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The weekend so far has had some ups... but also some downs.

Thankfully the ups outnumber the downs so I'll say we shouldn't let the low points spoil the mood.

Firstly we must call the weather one of the ups. Come on, it's scorching hot. That has to be a high!

Next, it's a Bank Holiday weekend. That means a long weekend off work (at least if you're not a photographer like me)!

Next... the Guernsey Raiders won the Siam Cup when they beat Jersey Reds. Now you're not going to dispute me calling that as another up, are you? Of course I'm assuming that you don't live in Jersey!

But if you do then you have your own win to crow about. The Jersey Under 18's side beat the Guern's in the U18 football Muratti. That's a downer in my eyes.

I still managed to enjoy my Sunday though as I also photographed the GMC&CC Twisty Sprint at The Track. This was the 'warm-up' event of the Motorsport weekend ahead of the Bank Holiday Hillclimb at Le Val des Terres.

Pics of the action so far can be viewed at these links:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE SIAM CUP RUGBY
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE TWISTY SPRINT
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE UNDER 18s MURATTI

Guernsey was swarming with Jerseymen... and gals over the weekend.

I'm not sure if the term 'swarming' is the correct name of a large group of our Jersey ‘Toad’ cousins but the word does illustrate that they seemed to be EVERYWHERE I looked!!

My weekends work was crazy busy. In total I photographed TEN Sports! That number included another 'box tick' for me. Inter-Insular Darts... yep, you guessed it... Guernsey v JERSEY!

The Jersey Crapauds also featured in the Inter-Insular Snooker, the men's Hockey Upton and the Table Tennis Inter-Insulars.

I also know that there were several visiting teams over from the UK playing Rugby and Golf!

So you will see that 'Sports' have a huge role in making Guernsey's community vibrant and lively. They bring hundreds of people to our shores every month of the year. They enhance thousands of people's lives and widen the ambitions of our young.

I really hope that our States Department in charge of the running and promotion of Sport in Guernsey don't allow themselves to be distracted by one of their other responsibilities... namely Education. Wishful thinking I think. There doesn't seem to be anyone on the Committee flying the flag high for Sport & Culture.

I'm guessing that the Committee is 'head-in-the sand' with only one thing on their mind! The committee members need to remember the title of their department - Committee for Education, Sport and Culture.

Let's see SPORTS and CULTURE getting their fair amount of attention too, please!

My first Gallery updates feature some of the weekends Motorsport action. Pics of the Sandracing, Karting and Autocross are now online.

UPDATE: I've just searched for the group name for Jersey Crapauds (Toads) and it seems we have a choice.... a 'lump' of toads, a 'knab' of toads, a 'knob' of toads, a 'knot' of toads, a 'nest' of toads or a 'squiggle' of toads.

I guess we can make up our own minds on this one, however I'll admit that I've heard Jerseymen called many other names... but I wouldn't want to repeat them here. The children might be listening!

View the first pics here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SANDRACING PICS
CLICK TO VIEW THE KARTING PICS
CLICK TO VIEW THE BANGER RACING PICS

As part of my Sunday assignments I photographed some 'four wheeled' racing followed by a more sedate two-wheeled event.

In fact the first event of the day was actually another 'two-wheeler' but I've already Blogged about the MTB XC race (see below).

What followed the MTB's was Round 4 of the Karting Championship at a damp 'Track' The conditions were quite challenging and produced some great racing... and certainly more overtaking than an F1 race!

The next event was a bit more sedate but still showcased great skills. In fact the word from the Trials bike riders was that the combination of damp rocks and grass with the slippery foliage of bluebells made some sections at St Germain very treacherous... but that's Trials I guess!

Pics are now online from those two events:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE KARTING
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE TRIALS

A very short Blog simply to let you know that pictures of the Guernsey Motor Cycle and Car Club Hillclimb at Le Val des Terres are now online.

Traditionally Easter-time kicks off the Tarmac motorsport season... so why break the habit?

The GK&MC held a Sprint meeting at Vazon on Saturday. There was a brief trip to the sands of Chouet beach on Sunday for the Banger racing with a return to the hard stuff on Easter Monday.

Sadly the first two tarmac events were somewhat spoilt by the rain... but we still had fun!

This is a link to the first Hillclimb of 2018:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE EASTER HILLCLIMB

It's been Motorsport, Motorsport, Motorsport....

The first Sprint meeting of 2018 was held at a very damp Vazon Coast Road today.

Truthfully it was a miserable place to be because everyone's hopes and enthusiasm had been slowly heating up with anticipation of the new tarmac race season ahead.

