News / Blog

The final hillclimb of the 2017 season took place at the tight and slippery when wet Petit Bot hill today.

Luckily the morning started dry which gave the chance to topple a couple of established records.

Any hillclimb that sees new low marks entered into the record book has to qualify as a success but, never the less, it was a disappointment that the racing finished early after persistent rain and drizzle meant that there was no chance of competitors beating their earlier times.

I've added a new picture gallery featuring the days racing at Petit Bot.

Take a look at the action here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2017 PETIT BOT HILLCLIMB

Saturday saw the first time that a hillclimb has been organised on the Rue des Villains/Rue des Portelettes in Torteval... the Imperial Hill.

Many competitors had this hill on their wish list and due to the huge amount of work put in by GK&MC President Karl Marshal and his team it all came together for the inaugural event. Even the weather had been sorted!

Unfortunately the bikers were missing as the hill hadn't been signed off by the ACU. Maybe they'll be there next time?

Also it was a disappointment that the karter's missed a days racing. After a rather nasty accident early in the day officials judged that the hill, which has granite walls either side of the road, was just too dangerous for 'exposed' karters.

But this still left a big turn-out of car drivers. The line-up included several competitors who dusted off their machinery so they could tick this new event off their 'bucket list'.

The day produced some fantastic competition together with a few classes not being won by the 'bookies favorite'. This was good for the sport as it keeps things interesting at the front.

As a photographer I enjoyed the challenge of making a new hill 'work' for me and I was pleased with the overall results. I ended up taking more pics than usual as I worked my way along the course.... leaving me with a bigger edit!

I've just added quite a big gallery of pics to this website. As always I've tried to represent everyone's racing but I also have a few more pics that can be viewed on my laptop computer database... contact me if you want to see more pics of your own personal seasons racing.

It would be fantastic if you could support my work by clicking the 'Buy Now' button (I know, this is a blatant plug!!)

This is a link to the Unite the Union Imperial Hillclimb:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE IMPRESSIVE IMPERIAL HILLCLIMB

The 2017 Guernsey 'Proms on the Pier' became, at short notice, 'Proms in Market Square' after the weather forecast predicted high winds.

The original location on Albert Pier was considered too exposed for the large marquee meaning the crew had to dismantle and move all their setup in an effort to save the traditional event.

The move was completed in time to allow a seamless switch and did nothing to dampen the party atmosphere.

Well done to the organizers.

I've added a few pics to a gallery:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2017 GUERNSEY PROMS NIGHT

I hate to start a Blog on a negative note.

But I'm afraid that I have been left with a feeling of disappointment and concern after returning from the 2017 three-day Alderney motorsport weekend.

The mood has come over me, ironically, because I had such a great time over in our sister Island... it's always been the same.

I think I'm probably speaking for the vast majority of the competitors, family and friends who make the complicated and expensive effort to visit Alderney for the Guernsey Kart & Motor Club organized racing when I say that, after the initial hassle and niggles, we all settle into the pace of small Island life and combine the love of motorsport with spending time with friends... and socializing a bit too!

So I hear you ask... 'Why the disappointment and concern?'

Well, once again, the talk amongst the guys during the weekend often turned to the possibility that this year could be the last ever Alderney weekend. In fact I spoke to one person who said he had made a point of going this year as he felt it would actually be the last one.

So I refer to the title of this Blog. Let the campaign begin....

I want to encourage everyone who has ever visited Alderney for the racing, recently or way back, to start talking about running an event again next year. You need to make an effort to spread the word about how much fun it is.

I know that life changes and the availability of Track Days and the additions to the local Motorsport calendar have given people more options than years ago but none of those events have the 'special charm' that the Alderney events offer.

I think this is a classic case of 'Use it, or loose it'.

So, there you go, I've started the campaign. Now you have to help too!

This years three Alderney weekend picture galleries are now online. Check out the fun here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE FORT CORBLETS SPRINT
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE LE GRANDE VAL SPEED EVENT
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE FORT TOURGIS HILLCLIMB

A very brief Blog before I dash off to Alderney to cover the three days of Motorsport.

I've just added a picture gallery featuring the 2017 Sound Guernsey Summer Party that was held the day before the Vale Earth Fair within the historic walls of Vale Castle. Sound Guernsey made use of the stage, sound and lighting that was in place for Sundays VEF. This turned out to be a perfect partnership.

The Summer Party was well supported and featured a great line-up of bands. Let's hope it returns next year.

Check out the gallery here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SOUND GUERNSEY SUMMER PARTY

Sometimes I wake up with the very best of intentions.

This is quite a rare thing so I normally like to make good use of this infrequent phenomenon.

This morning I woke up surprisingly fresh after enjoying a night out with my missus and oldest son Steve and his missus Vicky. We always enjoy their company and last night involved a lovely meal together with ample red wine, gin & tonics and Guinness. Just the usual night out with the kids then!

Actually it was a great improvement on the last time we enjoyed their company. On that occasion, after a wonderful home-cooked meal together with ample G&T's, my missus had a little fall and ended up in A&E with a broken wrist! Needless I didn't let her move about unsupported this time!

But I've digressed so back to my original comment. I awoke this morning with genuine intention to tidy up my garden which is showing signs of neglect after the last two months of my busy schedule.

