WELCOME TO MY BLOG
My name is Ian Colley and I am a working freelance photographer located on the south side of Brisbane, specialising in Real Estate and Architecture photography, however this blog covers all aspects of my photography including my Sport and Landscape photography and any specials that I might have on photos or gallery prints from recent events.
Mt Cotton Hillclimb Round 3 July 2014
Round 3 of the TSA-SRA Hillclimb series was held last weekend at Mt Cotton. I only managed to get to the racing on Sunday because of work commitments on Saturday but a great days racing was had.
The weather was a perfect cloudless sunny day, albeit a little cool until late morning. The winter sun stays a little low in the sky for the tree lined Mt Cotton track, unfortunately creating some troublesome shadows over the track but you deal with it as best as you can.
There wasn't the usual number of competitors this event with quite a few open wheelers absent from the starting lineup but this allowed those that did race plenty of runs over the 2 day event.
Congratulations to Neil Lewis for breaking into the under 40 second club, commiserations to Cameron Stean for sticking the Lancer, one of my favourite sedans, into the bank over the finish line. I couldn't see the car properly on the tow truck but let's hope the damage isn't too bad. Also a big shout out to Darren Billington for keeping me on my toes coming out of the second loop trying hard to stay on the track, and failing, in that quick kart of his. He gathered it all up and got back on the track unscathed fortunately but did manage to lift my heart rate fairly quickly !
The photos from the event can be found here
Here are a couple from the day
Regards Ian
Lockyer Powerfest Racing
I took the trip out to Laidley yesterday to have a look at a different kind of boat racing.
Lake Dyer at Laidley was the venue for the Lockyer Powerfest that included powerboat racing put on by the Gold Coast Power Boat Club. As well as the racing there was a hot rod and car show and a static display of a couple of Jetboats.
Unfortunately the weather wasn't that kind on Sunday and a chilly breeze whipped up the lake to the point that racing had to be stopped just prior to lunch. I'm not totally familiar with the classes but the Blown Lites and the larger supercharged boats got a few runs in, enough to get a result for the Blown Lites.
This is circuit racing for boats and it is very different to the V8 Jetboats that I have been photographing for years now. The boats don't get off the mark as quick or turn as tightly as the jet boats but once on the move they accelerate very quickly and their top speed is unbelievably fast. The rolling starts are great to watch as 5 or 6 boats come hurtling past you side by side at 160 to 200 km/h. Insane stuff !
I wished I had a bit more reach with my lens, 560mm (35mm equiv) wasn't really enough to get up close to the boats, especially down the far side straight and the left hander coming on to the front straight. I think 700 - 800 mm would've been about right for the Laidley circuit.
The weather meant I didn't get a chance to see the outboard Formula boats which was a shame because from the photos I have seen of these from other events they are crazy fast and spectacular as well. Oh well next time.
I have photos from the event in my web galleries here
Here are a couple from the day.
I'll be back for another one of these, I'll just put an order in for better weather next time.
Ian
V8 Jetboats - Round 3 2014 Run and Won
What a great meeting put on by The Tweed Valley Jetsprint Club and the AFJSA last weekend.
The weather could have been a bit better on Saturday, overcast all day with the occasional rain squall coming through but practise and the qualifying rounds were completed ok with no major mishaps.
Sunday morning was a different story, the sun came out and not a cloud in the sky. A great days racing was about to be had !
There were a few big offs during the course of the day, I managed to catch some but not all. I have enough though to make the next gallery print for the following round in October.
Congratulations to the Ramjet crew for taking the days top prize.
The photos are all done now and can be seen here
The happy winners
Regards
Ian
V8 Jetboats are back at Cabarita
Two rounds in the 2014 race season for the AFJSA V8 Jetboats have been run and won and the first event for the Tweed Coast Jet Sprint Club (Rnd 3) to be held at the Cabarita track is on next weekend, the 15th and 16th of June.
I have finished the framed gallery print, for the 1st round, that I donate to the club for fundraising.
Here is a photo of the gallery print.
This gallery print is for sale, in limited quantities, as are the prints from previous years. If you would like to view more of these gallery prints please click here to be taken to my web gallery.
If you would like to view images from the race meetings click here
Looking forward to a cracker season of racing ! See you at the track.
Mt Cotton Hillclimb March 2014
Round 2 of the Trenching Systems Australia and SR Automotive sponsored Hillclimb series was held last weekend.
The MG Car Club of Qld put on another great event and apart from some light rain on Saturday morning the weather gods delivered two nice days to go racing.
The racing was uninterrupted both days with no accidents to speak of, only a few minor spins, allowing the drivers to get plenty of runs in over the weekend.
I have posted photos from Saturday and Sunday's racing to my web galleries, with a couple of samples below.
Here is the link to the photos
Enjoy
Tyson Cowie lifting the inside front in the 2nd loop
Shane Merrick getting a bit of air under the Datto 1200 coupe
*** Don't forget the 1/2 price special at the top of the blog for an entrants photos.
Regards
Ian