News / Blog - Events News

August and September are 'crazy busy' months for me. There is always so much going on.

This inevitably leads to a back-log of edits waiting for my attention. I really hate having unfinished work but firstly I have to prioritize the Press edits which have tight deadlines.

So I now have a growing list of a variety of photoshoots... something to keep me out of mischief in the winter months - maybe?

One on the 'to-do' list is the 2017 Vale Earth Fair. This small and perfectly formed festival continued the good work of the previous forty-one years by suppoting good causes and doing all of this in an earth friendly way.

The Vale Earth Fair truly is a wonderful event where people of diverse backgrounds and interests find a communal karma enlightened by live music. The 2017 edition was enhanced by the warm day... perfect :-)

My fun isn't over yet as I'm about to photograph another Festival - the new Weekender Festival in Jersey. This is a re-invented and refreshed version of the old Jersey Live. It should be great.

But before getting on the boat to Jersey I've completed a quick Press edit of the VEF adding the pics to the VEF Gallery.

The Gallery offers you a taste of what the VEF is all about. The major updates featuring most of the bands and scene will follow as soon as I have more time:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FIRST GALLERIES FEATURING THE 2017 VALE EARTH FAIR

The end of August and the start of September is traditionally a very busy period for me as every genre of photography that I specialize in hits a peak at this time.

This year is no different and I've enjoyed an amazing variety of photo-shoots during the last month and a quick look in the diary shows lots more of the same to come :-)

This all leads to an inevitable log-jam of edits waiting (backed up) on the hard drives.

Thankfully a couple of free hours this morning brings a quick update online in the Hillclimb Gallery featuring yesterday's GMC&CC Bank Holiday event at Le Val des Terres.

I'll be sorting through as many more updates as I can in the next two days before I go over to Jersey for some Commercial work followed by two days of Weekender Festival photography.... as I always say, I love my job!

The Hillclimb pics can be viewed here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE BANK HOLIDAY HILLCLIMB

I've already mentioned the Guernsey School of Popular Music's Summer Party at the Fermain Tavern in a previous Blog. You can read that here if you want:
CLICK TO VIEW THE SoPM SUMMER PARTY BLOG

You will see in that Blog that I was impressed by the enthusiasm and talent displayed by 'tomorrows generation' of young musicians and singers.

Well the story didn't really end there as after the juniors had finished enjoying their moment on the Fermain Tavern stage the night went on with performances by four 'senior' bands... three of whom could even be called 'Pro's' if judged by their longevity and experience!

The first of the seniors was a three piece made up of members of the Falla family. They call themselves The Buried Kings. Next up on this busy evening was Lifejacket - they raised the energy level... and the sound level!

Following them were Gay Army who turned it up one more click on the dial as if they knew they had to because it was Thee Jenerators who were waiting in the wings to have their chance on stage... and they never go quietly!

So to sum up the SoPM Summer Party and the follow-on gig in just two words, 'thoroughly entertaining' covers it. During the evening we were treated to the emerging talent and rewarded by the experienced old hands.

You can view my photographs of The Buried Kings, Lifejacket, Gay Army and Thee Jenerators by following these links:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE BURIED KINGS
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF LIFEJACKET
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF GAY ARMY
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THEE JENERATORS

Continuing with the last Blog I've now edited three more recent Sports photoshoots.

Two updates are of the Rawlinson Cup football that took place last week. This competition precedes the start of the Priaulx League. It offers the first chance to see what changes Club's have made during the break. The new galleries feature the Rawlinson Cup games - North v Saints and Sylvans v Rovers.

Then there are two updates to the Cricket Gallery. As we look forward to the start of league football the cricket season is coming to and end. The new pics feature the Guernsey Cricket Board Development XI v Rovers and Griffins v Irregulars Barbarians.

View the pics here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE RAWLINSON CUP PICS
CLICK HERE TO VIEW CRICKET PICS

Busy, busy, busy. That seems to be how it is every day at the moment.

