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I fear that I'll probably never quite catch up with the backlog of editing from last year.... but I'll keep trying.

Last year wasn't quite a 'normal' one. There were quite a few distractions taking large chunks out of my work time. By far the most demanding was overseeing the modernization of our new home. This is now nearing completion but I think I was a bit naive regarding how much chasing and management would be required in getting the 'trades' to complete their work.

However we have now settled into the new place and the move has worked out brilliantly. We have renewed everything from ceilings, heating, electrics and networking to 65" TV's, flooring, driveway.... well just about everything! Oh, and I mustn't forget the great new kitchen too!

Whilst all that was underway I found myself emergency medivaced to the UK after Doctors found blood clots on my brain and I had a mild stroke. Thankfully the outcome has been much better than first feared and I've nearly made a full recovery.

So that's the excuses for the missed edits!

But I continue with the catch-up. This link takes you to a missed Autocross Banger event from last March. More will follow:
CLICK TO VIEW THE AUTOCROSS CATCH-UP

A quick update with a few pics from a recent Basketball game at Beau Sejour.

As always it was a hard fought and competitive game that promised to turn around if either team lost concentration and momentum. Pics of Le Mont Saint v Mayside can be viewed by clicking on this link:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF LE MONT SAINT v MAYSIDE

Last week was book-ended by two major sporting events... leading to two major edits. Oh what fun!!

The first event (weekend) was the February Fury boxing at Beau Sejour. With TWENTY bouts the number of pics taken topped 500! I'm glad to say that the final edit is complete and all the Galleries are now online.

The second of the weekends featured the Resolution-IT Guernsey Rally. As you will see from the previous Blog that event edit was turned around in super-fast time and pics can now be viewed.
CLICK TO VIEW THE FEBRUARY FURY GALLERIES
CLICK TO VIEW THE RESOLUTION-IT GUERNSEY RALLY GALLERIES

The Guernsey Boxing calendar starts the year with a highlight event.

Aptly named 'February Fury' the 2020 edition has just taken place at Beau Sejour with a hectic evening of non-stop action.

This year featured contests between Guernsey and a UK Select team that included a team of RAF boxers.

Twenty bouts in one night meant there was no moment of rest for photographers. The work then continued with the edit!

I've now uploaded my pics to a new Gallery which will be completed over the next couple of days. You can view my pics here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2020 FEBRUARY FURY

The 2021 Island Games '500 days to go' special event was held at Beau Sejour on the 19th February 2020.

Whilst this date was significant and starts the countdown to when thousands of sportsmen, teams, supporters and organisers arrive in Guernsey for the 2021 edition of the Island Games much work has already gone on behind the scene to build the foundations of the games.

The '500 days to go' launch represents the start of a process to enroll the vital team of 'Game Makers'.

Key organizers and supporters were at Beau Sejour to hear the latest updates and there was a measurable sense of anticipation and excitement for the challenges ahead.
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE 500 DAYS TO GO LAUNCH

This is a brief one....

Just to let you know that the latest Gallery update displays action from the recent Basketball game between Mayside and Skipton at Beau Sejour.

Follow this link to view the pics:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF MAYSIDE v SKIPTON

I'm now just a couple of weeks off collecting my pension and being born and bred in Guernsey and living here for all those near 65 years I think I know the Island pretty well.

Right from the first time I got a set of my own wheels I've enjoyed exploring every corner of our twenty-five square miles. I've driven down just about every track that appeared to be navigable and squeezed through most of the narrow high-bank lanes.

So when I had a night-time assignment given to me to photograph the Darts individual league games at the West Legion I left home (up north in St Sampsons) and headed south. I reckoned that my knowledge was good enough to make my approach to the Legion along the most direct route through the lanes and not from the easier direction from the Longfrie Inn.

Predictably in the dark I soon found one hedge bank looked like the next and I had to give in and use the sensible option of starting at the Longfrie.

But getting lost wasn't the only reminder that this Island holds many little secrets and hidden places. When I eventually found and entered the West Legion it was bigger than I remembered (from maybe forty years ago). It was also buzzing with activity revolving around the Darts evening. I think I counted eight Darts boards spread around the wall of two rooms.

