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This is just a brief Blog to tell you that the Galleries have been updated with pics of Rounds 17 and 18 of the Avon Tyres - TTC Group 44th Jersey National Hillclimb Championship.

These latest Rounds were held at Bouley Bay hill, Jersey on 12th July 2017.

In contrast to the previous years event when it was a scorching day leading to incredible racing and the outright record for the hill dropping three times, 2017 started with a light drizzle and never really fully recovered.

However the event was notable for a local man. Jason Mourant took his Gould GR55 to a memorable win in Round 17 beating all-comers and becoming the first local resident to win a Jersey round of the MSA Hillclimb Championship since 1962.... it only took 55 YEARS! Well done Jason.

These galleries display all the action. Please remember that pics are very low resolution and don't display the detail in a print or higher resolution digital files.

Now the racers move on to Guernsey and Le Val des Terres. Once again I'll be track-side capturing all the action,. See you there.

Follow this link to view pics of the 2017 Jersey National:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE JERSEY ROUNDS OF THE 2017 NATIONAL HILLCLIMB

I've just managed to add a gallery of GK&MC Sprint pics from Saturdays Vazon Coast Road meeting.

That is probably it as far as updates go until the end of the week as I'm now off to Jersey to photograph their round of the MSA National Hillclimb Championship at Bouley Bay.

We are all hoping that Condor Ferries has managed to find space on one of their ferries to get the trailers over after running out of space yesterday!

Normal service (updates) will resume shortly....

Click here to view the Sprint pics:
CLICK ON THIS LINK TO VIEW THE GK&MC SPRINT PICS

The weekend has been very busy but what great fun.

It was about as diverse as you could make it... just how I like it!

Over the two days I have photographed a Sky Bet Championship football team, Bristol City, playing a friendly against Guernsey Football Club at Footes Lane.

As a contrast to that I captured some of the 'action' during the Guernsey Bowls Tri-Test match at the Corbet Field. This featured teams from Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Jersey.

Another summer sport that was on the list was a Praxis CI League Cricket match at the College Playing Field, 2mi Wanderers Irregulars vs Canaccord Genuity Griffins.

Then to mix things up a bit more there was Motorsport action at Vazon Bay for the GK&MC Sprint meeting.

Now that list would have been interesting enough as it is but the weekend continued with a photoshoot at the Pheonix Artistic Roller Skating Club's competition at Beau Sejour. This was the first time I had been asked to cover this event and I was very impressed by the standard of performances.

.... and that wasn't the end of the 'togging. A quick visit was booked for me to photograph Noi Monachan and her garden which was opened to the public in aid of the Guernsey Headway Charity.

Oh, and there was a bit of gig photography added to the list to complete the mix!

All that photography has left me with some editing to do... but that is well on the way. You can view the first galleries featuring the Guernsey Bowls Tri-Test match, the Praxis CI League Cricket match and the GFC vs Bristol City football.

Follow these links to view the first pics:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE GFC vs BRISTOL CITY FOOTBALL
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE BOWLS TRI-TEST
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE PRAXIS CI CRICKET

That's another job done, hurrah!

The final galleries of pics from Chaos Voodoo 13 have now been added to the website.

New additions feature Demise of Sanity, Granite Wolf, Sugar Slam, Honest Crooks, Johnny Cage and the Voodoo Groove, That Band and a few more pics of the Peace Tent.

This is where you will find all the Greenman Chaos Voodoo 13 pics...
CLICK TO VIEW THE COMPLETED CHAOS VOODOO 13 PICS

Once again the Chaos Voodoo 13 Music & Motorcycle Festival was held on its unique clifftop site. All the expected ingredients were present, music & bikes... well that goes without question. Beer and fun. Of course, by the bucket full!

Perhaps it was just me that was missing from the usual line-up as I ended up with a couple of conflicting photo assignments :-(

But that didn't stop me from covering most of the Festival... and I still managed the usual 'van-camping' on the three nights!

My overall beer count might have been slightly down on the norm but perhaps that was a good thing for a photog who approaches retirement age at an alarming speed ;-)

You can now view the first of my pics that show some of the fun and music that made Chaos Voodoo 13 another vintage year..... More will follow.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FIRST PICS OF CHAOS VOODOO 13

The Condor Ferries International SandAce ACU British Championships took place at Vazon Bay, Guernsey on 24 June 2017.

