Challenge 1 James Clarke

Sony user James is experienced at shooting sports and fitness photography, but wasn’t familiar with the layout of the ShamXross course, so asked the organisers to recommend some promising spots to capture the action from. Knowing where to stand when covering events like this is as important as bringing the right camera kit, but is something that can only come with experience and familiarity. So if in doubt, it always pays to ask.

“I wanted to capture some of the more advanced riders jumping this board, but it was more difficult than I had expected,” explains James.

“Most riders chose to get off their bikes and carry them over the jump before remounting, so while I was always ready for a rider to try jumping here, it didn’t happen often.

“Eventually, one rider did give it a go, so I stayed standing up and from a distance of around 50 metres away from the boards, shot at a focal length of around 170mm.”

Expert opinion

In contrast to Paul’s shot, James decided to shoot into the sun, which has created a pleasing side/back light. It’s a crisp shot with the rider frozen in mid-air and perfectly focused on a long lens. If only there was a little more mud flying around…