It's called "depth of field" and is basically a relationship between the focal length of the lens and the aperture used. Often referred to as the area "in focus". Only one distance from the camera is truly in focus, DoF is actually those parts of the photo that are sharp enough to appear to be in focus.
Dave was using a Canon DSLR, not sure of the model - I was trying to race! A digital compact camera uses a lens with a very short focal length due to the small sensor sizes used, typically 5 - 15mm. On a 35mm SLR these would be extreme wide angles with huge depth of field so everything appears in focus. Dave would have been using a zoom around 50 - 100mm so there is less depth of field hence the background appearing fazed.
Anyway, great race. Thanks Brett. Hope the front room was as accommodating as ever

And Thanks to the gentleman who gave me a quick lift to the end of our lane - my tea hadn't reached the burnt stage
