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The perfect combination of sun, sea and surf. There was a strong and chilly wind on this autumn afternoon at Vazon Bay in Guernsey but it was still a fabulous place to be.

My pics don't really tell the full story as the lovely quality of the sunlight deceives us into thinking it was warm. But remember this was a November afternoon. Clearly surfers don't feel the cold.

There was some impressive surfing to entertain the spectators who had wrapped up and lined the sea wall.

I've added a picture gallery featuring some of the pics I captured of the enthusiastic surfers. Follow the link to view my pics:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE SURFING AT VAZON BAY

Pics from a chilly but bright Petit Bot valley where the GVC MTB Downhill riders were in action today are now online in a new Gallery.

This assignment was just one of three which kept me busy most of the day. The other two were also sports action... just a normal weekend then!

I loved the bright light when I was down at Vazon bay capturing some surfing action. By the time I got to the Trials Bike event the sun was lower in the sky and the best of the day had passed. But it was an enjoyable end to the weekend.

Now I just have to complete the edit :-(

The first MTB pics can be viewed here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE DOWNHILL MTB SERIES

A simple quick Blog this time just to let you know that I've added a few pics of the Elizabeth College v Grammar School game played on the All Weather pitch at KGV.

This is the link to the gallery of pictures:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF ELIZABETH COLLEGE v GRAMMAR SCHOOL FOOTBALL

Sadly, but thankfully rarely, the Guernsey Dinner Boxing Club suffered from disruption of their latest event.

The evening's bouts were disrupted by fog at Guernsey's airport which meant that the visiting team of Welsh fighters didn't make it to the island.

To the credit of the Guernsey Dinner Boxing Club and the Guernsey Amalgamated Boxing Club the diners still had eight bouts to enjoy. The competitive element was missing as the bouts were only sparring but everyone seemed to understand the difficulty and it turned out to be another enjoyable night.

Let's hope it is many years before the weather messes things up again.

I enjoyed taking pics as I captured some unusual 'pairings'... Casey De La Mare v Billy Poullain... compete with a bit of wrestling by Casey's corner!

View all the bouts here:
CLICK TO VIEW THE SPARRING BOUTS AT THE DINNER BOXING

I photographed a fast moving basketball game at Beau Sejour this evening.

It's a great sport to capture action as it's virtually non-stop. There is difficulty getting into a good position court-side as there is very little space. Also the low level of lighting makes it a challenge... but that's what makes it fun.

The game was between Giants and Skipton. My pics can be viewed here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF GIANTS v SKIPTON

Today we had a taste of what football would be like if the game chose to contest the championship in the summertime.

From a photographers viewpoint wouldn't it be great if we could always photograph the games with a hot sun beating down on our backs? Wouldn't it be fantastic to always have clear bright light to make the kit colours zing. Also there would be no more struggling to capture the fast moving action under low level floodlighting.

Of course all that is just a dream. This years football championships will again be contested during the winter. Players and photographers will have to man up and get on with the job... whatever the weather!

This is what made it so important to enjoy the moment today at the GFC v Hastings United game at Footes Lane where the weather was like a mid-summer day.

I captured some of the action and the pics are now online here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF GFC v HASTINGS UNITED

It was a toe-to-toe Slugfest at Beau Sejour last Saturday evening.

I had a good idea what to expect as I'd photographed the 2017 edition and knew that a competitive program of bouts was guaranteed.

This year the visiting team was a Northern Counties Select lineup. The spectators were entertained by fifteen bouts featuring Minimum Weight, Bantamweight, Lightweight, Welterweight, Light-Heavyweight, Heavyweight and Super Heavyweight. That must have covered most options!

By the end of the night the local team had pulled off a hard-fought 8-6 win (the first bout of the night didn't count towards the overall total).

The bout of the night award went to the Lightweight fight between Niall Adams and Liam Riley, well done guys.

I've now uploaded a full gallery of pictures featuring every bout. Follow this link to view the pics:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2018 OKTOBER SLUGFEST

Sadly I only had a few minutes to photograph some of the Dressage riders at their recent Championship event at the BSJA grounds before they took a break for lunch and I had to get to my next assignment.