Inevitably some of the Gallery updates are a bit slow! In an effort to catch up, so far today, I've made two new updates to the picture galleries... one recent, one from a week ago.

First up is the action from the Guernsey Football Club's opening game in the Bostic South Football League. The home game was against East Grinstead Town who put in a strong performance by scoring a very early goal and then making a final push to equalize in the last minutes of the game.

With the score at 3-2 for Guernsey the final minutes were tense as East Grinstead Town tried to level the score. However it was Guernsey who knocked in a final goal making the result a 4-2 win for the local team!

This was an impressive performance in the first game of the long season. Keep it up fellas.

The second gallery update features another Guernsey Velo Club race. This update showcases one of the MTB Summer Crit Series held at Bordeaux.

I've still got a long list of outstanding updates. Keep a check on this News Blog for details.

The two new galleries can be viewed here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE GFC v EAST GRINSTEAD PICS
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE GVC SUMMER CRIT PICS

Well how about that. I turn my back for a couple of days and the viewing total on this website passes through another MILLION MILESTONE!

I've been very busy for the last week and it seems that the 18 MILLION VIEWS total was broken at the weekend... and I've only just noticed!

What is also quite amazing is that the last five days has seen an extra 100,000 views added to the total!

Thanks for the continued support :-)

You can read a few of the previous MILLION MILESTONE Blogs by clicking here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PREVIOUS MILLION MILESTONE BLOGS

The School of Popular Music's Summer Party at The Fermain Tavern brings a week of intensive music tuition and practice to a fitting climax as the students get to show off their new skills to friends and family.

They are given the chance to perform on the famous Fermain Tavern stage... just like Elton John did, and they get to enjoy having professional technicians working the sound desk and lighting rig... oh, and there's also a professional music photographer in attendance too ;-)

There was a fantastic atmosphere in the 'Tav which was packed full with young students and their supporters. The evening showcased perfectly how important music is in so many peoples lives and how being part of the music and artistic 'scene' helps you make friends for life.

From what I have seen whilst photographing three of the SoPM's events this summer the live music scene will only get stronger... that's good news :-)

This gallery displays pics of the eight bands that were formed by students for the 2017 SoPM Summer Party...
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE SoPM SUMMER PARTY

Moving the Rubis Soapbox Challenge across town to St Julian's Avenue was a great success.

The 'track' was steep and was lined with spectators who enjoyed the free fun and entertainment. All the smiles made that clear.

There were even a couple of crashes to make things more memorable :-)

However the only damage done was to a couple of the Soapboxes as the 'red haze' of racing descended and the drivers pushed their machinery to the limit in the quest of lowering their best time by small fractions of a second.

I fancy that this day of fun could be established in its new setting. It seemed perfect for racers and spectators alike. Hopefully we will all meet again next year on the steep slope of our newest race track. See you there.

My pics are now online here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2017 RUBIS SOAPBOX CHALLENGE

During its short life Guernsey's School of Popular Music has established a strong base of support. It has also established its own traditions. Not a bad effort after just a couple of years work!

I've been lucky to document some of these 'traditions' as they became established. It has been fantastic to get to know the tutors and students and to see how the hard work and practice is rewarded.

It is clear that the SoPM's modern approach to teaching music enables the students to blossom in confidence leading them to enjoy sharing their talents with friends, family and a wider audience.

The students have just completed two showcase events allowing them to demonstrate the progress they have made and I was at both gigs capturing some of the performances.

Many now familiar faces took to the stages fulfilling their ambitions to share their love of live music.

The first of the summer season's events was the Summer Concert at The Church on the Rock. Followed by the Summer Gig at The Doghouse.

You can view my pics here:
CLICK TO VIEW THE SoPM GALLERIES

Stage 6 of the 2017 OSA All Terrain Challenge took place yesterday in torrential rain with competitors facing a waterfall running down the steep steps on the cliffs at Jerbourg.