Many competitors had spent the winter months tweaking their machinery and this should have been the 'proving ground' that valuable tenths of a second had been found.

But a damp surface ended any chance of a worthwhile result. With that being obvious before racing started some competitors decided to leave their kit in the garage... in the dry!

Luckily for me, as I needed a few pics to submit for publication, some of the most hardcore racers weren't put off. Amongst them were the Meerveld brothers, Grant and Brent.

These two guys love their racing and track days and support many local events. What makes them different is that they are in the enviable position of owning some of the most exotic Supercars ever made.

Over the years they've turned up with top-of-the-range Ferrari's, McLaren's and Lamborghini's... at least one car on everyone's 'wish list'.

My respect has always been for how they are prepared to actually race such expensive and exotic wheels. Too many of these cars are left locked up in air conditioned garages... where's the fun in that?

Today they arrived with matching Lamborghini Huracan Performantae's... in the rain. How do you top that!!

One day later... and it was dry! Yipee.

I was on Chouet beach photographing Round-2 of the Autocross Banger racing championship. Spectators get about three hours of guaranteed entertainment - for free... although I hope you support the Club by dropping a couple of quid into the bucket?

The long weekend will be completed by tomorrow's Hillclimb at Le Val des Terres.

You can view my pictures of the Vazon Sprint and the Banger Racing now. The Hillclimb pics will follow on Tuesday.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE VAZON SPRINT
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF ROUND-2 OF THE AUTOCROSS SUMMER CHAMPIONSHIP

The weekend offered me another varied day of photographic work :-)

First there was a Commercial shoot for pi-top at The Digital Greenhouse.

Pi-top is an international innovation award winning company which produces a build-it-yourself laptop powered by the Raspberry Pi. I photographed the pilot event which saw young people gaining access to over £10,000 of state of the art inventor equipment.

I was very impressed by how quickly the young students grasped the flexibility and power of this modern teaching aid. The Digital Greenhouse offered a fantastic, bright and modern 'backdrop' to the photo-shoot.

When that was all done and dusted it was off to the Motocross track for the latest round of the championship... I told you the day was varied!

Then to complete the day there was an evening shoot where I photographed the Guernsey Island Snooker Championship at the Gremlin Club.

Here are a few pics:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE GUERNSEY ISLAND SNOOKER CHAMPIONSHIP

Sometimes you just have to count your blessings and be thankful as things could have been much worse.

That's how I feel about the weather and conditions which the riders completed this year's 2-day Trials meeting in. Saturday saw many sections with nearly zero clears due to especially slippery mud after overnight rain.

I spoke to several 'old-timers' who reckoned that in some sections the surface was about as bad as they could remember!

The coastal sections on day two did offer more grip... but that wind was bitterly cold making it very unpleasant for Observers on the most exposed sections.

However the bonus was that the threatened snow never arrived!

In the end I think that there was a sense of relief that things went so well! It could have been much worse!!

Now that I've thawed out I've added a gallery featuring action from both days....
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2-DAY TRIALS

Round 3 of the Guernsey Kart & Motor Club Kart Championship produced more, clean and close racing.

The new nose cones that 'drop' if a driver knocks the back of a kart that he's chasing seem to have tidied up some of the erratic racing from a couple of seasons ago. The penalty is just too big to risk.

However, this hasn't reduced the amount of overtaking... probably the opposite. The new track layout, when combined with the new nose has meant that the drivers are having to time their overtakes really well and the challenged driver can't afford to be unduly aggressive.

If you haven't popped down The Track for a few seasons I'd recommend you take a new look... you won't find much better FREE entertainment.

My pics of today's racing are now online:
CLICK TO VIEW ROUND-3 OF THE KART CHAMPIONSHIP

This Blog explains some challenges to photographing Motorsport… and a couple of the solutions I came up with recently.

It was whilst photographing the first Resolution-IT Guernsey Rally that I used a little ingenuity to help myself get the shots that I wanted.

After the recent tragic loss of life on Scottish Rally sections the first challenge in Motorsport photography is to acquire permission to get close access to the track. The MSA has revised and tightened up how they allocate Media access with a process that can perhaps best be described as a classic ‘chicken or egg’ puzzle.

Accreditation is only offered to published photographers… forget it if you are a ‘Facebook Photographer’. Forget it if you are 'working' for a ‘Sponsor’ or competitor or simply running your own website selling pics. You have to prove that your work has already been published in ‘paid for’ media and that you have been assigned, by a publication, to take pics at this event.

This is where the ‘chicken or egg’ comes in. For your work to be accepted for publication it will need to be dynamic and immersive… this almost always requires you to be close to the action… but without accreditation you won’t be allowed that access… so how do you get published in the first place?

