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There was a great turn-out for the last Motocross practice day of 2018.

Thankfully the rain stayed away this time as the cancellation of recent races has put a strain on the good spirit in the Club. However all the troubles were forgotten when the riders saw that the track was in good condition. There was also the interest in running the track in the reverse direction.

I spent time track-side and captured a few pics. This is a link to the Gallery:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE MOTOCROSS PRACTICE

I've been tidying some folders and found two more rounds of the GK&MC 2018 Karting Championship that I'd missed due to there being other Press assignments in them too.

The error has now been sorted and two new Galleries featuring Round 8 and Round 10 have been added.

Follow this link if you want to check my pics out:
CLICK TO VIEW THE MISSING KARTING GALLERIES

Motocross... but without too much mud. It looked like the track was in pretty good condition considering the heavy rainfall during the last couple of days.

I know it rained heavily on Friday evening as I got very wet whilst photographing a football game!

But back to the motorsport. Apart from the gale-force winds on the top of the Pleinmont cliffs it was great to photograph Round-8 of the Guernsey Kart & Motor Club Motocross Championship.

My pics are now online here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF ROUND-8 OF THE MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP

The one thing that wasn't in short supply at Saturday's Motocross championship meeting was dust!

It was also windy enough on the exposed cliff top to make it hard to stand whilst shooting with a large lens.

When those two things are combined there was only one place to be... downwind!

I made every effort to avoid the dust storm but of course that was impossible. Perhaps fortunately, I was booked on another assignment early in the afternoon meaning I left early - but not clean. It took a bit more than a brush off to sort me out... ten minutes in the shower did the job.

The Motocross racing was the first shoot in a long, busy day that didn't finish until 11.30pm and the fifteen bouts of boxing at the Oktober Slugfest at Beau Sejour. Those pics will follow.

Follow this link to view pics of Round-6 of The Motocross Championship:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE MOTOCROSS ROUND-6

It's been another hectic week of shooting and edits.

As always it's the edits that drag on but even those are well on the way. But I'm calling it a day with this last edit. More to come tomorrow.

Pics of Round-2 of the Winter Autocross Championship are now online:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF ROUND-2 OF THE AUTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP

The last two hillclimbs of the season had one thing in common.... heavy rain!

Inevitably this saw the numbers of competitors depleted. To be fair to those who didn't turn up I have to say that the Petit Bot hill is tight and challenging even in perfect conditions so when you add into the mix 'rivers' of water running down and across the tarmac there is a real risk of aquaplaning into the stone walls!

It would be all to easy to end the season's racing with a trailer load of pieces and a long winter project trying to put them back together!

However there's always the 'mad bunch' who turn out whatever the weather and they were there at Petit Bot having fun.

I too popped along to take a few wet pics. They're now online here:
CLICK TO VIEW THE WET PETIT BOT HILLCLIMB PICS

I hadn't expected to find the time to take pics of the Channel Island Mower Racing Association's race meeting last Saturday.

However the opportunity appeared between two of my assignments and it was to good to miss.

I'd already spent an hour or so getting layered in dust up at the Motocross racing and had to brush myself down before popping along the the Dressage Championship. Luckily I was early enough to capture pics of a few riders before they took an inconvenient (for me) break for lunch!

But this opened a small time-slot before I had to get to the Fairfield for the Dog Show... I bet you'd love my busy life, eh!!!

So it was more dust for me at the Mower racing where the guys obliged me by running a race so I could quickly grab a few pics. Thanks lads.

My pics from this one race are now online here:
CLICK TO VIEW THE LATEST MOWER RACING PICS

A quick mention of another gallery addition from a hectic weekend.

This assignment was the first one on Saturday morning and I'll be honest, I was quite pleased that I didn't have more than an hour and a half to spend taking pics! Particularly as I needed to be respectfully clean for jobs later in the day.

It was just that it was sooo dusty! There was no moisture anywhere on the track so during the bigger races a dust storm formed over the clifftop track. In fact a times the racers just disappeared from view.

But, almost repeating my previous comment about the wet Imperial Hillclimb, often the best pics come out of discomfort.

So I quite enjoyed this edit as the dust clouds added a bit of drama to some of the pics. Check them out here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF ROUND 5 OF THE MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP

Chouet beach was a bit bleak and dull for Round-1 of the Guernsey Autocross Winter Championship :-(

But it was only windy and it remained dry. After the soaking wet Imperial Hillclimb yesterday I'll take that as a positive.

I've nearly completed the Imperial Hillclimb edit and the pics will be online soon. I think I got a few cracking shots. As always, it seems the most uncomfortable conditions will reward you with the most dramatic pics.

At least that is what I keep repeating to myself whilst the rain is trickling down my back!

My Autocross pics are now online here:
CLICK TO VIEW ROUND-1 OF THE WINTER AUTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP

This was only the second time that the GK&MC Imperial Hillclimb had been run... and what a contrast to the first time.

