Hadn't been to Brands Hatch for six days, so the time to return was probably ripe... Mostly taken with K-5 IIs and Sigma 100-300mm f4, but #3 was shot with K-5 IIs/Sigma 50-150mm f2.8 and #4 with K-5/Sigma 50-150.


1 - Neighbours


2 - Jobs for other people...


3 - The glamour of motor sport's grass roots


4 - Angle of attack


5 - The art of front tyre preservation


6 - Scrum


7 - "Bollocks. I left the toaster on..."


8 - Star and stripes

600 Sportsman Elite, Don.

Thanks, all, for the kind words.

I have a 150-500 too, Peter. I took it with me to Brands last Sunday... and left it in the car all day. It's a great lens for the price, and mine is very sharp up to about 470mm, but I seem to use it less and less - mostly because a cropped image from the 100-300 is at least as good as anything from the far end of the longer lens. In any case, the 100-300 is perfectly adequate for most parts of Brands Hatch. Paddock Hill Bend is a bit of a stretch, but the image below was taken there. It's a significant crop, but I consider it acceptable... That's a battle for the lead, by the way: there were seven riders involved at one stage.

My first UK race meeting of the season. All taken with K-5 IIs and - predictably enough - Sigma 100-300mm f4.


1 - "You stick your right arm out..."


2 - "...your right leg in."


3 - diving lesson


4 - rush hour


5 - "Our turn next..."


6 - lean machine


7 - Sheene machine: Freddie, son of Barry, made his competitive UK debut on Kawasaki #77


8 - cloud trouble

Looks pretty good to me, Jon - plenty of detail, given the circumstances.

Tokina 80-400s seem even scarcer than the Sigma 50-150 I acquired from you...

Nice shots, Peter. I'm hoping for similar sunshine later this weekend, as the UK circuit racing season kicks off (bikes, Brands Hatch).

Having craved a Sigma 50-150mm f2.8 since GB Kershaw's folding cameras were all the rage, I recently acquired the ex-Jon Schick/Daz (bettyswolloks) version of the lens. Haven't yet had much chance to stretch its legs, but here are a few early experiments.


1 - Snapshot from a 2.5-mile walk to London Victoria - part of my evening routine


2 - As above, but facing west


3 - Trackday warrior in action at Oulton Park, Cheshire


4 - Williams F1 launch, Lomdon: Valtteri Bottas has an ear-mounted dial that allows him to rotate his eyeballs, presumably for aerodynamic benefit


5 - Four seasons in one frame - it's rarely worth poking a camera through the office window, but sometimes...

Nice shots, Don - and you have hastened my urge to return to PI. It's a wonderful venue, but three years have passed since last I was there.

I think 'fat' is a fair description - most Kelsey Park squirrels are very tame and ridiculously well fed. It can make them a pain to photograph: they strike a nice pose on post or tree, but as soon as you stop to point the camera they tend to charge towards you in anticipation of peanuts. And if you don't immediately provide a tasty morsel, quite a few of them do this to let you know they're still there (shot several millennia ago with K-7 and Tamron 18-250)...

Same park as the last lot, different set of subjects. All with standard combo of K-5 IIs and Sigma 100-300mm f4...


1 - bathing cormorant


2 - Egyptian goose signals four byes


3 - juvenile herring gull (I think) prepares to attack non-specific prey


4 - solus little grebe


5 - peckish little grebe


6 - usual suspect


7 - happy mallard