless of the focal length.

A 250th gives nice wheel blur and a reasonably blurry background. F8 gives me the depth of field to ensure all of the vehicle is sharp. I will adjust the ISO to get these figures and start to shoot. When I'm happy I will start to drop the shutter speed to emphasise the speed with much blurrier background. 

The Vintage cars and bikes moving relatively slowly gives you plenty of time to practice your panning technique, but you are not going to get the same sort of picture you would get at the MotoGP. 

Think about the background. If you are not getting a good panning picture, some of the estate is very picturesque and can add to the Vintage feel.

The pits are open for this event and are to the left of Grimsthorpe Castle, allowing you to get some nice closeups and detail shots. 

The Marshalls and a lot of the visitors dress up in costume giving it a period atmosphere, and with the backdrop of the Castle and over a 100 vintage cars and bikes you can be assured of getting some great pictures.

Overall the Vintage Speed Trials at Grimsthorpe Castle is a great day out for the photographer and for all the family. 

I hope you have enjoyed this write up and photographs of the Vintage Speed Trials at Grimsthorpe Castle. As always, I don’t claim to be an expert on this subject, it's just my observations of a day out with some friends carrying a camera and hopefully I will inspire some of you to get out there and take some great images.