In 2017 it was a hot and sunny day (nice). The 2018 version was notable for torrential rain! I've learnt to never right-off any event simply because it gets a bit uncomfortable to take a few pics. Often they can be some of the most memorable of the season.

The disappointing side of the event was the greatly reduced number of competitors. Nearly half chose to stay in bed rather than risk doing damage to their racing kit. Understandably I guess.

However those who were a little more 'hard-core' had a busy and fun day of racing and very little damage was done... apart from going home wet through!

By now I'm sure everyone is dry and comfortable with the memory of a day that rewarded their endeavors.

Take a look through this gallery of pics to see if any are your favorites.
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE VERY WET IMPERIAL HILLCLIMB

This weekend has been another highlight of the year... but there was a dampener!

Saturday kicked off with a couple of Press jobs then I was off to the Vale Castle for the first day of a double-header of live music. Day one was the turn of Sound Guernsey to take over the main stage within the historic castle walls.

On Sunday it was the main event with the Vale Earth Fair taking its traditional spot. This was the dampener that I mentioned before as, sadly, the twelve hour Festival was wet for the majority of them!

But the hardy festival crowd still had great fun... with me among them. I took plenty pics and they will follow.

The extended Bank holiday weekend concluded (after a late start by me... maybe due to a few too many pints of real ale) with a Guernsey Motor Cycle & Car Club hillclimb at Le Val des Terres.

The hillclimb edit is the first one online. The pics can be viewed by following this link:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE BANK HOLIDAY HILLCLIMB

It was all reverse again for the 2018 Guernsey Motor Cycle and Car Club's Vale Castle Sprint as the track ran from St Sampsons harbour towards Bordeaux harbour this year.

I chatted to quite a few competitors and there seemed to be a general feeling that they enjoyed the track when raced the other way. However swapping things around offers more variety... and that's a good thing isn't it?

As a photographer I think I prefer the opposite direction too, but it's still to have the variety.

There were a couple of breaks in today's racing for crashes but things were sorted very professionally. However it was clear that bikers and cars don't come out as the winners when they 'do battle' with Guernsey granite walls!

My pics of the racing are now online here:
CLICK TO VIEW VALE CASTLE SPRINT PICS

Well actually it was a glorious day for many things last Saturday in Guernsey.

This summer just carries on giving us dry hot sunny days.

Now there could be a whole debate on whether the dry spell has gone on too long. Without doubt there are some 'casulties' but for the purpose of this Blog I'm going to reflect of the benefits.

The Rocquaine Regatta drew bigger crowds than normal and that was even with 'competition' from many other events including the 'Historic Harvesting' demonstrations. Then there were the obvious things like Cobo beach and Herm.

I spent the first part of the day at the Guernsey Kart & Motor Club Hillclimb up Le Val des Terres.

The racers enjoyed the conditions and three new records were recorded. It was also fantastic to see a new name feature on the FTD records as Tim Tulie drove his Empire 00 Evo to the top in 29.09sec which was also a new Class record. Well done Tim.

I've added the days pics to a new Gallery:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE GK&MC HILLCLIMB

A picture can't always tell the whole story.

Today, down on the Vazon Bay sands, I was capturing pics of Round-6 of the GMC&CC Sandracing Championship.

Take a look at the pics and you will see that it was yet another bright and sunny day... we've been spoilt by many of them this summer :-)

What my pics don't tell you is how windy it was on the beach. I even had to tie my hat on after it threatened to take to the skies!

But it was a warm wind and actually quite a pleasant change from the recent baking weather.

Whilst on the beach I took a photograph of the young riders who are about to travel to the mainland to partake in special training sessions helping them to develop the racing technique and confidence on their bikes. This investment in the youth of the Club should ensue that Sandracing in Guernsey is in safe hands.

You can view the pics of Round-6 by following this link:
TAKE A LOOK AT PICS OF ROUND-6 OF THE SANDRACING

The 2018 edition of the Guernsey Motorsport Seafront Sunday Festival was even more popular than the previous year!

Once again the St Peter Port seafront was closed to traffic allowing a huge display of all types of vehicles.

The entertainment spread along to the North Beach car park where a full day of motorsport action took place.

The weather played its part by encouraging thousands of people into town and the day provided a fantastic end to the 2018 MSA National Hillclimb weekend.

This gallery features some of the displays and entertainment...
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2018 MOTORSPORT SEAFRONT SUNDAY

That's another gallery update finished :-)

This time it features another two Rounds of the The Avon Tyres/Wynn Developments 2018 MSA British Hillclimb Championship.

Following my trip to Jersey to capture the action at the Bouley Bay rounds I headed home to capture the action at my local Rounds.... No's 21 and 22 at Le Val des Terres, Guernsey.