For 2017 the event had been awarded a new International status which is a fitting reward to the Guernsey Motor Cycle & Car Club and all the officials who put in so much work during the year to make it happen.

There is a particular pressure on the team of officials when their race track will disappear under the ocean as the tide comes in! The whole operation is now very slick with all the essential elements in place. The only thing that the team couldn't control was the weather which lacked the sun that would have really completed a perfect event.

Luckily the rain didn't appear until the finals and by that time the large crowd were captivated by the high standard of racing and most of them stayed on to see the climax of the 2017 championships.

Once again the Guernsey Motor Cycle & Car Club organized a fantastic event that ran smoothly and efficiently.

Well done to all those who made it happen... see you again next year!

Click on this link to view galleries featuring pics of the atmosphere and racing at the 2017 SandAce Championships on Vazon Bay, Guernsey.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2017 SANDACE CHAMPIONSHIP

I suppose I should thank the MTB section of the Guernsey Velo Club for getting me out of my sleeping bag this morning... it turned out that fresh air was probably a good antidote to my Chaos Festival hangover ;-)

It was sheer willpower that got me motivated together with the promise that I should be able to capture some good pics at the new custom built jump.

So as I headed off from the festival carpark at Pleinmont in my Tallpictures van/Motorhome my ears were still ringing from the two previous nights of music and my head was still a bit 'fuzzy'!

However there's nothing better to distract a sports photographer from his pain than a bit of dramatic action... and that's exactly what was on offer. The new jump was indeed a great place to get impressive action pics.

I've added a new gallery of the mornings racing.

When that job was done I headed back to the Chaos Music and Bike Festival for one last night of fun.

Those pics will follow shortly together with all the action from the Condor Ferries International SandAce ACU British Championships held at Vazon Bay on Saturday. You can see it's been another hectic weekend :-)
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE PETIT BOT MTB DOWNHILL PICS

Maybe this is an incorrect quote by I think it probably sums up my weekend quite well...

'Only Mad Dogs & Guernseymen go out in the midday sun'

That's exactly where you would have found me for the two scorching weekend days. Saturday was spent photographing the Reservoir Speed Event. Then Sunday there was the Powerboat racing to photograph.

Both events required standing under the relentless sun... I'm looking for a bit of sympathy here but I doubt I'm going to get any :-)

Actually I'm not complaining about having to stand outside in the heat. In fact far from it, as today I've been mostly stuck in the office completing the edit and paperwork that plays too big a part in a professional photographers life :-(

It was worth the effort though as I'm now nearing the completion of that work. This is a sure sign that the weather will break - just as I want to get out in the garden!

My main updates today have been to add three new galleries featuring the Guernsey Kart & Motor Club Reservoir Speed Event, Cars, Bikes and Karts.

You can view the pics by clicking on this link:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2017 RESERVOIR SPEED EVENT

The weekend has been a proper scorcher.... almost too hot to work!

But that's OK for me as I don't count what I do as work. It's usually just fun!

And there has been plenty of fun, sun, sea, motorsport, music... and more sun for me over the weekend.

June is shaping up to be the normal non-stop month for me as the diary is pretty full :-)

So there's no time to be too chatty in this Blog so I'll get straight to the point. I've just added a new Gallery of pictures featuring one of the weekend's assignments - and it ticked the fun, sun, sea and motorsport boxes. That's nearly the full set!

You can view a new gallery of Powerboat Racing pics by following the link.

This features Race 4 of the Guernsey Powerboat Association's Stanley Gibbons sponsored Race Series over the North Beach Outer course.
CLICK TO VIEW THE SCORCHING POWERBOAT RACING PICS

One thing was certain when the Abba tribute band 'Bjorn Again' played for two nights to a packed crowd within the walls of Guernsey's historic Vale Castle.

... There was no shortage of hit songs for the band to play ...

Vale Castle is the traditional venue of the Vale Earth Fair so it is no stranger to live music. It is a fantastic setting for live performances and there was a large crowd for the first night of Bjorn Again.