I’ve had many conversations over the years with enthusiastic amateurs who are VERY frustrated by this fact. I can only advise that they stick with it and a ‘lucky break’ might come along.

I’m fully aware and appreciate that I’m privileged to have MSA Accreditation. I certainly don’t take it for granted and I make sure I maximize this advantage where-ever I work… read on.

At the first Resolution-IT Guernsey Rally I was given MSA Media access to photograph the action from track side for four publications. Having attained this access it was important that I made good use of it and I’m sharing a couple of the ‘tricks’ I used to enhance my pics and make best use of my limited time - firstly making use of modern technology, then later in the day the technology couldn’t have been more basic!

The first example: I rarely enjoy having my own picture taken but on this occasion it was fun! Even with accreditation the access to photograph the Resolution-IT Guernsey Rally was still restricted and though it allowed me enhanced access I still needed to maximize that opportunity. The problem was that the competitors had just four runs through each section… so this limited the chance to take a variety of shots from different angles. This was compounded by my intention to vary my pics by moving between Sections (when the track wasn’t ‘live’). This movement between Sections meant that during the travel I'd not be capturing any action at all! Maybe a waste of valuable shooting time?

This is where a bit of technology helped me out - by doubling the shots taken at a single corner. Take a look at the ‘double’ picture above. These two shots were taken on one of the afternoon’s sections at exactly the same time by using a second radio controlled camera. By the way the photographer in the top picture is me... in my own shot. Clever, eh! Two different viewpoints for the price of one. Bargain!

The second ‘trick’ I used was as simple as it gets… at least once I had thought of it! Take a look at the picture below as it shows the problem.


The Rally stages ran into the early evening and as it’s February they finished in complete darkness. Eventually it was near pitch black as I don’t think electricity has reached the narrow back lanes in Guernsey yet! There certainly isn’t any street lighting!

So I was faced with the challenge of photographing the speeding cars with the only light coming from their powerful headlights. The problem was that flash photography isn’t permitted as it could distract the drivers. My first couple of shots after the darkness descended quickly showed that as well as coping with the speed of the cars and the high contrasts of the scene the side view of the cars were just black silhouettes. The photographs were unusable. Then I had a brainwave. I had a small LED cycle lamp in my camera bag. Would that be able to light the side of the cars?

I found a convenient twig high up on a track-side tree to attach the torch to and aimed the tiny light onto the road where I expected the cars to pass... then I continued shooting. Amazingly, and a credit must be given to the class-leading low-light quality of the Nikon D5 camera, this low level of additional light seemed to be just enough to do the job. This simple work-around enabled me to capture another range of pics adding variety to what was a long and tiring days’ work… but fulfilling too.

If you’re a photographer yourself you might be interested in the settings that I ended up using for the night-time pics. They prove to you that even with my added torch light it was still very dark! These two examples really misrepresent just how dark the scene was. But that's what photographers do... we enhance reality ;-)

Pics were shot with these settings:
Camera: Nikon D5 (the low light master!)
Lens: AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED at f2.8 and 15mm
Shutter speed: was at 100th sec
ISO 12800

It should be obvious (hopefully) which the ‘unlit’ shot is (above)!

Here are a couple (below) showing how just adding a little extra torch light to the shots turned them into keepers.





I’d love feedback to this short Blog with stories of how you have improved your chances of returning back to the studio with usable pics taken in challenging circumstances.
E-MAIL YOUR COMMENTS AND STORIES BY CLICKING HERE

We must be a bit of an odd lot in Guernsey, eh.

When I say 'We' I'm referring to Guernseymen and women... and I'll extend that to include everyone else who has moved to our little Island as I'm sure a bit of the madness and passion has rubbed off on you too!

Maybe it's because we live on such a small Island that we have to make our own entertainment. This is manifested in the huge amount of activities that islanders organize. There's no excuse to feel bored over here!

I see quite a lot of these events during my professional photography and it never fails to amaze me how much goes on. My specialism is Motorsport photography and almost every other form of Sports photography with Gig photography filling a lot of the remaining time.

But up until Saturday we hadn't managed to tick (perhaps the final) Motorsport box... there was no Rally racing in Guernsey.

How on earth had that happened? Well this has now been sorted after the first running of the Resolution-IT Guernsey Rally! It was run with the enthusiasm and passion that us Guerns are known for and was a great success... I think it was the first of many, fingers crossed.

I was out taking pics in the very chilly wind and a gallery of my Rally pictures can be viewed here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE FIRST EVER RESOLUTION-IT GUERNSEY RALLY

I thought I was renewing a friendship with an old flame on Chouet beach today.