That was a disappointment as it is a while since I've photographed this sport and I was looking forward to 'getting my eye in' again. One of the things I most like about my photography is that it is so varied with each genre requiring some understanding of what 'action shots' present the sport in the best style.

I would certainly need more than the few minutes that I had this time to get a 'proper feel' and understanding of Dressage but it was still fun.

Hopefully I'll be given more time if I'm sent to photograph the event again.
CLICK TO VIEW A FEW DRESSAGE PICS

It was another early start for a Guernsey Velo Club event. In fact I was on the job before sunrise!!

This time it was at Le Val des Terres for the grueling Hillclimb. This traditional event attracted a good field of competitors including 'Terres virgins to defending record holder Nick Despres.

Nick has held the hillclimb record for around 30 years... surely that must be a record of its own?

I've already added pics of the racing to the gallery. However the complete coverage of all my weekends assignments will take a few days as it has been very busy.

Keep a check on this Blog for all the updates.

The GVC 'Terres Hillclimb pics can be viewed here:
CLICK TO VIEW THE 2018 GVC TERRES HILLCLIMB

A sunny Sunday afternoon of sports photography down at Port Soif... you'd be excused for guessing that I was photographing Cricket from the brief clue above.

But no, whilst it is only just mid September, we've seen the end of cricket. So that leaves you with another top choice... yes football!

And what a pleasure it was to stand beside the pitch photographing the Ravenscroft Under 18's League game between Rovers and Sylvans.

I'm going to try and preserve the memory to use it to raise my spirits when I'm sent to photograph a game on a wet, dark and windy February night... that might work!!

Take a look at a few sunny pics here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE U18 ROVERS v SYLVANS FOOTBALL

After taking a short break Cage & Stage Productions returned with a sold-out Lock-In Guernsey - Round 6 at Beau Sejour.

The packed hall of spectators at Beau Sejour was entertained to thirteen hard-fought bouts which included Boxing, K1, Muay Thai and MMA. Much beer was drunk and as the evenings combat progressed the atmosphere built.

Every fighter should be proud of themselves for the bravery they showed by stepping into 'The Cage'. There is nowhere to hide once the cage door slams shut and I can tell you that after spending the evening photographing the action literally inches away from the bruising 'hits' everyone of the combatants did an amazing job.

I'm now working through my pics and the first Galleries are now online.

I hope my photography does justice to the fast moving, brave and committed action taking place in the cage. Make your own mind up by checking out the picture galleries:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FIRST PICS OF LOCK-IN GUERNSEY-ROUND 6

After a very long, hot and busy night at the Lock-in Guernsey, Round 6 at Beau Sejour I'll admit that a 5.45am alarm call wasn't entirely welcome on Sunday morning.

But there was no chance to have a lie-in as I was booked to photograph the Island Games qualifying Triathlon at Rocquaine bay which had a 7am start time.

As is so often the case (if you make the effort) the competitors and myself were rewarded with a lovely early autumnal morning beside the sea on the picturesque west coast of Guernsey.

This early assignment was just the first of a busy, but enjoyable day. The pics of the Triathlon race are the first to hit the Gallery. You can view them here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE ROCQUAINE TRIATHLON

A very quick Blog just to inform you the pics of the Guernsey FC v Ashford United football game a Footes Lane have been added to the Sports Gallery.

Follow this link to view the pics:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OG GUERNSEY FC v ASHFORD UNITED

This is another of my assignments that needs a supply of ear-plugs.

Some of the others are gig photography - where it often seems the best shots come whilst resting a ear on the speaker cabinets. There's also a need for a bit of aural protection whilst photographing Motorsport.

If you haven't had the chance to experience standing a couple of feet away from a full-bore rifle being fired you would probably be surprised, even shocked by the ear-drum piercing crack as the trigger is pulled. I assure you that a cowboy film on TV does little to prepare you!

However the sport is enjoyable to photograph.

