choose to shoot Nikon – and , no , I don ’ t do camera wars , I think Canon , Sony and most of the other DSLR manufacturers all make superb gear . My usual trackside kit includes a D800E and D500 bodies ( with a D750 as a spare ), 70-200 / 2.8G , 300 / f4E and 200-500 / f5.6E lenses plus 24-70 / 2.8G and Sigma 10-20 / 4.5-5.6 lenses for pit and grid work . On top of that , there ’ s a flash gun or two , spare batteries , cards , card readers , laptop and all the other stuff that I need to get me through the weekend . And sunscreen , which I always start to use the day after I ’ ve burned myself to a crisp – I ’ m a slow learner . One thing I ’ m grateful for is that I ’ m largely a product of the digital age . The ability to review my shots in near real time and then adjust based on what I see must amount to either witchcraft or cheating ( or both ) to those who shot races back in the days of film , which wasn ’ t that long ago when you think about it . Most of my lenses would work just fine on the late model state-ofthe-art-at-the-time Nikon film bodies and one

of these days I ’ m going to get one and shoot a session or two in film just to see what I can get out of it . The last time I shot a race meeting in film was at a mid-80s Le Mans 24-hour . And back in the day I wasn ’ t taking it remotely seriously .... which shows in the photos I have from back then . Humping gear around the track is a big deal , especially when you ’ ve got dodgy knees and a crook shoulder like mine . Carrying two bodies , two or three lenses , water , energy bars ( the diet I live on at the track sustains life but isn ’ t going to win any prizes in a healthy living competition ) amounts to a fair bit of weight and Phillip Island is a big track to walk around . My girlfriend , Sarah , bought me a Lowe Pro Street and Field Technical Vest and Belt and that ’ s been a lifesaver ( thanks Honey ) because it spreads the load of whatever I ’ m carrying and I can hook different pouches on it depending on what I need to take with me and whether I might need weather protection or not . And it looks cool . If you want to see more of Nick ’ s photos , you can find him at Half Light Photographic ( www . facebook . com / halflightphoto ) on Facebook and @ half . light on Instagram .

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