Her shapely curves were just as I remembered them and she was still a pretty fast lady... oh the happy memories ;-)

Unfortunately her face was showing signs of a hard life since she left my side. In fact she's been bashed about a bit since parting from this careful owner!

It was only after a closer inspection that I realized that I was looking at my old flame's twin sister!

To be honest I was happy to see that the silver Mercedes CLK 320 Coupe racing around the beach wasn't my old 'Bessie'.

This leaves me hoping that she's still on the roads being looked after as lovingly as when she was my girl ;-)

You can view pics of today's Autocross racing here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF MY MISTAKEN IDENTITY

If evidence is needed that sometimes all we have to do is stick with something through the bad times... today was the proof!

One week ago I stood, leaning into a gale force wind, photographing the GK&MC Moto-X racing on an exposed clifftop. It was pretty uncomfortable and I'll admit that I wondered why I was bothering?

Then, just seven days later, it became clear. Sometimes it is GREAT fun... and fun is good!

Standing back on the Motocross track today above the picturesque south coast cliffs of Guernsey taking pics (in the sun) of the racing ticked a lot of my boxes. I was reminded that capturing the peak of Sports action is what I love to do.

So, at the end of an enjoyable days work, I've already forgotten the discomfort of a week ago and this enjoyable day is complete now that I've uploaded the edit of my action pics of the Motocross racing.

Even the writing of this Blog has been easy... although maybe that was 'fueled' by a couple of pints of real ale and a glass or two of red wine.

Everything is good... can you tell? What a difference a week makes!

:-)

My days work is now online here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW MY PICS OF ROUND-2 OF THE MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP

My weekend was a bit hit or miss really.

The hits were when I couldn't avoid the heavy rain and drizzle... the misses were when I managed to avoid the wet stuff.

Of course when you are a sports photographer there is no excuse to run for cover when the weather turns inclement. No, far from it! If you're lucky you can try and face away from the direction of the precipitation. This way the lenses might stay reasonably free of water but then it will always find a way to dribble down your back!

However whatever the inconvenience you have to keep working.

My biggest soaking of the weekend came at the Guernsey Football Club v Thamesmead Town game at Footes Lane. I had looked at the rain App before getting out of my van and it reckoned that the showers had passed through... I trusted it so I didn't put on the full wet weather gear. Hence the soaking!

I looked a right charlie when I returned home as my left side was drenched through whilst my right side was quite dry! It was worth the discomfort though as I captured a few good pics. They will be uploaded later today.

The first additions to the Gallery from a busy weekend are pics of the GK&MC's first Motocross event of 2018 and Round-2 of their Karting championship.

Those pics are here, more will follow:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF ROUND-1 OF THE MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF ROUND-2 OF THE KARTING CHAMPIONSHIP

The new Motorsport year doesn't take long to get going again!

Already 2018 has seen the first of the Trials Bike events and today it was the Karters returning to the 'saddle'.

Round 1 of the new Karting Championship featured lots of fresh decals and graphics - and they were very striking too.... Father Christmas seems to know what will be appreciated :-)

I took a chance to take a few pics whilst everything was clean and free of the inevitable 'battle scars'.

The morning was crisp and dry and most enjoyable because of that. It was great for me to get back into the 'normal routine' and looking ahead in the calendar there isn't much let-up until the end of the year! There is even a new Rally event to keep us busy and on our toes.

I'm sure I'll see you sometime soon....

Pics of Round 1 of the Kart Championship can be viewed here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF ROUND-1 OF THE KART CHAMPIONSHIP

Today Fauxquet Valley was the centre of the GMC&CC All-Day Trials meeting. I had wondered if it would go ahead after the appalling weather of the last few days.

But I shouldn't of doubted it. Trials riders are rarely put off by a bit of mud... and there was plenty of that!

In places it was difficult to distinguish the tarmac road from the muddy sections! There was a reasonable entry and the atmosphere was quite up-beat for the first Trials event of 2018. Trials riders claerly like it mucky ;-)

I've added a few pics to a new Gallery:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE ALL-DAY TRIALS

In a rare moment (for me) of Festive good spirit and cheer I've started my January Sale already :-)

Whatever the reason... be it the ample partaking of the Single Malt or the mild weather this gives you a chance to make real savings on the regular price of A4 & A3 sized colour prints.

When you purchase 5+ A4 prints they now cost just £6 each.

Order 5+ A3 prints and they now cost just £14 each. I recommend the A3 size as I think that prints look their best when printed BIG.... but I may be biased :-)

These reductions represent savings of up to 25%!

