I’ll be heading back to Silverstone this weekend to photograph the British GT and supporting races. I’ll also be taking a new piece of gear to try out and see what difference it makes to my images.
Once again, the CEO of the company I work for will be taking part in the feature race, the Silverstone 500. He’ll be driving a McLaren 720s GT3 car for the Optimum Motorsport Team in the three hour race. I’m heading back to Silverstone for the whole weekend. On Saturday, I’ll be meeting up with a couple of other photographers to shoot some images around the circuit. On the Sunday, I’ll be a guest of Node4 and Optimum Motorsport. I’ll be enjoying some hospitality in the Brooklands Suite and access to the team garage. I’ll also get access to the grid prior to the race start.
The weekend will be much the same as my visit to Silverstone last year. Even the weather looks like it’s going to be the same, wet! Hopefully we’ll get to see the full race program this year. The weather was so bad last year that the last few qualifying sessions were abandoned. While the forecast says it won’t be completely dry this year, it doesn’t look as bad as it was last year.
New Gear
Those of you paying attention will see that I mentioned a new piece of gear at the start of this post. So you’re probably wondering what it is. I’m not referring to my Z8, or the two new lenses I’ve invested in for it. Although that is also all new since my visit last year. No, it’s none of the above. I’ve actually invested in a new monopod and a monopod gimbal head.
I’ve been using a gimbal head for wildlife photography for a while. I use one on a large tripod rather than a monopod. The weight of most normal gimbal heads is such that it takes away from the convenience of using a monopod. The gimbal head I’ve opted for is designed for use with a monopod. Sidesaddle gimbals, as they are referred to are quite small and lightweight. They are designed specifically work with monopods.
I opted for a Leofoto monopod and head. The models I opted for are the MPC-364C monopod and MPG-1 gimbal head. The choice was based on reviews by a couple of wildlife photographers I follow on YouTube. I hope to use them for both motorsport and wildlife.
I haven’t used a monopod for motorsport before, I’m sure it’ll be a learning experience. I’ll let you know how it goes after the weekend.
If you’re heading to Silverstone this weekend and you spot me around the circuit, feel free to say hi.
Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings. Stop by again in the next couple of weeks to find out how I got on.
