Vintage Motorsport at Mallory Park

Last Saturday saw six members of Dunchurch Photographic Society swap their usual subjects for something considerably faster, with a day spent photographing the vintage motor racing at Mallory Park.

Although it wasn’t an official club outing, six members turning up certainly made it feel like one – and, as ever, there was almost as much banter going on behind the cameras as there was action in front of them.

The morning practice sessions took place under rather cloudy skies. While the softer light made exposure relatively straightforward, it didn’t necessarily give the cars quite the sparkle we were hoping for. Fortunately, as lunchtime approached the clouds began to disappear and, by the time the afternoon racing got underway, Mallory Park was bathed in bright sunshine.

And there was certainly no shortage of subjects.

With a packed programme of vintage machinery taking to the circuit, there were plenty of opportunities for panning shots, close racing, braking battles and the occasional bit of enthusiastic cornering. From beautifully prepared historic racing cars to competitors clearly determined to extract every last ounce of performance from them, there always seemed to be something happening somewhere around the circuit.

Mallory Park is also an exceptionally photographer-friendly venue. Unlike many modern racing circuits, there are very few places where you’re forced to photograph through ugly chain-link safety fencing. From the public areas it is possible to find remarkably clear views of the track, making it much easier to concentrate on composition, backgrounds and capturing the action.

Of course, the arrival of the afternoon sunshine brought its own photographic challenges.

This was particularly noticeable when photographing around the Esses, where the strong sunlight created some very harsh contrasts between brightly illuminated cars and deep areas of shadow. Keeping highlights under control while retaining detail in the darker parts of the image certainly gave cameras – and photographers – something to think about.

But overcoming those sorts of challenges is all part of the fun.

Between experimenting with shutter speeds, comparing locations, discussing camera settings and inevitably taking the occasional photograph that looked considerably better on the back of the camera than it did when viewed properly later, the day disappeared remarkably quickly.

All in all, it was another excellent day of photography, motorsport and good-natured banter.

It may not have been an official DPS outing, but with six members spending the day together enjoying their photography, it certainly captured much of what the club is all about.

And we suspect Mallory Park may well see a few Dunchurch photographers returning again before too long.