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2nd February 2007
Picture of the Day, Friday 2nd Feb 2007
by Ian Burley

Mini Moto, by Peter Brehaut:

How DPNow Pictures of the Day are selected

Peter Brehaut, or just plain 'Peter' spends almost as much time on the DPNow forum chatting about Formula One and motorsport in general (at the non-photography board, of course) as he does about photography. Another previousy featured POTD photographer, the picture of his that we have chosen for today's DPNow Picture of the Day is technically very good, but it's the picture that grabs attention. The site of full-size riders cornering pint-sized Minimoto bikes or Pocketbikes is, well, hilarious and fascinating at the same time.

Peter has to make the most of the motorsport that happens in his locales, as he explains: "As the regulars on the forum know, I live on Guernsey, in the Channel Islands. I am a big fan of motor sport but being on a small Island it's not the same as being in the UK where you can drive down the motorway to any of the big race tracks. Now that would be nice, not just for the big race meets but also the smaller track days.

"Now, back to the photo. I have seen these guys a few times before but this was the first time I had tried to photograph them. This was taken with a Canon EOS-20D and a Sigma 70-200 f2.8 lens. The shutter speed was 1/125th, ISO 100 and focal length of 103mm. This was taken at a small go cart track so it's easy to get close to the action."

Mini Moto, by Peter Brehaut:

Mini Moto, by Peter Brehaut
Click on the picture to see a larger view in Peter's gallery.

(Free forum/gallery registration required)

Taking a picture like this is actually much harder to do, well, than you might think. Autofocus usually can't track racing cars and bikes at speed reliably. You have to anticipate where you will capture the action on the track and set focus manually to that point. Then, in an instant, you need to hit that shutter release at exactly the right time. A fraction of a second too late or too early and your subject will be either out of position in the frame or out of focus - and probably both at the same time.

There are more Minimoto riders and other car and bike racing photos in Peter's gallery, along with a variety of other shots too. DPNow POTDs are selected exclusively from photos uploaded to the DPNow photo gallery.

DPNow POTDs are selected exclusively from photos uploaded to the DPNow photo gallery. If you haven't already done so, why not register for free access to both the DPNow discussion forum and photo gallery and show some of your own photos? A POTD could be one of yours one day!

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