News / Blog - Sports News

The latest updates include a couple more 'newbies' for me... the list of sports in the gallery gets longer!

The third update records another 'first'... well, for about ten years. Apparently it's about that long since there has been a women's Island Snooker champion. I popped along before the start of play to photograph the two contenders.

But back to my first comment. The two new sports (for me) added to the Gallery are Table Tennis and Dodgeball. The Table Tennis was great fun to photograph as the timing is critical to a fraction of a second.

Dodgeball is a bit of an odd one to capture. There is no interaction of teams as each side keeps to their side of the court and there is really only one 'action'... the throw of the ball!

OK, I'll admit that there are other possible shots... for example it would be great to capture an amazing avoidance move by a player but from what I found on this first photoshoot those moments won't come often.

The new Galleries are here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE TABLE TENNIS GALLERIES
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE DODGEBALL GALLERIES GALLERIES
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE WOMENS SNOOKER GALLERIES

I love it when I can tick another photographic box. One of the joys of being a self employed pro photographer is that I'm free to work when and where I choose... as long as someone will buy my pics!

Luckily for me an opportunity came on Saturday to photograph a sport that, somehow, I hadn't covered before... and I was getting paid to do it! Tick that box.

Perhaps just as importantly this 'new' sport was a great challenge as the action came fast - and close, more about that later.

As part of a very busy weekend one of my assignments was to cover the women's and men's Volleyball Inter-Insular's at Beau Sejour.

Actually, to be correct, I was only asked to photograph the first game but I was having so much fun trying to follow the action that I stayed on to photograph the men's game too. That was even faster and challenging!

It was during this game that the play got a bit too close. I was following the sports photographers mantra of 'get as close to the action as possible and safe... then take one step closer'!

One of my viewpoints was standing near the net. This was working for me as so much of the game centers on that part of the court. However as play switches from side to side so quickly it is impossible to twist around to follow the play. I found it best to concentrate on one team/side at a time.

What I hadn't considered was that whilst keeping my Nikon D5 firmly to my eye I was giving myself a blind spot to what was happening on the other side of the net.

I soon paid the price as a Jersey player... I'm sure he wasn't just having a go at a Guern... overshot the sideline after lunging at the ball then powered into my ribs! It was quite a shock I can tell you!

It was a jolt that I didn't need as I'm currently very tender with a touch of suspected pleurisy... ouch. Now everyone say 'ah, poor thing'!

Now I'm fully dosed up with antibiotics and painkillers I've edited the Volleyball pics and they are now online here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE VOLLEYBALL INTER-INSULAR

Bikes and boats... you don't find that mixture very often... unless you live on an island!

I suppose when so many people live on a small island whilst pursuing their separate hobbies and leisure activities we are bound to 'overlap' occasionally.

As we all (well most of us!) try and get along together there is rarely any conflict... in fact I believe it is a very healthy way for a community to live. It is a good thing to share our 'space' with others as we get a better understanding of the way our fellow Guern's spend their time.

There was a good example of this last Sunday when the Guernsey Velo Club visited Beaucette Marina for another round of the Ian Brown Cycle Shop Winter Mountain Bike Cross Country Series.

The racing took place surrounded by all shapes and sizes of cruise boats, gin palaces and yachts and as it was a Sunday morning there were quite a few boat owners preparing their vessels for the new season. I chatted with a few of them and they were enjoying watching the racing.

There was also an opportunity for me to capture a few pics featuring the unusual setting. They're now online here:
CLICK TO VIEW THE MTB RACING AT BEAUCETTE MARINA

Yes it was chilly... but if you kept ducking and diving, sheltered from the bitter wind, climbing cliff slopes, running around Trials sections... all between warming up in the studio van - it was possible to keep warm!

That was my plan of action before leaving home last weekend to capture action at several outdoor events.

Broadly speaking it all went according to plan. It was proof that if you dress for the weather you soon forget about any discomfort and just get on with the job! In fact it was thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining.

I've already put a link up to my 2-day Trials pics. I've now added a couple more picture galleries featuring the first Round of the 'Summer' (you've got to be joking, eh!) Autocross Championship together with pics of Round-2 of the Guernsey Velo Club's MTB Downhill Championship at Pleinmont.

These are the links:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF ROUND-1 OF THE SUMMER AUTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF ROUND-2 OF THE MTB DOWNHILL CHAMPIONSHIP

Saturday afternoon at the Corbet Field was spring-like.

There's nothing to beat a warm early springtime sun on your back to lift your spirits. Mine were high before the start of the Jeremie Cup semi-final... but sadly that didn't last.

I was photographing the semi-final game between Vale Rec and Jersey's St Peter.

