News / Blog

The Fermain Tavern had been given a major facelift for the launch of The Recks album 'The Beast from the Sea'.

It was certain that the 'Tav would be packed for the long awaited coming of TBFTS. What was (perhaps) unexpected was the brilliantly themed decor. Nice one guys.

I've photographed The Recks many, many times... you can tell I like them! So I have loads of pics.... and that isn't an exaggeration. The running total of pics of The Recks now runs at over SEVEN HUNDRED!

View a few of my pics here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE BEAST FROM THE SEA ALBUM LAUNCH

Motocross bikes have established an important role in keeping up the numbers at the GMC&CC Sandracing on Vazon beach.

The Solo Sliders class is now only just above being viable... four of five competitors barely makes a race. This is very sad as a full grid of Sliders would be the biggest draw for spectators.

Having said that, the MX riders are putting on a great show of close, competitive racing and with a class that now puts over a dozen bikes on the line the MX now take the headline spot for sheer entertainment.

Every sport goes through a periodic cycle when the following weakens and often with time that reverses. Hopefully that will be the case with the Solo Sliders. Maybe a few of the MX racers will make the step up to the hardcore class?

The Club has also invested a lot of time and attention in nurturing a couple of Cadet classes so hopefully that's the future sorted!

I was down on the Vazon sands on Saturday capturing pics of the Round-3 action.

The pics are here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS ROUND-3 OF THE SANDRACING

If you want a band with the longest set list ever, who you gonna call?

The Erawigs!

I was at The Fermain Tavern to photograph The Erawigs on a rare appearance on the night before they were to entertain a wedding reception.

I didn't get to that one but my guess is that no-one would have been left with an ounce of energy after dancing all night.... although I hope the newly-weds managed to pace themselves ;-)

My pics of Erawigs are online here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF ERAWIGS

Sunday morning started with a leisurely 400 metre swim, followed by an 8 mile cycle then a 2 mile run for good measure.... no problem!

Not for this photographer you understand! No, all that exercise was for the participants in Guernsey Triathlon's Novice event.

For me I had to motivate myself to just get out of bed for the early start. I'd still be under the covers if I'd had to face that physical challenge.

However, once I was at the start of the Novice event it turned out to be most enjoyable (watching others do the hard bit!) as it was a beautiful morning. I didn't see any of the triathletes regret having a go at the hard-core event so I imagine quite a few will add future events to their diaries. Some people really are strange, eh!

Once my work was done at Beau Sejour I made a quick visit back to the office to edit and submit my pics for publication then it was off to Chouet for the final round of the Autocross Club's Summer Championship.

All the pics are now online:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE NOVICE TRIATHLON
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE AUTOCROSS RACING

I made a mention in a recent Blog that my Liberation Day this year had started early and gone on long....

It also seems like the edit of the various assignments are doing the same as it is only now that I've completed the work!

My first job of the Lib Day morning was to shoot a few pics of the 2018 Cycle Road Race at the Imperial. It was a long but pleasant drive down the west coast and the reward was some great light and action. The bonus is that I wouldn't have made the effort to get there if I hadn't been booked in to cover the event.

Following on from the Cycle Race it was a return trip up the coast to the Houmet to photograph another Lib Day Road Race... running this time!

I've added a few pics of each event to my Gallery:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2018 LIBERATION DAY CYCLE RACE
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2018 LIBERATION DAY RUNNING RACE

Liberation Day in Guernsey is celebrated as our very own Bank Holiday each year on May 9th.

Whilst first-hand memories of the actual occupation grow fewer and fewer with each passing year this special day is still a good excuse to party!

The day also has several established Sports events to go along with the traditional historic cavalcade and live music.

This year the day started early for me as I was assigned to photograph the cycle race at the Imperial…. Up at 6am, that was a shock to the system!

Once those pics were in the can it was straight on to the Lib Day road race at the Houmet, then it was me racing up to The Last Post to meet a Guernsey Press reporter for a news item.

As some of the pics were needed for Thursday’s paper I completed a quick edit and tagging of those pics in the back of my studio van/office using mobile data on my phone to submit the pics.

Then it was off into St Peter Port with things not stopping until past midnight!

It was a very long day… about seventeen hours in all – but the infectious fun combined with the fine weather, smiles and partying kept me going!

I’m working through the edit and the first pics can be viewed here:
CLICK TO VIEW THE FIRST PICS OF LIB DAY 2018

The tradition is that near the end of the winter's football season the Channel Islands have one last highlight in the form of the Muratti.

The 2018 match was due to be played in Jersey this year between the old rivals.... Guernsey v Jersey.

As part of the Guernsey squads preparation a warm-up match was arranged against Upton Park. I went along to photograph the game for the Guernsey Press and was able to enjoy a beautiful spring-time evening. This was a far cry away from some of the games I'd covered during the winter when the wind and driving rain under flood-lights made it quite a miserable place to be.

Maybe this evening game was the reward and pay-back for that discomfort? Who knows how these things work!