The amount of play on the closely placed boards soon made me aware that achieving a good 'shooting position' wasn't going to be easy. I also only had a short time before I had to head back into St Peter Port to photograph a Basketball game. As always the best motivation is a deadline and the knowledge that I had to get the shot in the can... and quickly!

I have to thank the Dart players for being so welcoming and accommodating and I hope to soon get back down west... next time with a bit more time! I've added a small Gallery of pics here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE WEST LEGION DARTS

It's always good to have a plan.

Sometimes it's useful to have a Plan B. Sometimes it's even good to have a Plan C!

That was the case for me at the weekend when the weather threw a spanner into the works.

I had been booked to photograph an indoor Netball game. On the face of it you would think that this was a safe bet for a day that was predicted to be rough and stormy. However one of the teams was visiting from the UK so when the flight was cancelled so was Plan A.

I was more confident that Plan B would go ahead and had made sure all my bad weather kit (for me and the cameras) was ready. This assignment was to cover the Autocross Banger racing down on Chouet beach.

This sport usually battles through any wet weather. After all when you race cars on a wet and mucky beach without a windscreen you are made of pretty hard-core stuff.

But unusually this event was also called off because of the extreme weather.

So it was Plan C that came into play. This was an indoor event at Beau Sejour which was handy. It turned out that one of the top ranked players was a visitor but I assume he must have come over before the storm raged.

Plan C was to photograph the Guernsey Squash Open. It is a few years (time fly's) since I have photographed Squash so I had to ramp up the learning curve to get the action shots. Ultimately it was very enjoyable.... and I kept warm and dry!

Follow this link to view a new Gallery of pics:
CLICK TO VIERW PICS OF THE 2020 GUERNSEY SQUASH OPEN

The Guernsey Athletics Chertsey House 5 Mile Road Run from L'ancresse to St Peter Port is always fun to photograph.

The entry is made up of the top local athletes combined with the more gently paced 'fun runners'.

I was asked to photograph this years event and remembered how easy it can be to miss the final action completely. The brief asked for me to capture pics of the start, mid course and finish line.

One previous year I had waited for the last of the runners to pass me along the first section of the course before I then tried to drive in the direction they were heading. The problem was that the race is along an open public road and with the slow pace of the back-markers and oncoming traffic it was very hard to overtake to catch up with the fast front runners.

So this year I was better planned and I used a short cut to gain a position ahead of the field and I had a relaxed time arriving at the finish line.

I've added a small Gallery featuring a few pics:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2020 CHERTSEY HOUSE ROAD RUN

Everything is slowly getting back into its routine as we complete the first month of 2020.

The Guernsey Dinner Boxing Club held their first evening of 2020 at St Pierre Park last Friday.

Their intention was to showcase ten bouts but due to the late withdrawal of boxers the night was reduced to just eight fights.

There was still plenty of action though and I enjoyed trying capture the highlights. The Gallery of pics featuring all eight bouts can now be viewed online here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE FIRST DINNER BOXING EVENING OF 2020

The Betway Channel Islands Sports Awards ceremony is held annually with the venue alternating between Guernsey and Jersey.

It was Guernsey's turn to host the 2019 event and the David Ferguson Hall at Beau Sejour was turned into a Television Studio to enable the live transmission of the highlights.

This gallery showcases my pics the winners....
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2019 BETWAY SPORTS AWARDS

Now I really should know better. I’m the bloke who is paranoid about backing up Computers, Images, Databases, Emails…. everything really.

But we all drift off the right track sometimes, don’t we?

My latest excursion off the straight and narrow was at the weekend.

I was trying to write a new Blog. This is something that rarely produces anything of note. They are usually just links to the latest Galleries or they only feature my bland comments. I know my limitations!

However last Sunday afternoon whilst writing a new Blog I felt inspired (in my dreams, eh)!

I’d added a Gallery that featured some shots I’d taken of the Guernsey Snooker Masters Finals at the Gremlin Club.

As I was editing the pics I was remembering how difficult the sport can be to capture pics of.

