When I use a flash in pit lane, I set it to Rear Shutter Sync, which means that the flash fires just as the shutter closes. For long exposures this is the only setting I use because if the flash fires when the shutter opens, movement in the image appears to be moving backwards.

In 2013 I photographed Jorge Lorenzo in pit lane as he rode away from his box. He passed in front of his pit board, which of course has his logo of the red X inside the white arrowed circle.

This logo is know as Por Fuera, which means something like ‘on the outside’ in Spanish. The story goes back to Lorenzo’s first GP victory in Brazil, 2003, when he passed a couple of youngsters named Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa by riding around them on the outside, por fuera.

This image was shot at 1/13, and when the flash popped at the end of that exposure, it was intended to freeze that moment and create the motion blur I was after. What I didn’t anticipate was the white circle in the background catching the light from the strobe. You can see it’s a dull blur until the flash fires and lights up the circle, making it look like it’s glowing.

Some good luck led to a unique image that would be difficult to recreate intentionally.

Exif data: Nikon D700, 1/13th, f/10, ISO 250, 24mm

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