It was a hand painted sign at a T junction on the way into town advertising BMX racing at a track not too far from me so I decided it was worth investigating. I’ve never watched BMX before and anyway, I wanted to try a new technique of action photography involving a sense of motion; freezing the action with a high shutter speed is relatively easy with the instant playback capability of digital cameras.
Kharma and Zak were distinctly unimpressed when I drove out at 3.30 pm – it was obvious they were not going to get a walk. It’s a short drive into the suburbs to the BMX track attached to Old Georgians Sports Club. I had no idea what to expect but it certainly wasn’t a big international meet, just the locals racing. I asked an official what the advertising was about and he replied they were trying to attract new members but it certainly looked in better shape than the local paragliding scene. All ages were there – from 4 years on up.
As it got dark the track was lit with sodium lamps. Unfortunately the generator couldn’t cope with them all so as the cyclists went around the track the first lights were turned off. Only in Zimbabwe!
And the photography went OK too. No competition winners but I had fun discovering a new technique or two.
The competition was fierce
The seniors get airborne. Quite a lot higher than I was expecting!
Zimbabwe Absurdity 