Remarkably there were quite a lot of smiles from the runners as they completed the stage... what a strange lot!

I stood out in the downpour for over an hour and I think I ended up wetter than I've ever been on a photo assignment. I also completed the the course after working my way down to the bottom during the race.

Unfortunately it seems that the old rule that says 'what goes up must come down' works in the other direction too.

It goes without saying that by the time I had made it back to the top of the cliff I was both saturated and hot and steamy! All just for a few pics!

Photographers must be as made as the competitors it seems!

I've added a Gallery of pics here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2017 OSA ALL TERRAIN CHALLENGE

I recently photographed the Phoenix Artistic Roller Skating Club's 2017 Competition at Beau Sejour.

This was my first time photographing Roller Skating and I left the event with a feeling of admiration for the talent of so many youngsters who had clearly devoted a lot of time into perfecting their performances.

This sport is quite challenging to photograph. It is fast moving with quick changes of direction. The venue (Beau Sejour sports hall) offers no help in adding interest to the background and the hall lighting is poor and has a habit of changing colour between shots!

You might think that all those difficulties would mean I would hate the job. But no, it was quite the opposite.

I'm always looking for a new challenge and I hope I captured some of the highlights of each performance and I hope I have the opportunity to photograph this competition again sometime.

I've added a Gallery featuring some of the competition. The Gallery is password protected. Please contact me here SEND AN E-MAIL TO ASK FOR THE PASSWORD and I will give you the Password.

The Gallery can be viewed here:
CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE PHOENIX ROLLER SKATING GALLERY

The 2017 Guernsey Motor Festival Seafront Sunday was bigger than ever. St Peter Port seafront was closed to traffic allowing a huge display of all types of vehicle.

The entertainment spread along to the North Beach car park where a 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 MSA National Hillclimb weekend.

This gallery features some of the displays and entertainment...
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2017 MOTOR FESTIVAL SEAFRONT SUNDAY

Rounds 19 and 20 of the Avon Tyres - TTC Group 43rd Guernsey National Hillclimb Championship were held at Le Val des Terres on 15th July 2017.

This was a bit of a vintage year as we saw five local drivers qualify for places in a National Round.

Darren Warwick and Nick Saunders qualified for both Rounds and duplicated their podium places each time by finishing in second and third place. This was Nick's first time on the local National podium and it was a deserved reward for a driver who has chased this goal for so many years.

Both competitors drive cars that lack all the modern technologies and have to make local knowledge count together with awesome skill and nerve! When you drive a car that is slower up the straight bits there is only one way to be competitive against the 'power junkies'... you have to be faster around the twisty bits. That's where the nerve comes in!

Congratulations have to go to Richard Spedding who won both of the local Rounds... this was actually the first time that Richard had stood on the top step of the podium. Guernsey is guaranteed a special place in his motorsport memories!

Twins Paul and Ian Le Messurier were also notable qualifiers in what was basically a home built car. Very impressive. They have made a habit of joining the 'top guns' in the Run Offs. Well done guys.

The other truly impressive performance came from Jackie Le Cheminant who became only the second lady to qualify for a Guernsey Top Twelve Run Off. Jackie has only just taken over driving the Rubis OMS car that used to be shared by her father and brother. Jackie certainly showed that she is more than a match to the guys in the family.

Another memorable performance came from John Dunne who seemed to raise his own high standards in response to the appearance of a couple of top tin-top drivers from the UK. Just as in Jersey, John was pushed hard by the visitors but was triumphant and ended the two events with a new record on both hills.

This gallery shows all the action from 2017.

If you are a competitor please consider buying a couple of pics as this is my livelihood and my wife gives me a very small beer allowance. I'm meant to earn the rest ;-)

Follow this link to view all of the Guernsey National action:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW ALL THE GUERNSEY NATIONAL ACTION

This is just a brief Blog to tell you that the Galleries have been updated with pics of Rounds 17 and 18 of the Avon Tyres - TTC Group 44th Jersey National Hillclimb Championship.