Now you have to remember that I photograph many, many different Sports. I should be used to whatever challenge each one throws up. But when analyzing my Sports shoots there is a trend… most Sport photography is about split second timing. Nothing unexpected there. Then the environment is usually noisy and the play is fast paced. The skill is in being able to follow the action, anticipate the moves, make sure you are in the best place to see the highlights and keep your concentration.

It was with those thoughts in mind that I was intrigued by how different the skills need to be when photographing some Sports. As I mentioned above I was completing an edit of an important Snooker competition.

I’ve photographed Snooker several times before and you soon realize that being in the ‘arena’ and trying to work is unlike most ‘playing fields’.

A photographer is at risk of ‘getting in the way’ and distracting players as they make frame winning shots. There is no doubt that a photographer will soon be asked to leave if they interrupt the hush with a CLATTER. CLATTER just as a player lines up a crucial shot.

Also a photographer must not, cannot, move around trying to find ‘their’ perfect composition. That movement might again distract and influence play. The important work is being done by the players, ideally a photographer should not be seen or heard, we are very low in the pecking order!

So Snooker is nothing like most Sports to photograph… and I haven’t even mentioned the lighting. OK the table might be brightly lit but there is usually a difficult green colour cast from the baize and the ‘background’ of the room is often as black as a coal mine.

All problems added together it is a great help if a photographer can enroll a little assistance from modern technology. I did this at the Masters Snooker.

But firstly, getting back to how I started this Blog. I’d spent quite some time writing a text on this theme (I’ve already said that words don’t flow easily for me) when my wife called me for the evening meal. I was disappointed to break the flow of ideas but the aroma of roast beef saw me step away from the creative process. The plan was to let the PC go to ‘sleep’. I would simply continue from where I was after the meal. There was even a chance that a couple of glasses of red wine would lubricate the creative juices. However when I returned I discovered that all those wonderful words had somehow disappeared. I was raging… the work was awesome, inspiring, wise and could have changed a generations ideas about photography, ha,ha!

Could I ever articulate such wisdom again? Of course not. That’s why this is all you get to read!

Back to the storyline ….

You will remember that I was limited to the dark confines of a Snooker room with little control of what I could do to give myself any sort of advantage to get the shots. Oh I forgot to mention that I’d only been assigned a short time to get the shots before moving on to the next assignment… a rugby game. No problem taking pics of that Sport! The pressure was on!

So I used experience from previous Snooker shoots to decide that one of Nikon’s latest cameras might help me out. I’ve owned a Nikon Z7 from the day it first went on sale. I was immediately impressed with the quality of files it produces, the detail and dynamic range are as good as it currently gets. But I confess that it is rarely taken out of my bag as mirror-less technology really can’t yet match Pro level DSLR cameras when it comes to photographing fast action. For how long? Who knows as I’m sure the Nikon ‘Z’ range will quickly develop into an ‘all-round’ system. Watch this space.

But as the saying goes… ‘you should always use the right tool for the job’ and maybe I’ve found the perfect one for photographing Snooker. My Z7 stepped up to the mark big time. The dynamic range of the RAW files enabled me to edit for the lights and darks and the colour cast could be balanced with ease. Also the completely silent shutter allowed me to capture moments of play that my D5’s shutter clatter would have got me chucked out. There is a gallery online where you can view a few of my latest Snooker pics. Click the link below.

To summarize. This Blog has become an extended ramble as I made an attempt to re-write my thoughts. The points to note are:

1: Always backup your work as you go along. You don't want to lose your words of wisdom!
2: Don’t allow yourself to be distracted by the aroma of roast beef.
and
3: Always use the right tool for the job!
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE GUERNSEY SNOOKER MASTERS

The second round of the GVC MTB Downhill Series challenged riders with some slippery sections.

Steep drops were made more hazardous by protruding rocks and tree roots. There were many tumbles during the three runs but the most committed riders faced the hazards making the event a great showcase for the sport.

The next Round promises lots more action. I'll be there trying to capture the best of it.

Pics of Round-2 are now online here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF ROUND-2 OF THE DOWNHILL MTB RACE

Guernsey Raiders were left disappointed as the visiting Rochford Hundred won a hard-fought encounter 19-13 at Footes Lane.