Once again local drivers split the pack of regular National competitors in the Top Twelve Run-Off. We certainly have a bunch of fast talent in Guernsey and always manage a couple of qualifiers.

This year was no exception and had a thrilling highlight when the (now legendary?) Darren Warwick took top spot on the podium in Round 21.

This was an incredible feat given that Darren uses such an old car compared to the cutting edge machinery on show.

However Darran's Moore Stephens Dallara F399 is clearly fast enough to take FTD when he drives it! Well done to him and all the other local racers.

My pics of the Guernsey National Rounds are now online here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2018 GUERNSEY NATIONAL HILLCLIMB

I love July... that's the month, not the girl!

July is always such a busy month and this week is a fine example.

I've spent an entertaining couple of days in Jersey photographing their two rounds of the Avon Tyres/Wynn Developments MSA British Hillclimb Championship held at Bouley Bay.

The racing was as close as ever and us Channel Islanders should be proud of the success of our local racers.

Now I'm back in the office its been full speed ahead to complete the edit of my pics before the road-show takes to Le Val des Terres for the Guernsey rounds of the championship.

So the first of the pics are now online here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2018 JERSEY ROUNDS OF THE NATIONAL HILLCLIMB CHAMPIONSHIP

As I near the end of a marathon edit of the Greenman Chaos Festival photographs I’ve had a lot of time to mull over my photographic life.

I am indeed very lucky. I work for myself. I’m busy enough to enable me to be a bit selective of the jobs that I take. I’m also able to fit a large chunk of ‘personal assignments’ into a year’s work.

My personal work mostly comes under the headlines of Music and Motorsport. These two subjects (I think) are really good fun and at times challenging to capture.

But, whilst spending many hours sorting, editing, uploading and linking the Chaos pics I’ve started to question what I do and why!

The thing is that it has taken a working week to capture, edit and upload my Chaos pics. Bear in mind that my working day is usually 12+ hours and a working week is six days long… that’s an underestimate!

I’ll let you do the maths.

What makes my previous comments worthy of consideration is that (referring back to my first line) my (only) job is as a photographer and as it’s my work I should be trying to make an income from it.

This is where things start to go wrong.

I know from conversations, the Internet and the viewing stats for my website that there is a fantastic interest in my pics. But ‘likes’ don’t pay bills!

So after a boring week editing pics (it’s only the taking that is exciting) I’m questioning why I should continue giving major coverage of these events. Can I justify taking the pics when it costs me so much in time for no gain?

It would be nice for good coverage of local events to continue…. But should it be by me?

The bottom line is that my interest in these events is sure to continue so I’m certain to still attend them and I fancy I’d find it hard NOT to take a few pics! But maybe it would be nice to leave the exit knowing that the job was done?

I’ve got a lot to think about.

So getting back to the important stuff. My Greenman Chaos edit is nearing the end and there is a massive Gallery of pics to look at…. Maybe you’ll even be tempted to buy a couple to help me justify the time and work?

Follow this link to view my pics:
CLICK TO VIEW THE 2018 GREENMAN CHAOS FESTIVAL PICS

You'd almost think that I've been on my hols when I tell you that I've spent the last two weekends beside the sea.

However I'm sorry to say that it was no holiday for me... but I'm certainly the lucky one as I get to spend time out in the sun, by the sea... and I get to call it 'WORK'!

This weekend it was time for the first two races in the Guernsey Powerboat Association's 2018 Series.

It was a shame (from a Photographers and Spectators point of view) that the first two races were 'doing what is says on the tin' - that is racing offshore! This meant seeing and photographing the action was quite limited as the course didn't come very close to shore.

Luckily, I'm told that other race weekends will use the more accessible Havelet and North Beach courses. That should help us follow the racing.

Whilst the first races were limiting in what I could capture it was still good to have this sport back on the agenda.

You can view my pics by looking at the new picture gallery:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE FIRST POWERBOAT RACES OF 2018

When the 2018 British Sand Ace Championship had to be cancelled due to problems with the Ferry timetable the Guernsey Motor Cycle & Car Club decided that they wouldn't give up on the idea of holding a special event on Vazon Beach.

The Club organized a full program of racing to replace the Sand Ace and still managed to attract a good entry of visiting competitors for the 2018 event which was titled as the 'Battle of the Beach'.

Sadly the Club failed to sort out a sunny afternoon and there was a heavy drizzle and wind for most of the meeting... but we still had fun and it was well worth all their efforts.

Whilst the reigning British Sand Ace Champion was unable to defend his title Paul Cooper still made the journey over to Guernsey for this special meeting and I fancy he would have been right at the front challenging for the 2018 title as he was on top form winning every race he entered.

Hopefully the Sand Ace will return in 2019 bigger and better than ever!

I've added a large Gallery of pictures featuring the 2018 Battle of the Beach. Follow this link to view the pics:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2018 BATTLE OF THE BEACH