These latest Rounds were held at Bouley Bay hill, Jersey on 12th July 2017.

In contrast to the previous years event when it was a scorching day leading to incredible racing and the outright record for the hill dropping three times, 2017 started with a light drizzle and never really fully recovered.

However the event was notable for a local man. Jason Mourant took his Gould GR55 to a memorable win in Round 17 beating all-comers and becoming the first local resident to win a Jersey round of the MSA Hillclimb Championship since 1962.... it only took 55 YEARS! Well done Jason.

These galleries display all the action. Please remember that pics are very low resolution and don't display the detail in a print or higher resolution digital files.

Now the racers move on to Guernsey and Le Val des Terres. Once again I'll be track-side capturing all the action,. See you there.

Follow this link to view pics of the 2017 Jersey National:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE JERSEY ROUNDS OF THE 2017 NATIONAL HILLCLIMB

The weekend has been very busy but what great fun.

It was about as diverse as you could make it... just how I like it!

Over the two days I have photographed a Sky Bet Championship football team, Bristol City, playing a friendly against Guernsey Football Club at Footes Lane.

As a contrast to that I captured some of the 'action' during the Guernsey Bowls Tri-Test match at the Corbet Field. This featured teams from Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Jersey.

Another summer sport that was on the list was a Praxis CI League Cricket match at the College Playing Field, 2mi Wanderers Irregulars vs Canaccord Genuity Griffins.

Then to mix things up a bit more there was Motorsport action at Vazon Bay for the GK&MC Sprint meeting.

Now that list would have been interesting enough as it is but the weekend continued with a photoshoot at the Pheonix Artistic Roller Skating Club's competition at Beau Sejour. This was the first time I had been asked to cover this event and I was very impressed by the standard of performances.

.... and that wasn't the end of the 'togging. A quick visit was booked for me to photograph Noi Monachan and her garden which was opened to the public in aid of the Guernsey Headway Charity.

Oh, and there was a bit of gig photography added to the list to complete the mix!

All that photography has left me with some editing to do... but that is well on the way. You can view the first galleries featuring the Guernsey Bowls Tri-Test match, the Praxis CI League Cricket match and the GFC vs Bristol City football.

Follow these links to view the first pics:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE GFC vs BRISTOL CITY FOOTBALL
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE BOWLS TRI-TEST
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE PRAXIS CI CRICKET

That's another job done, hurrah!

The final galleries of pics from Chaos Voodoo 13 have now been added to the website.

New additions feature Demise of Sanity, Granite Wolf, Sugar Slam, Honest Crooks, Johnny Cage and the Voodoo Groove, That Band and a few more pics of the Peace Tent.

This is where you will find all the Greenman Chaos Voodoo 13 pics...
CLICK TO VIEW THE COMPLETED CHAOS VOODOO 13 PICS

Once again the Chaos Voodoo 13 Music & Motorcycle Festival was held on its unique clifftop site. All the expected ingredients were present, music & bikes... well that goes without question. Beer and fun. Of course, by the bucket full!

Perhaps it was just me that was missing from the usual line-up as I ended up with a couple of conflicting photo assignments :-(

But that didn't stop me from covering most of the Festival... and I still managed the usual 'van-camping' on the three nights!

My overall beer count might have been slightly down on the norm but perhaps that was a good thing for a photog who approaches retirement age at an alarming speed ;-)

You can now view the first of my pics that show some of the fun and music that made Chaos Voodoo 13 another vintage year..... More will follow.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FIRST PICS OF CHAOS VOODOO 13

The Condor Ferries International SandAce ACU British Championships took place at Vazon Bay, Guernsey on 24 June 2017.

For 2017 the event had been awarded a new International status which is a fitting reward to the Guernsey Motor Cycle & Car Club and all the officials who put in so much work during the year to make it happen.