However the urge to get on top of the garden disarray was soon dampened after I looked out of the window. It was raining heavily!

So that sees me back here in the studio in front of the amazing SpectraView 4K screens completing more of the backlog in editing. The garden is going to have to wait another day.

The beneficiary of all this is the 2017 Vale Earth Fair picture gallery. Whilst it is still only half finished I thought I'd put up a link in this Blog.

So far the featured Bands include: SoPM, The Crowband, Sugar Slam, Le Quartarette, Hot Plastic, Robert J Hunter, Phantom Cosmonaut, and Tree House Fire.

Take a look at the first pics here:
CLICK TO VIEW THE FIRST PICS OF THE 2017 VALE EARTH FAIR

I've already commented in a previous Blog that the August/September time seems to go into work overload!

It seems that the different 'compartments' of my life - both work/family/garden/cottage maintenance - and all the other things that keep our day-to-day survival running smoothly peak at the same time.

In a way this spoils the 'fun' which my life generally is. I'm a really lucky guy.

I'm able to just take the photo jobs that appeal to me and (most importantly) my missus allows me a long tether to do what I want. Of course having a long tether gives plenty opportunity to get it tangled around my neck if I step out of line. Not so good!

So I'm just back from photographing the Jersey Weekender Festival.

That qualifies as fun - even though one of the days was very wet. But hey, it's a festival so we just get on with it and a few beers, good music and the darkness of the night all come together to take your mind off of the discomfort.

But I'm now back in the studio facing the workload. I've got so much editing to do and now the only way through it is to put the hours in. During the next few days I hope to add many new Galleries. Keep a look at this Blog for the latest updates.

This is the latest update featuring the GK&MC 2-Day Motocross meeting:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2-DAY MOTOCROSS MEETING

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

There were changes made for the 2017 Guernsey Motor Cycle & Car Club's Vale Castle Sprint... it was run backwards! Or at least it was raced in the opposite direction :-)

It remained a fast event requiring commitment and precise driving.

Unfortunately the ACU were unable to sign off the reverse running of the course for the bike riders so it was just the four wheeled racers who had the chance to try out the Sprint in 2017. Hopefully this will be sorted by next year.

I think most of the competitors enjoyed their days racing but one driver will remember the day more than the others. Harry Teal had a BIG crash after the finish line on his practice run. Thankfully he avoided serious injury.

The crash was pretty spectacular by the accounts of those who saw it! I'm sure Harry will be telling you all about it sometime in the future ;-)

My pics of the Vale Castle Sprint are now omline here:
CLICK TO VIEW THE 2017 VALE CASTLE SPRINT

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

Just a quick update to give you a link to another of the weekend's Motorsport events.

This time it is the Guernsey Powerboat Association's Stanley Gibbons Series - Race 7 over the North Beach Inner Course.

It was fantastic to have a bright and sunny evening for this race after some dull and grey races earlier in the year.

Dynamic powerboat racing pics need sun and the proof is in the results where you will see how the colours radiate out from the screen.

Take a look for yourself by following this link:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE VIBRANT AND SUNNY POWERBOAT PICS

I've just enjoyed a weekend that was full of action, sports, charity events, live music, the occasional celebrity, fun and a moment of adrenaline rush!

My galleries will be updated with all this drama over the next few days but first online is a Gallery featuring Saturday's Guernsey Kart & Motor Club Hillclimb at Le Val des Terres.

It was here that my adrenaline rush took place. I felt this whilst taking pics at the first corner of the 'Terres... just before the entry into 'the tunnel'.

I was minding my own business just trying to capture the dynamics of the bikes, cars and karts as they found the racing line through this fast corner.

My peace and karma was shattered as I heard the distinctive rumble of Shaun Leigh approaching me on his way to the top. My position behind a granite wall meant that the V8 engined FMD Colour Monster Locust only came into view after Shaun had entered the bend.

It was then that I realized that things were not quite going to plan as my usual view of the racing cars - that is controlled and hitting the apex wasn't happening this time!

Shaun was drifting the big V8 sideways through the corner... and at considerable speed! More to the point he was sliding in my direction!

But, as I should have known, Shaun wrestled with the steering, stamped on the throttle and brake pedals and, somehow, managed to miss me and the granite standing in his way. He pulled off one of the biggest 'saves' that I can remember and then powered his way onwards to the finish line.

The whole event only lasted a second or two but I can remember it in slow motion... and I have the pics to remind me.

After that experience the rest of the day was quite subdued but I still managed to capture some good pics. They are now online:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW SHAUN LEIGH GIVING ME A FRIGHT

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

The Guernsey Kart & Motor Club's Summer Series Kart Championship passed the mid-point with Round 5 today.

This championship still has plenty to offer in the form of close racing with each driver able to drop their lowest points when the final count takes place.

I'm pleased to say that the weather stayed dry this time... unlike Rounds 2 and 3 which were nasty and wet!

I have only just dried out my kit after getting completely drenched on Friday night whilst taking pics of the OSA All Terrain Challenge. Summer, what summer?

So this evening, as I don't have to spend time on drying and cleaning the kit, I think a little tipple of a Single Malt Scotch Whisky or two will be in order.

This is my little treat as today's Karting pics are already on-line :-)

View the pics here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF ROUND 5 OF THE KART SERIES