Many people in the crowd had obviously been up in the attic to find some of their old gear. This added more atmosphere to the night.

I felt the only disappointing aspect of the night was that it seemed to end a bit too abruptly. Another fifteen minutes would have made the punters feel they had good value from the night.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF BJORN AGAIN

The shortest Blog ever?

This is just a quickie to add a link to the latest picture gallery featuring Saturday's Cricket game at the College Field - Elizabeth College 1st XI vs NGIT Cobo Tigers 1st XI.

View the pics here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE LATEST CRICKET PICS

Yesterday I spent the afternoon on the beach... and it felt just like summer!

I was tempted to go rock-pooling but as I was on Vazon bay there was a shortage of pools... but lots of SAND.

That was just right for what I was photographing. SAND racing :-)

The beach was actually unusually firm, dry and flat for Round 5 of the Guernsey Motor Cycle & Car Club Championship. When those conditions were combined with a day that actually felt like summer we were sure to have an enjoyable afternoon.

Let's hope that we can repeat the very same sunny weather for the British Sand Ace Championships at the end of the month. I've got my finger's and lenses crossed to make sure!

Earlier in the day, my mornings photoshoot had re-enforced why it felt like a summer's day as I'd been assigned to cover a cricket match at the College Field. How very 'British summertime', eh!

The only thing missing was a cool gin and tonic. But later, I made do with a few pints of Real Ale... sorted!

Cricket pics will follow.

The Sand Racing pics are now online here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF ROUND 5 OF THE SAND RACING CHAMPIONSHIP

The Guernsey Autocross Club's 2017 Fun Meeting on Chouet Beach was well supported by a sizable team of drivers from Jersey.

The visitors really seem to have caught the Banger racing bug as they even arrived with their own cars!

Needless to say none of them were worth taking home after the racing and they were removed from the beach on the back of a skip lorry ;-)

The extra Jersey cars meant that the entry was as big as I can remember and the action really was none-stop! Spectators enjoyed a full program of racing... and the viewing, as always, was FREE!

Banger racing lived up to its reputation as one of the cheapest forms of Motorsport - and certainly the best fun per pound!

I've added a gallery of Autocross Fun Meeting pics... and it's as big as the field of cars!

Follow this link to view the gallery:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE 2017 AUTOCROSS FUN MEETING

After seeing the weekends news reports about the horrific terrorist activity in London I reflected on how lucky we are to live on our small safe island.

Guernseymen and women know that our Channel Islands offer us a special place to live, away from the extremes of the modern world. It is very rare that any major incident comes close to our sandy shores.

We enjoy a calm, peaceful lifestyle and we are spoilt by the choice of activities and sports easily available to keep our leisure lives busy. Also, we can easily (and no, I'm not trying to start a debate about Aurigny and Condor travel difficulties) gain access to the wider world as and when we choose and we are assured that Guernsey will remain a 'safe haven' whenever we return.

The observation that 'triggered' (pun intended) my reflection was the realization that firearms have featured both in the national and local news and also in my own weekend’s photographic work.

Firstly there was the use of firearms in London to end the violent act of terrorism. It is sad to say that this use of weapons in modern society has become a necessary reality and we have to be grateful that those charged with the task of keeping us safe are brave, highly trained and capable.

There was also a display of weapons on the streets of Guernsey. A few armed police officers were patrolling St Peter Port to reassure us that our own safety is a priority.

However on Sunday there was a second display of weaponry in St Peter Port... but this time they were historic and part of the Royal Guernsey Light Infantry Commemoration Parade. It is one hundred years since over one thousand Guernseymen were sent to fight in France. More than 300 didn't return. This was a timely reminder of the horrible use of weaponry in warfare and it was an honour to remember those who paid such a high price protecting us all.

But it isn't always the case that firearms are used in anger. This was proven to me as two of my weekend’s assignments involved the use of firearms... but this time they were used for sport.

On Saturday I photographed the XMA Junior Schools Individual Athletics Championships at Footes Lane where a starting pistol played an important role in the track events.

