Santa Pod

January 28 2014

Photo of the Week – Drag Ford Escort

I’ve gone back into my archive for today’s Photo of the Week. I saw this monster Mk I Ford Escort at The Fast Show 2012 being wheeled out by a group of people and fired off a few shots but got nothing special. It wasn’t until the bonnet was lifted and they gathered around the engine bay, neatly spaced, all looking at the same spot that the image came together. I shot this with my 70-200mm f2.8 at 95mm so I could stay at a distance to not influence the scene. I’m at f3.2 for a shallow depth of field and […]

October 29 2013

Photo of the Week – Jet Car

As you’d expect from its name the Fire Force jet car is fast but I think the sheer amount of noise it produces is what makes it hard to shoot. Couple that with the fact it’s literally halfway down the strip at Santa Pod in the blink of an eye and you’ll understand why I still only have a few good shots of it. On this occasion I decided not to try panning as it passed me just off the start line and instead shot a bit wider facing down the down the track, waiting for it to enter my […]

November 14 2012

Gymkhana Grid Finals 2012

A couple of weekends ago, Ken Block’s Gymkhana Grid finals landed at Santa Pod. Winners form the four previous rounds in France, Germany, Holland and the UK came together to go head to head in a battle to face off against Vaughn Gittin Jr or Ken “This is my sport” Block. I was lucky enough to be there trackside – Here’s a flavour of the hooniganery! Luke Woodham finished runner up in the RWD class (And had some pare type he didn’t want to carry home it seems!) Remmo Niezen was the man who beat him to first place and […]

August 19 2011

The Marangoni Girls at USC

Ultimate Street Car is one of the biggest weekenders on the modified car show scene and title sponsor, Marangoni Tyres had the busiest stand at the show. And on their stand they had Jen and Sarah who you may have seen on the blog before along with Torrs. I’d spoken with Sarah in the week leading up to the show and arranged to make a few pictures, but I have learnt that you can’t plan too much at shows like this. It’s a case of seeing what you have to work with and coming up with ideas on the spot. […]

August 16 2010

Shooting the Ripraw Girls at USC

Another weekend, another car show and this time it was USC (Ultimate Street Car) at Santa Pod. I wasn’t lucky enough to have any secluded barns to shoot in this time so it was a case of making the best of a bad lot. And at car shows, it’s a very bad lot – even when your subjects are the Sextons Direct / Ripraw girls! You’ve got cluttered backgrounds, harsh mid afternoon light and crowds. First of all, I toured Santa Pod looking for a location without people, cars or fairground rides lurking in the background. Luckily Santa Pod is […]