The pics are now online here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE GUERNSEY v UPTON PARK MURATTI WARM-UP MATCH

After last year's wash-out of the Guernsey Race Club's Bank Holiday Horse Racing meeting the 2018 version can only be described as fantastic!

It was great to see the Club rewarded by a stunning, sunny day and there seemed to be hundreds of supporters at L'Ancresse to watch the racing.

Such a lot of effort (and money) is invested before each race day that the small number of Club members need praise for keeping up their enthusiasm after last year.

Hopefully they enjoyed a fantastic afternoon's racing like the rest of us... although I imagine they were still 'beavering away' behind the scenes to keep things running smoothly.

May I say a big 'Thank You' on behalf of all those who chilled out at Guernsey's own 'Day at the Races'

My own day was pretty hectic as, due to early print deadlines, I spent the afternoon chasing the races around L'Ancresse then hopping into my studio van between races, editing and tagging the previous race then e-mailing them into the Press.

It was all pretty tiring in the scorching heat but well worth the effort!

This picture gallery shows some of the action....
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE BANK HOLIDAY HORSE RACING

It was Horsepower all the way on Bank Holiday Monday.

My day started with petrol powered horsepower at the GMC&CC Hillclimb, Le Val des Terres. There was power to spare down in the pits as the competitors warmed up their machinery.

The conditions were near perfect for racing with the combination of hot tarmac and sticky rubber allowing full use the power as the racers made their noisy progress up the hill.

What a contrast it was in the afternoon.

I had to make an early exit from the 'Terres at lunchtime as the Guernsey Race Club were running five Horse races at L'Ancresse.

The sun had encouraged hundreds of spectators to the common and they were entertained by horsepower in its purest form.

I photographed the racing in my normal manner... by getting close to the action and I must confess that one horsepower in the form of a thoroughbred race horse is mighty impressive when you feel the wind as it passes at full gallop.

The pics of the mornings man-made power are now online. Tomorrow I'll upload pics of the real thing....
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE GMC&CC HILLCLIMB

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

The KB Project organized a gig on the famous Fermain Tavern stage on Friday 5th May.

I managed to get along to the 'Tav at the end of a busy evening after I had photographed Gabrielle Aplin and her support act Gregory Harrison at St James Concert Hall.

The contrast between the two venues was quite dramatic. St James has the grandeur, style and scale of a building that was originally built as a church. The Fermain Tavern has the aura of a dark and more intimate club.

Both venues offer unique stages for local and visiting artists to showcase their music. The combination of the two venues illustrates (once again) how lucky we are to have such a wide choice of entertainment available on Guernsey..... if you make the effort to get off the couch!

I've added pics of Gabrielle Aplin, Gregory Harrison and The KB Project to the Gallery:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF GABRIELLE APLIN
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF GREGORY HARRISON
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE KB PROJECT

I'm counting the hours till I can say that the weekend's assignments are all completed...

This work includes the selection and editing of the pics (including the important deletion of the 'fails'). But that isn't the end of the work, in fact that is just the start!

The next job on the list is to 'tag' a few with details and then submit them for publication.

The next box to tick is the uploading of pics to this website's picture Gallery.

But the job can only be marked as complete after I've backed up the images and then added all the 'keepers' (originals and the saved edited versions) to my picture database. This is an important (vital) process to ensure nothing is lost and any picture can be found very quickly in the future with just a couple of mouse clicks!

The first parts of the above list are nearly sorted, yeah!!

The cataloguing of all the pics into my searchable database is the final chore... I must have been VERY bad in a previous life as this process is a real pain. However, once it is complete the benefit of being able to search for any shot by time, date, subject.... in fact anything you could possibly think of is absolutely essential to me as it enables a very quick and easy response to requests for my pics.

Today's updates include the first Rickety Bridge Cricket game of 2018... Elizabeth College v Wanderers/Irregulars and the Channel Islands Table Tennis Finals.

View the pics here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE RICKETY BRIDGE CRICKET GAME
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE CHANNEL ISLANDS TABLE TENNIS FINALS
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I'm keeping this short as I'm in full-on editing mode!

I know I've said it before but the 'after shoot' edit has to be the most boring part of my job. I've learnt over an extended period that the first thing to do to ease the pain is to take as few pics as possible in the first place.

This can be a challenge when shooting fast action sports but the discipline is good as you have to 'focus' on getting the best shot first time.

The pay-off is a quicker edit back at the studio.

But, even after trying to limit the pics taken, it is still inevitable that too much time is 'wasted' looking at a monitor.

After such a busy weekend of shooting I've had more editing to do than usual but perseverance (and hours) mean the job is nearly done.

I've just added three more galleries featuring the Inter-Insular Snooker at the Gremlin Club, Inter-Insular Darts at the Peninsular Hotel and the Hockey Upton at Footes Lane.

....more updates will follow!

These are the links to view the latest uploads:
CLICK TO VIEW THE INTER-INSULAR SNOOKER PICS
CLICK TO VIEW THE INTER-INSULAR DARTS PICS
CLICK TO VIEW THE HOCKEY UPTON PICS

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

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

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

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

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