I then covered the Guernsey Rifle Club's weekend competition at the Fort Le Marchant range against a visiting team from the National Rifle Association. I have photographed rifle shooting before and it never fails to strike me how powerful and loud a high velocity rifle is when you are standing just feet away from the competitors. However I also appreciate that I'm completely safe in the controlled environment.

So my weekend has shown how contrasting places and experiences can be. For a few unlucky people in London life will never be the same again because of the use of knives and firearms. In Guernsey we simply went about our normal lives and I’m thankful that my only contact with a weapon was entirely safe… and long may that continue.

I’ve added a couple of picture galleries that feature the NRA weekend and the Junior Athletics:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE XMA JUNIOR SCHOOLS ATHLETICS
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE NRA WEEKEND

As this website smashes through 17 MILLION VIEWS I maintain the effort to keep the updates coming.

CLICK HERE TO READ MY 17 MILLION VIEWS BLOG

The variety of work that makes up an average week of photography keeps everything interesting for me... and I'm pleased to say a few of you too, judging by the amount of picture views made every day on this website :-)

As an example of some of the variety of photoshoots there have been three new galleries added today. They feature Round three of the GK&MC Summer Kart Championship.

Then there are pics of Jo Reeve's fortieth birthday gig at the Golden Lion which saw Gay Army make a rare live appearance.

There's also a gallery of cricket pics that I captured during the Loveridge Cup half-time at KGV. See the previous Blog for those pics.

All this still doesn't mean that I'm up to date with the weeks work yet... but I'm definitely three steps closer!

These links will take you to the new uploads:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW ROUND 3 OF THE SUMMER KART SERIES
CLICK HERE TO VIEW GAY ARMY PLAYING AT THE GOLDEN LION
CLICK HERE TO VIEW CRICKET AT KGV

This is just a quickie to keep you up-to-date with another couple of new galleries featuring some of the Bank Holiday weekend action.

My previous Blog offers a bit more information regarding the weekends work.

The latest two updates feature the Loveridge Cup U18's Final football game a KGV - Sylvans vs Rangers.

Then there's another update featuring the fourth round of the Guernsey Motor Cycle & Car Club 2017 Sandracing Championship at Vazon Bay.

I've still got a load of updates to make... keep tuned into this Blog page for more details....

These are the latest galleries:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE LOVERIDGE CUP FINAL
CLICK TO VIEW ROUND 4 OF THE SANDRACING CHAMPIONSHIP

There's a theme here.

We start off with all the anticipation ahead of a busy Bank Holiday weekend.

It's always going to be none-stop action as many sporting and music events seem to get organized to take advantage of an extra day of leisure... if you're not a photographer that is!

Even though the holiday weekend means an overload of work for me I still look forward to them.

The bit that isn't so appealing is that by some freak of nature the holiday weekend seems to get more than its fair share of bad weather and rain!

So I guess I should have known that the waterproof kit would get an outing at least once... and it did. In fact the rain was so torrential on Sunday that the Powerboat racing had to be stopped because the visibility was so bad the safety crews couldn't see the racers!

In the end there was plenty other action to fill three full days so I was happy. It is only now that the editing has to be completed that I'm less enthused.

But I've been covering Bank Holidays for long enough to know the score and the only way to get through to the end is to stick at it. The end will come into view in a couple of days.

It is more straight forward for you. All you need to do is pop along here to this News page every now and then and I'll post a link to my new pics for you to view at your leisure. That's what Bank Holidays are all about :-)

So far the Guernsey Kart & Motor Club's Hillclimb pics are online. View them here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE BANK HOLIDAY HILLCLIMB PICS

I’m chuffed to say that this website continues to gain a following. My thanks and a high five (a hug if you’re a lady) to anyone who pops along here for an occasional browse through the picture galleries.

The time I spend taking pics is mostly exciting and enjoyable…. and it definitely beats having a ‘proper job’!

Now whilst the pleasure I get from working full-time as a photographer should be enough to keep me happy there is an additional side to making me smile – that is this website and the amount of interest shown in my work.

The total number of picture viewings of the galleries has just passed another MILLION MILESTONE. The total now exceeds 17 MILLION VIEWS!

It seems that the annual average has now settled at FOUR MILLION VIEWS A YEAR!