It soon became clear that the Guernsey side were facing an uphill struggle as St Peter seemed to have more of the play and certainly looked more dangerous going forward. The final score probably gave a fair representation of the run of play. Vale Rec-1, St Peter-4.

But all was not wasted... it was fantastic to get an early taste of warmer days ahead!

You can view my pics by following this link:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF VALE REC v ST PETER

My Saturday schedule had to be re-jigged at the last minute when the start of the 2018 Eisteddfod Artistic Roller Skating was delayed.

I had planned to cover the first hour and a half then pop up to the Motocross Track for a few more action pics... then it was off to the Corbet Field for football - Vale Rec v St Peter.

In the end I didn't have time to get up to the cliffs for the Motocross, shame as it was a beautiful day.

However there was a plus. I had more time to spend at the Roller Skating.

I've just added a new picture gallery featuring most of the performers:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE EISTEDDFORD ROLLER SKATING

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

This is where I got my soaking over the weekend.... Guernsey Football Club v Thamesmead Town at Footes Lane.

A 2-2 draw on this very miserable, windy and wet afternoon was probably a fair result. Resilience was needed by both the teams and the 'tog's!

It was the worst kind of damp - a heavy drizzle driven by a strong wind. This is a real challenge to keep the lenses clear so you don't loose too much contrast in the pics.

I know I've complained before about working in these conditions and I don't really know why as in fact I like the challenge and the 'dynamics' can add something to the record that us pro 'togs are trying to record.

Also, the discomfort is soon forgotten when you have a beer in your hand!

So I'm all happy (and dry) again and looking forward to the next downpour!

My pics are now online here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF A SOGGY FOOTBALL GAME

Well I suppose it was a silly question. When it comes to any sport or competition there is a need to 'make hay' when the going is good!

The Guernsey Raiders Rugby Club are on a roll of good form at the moment and it is those times that have to be maximized and taken advantage of as there is never a warning when things might change due to injury or simply bad luck.

So well done to the Raiders for the fantastic 69-5 win over the visiting team from Sidcup on Saturday.

The Raiders are reaping the reward for all their hard work. This season is looking good.

That scoreline was sure to offer plenty of action to photograph... at least at one of the ends! I've added a gallery featuring some of it:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF GUERNSEY RAIDERS v SIDCUP

It was a morning that staying tucked up under the duvet had a certain appeal!

However I was booked to photograph the Guernsey Athletics Junior Cross Country Run at L'Ancresse.... so my missus dutifully kicked me out of bed, she who must be obeyed :-(

When I arrived on the exposed and wind swept common it was clear that the young competitors would need real determination and willpower to complete the course due to the very strong and bitterly cold wind.

I must say that even though I was wrapped in many layers the wind still found a way to penetrate through... it must have been freezing when dressed just in lycra! Big respect to the youth of today for their devotion to their sport.

I captured a few pictures of the racing between keeping my hands warm in my pockets. They are now online.

Well done guys 'n gals, I was most impressed by your spirit.
CLICK TO VIEW PICTURES OF THE JUNIOR CROSS COUNTRY

The first event of the 2018 GVC Downhill MTB series took place in Petit Bot valley on a very muddy and slippery course which challenged the best of the riders.

This was confirmed when I was almost wiped out by a rider who lost control at the bottom of the hill! I was soaked from the waist down by muddy water!

In the end everything (including the rider) was OK... the mud splashes over my clothing disappeared after a visit to the washing machine and the cameras and lenses were fine after a more gentle wash!

That's the price a 'tog pays when getting close to the action ;-)

My weekend involved plenty more action in the form of the Guernsey Raiders Rugby against Sidcup - a 69-5 win for the Raiders produced plenty of the afore mentioned action!

I also covered the Guernsey Athletic's Junior Cross Country at L'Ancresse. This was run in a strong and bitterly cold wind making it a real challenge to the willpower and determination of the very young competitors. Well done guys 'n gals.

There was more ' gig action' on Saturday evening at the Vale Earth Fair's 'Unplugged' fund raiser at the Fermain Tavern.

All the edits are in work. Keep a check on this News Blog for updates to the Galleries.

First up are the MTB Downhill pics:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE MTB DOWNHILL RACE

Well that's another job done.... and it didn't hurt a bit. At least not from my side of the ropes!

All ten Bouts of the Guernsey Dinner Boxing Club's first fight evening of 2018 are now online. Every Bout was well fought with Guernsey winning overall by six to three with one draw.

Well done to the visiting Liverpool Select team. You put on a great show and I know you will be welcomed back again in the future.

The final Bouts to be added to the Gallery are:

BOUT-6_Tomasz Kot v Shaun Magennis
BOUT-5_Chris Sumner v Lewis Mullineux
BOUT-4_Niall Adams v Jake McCarthy
BOUT-3_Monika Duda v Elena Narozanski
BOUT-2_Charlie Watson v William Lawson
BOUT-1_Callum Langlois v James Kerr

Follow this link to view my pictures:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE COMPLETED DINNER BOXING GALLERY

Are you man enough?

