From Passion to Purpose: The Journey Behind Trackside Focus®
Shooting a pit stop at the 24H Dubai 2026 (shot on Google Pixel 8 Pro)
In 2016, I set out on what I thought would be a straightforward path: to become a motorsport photographer. I had quit my job working as a camera technician in London, purchased a brand new Canon 5D MKiii and some lenses (in fact my dad lent me £5000 to purchase everything - hopefully when Trackside Focus® is a success, I can eventually pay him back!). I was ready to embark on this new dream. A love for speed and adrenaline alongside a dream of capturing the excitement and drama of racing at its very heart. My journey to becoming an F1® photographer was just beginning. But almost immediately, reality set in.
There were no maps to follow, no mentors to guide me, no clear path into the world I longed to join. I started shooting from the spectator side, trying to learn and improve wherever I could. I believed the only way to achieve my dream was to go it alone - figure it out on my own terms. I watched videos on YouTube, read blogs and studied the portfolios of other photographers.
Eventually, I decided I wanted to see what it was like on the other side of the fence. I thought I was ready, but gaining media accreditation felt like trying to break into an impenetrable fortress - which, it pretty much still is! I managed to bluff my way into offering free images to Lanan Racing, a British GT and British F3 / F4 team famously associated with F1 star George Russell, who won the BRDC F4 Championship with them back in 2014.
Even so, the reality quickly set in: everyone else seemed to know exactly where they belonged while I fumbled in the background. Professional expectations weren’t written down or explained - they were vague, undefined, and intimidating. I had no idea what I should be doing. My photography was terrible, I had no defined editing style and I lacked any real understanding of professional motorsport photography. I was completely out of my depth and looking back now - even more so than I ever realised.
Progress was slow, painful and inconsistent. Every step forward was built on trial and error, often overshadowed by imposter syndrome and self-doubt. Financial pressures compounded the stress: I was travelling across the country at my own expense, all unpaid, just to chase experience. I convinced myself this was just how it had to be - that the only way to achieve my dream was to endure it, all alone until my fortunes eventually changed. Even when opportunities appeared, they felt tantalisingly out of reach, blocked by my own uncertainty and the absence of guidance. It was lonely, frustrating and at times, demoralising.
Some of my shockingly terrible images from my day at Rockingham Motorsport Speedway back in 2017.
One experience really stands out for me. I turned up at Rockingham Motor Speedway here in the UK (now no longer an active circuit) to shoot for Lanan Racing. I parked up and was too petrified to leave the car. I had finally been granted a media pass - no longer needing to tiptoe around the bureaucracy of an MSV circuit (although I had no real understanding at this stage of just how challenging MSV were to deal with!). I eventually found the courage to head inside to find the media centre, but before I did, I panicked and headed straight back to the car. Full imposter syndrome had kicked in. I was ready to leave and go home, never to return to a race circuit ever again. However, I eventually got myself together, signed on at the media centre and started shooting. I did not head trackside straight away - I was no way near confident for that yet. The pit lane - I never entered it. Red zones - what are they?. I had no idea what I was doing. Rules and etiquette of working trackside - no idea. Knowledge or understanding how to navigate the Rockingham circuit - absolutely no idea. I think I went to about 2 different track locations all day and that was it. How I didn’t get kicked out, shouted at or worse I will never know.
Looking back, is it embarrassing? Well, yes and no. Of course, you feel stupid, dumb and inferior. But also, how was I to know any better? No-one was teaching this stuff. No-one was providing opportunities to learn any of this. There was no real education or training on how to make the leap from spectator to professional motorsport photographer. You can’t learn it from YouTube tutorials, blogs, or online guides. The knowledge simply doesn’t exist in a neat, clickable format. It’s not something you can absorb passively - it has to be experienced firsthand.
It’s a bit like thinking you can master flying a plane by reading a manual, or perform open-heart surgery after watching a few videos online. The theory might help, but without being in the cockpit or the operating theatre, you’ll never truly understand what it takes to succeed. Motorsport photography is the same: the speed, the pressure, the split-second timing, the right positioning - this can’t be taught in a static tutorial. It has to be lived, felt and practised in real environments. This gap - the lack of structured, practical guidance, is exactly what makes the journey so isolating for aspiring motorsport photographers. Without someone to show you the ropes, every mistake feels monumental, every opportunity intimidating and every success elusive.
Eventually, the weight of imposter syndrome, anxiety and self-doubt became too heavy and I began pursuing photography opportunities outside of motorsport. On one hand, I was finally earning money from photography - but on the other, I had walked away from the dream I had wanted so much.