This FESTIVE MADNESS won't last forever so take your chance to pick up an early JANUARY BARGAIN before my rosy glow of Christmas wears off!

The reductions are made automatically as you check your Shopping Cart after adding the required quantity of a print size.

Seasons Greetings to you all.....
CHECK-OUT ALL THE OPTIONS HERE

We can't avoid it. Christmas is on the way and present ideas are in short supply!

So why not think about buying a CUSTOM DESIGNED MONTAGE for a family member or friend.

Or, if you don't know what to add to your own Christmas list why not request a MONTAGE of your own special memory?

These can still be supplied for Christmas... just don't leave it too long!

Details of how to order your INDIVIDUALLY DESIGNED MONTAGE can be found here:
CLICK TO VIEW HOW TO ORDER A MONTAGE

If you have any questions or if you prefer to have a chat about a design don't hesitate to contact me here:
E-MAIL ANDREW LE POIDEVIN
Or phone my Mobile: 07781 144525

A cause for celebration.....

Well I know I can’t expect you to get quite so excited as I am today as this celebration is personal to me and this website.

But you might like to enjoy the moment too as the fact you are here reading this Blog means that you are actually part of this occasion… without even knowing it!

The special event is the achievement of another significant number of views of THIS WEBSITE.... but just missing 5,000,000 views in the last twelve months, maybe next time, eh!

I know I sound like a ‘cracked record’ if you read through some of my previous ‘Landmark’ Blogs but my enjoyment of the interest so many people take in my photographic work never fails to surprise and humble me.

The continued and increasing visits to my picture galleries encourages me to continue this work and as time goes by the widening selection of events and occasions that I photograph grows the awareness among Islanders of just how many Sports, Gigs, Events and Places we have available to all Guernsey residents to have fun at and take interest in. There is never a weekend without something to attend.

You’ll never find me moaning about having nothing to do on our beautiful, but small, Channel Island. If you are ever tempted to make such a comment I’d encourage you to look through a few of my picture galleries… you’ll soon see what you have been missing!

Now I’ve allowed myself to get side-tracked, again. What this Blog should be stating is that the viewings of this website have just passed another very significant number.

TWENTY MILLION VIEWS…. That’s 20,000,000 if you like your numbers with noughts on the end. I’m not fussed. I’ll take it either way!

So thank you for your continued interest in my work. This really is a LANDMARK number 😊

I’m also proud of the fact that these views are all on my own self-run website. The viewings and interest are all generated without the benefit and help available when photographers enroll into one of the big, but anonymous, picture gallery sites.

I’d like to take this chance to recommend the website provider and admin that I use to run this site. They are called Photium and I wholeheartedly endorse them to you. This provider has hosted my website for many years with VERY little downtime or other problems. Their tech support if needed is usually - literally - just minutes in responding. They also offer a good choice of packages and even a Trial to see if the options suit your needs.

If you have been considering starting a website of your own it’s well worth having a look at: CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE PHOTIUM WEBSITE

Please continue making occasional visits to view the latest updates to my Galleries… maybe even buy an occasional print or two! You can then be part of the next MILLION MILESTONE.

I hope to see you out and about at one of Guernsey’s many varied events sometime soon. Remember... NEVER SAY THAT NOTHING GOES ON IN GUERNSEY, you just haven’t opened your eyes and made the effort to find out!

You can view a few of my previous MILESTONE BLOGS here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW SOME OF MY PREVIOUS MILESTONE BLOGS

I mentioned in yesterday's Blog what a wonderful mild autumnal weekend we have enjoyed in Guernsey.

I also commented how I passed a father and son making the best of the weather by building sand castles on Chouet beach, in the middle of November!

However I didn't have time to join them as I was already late arriving at the Autocross meeting after photographing the MTB XC in Talbot Valley. Those pics are here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE MTB XC

I'm pleased to say that I did have time to capture some of the Banger action and it is those pics that are the next uploads to the Gallery.

Take a look at them here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF ROUND 5 OF THE AUTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP

What a fantastic November day in Guernsey.

The perfect illustration was when I walked down onto Chouet beach to photograph the Banger racing and I passed a father making sand castles with his son... the day was just too good to waste!

It's been a busy weekend of 'togging for me including GFC football (a great 5-2 win lads) at Footes Lane, Ten bouts of dinner boxing at St Pierre Park Hotel. A gig - for a change!

The first round of the Guernsey Velo Club's Winter MTB XC in a seasonal Talbot Valley.... and then on to the Autocross racing at Chouet. Love it!

All the pics will follow, but for now the MTB XC gallery is online here:
CLICK TO VIEW ROUND 1 OF THE GVC WINTER XC SERIES