What prompts me to ask the question is a brief conversation I had with George Jennings, one of the two Ref's at Friday's Guernsey Dinner Boxing Club evening at St Pierre Park Hotel.

We were waiting for the bouts to start when George commented to me that there were several three round/three minute fights on the bill. As an ex-boxer and someone with experience playing other sports George said he felt the fight 'game' was the toughest of all! 'The fighters were going to feel the pain!'

Who was I to argue? There has never been a chance of me having the bravery, confidence, fitness or strength to want to test myself in such a public place as a boxing ring. The last fight I had (OK, it was more like a brawl) happened perhaps forty-six years ago in a dark hotel car-park and my 'bravery' had come out of a Vodka bottle!

I soon knew that George was right with his judgement. The boxing was fast, grueling, brave, exhausting... and entertaining from outside the ring ;-)

I can assure you this was the case as my privileged access to the side of the canvas meant that I could feel the shudder when the big punches found their target!

I had a busy night trying to capture the best action and I've now started the edit of the pics. So far these Bouts are featured in the Gallery. The others will follow:

BOUT-10_Billy Poullain v Mark Bebbington
BOUT-9_Casey De La Mare v Casey Brown
BOUT-8_Jimmy Lesbirel v Kayne Chapple
BOUT-7_Henrique Jesus v Dexter Makaza

Follow this link to view the pics:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE FIRST DINNER BOXING EVENING IN 2018

Ammareurs was a bit damp first thing this morning making the main problem whilst photographing the Super Duathlon keeping the driving drizzle off all my lens... both camera and specs!

A few of the resulting pics are now online here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SUPER DUATHLON PICS

Then, without a chance to dry out, it was off to the GVC MTB XC race at La Pomare. This time it was the slippery mud that was the problem!

The resulting pics are now online here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE GVC MTB XC PICS

Oh, what an exciting (damp and muddy) morning I had ;-)

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

The conditions seemed quite good for the latest race in the GIAAC FNB Cross Country Series.

Maybe the chilly wind made competitors work a little harder when running into it - but it was nice and crisp, bright and dry.

Perhaps I'm rating the conditions as 'good' because the low winter light was great for taking pics. My recollection of what makes good cross country weather is a few decades out of date! FIVE to be more accurate!!

All things said, I spent a pleasant hour at L'Ancresse photographing the Stonecrushers Race.

The pics are now online here:
CLICK TO VIEW THE LATEST STONECRUSHER XC PICS

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

Half full or Half empty?

Maybe the question should be more like 'Half complete of Half incomplete?'

That would be more accurate when referring to the latest Gallery update featuring the Guernsey Dinner Boxing Club's latest fight night pics.

You see, I've only managed to find time to process 5 out of the 10 Bouts so far!

I must reveal now that I'm an optimist by nature. I always consider my glass of beer to be half full... although that state never lasts long. Never worked that out!

So, optimistically' I'm pleased to announce that the Dinner Boxing Gallery is half complete... which means I've still got a few hours to go to finally sign off the job. A full glass of beer will aid the conclusion :-)

These Bouts are now online:
BOUT-10 Billy Poullain v Jamie Way
BOUT-9 Henrique Jesus v Tyler Stretch
BOUT-8 Jimmy Lesbirel v Stephen Phillips
BOUT-7 Rhys Jordan v Brandon Jones
BOUT-6 Harry Bertram v Dale Johns

For now the first pics are here. They will be followed by the rest as soon as I have time. This may not be until next week as I'm stacked out with work at the moment:

UPDATE: All bouts have now been added to the gallery.

BOUT-5 Cris Rodrigues v Luke Phillips
BOUT-4 Niall Adams v Ricky Wheatly
BOUT-3 Charlie Watson v Hamza Pervez
BOUT-2 Rory Sullivan v Billy Johnson
BOUT-1 Luke Roberts v Kaci Joseph

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FIRST DINNER BOXING PICS

I had the evening all planned. There are several lengthy edits waiting for my attention... that was where I intended to spend my time this evening. But the best made plans sometimes have to wait.

After being called out at short notice to photograph a couple of Snooker games I'll now have to tackle those edits tomorrow.

However the time wasn't wasted as it made a change to photograph snooker again. It's actually quite difficult to capture the atmosphere as the clatter of a shutter is not appreciated and you have to restrict your movement too.

I'm quite pleased with the results of the shoot and the edit. I've already submitted the pics for publication and they are also online here.

Maybe tomorrow I'll have more luck with the backlog of editing :-)
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE SNOOKER