It had to happen at some point. I have had my first opportunity to shoot pictures from inside the wire.

No obstructions, new angles and access to all the picturesque goodies just throwing themselves towards the camera. It was so easy, I couldn’t believe it!

Wasn’t really, was it? No.

This sudden, new found perspective was quite a lot to take in for my pea brain and squinty eyes, and to be completely honest, it was all a bit of a muddle.

Sure I had to embrace the experience and go with it – it may be a one off – but despite being familiar with Brands Hatch, and knowing what style of images I wanted to achieve, having access was almost like visiting the circuit for the first time again….everything appeared new, and I actually caught myself being less adventurous.

Bad form.

Being in unfamiliar situations always makes me feel a little apprehensive, especially as I didn’t want to tread on toes or make an ass of myself by getting in the way so I was a little tentative over the start of the weekend, especially in regards to roaming about and getting stuck in.

…I still felt that the images I produced were no better creatively than what I would achieve normally behind the fence.

I was only there for the GT’s and downtime in between the races and practice sessions also didn’t help the inspiration.

Sunday was far more relaxed. Overnight I contemplated the experience and thought up some sort of plan of action for the showdown on Sunday. Opportunities for snapping GT’s would be short and sweet, so I had to make the most of the access to the garages, the grid and track over the two hour race.

My overall experience of accreditation was strong.

Being inside the wire, being able to explore new angles, suffering less obstructions and in your images being able to get close to the speeding cars was a treat.

I also found my camera kit worked more effectively in terms of focus and metering, and I think the quality of the images is greater; there is no grey haze over my images, nor that infamous diamond blur we all know and love.

But saying that, the cars were the same cars and the track was the same track. The trees were still green.

Despite being able to get higher, lower, or pan without posts, I still felt that the images I produced were no better creatively than what I would achieve normally behind the fence.

I actually struggled a little.

Having the access is a new world, different paths, vantage points and views to explore. Some worked, some didn’t but that familiarity I had built of Brands Hatch as a ticket buyer was suddenly worth much less; inside the wire is   new and waiting to be learnt all over again.

So kind of back to square one. Still, after this initial experience, I can say this;

Being behind the fence isn’t a bad thing. It’s also not as restrictive as I and many others have made out.  The impression is that being accredited will provide you with instant magical unicorn photo taking ability.

It doesn’t. It merely offers a different perspective. You still have to capture the scenes.

Taking decent images is very much about confidence and practice, whether you are inside, outside or wrapped up in the fence. The access only provides you with potentially different angles to find.

I hope you enjoy my first ever gallery of images taken from inside the fence.

A big thank you to Gary at Xynamic for his support.