This got me interested in calculating what that number means on a daily, hourly and minute basis. The result is quite surprising!

So I started with the 4 MILLION annual views.

A simple division gives you 11,000 views a day – every day of the year!

I then looked at the Google Analysis which shows most viewings are between 7am and 1am…. that’s eighteen hours out of the twenty-four day.

So another division…. 11,000 views divided by the 18 hours gives you 600 views an hour every day of the year!

Next divide the hourly views by 60 minutes and you arrive at 10 views a minute.

Finally another quick calculation and you can work out that (on average throughout the year) a picture is viewed every six seconds. WOW!

So there we have it, my Maths teachers at the Grammar School always said that I would be surprised how useful ‘learning sums’ could be later in life. In this case it has helped tickle my ego and encourage me to keep taking the pics…. At least while the interest remains ;-)

Thanks again for all your support.

If you want to read a few of my previous ‘MILLION MARK’ Blogs just click on this link:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PREVIOUS MILLION MARK BLOGS

It was a case of dodging the showers at a recent photoshoot I did for BMW, Jacksons Garage and the Guernsey Press.

The special event was an open day featuring a wide range of the latest BMW motorbikes which were on display and also available for test rides.

Brian Martel had been asked to test ride and report on the BMW R nineT Scrambler. I needed to capture pics to support his article.

Whilst I'm guessing that the damp conditions were what this bike is designed to cope with it was still a shame to get a new bike wet and splashed with spray.

After the shoot, this meant more work for both the photographer and garage technicians to get the bike looking at its best again.

My cleaning 'tool' was the Lightroom 'spot healer'. I didn't go for a complete touch-up as I quite liked the slightly 'grungy' look. I am sure, however, that my cleaning work was easier than the rags and polish required back in the garage!

You can view a small gallery of pics here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW A FEW PICS OF THE JACKSONS BMW OPEN DAY

It was a night of surprise and not!

Saturday saw the launch gig of the new Static Alice EP ‘Warrior’ at the Fermain Tavern… a bit more about that in a minute.

I’ll start by mentioning one of the supporting bands.

Somehow I had missed seeing this band before. Maybe because, as I get older and lack the youthful stamina, I sometimes miss the early support bands as I arrive a little late at gigs. A man of my age has to pace himself you know!!

Whatever the reason, this was the first time I’d seen a new (for me) young band called Track Not Found… and they impressed me. When you take a look at my pics you will see that the three guys in the line-up are girls! :-)

Don’t let this leave you with an impression on their music choices. This band is grungy and heavy. They already have a strong set of originals and have developed a tight and promising live performance. This was the surprise that I mentioned before. Track Not Found did more than enough to get me to their next gig early to make sure I see them again. You must keep an eye out for them too.

The other surprise of the night… but it wasn’t really… was that there were so few ‘punters’ out on Saturday to catch the launch gig of Static Alice’s new EP ‘Warrior’. Static Alice command a large following of fans in Guernsey. They always ‘produce the goods’ at gigs with their charismatic, high energy live performances of original songs. They really are one of the most memorable bands on the Guernsey scene at the moment.

So why didn’t their fan base turn out to support Static Alice in greater numbers on Saturday?

As I suggested earlier, this was a surprise… but not, if that makes any sense!

Regular gig-goers have seen it all before and I guess that nothing will ever change. However, at least (in one way) I hope things don’t change.

What I mean by that comment is this. I hope bands aren’t put off arranging gigs when their efforts go so unrewarded. I would hate to lose the chance to see live music played in Guernsey just because of the apathy shown by so many.

If you’re still interested, Static Alice didn’t let the lack of people affect them in the slightest. They are in the game (originally) because of their love of live music. They stepped up to the mic’s and didn’t lower the energy level until the last song. Well done guys.

Oh, and ‘Warrior’ is fantastic. Make sure you buy a download. We need to support our local talent… even if you can’t be bothered to attend gigs.

There is one more point that makes the lack of punters even harder to understand. The other supporting band was Honest Crooks who have a large fan base of their own – making things even stranger!!

You can view pics of the bands here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF STATIC ALICE
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF TRACK NOT FOUND
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF HONEST CROOKS