There is a particular pressure on the team of officials when their race track will disappear under the ocean as the tide comes in! The whole operation is now very slick with all the essential elements in place. The only thing that the team couldn't control was the weather which lacked the sun that would have really completed a perfect event.

Luckily the rain didn't appear until the finals and by that time the large crowd were captivated by the high standard of racing and most of them stayed on to see the climax of the 2017 championships.

Once again the Guernsey Motor Cycle & Car Club organized a fantastic event that ran smoothly and efficiently.

Well done to all those who made it happen... see you again next year!

Click on this link to view galleries featuring pics of the atmosphere and racing at the 2017 SandAce Championships on Vazon Bay, Guernsey.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2017 SANDACE CHAMPIONSHIP

One thing was certain when the Abba tribute band 'Bjorn Again' played for two nights to a packed crowd within the walls of Guernsey's historic Vale Castle.

... There was no shortage of hit songs for the band to play ...

Vale Castle is the traditional venue of the Vale Earth Fair so it is no stranger to live music. It is a fantastic setting for live performances and there was a large crowd for the first night of Bjorn Again.

Many people in the crowd had obviously been up in the attic to find some of their old gear. This added more atmosphere to the night.

I felt the only disappointing aspect of the night was that it seemed to end a bit too abruptly. Another fifteen minutes would have made the punters feel they had good value from the night.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF BJORN AGAIN

After seeing the weekends news reports about the horrific terrorist activity in London I reflected on how lucky we are to live on our small safe island.

Guernseymen and women know that our Channel Islands offer us a special place to live, away from the extremes of the modern world. It is very rare that any major incident comes close to our sandy shores.

We enjoy a calm, peaceful lifestyle and we are spoilt by the choice of activities and sports easily available to keep our leisure lives busy. Also, we can easily (and no, I'm not trying to start a debate about Aurigny and Condor travel difficulties) gain access to the wider world as and when we choose and we are assured that Guernsey will remain a 'safe haven' whenever we return.

The observation that 'triggered' (pun intended) my reflection was the realization that firearms have featured both in the national and local news and also in my own weekend’s photographic work.

Firstly there was the use of firearms in London to end the violent act of terrorism. It is sad to say that this use of weapons in modern society has become a necessary reality and we have to be grateful that those charged with the task of keeping us safe are brave, highly trained and capable.

There was also a display of weapons on the streets of Guernsey. A few armed police officers were patrolling St Peter Port to reassure us that our own safety is a priority.

However on Sunday there was a second display of weaponry in St Peter Port... but this time they were historic and part of the Royal Guernsey Light Infantry Commemoration Parade. It is one hundred years since over one thousand Guernseymen were sent to fight in France. More than 300 didn't return. This was a timely reminder of the horrible use of weaponry in warfare and it was an honour to remember those who paid such a high price protecting us all.

But it isn't always the case that firearms are used in anger. This was proven to me as two of my weekend’s assignments involved the use of firearms... but this time they were used for sport.

On Saturday I photographed the XMA Junior Schools Individual Athletics Championships at Footes Lane where a starting pistol played an important role in the track events.

I then covered the Guernsey Rifle Club's weekend competition at the Fort Le Marchant range against a visiting team from the National Rifle Association. I have photographed rifle shooting before and it never fails to strike me how powerful and loud a high velocity rifle is when you are standing just feet away from the competitors. However I also appreciate that I'm completely safe in the controlled environment.

So my weekend has shown how contrasting places and experiences can be. For a few unlucky people in London life will never be the same again because of the use of knives and firearms. In Guernsey we simply went about our normal lives and I’m thankful that my only contact with a weapon was entirely safe… and long may that continue.

I’ve added a couple of picture galleries that feature the NRA weekend and the Junior Athletics:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE XMA JUNIOR SCHOOLS ATHLETICS
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE NRA WEEKEND