Leica 135mm in motorsport.

Motorsports have been a big part of my life for a long time. As you can see from my bio, I began my photographic career in world championship racing and have been all over the world.

My life has always revolved around two wheels. It’s like a red wire that always gets in my way. In my other activity as a therapist, I also assisted great athletes in achieving outcomes they could be proud of.

I bought a new lens to test on my new Leica, and why not do it on an MX circuit, where it all began for me more than ten years ago? There was no autofocus or tracking, just me and my manual focus lens.

One of the first photos I took with my new Leica 135mm F2.8 lens. It was often difficult to establish balance in the hands due to the substantial weight of the lens.

The conditions at the racetrack were extremely dry, with sand flying everywhere. I’ve been going to the track for years, which is why I always used full-frame Canon or Nikon cameras that were completely sealed against dust and water. As you can imagine, the incredibly dry desert sand gets everywhere, and with the sensitive Leica M10 in my hands, I was very careful not to get any sand in the camera. I took a few more photos.

In the photographs, you can see Ben Watson, a Kawasaki Factory Rider, and Benoit Paturel, a Honda racer. Both riders are MXGP riders, which means they compete at the highest level of motorsport. It’s the ideal speed to check if my Leica material can keep up.

I was astonished by the crispness achieved by the 135mm. Every photograph I shot was taken in my hands, and the most challenging part was establishing the balance in my hands toward the moving item, but in the end, I was pleased.

As you know, there is no ship in the lens or camera to filter out the shaking created by your hands, so it is taken the old-fashioned method, which I prefer.

I had a good time in the desert. I’d been wanting to capture some motocross action on camera for a long time, and I couldn’t be happier with the outcome of working with these materials.

Thank you to the bikers for providing me with the speed to capture the right momentum. As you are aware, we always require the presence of two people to make things happen on film.

Thank you and see you next time 😉