Over a thousand people packed the Garenne Stand on Saturday afternoon to watch the local side struggle to find form. It was with just ten minutes remaining that the Raiders scored two tries to bring about a respectable score.

I have added a Gallery of pics featuring some of the afternoon's action:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF GUERNSEY RAIDERS v ROCHFORD HUNDRED

Just a very quick Blog to let you know that my pics of the Guernsey Velo Club's MTB XC Series are now online.

Round-3 was raced on a course setup at Noirmont which offered varied sections featuring open fields, single tracks through the woods, a slalom and steep drops and climbs. That ticked most of the boxes.

Follow the link to view the latest pics:
CLICK TO VIEW ROUND 3 OF THE MTB XC SERIES

I was reminded how our small Island punches above its weight (using a sporting analogy!) whilst photographing the 2020 Guernsey Sports Commission Awards evening at Beau Sejour tonight.

Sometimes it seems that there is an endless stream of young talent coming through the system. We are lucky to have many, many committed Coaches and Officials putting hours into supporting their chosen Sports. They work incredibly hard behind the scenes and it was good to see that this work was recognized at the Awards night too.

But it was the individual stars and teams who enjoyed the acknowledgement of their achievements when receiving their trophies from Andy Priaulx.

I have added a small Gallery to this website featuring the presentation of awards:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2020 GUERNSEY SPORTS COMMISSION AWARDS

Pics of the Womans NC One South-East Rugby League game between Guernsey Raiders Ladies and Southampton Ladies at Footes Lane are now online.

The Guernsey Ladies put on a dominating performance over the visiting side.

The score of 58-7 tells the story..... but click on the link below to view the story in picture format :-)

This is a link to the Gallery:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE RAIDERS v SOUTHAMPTON LADIES RUGBY

It's been a busy weekend of action photography.

I started with two rugby games featuring both the Mens and Ladies Guernsey Raiders.

The first gallery online features the Mens Raiders team playing Hertford. The teams were evenly balanced for the first 60 minutes but it was the Guernsey side who dug deeper and showed greater desire to win. They turned around a 0-5 score into a 14-8 win. The result keeps the Raiders at the top of the league.

Photographing Sunday's football game was less rewarding and was as frustrating for me as it must have been for the spectators and the GFC coaches.

GFC failed to show their best form and visiting side Phoenix Sports probably deserved their 1-2 win. Hopefully the Guernsey squad will soon return to full strength after suffering from several injuries. We keep our fingers crossed.

My pics can be viewed by clicking on the links below. Still to come are pics of the Ladies Raiders smashing it out of the park and the GMC&CC Trials meeting in St Andrews.
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF GUERNSEY RAIDERS v HERTFORD
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF GFC v PHOENIX SPORTS

GFC and Whyteleafe FC were closely matched when they faced each other at Footes Lane in a BetVictor South East League game. A nil-nil score probably reflected the run of play but I did fancy our local side to sneak a win as they did conjure up more chances.

This was the final GFC game of the decade and they seem on course to maintain their ranking in the league. Another short run of their best form could get them into the playoffs.

With over one thousand supporters at Footes Lane on Saturday the side has all the encouragement it needs. Good luck GFC with this latest challenge.

My pics of the GFC v Whyteleafe game are now online here:
VIEW PICS OF GFC v WHYTELEAFE

It was a busy start to the Guernsey Velo Club's MTB 2019/20 Winter Downhill Championship.

The action took place at the Talbot Valley course and riders had a three chances to complete timed runs. The track was well prepared and seemed to stand up well to the abuse.

The twisty sections required riders (mostly) to avoid the trees... apart from Sam Clark who was up to his old tricks! A tree truck v a shoulder blade is never a fair fight!

After seeing him loose grip and hearing a huge thump followed by a groan I was worried. But seconds later Sam was announcing 'I'm all right, I'm all right, I think!'. The fella was soon on his feet and considering carrying on. Good sense prevailed (maybe a first) and he decided that he should sit this one out. He'll certainly feel sore today!

With a short course and a thirty second gap between riders they were able to pack in three runs. This equals lots of pics!

This gallery shows all the action....
CLICK TO VIEW THE MTB PICS