The link below takes you to a gallery featuring some of the competitors taking part and the atmosphere at the 2018 Guernsey Full-bore Island Championship held at Fort Le Marchant.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2018 ISLAND FULL-BORE CHAMPIONSHIP

A very pleasant morning was spent in Talbot Valley photographing the Guernsey Velo Club MTB Downhill Series Round-3.

It was another scorching day (mustn't complain) but it was nice to spend my time in the shade of the wooded valley.

The low light under the trees also helped me in balancing the ambient light with a flash and low shutter speed to add a bit of movement and drama to my pics.

You can check the pics out here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF ROUND-3 OF THE DOWNHILL MTB SERIES

I only had about fifteen minutes to spend photographing the OSA All Terrain Challenge on Thursday evening at Footes Lane where a Steeplechase run featured in the ATC.

This meant that I only captured action from the first of the races... Division 1... before I had to dash off to my next job.

This was a shame as a water-jump is always entertaining for spectators and photographers alike.

I also guess there was more of a chance of one of the lower division racers getting the leap wrong and maybe falling flat into the water... making a great action shot!

Not that I want to be seen as 'preying' on anyone's misfortune ;-)

The pics that I managed to capture are now online here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE OSA ATC STEEPLECHASE

Everyone enjoyed a fantastic Guernsey summer's eve at the KGV on Saturday where 16 bouts of White Collar Boxing were held under the headline of 'King of the Ring'. The action was organized in association with CL Fitness.

The action was truly non-stop and the atmosphere was brilliant.

I survived (just) when one of the Super Heavyweight fighters was knocked clean out of the ring... giving me a knock on the head along the way and removing my specs at the same time! I ended up with a KO'd boxers head nearly in my lap.

My camera also took a tumble but being a Nikon it was fine!

Both camera and spectacles were recovered from under the KO'd boxer when he came to!

Talk about getting as close to the action as possible, eh. I've often commented in my Blogs that when trying to capture action you need to get as close as you think it is safe... then take one step closer! This time I might have overdone it!

However I lived to complete the full program of sixteen bouts and the edit is now complete. It was another big one (like the Chaos Festival - see previous Blogs) but there was no comparison in difficulty. The Boxing shoot was so easy as the light was consistent... in fact the edit was a real pleasure.

Who'd of guessed that I'd change opinion so quickly!

I've added pics of the Bouts to a new picture Gallery:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE KING OF THE RING BOXING

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

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

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

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

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

I’ll let you do the maths.

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

This is where things start to go wrong.

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

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

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

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

I’ve got a lot to think about.

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

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

There was a huge entry for the 2018 Guernsey Milk Half Marathon.

I popped down to the start line for a few pics then I headed off to the finish... the journey was a lot easier for me than for the runners ;-)

But this assignment was only the first on a busy day that included the Classic Vehicle Show, Picnic in the Park, Live Jazz music at Candie Gardens and a World Dance team photo-shoot.

Follow this link to view the Guernsey Milk Half Marathon:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2018 GUERNSEY MILK HALF MARATHON
Follow this link to view pics of the World Dance Team Guernsey:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE WORLD DANCE TEAM

It's taken a while but I think I've finally understood what the sport of Golf is all about.

The enlightenment happened whilst I was following play at the inaugural Matt Le Tissier Golf Day at St Pierre Park Hotel Golf Club.

I was walking the course with the Guernsey Press Sports Editor Rob Batiste. It was a truly glorious morning with the sun beating down. Dragonflies were skipping over the water features. There was an atmosphere of peace, calm and pleasure.

I got the feeling that the cosseted atmosphere hadn't been missed by the golfers as they wandered down the fairways.

So what did I finally 'get' about the game of golf? What amazing fact had I missed for all these years?

Well, a round of Golf definitely beats a day stuck in the office doing a days 'proper' work! I was the unlucky one as I was the one working!

Now that I've seen the light I might consider taking up the sport but for today I had to work whilst the guys enjoyed the sun... and a day away from the grindstone!

To prove that I wasn't completely distracted I've added a gallery featuring a few of my pics:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE MATT LE TISSIER GOLF DAY