Yet, that early struggle planted a seed - a vision that someday, no aspiring motorsport photographer would feel as isolated or unsupported as I had. It’s a little strange to think that now, alongside the professional motorsport photographers I work with at Trackside Focus® - I am helping to guide, teach and share my own knowledge and experience with others who are in a similar position to what I was back then. It’s now 2026 and I’ve been in many pit lanes, media centres, been trackside numerous times, understand more about how networking happens, how to build a business, have a much broader knowledge around how both the motorsport and photography industries operate and whole lot more.
Trackside Focus® - 24H Dubai Motorsport Photography Workshop 2026 (with media pass)
Finding a New Path: From Workshops to Discovery
Fast forward to 2023. Using some family inheritance, I launched a photography workshop and tour business with a broad focus: creating meaningful, hands-on learning experiences across multiple photographic disciplines. But very quickly, a pattern emerged.
While the general workshop space was crowded and saturated with generic offerings, one niche remained almost entirely underserved: motorsport photography. Despite its complexity and popularity, there were few structured training opportunities, limited access to obtain media passes and accreditation, especially for those new to the industry or looking to make the leap to professional and almost no clear progression routes for those aspiring professionals.
In that moment of realisation, it felt like fate - the very field I had once struggled to break into myself was still, all these years later - missing the opportunities, training and proper guidance I had long wished for. With the benefit of age, experience and a deeper understanding of the industry, I could see clearly what had been missing in my own journey. My early frustrations - once a source of isolation and self-doubt - had transformed into a road map for a solution, a guide for others who might face the same challenges I once did. What had once felt like barriers now became a blueprint for opportunity.
A Full Circle Moment: Birth of Trackside Focus®
By December 2024, the business had transformed, rebranded as Trackside Focus®, dedicated entirely to motorsport photography. It became a platform designed to solve the very challenges I had faced at the start of my own journey as a motorsport photographer.
Today, Trackside Focus® exists to remove those barriers I personally faced in motorsport photography. It empowers amateur and aspiring photographers to step confidently into a world that feels incredibly intimidating and inaccessible. Through immersive, practical motorsport photography workshops, professional development opportunities, and rare opportunities to understand and learn how to shoot with a media pass alongside a professional motorsport photographer, who helps guide you, providing you with support, encouragement and industry insights each step of the way. Trackside Focus® now exists to help photographers capture motorsport at the highest level with confidence and support. At the heart of it all is a single mission: to help photographers turn their passion into opportunity.
Greg at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, to oversee the Trackside Focus® 24H Barcelona Motorsport Photography Workshop 2025
A Personal, Relationship-Driven Approach
Trackside Focus® is more than a business - it’s deeply personal. An independent business, self-funded and run entirely by one person (no team, just Greg) - it is built on relationships. Every photographer that joins us is known personally; their goals are understood, their progress actively supported. Workshops often evolve into lasting professional connections, relationships and ongoing guidance. Trackside Focus® is anything but transactional and it will always remain that way. It is a business built and founded on personal experience.
Making Motorsport Photography Accessible
Motorsport photography can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Trackside Focus® exists to make it accessible, supported, and achievable. We prove that with the right guidance, opportunity and belief, aspiring motorsport photographers can develop confidence, achieve excellence and find tangible success in the real world of motorsport photography.
From the early days of uncertainty, imposter syndrome and struggle to the creation of a platform that opens doors for others, the journey has come full circle. What began as a personal dream has grown into a mission: helping others chase theirs - trackside, camera in hand, ready to capture the extraordinary world of motorsport.
Of course, Trackside Focus® isn’t just for aspiring professionals. It’s also for anyone who just loves motorsport photography as a hobby or passion. That’s why we offer both spectator and media-accredited workshops - so motorsport photographers of all abilities can learn, grow and capture the thrill of racing in a way that suits them.
Final thought: Looking back, with the clarity that hindsight brings, I realise I could have taken a very different approach. I should have spent no more than £1,000 on camera equipment, rented the gear I couldn’t afford, and invested the remaining £4,000 in learning, training, and creating real opportunities for myself. Except, those opportunities - such as the ones being provided by Trackside Focus® did not exist - in fact, they still don’t beyond Trackside Focus®.
Many photographers fall into the trap of believing that owning the best gear is what will push them forward. But in reality, it doesn’t matter how many top-of-the-line cameras or lenses you have if you don’t know how to create opportunities for yourself, navigate the industry, create a standout portfolio or work professionally as a photographer. Skills, knowledge, and practical experience will always outweigh the kit in your bag. Understanding how to position yourself, how to capture compelling images under real-world conditions and how to build relationships - these are the things that truly accelerate a career. Gear alone is never the answer; it’s what you do with what you have that counts.
P.S: Don’t be like me at Rockingham back in 2017. Trackside Focus® is here to ensure that you never do…
