News / Blog

It’s a tantalizing thought and something has just grabbed my interest. :-)

Now that another MILLION MILESTONE of views has been shattered I can only look ahead to the next one….

13 MILLION VIEWS HERE WE COME!

My interest was tickled after I analyzed how long it took to jump from 11 MILLION views to hit the 12 MILLION mark… it took a couple of days short of three months.

After a few simple sums it suggests that the hit rate might just be on the way to a new annual total.

How does 4 MILLION views a year sound to you?

It sounds GREEAATT to me. :-)

As always I have to thank all of you for making it over to visit this website. The Google analysis shows that more than 50% of you drop in quite regularly, so I guess that you continue to find the occasional item and photoshoot that interests you.

I’m encouraged by the fact that I’m also finding a stream of new visitors. Now it falls on me to grab their attention whilst they are browsing with the aim of getting them back again too.

I know from my own Internet usage that if a website is to become one of my regular ‘haunts’ it has to be updated on a regular basis. I’m also aware that my own browsing usually includes sites that offer comments, advise, reviews and analysis.

As I’ve been receiving regular requests to pass on a few of the tips and tricks that I’ve picked up along my photographic journey I intend to add an occasional Blog covering a variety of topics – from the software I use to the kit I hang around my neck.

Perhaps my first Info-Blog will cover my first impressions of the new Nikon D5 and D500 cameras!

I have these new range-topping cameras on pre-order with Grays of Westminster… right near the top of their list. :-)

As a registered Nikon Professional Services photographer I’ve been able to get my hands on the first UK delivery of cameras going all the way back including the D200, D3, D300, D3s, D4 and D4s. It has become a little perk of the job to play with the very latest kit… and I wasn’t about to break with tradition!

So the count-down to delivery has started. Hopefully in about three weeks I’ll have a new Nikon D5 to play with. This time I intend to share my thoughts. Pop back soon to see what I make of the latest upgrade. :-)

You can read some of my previous 'MILLION VIEWS' Blogs here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE PREVIOUS MILLION VIEW BLOGS

I've already posted an update with links to my Saturday evening's work....
Pussy and the Dirty Johnsons

However, earlier in the day I had to spend some time in a far less comfortable place!

The south coast cliffs can be brutally exposed at this time of year when a chilled wind blows straight up from the sea and into every part of your body that isn't wrapped at least once in thermal clothing. All credit to the Marshals who stood around all day on their posts... at least I was able to arrive late and then leave before the end!

I did have a good excuse though. The Guernsey Press Sports desk required my pics earlier than usual. That was the only incentive I needed to return to my nice warm studio :-)

I've now completed the full edit of the Motocross pics. You can't even tell that I was shaking like a leaf whilst trying to capture all the action! The pics are now online:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF MOTOCROSS ROUND-3

We got down and dirty at the Fermain Tavern at the weekend.

Just an average weekend then, I hear you say :-)

The occasion was the return of Pussy and the Dirty Johnsons to a Guernsey stage.

The band had impressed many (including this photog) when they first appeared on the Stage Against the Machine at Vale Earth Fair 2015.

So my guess is that an invitation to the Dirty guys to return to Guernsey was made soon after the festival.

It has taken until the end of February to get things together and it was good to see that the anticipation had not waned... in fact it had only got bigger!

Now this can sometimes be a problem. Maybe we were going to be disappointed?

I'll cut straight to the bottom-line. Pussy and her Dirty boys were fantastic. They had all the energy I remembered. The songs still had the hook I remembered... and Pussy still makes a great picture!

Well I am a pro photog so I notice those things!

There was good support for this Vale Earth Fair gig and a good time was had by all. I know this without even asking the punters. You could tell by the grins on their faces :-)

Support acts did a good job of warming everyone up. First up was The Phantom Cosmonaut followed by Thee Jenerators.

All pics are now online:
VIEW PICS OF PUSSY AND THE DIRTY JOHNSONS
VIEW PICS OF THEE JENERATORS

VIEW PICS OF THE PHANTOM COSMONAUT

Maybe the shortest Blog ever?

It's late and I've just added today's pics to the Gallery.

Autocross racing and Trials.

I did say it was going to be short :-)
CLICK TO VIEW THE LATEST AUTOCROSS PICS
CLICK TO VIEW THE LATEST TRIALS PICS

Another trip down memory lane...

This time Down to the Woods.... taking a Lifejacket along whilst chasing the Last of the Light Brigade.

I think that covers everything :-)

Just in case this sounds like mumbo-jumbo to you (like most of my Blogs) there were three Band names in that sentence and I've just updated their picture galleries!

It all makes sense to me, anyway. Ha, ha.

And just in case you are a little intrigued the following links will take you to the updates:
CLICK TO VIEW THE LATEST PICS OF TO THE WOODS
CLICK TO VIEW THE LATEST PICS OF LAST OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE
CLICK TO VIEW THE LATEST PICS OF LIFEJACKET

My weekend turned out to be Windy, Salty, Sandy, Rainy & Muddy... oh, and there was some music in there too!

So, as you can see, it was business as usual for a winter's weekend.

Just to elaborate that a little more... 'the wind', well everything I did included a bit of that.

'The salt and sand'... that'll be Autocross racing at Chouet.

'Rainy'... well like the wind it was hard to avoid for the whole weekend but it was the Karting championship that pulled out all the stops... but the pics were GREAT!

And the 'Mud'... Motocross racing of course!

I'll cover the music side in a later Blog.

The resulting pics are now online featuring Motocross, Autocross and the wet Kart meeting:
VIEW PICS OF THE WET KART MEETING
VIEW PICS OF THE AUTOCROSS RACING
VIEW PICS OF THE MOTOCROSS RACING

Well the question was 'How long can it take one photographer to complete one edit?'

The answer, when talking about this particular photog, is months.... and months!

Indeed, I was at real risk that the next annual shoot of one of my favorite events would come around again before I'd completed the 2015 edit. Shameful eh!

But in my defense I'll say that all those months that have passed have been full and busy. I'm certainly working more hours than I ever did when I had a 'proper job'. There was a lot happening in the middle of last year and I simply couldn't keep up.

So I'm relieved (even a bit proud, ha, ha) that.... drum roll please.... The 2015 Vale Earth Fair Picture Galleries are complete, Hurrah!

The Vale Earth Fair is the Channel Islands longest running, most friendly and laid back Music Festival.

Many things play a part in making the atmosphere so chilled... a list would include: The historic setting inside and around Vale Castle, the relaxed manner the organizers 'organize', the family friendly crowd... oh, and the fantastic line-up of bands!

Here's another hint why I love VEF CLICK HERE ;-)

These galleries should give you a feel for the vibe you get at Vale Earth Fairs. I highly recommend you add this Festival to your bucket list of things to do :-)

BTW I reckon that the 'Stage Against the Machine' was particularly good in 2015. Let me know what you thought of VEF 2015. See you in 2016.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE COMPLETED VALE EARTH FAIR 2015 GALLERIES

Last Friday evening saw my weekend start with a close encounter with Dinner Boxing action.

And a close encounter is what it was... even a 24mm wide angle lens couldn't fit it all in.

Now I have NO ambition to climb into any Boxing ring... no matter how much you want to pay me :-) The occasions that I have photographed Dinner Boxing and Cage Fighting have always left me with great respect for the fighters who are brave enough to climb into the unknown.

It takes a certain type of person who will put themselves into the position of facing an unknown opponent in the ring. There is nowhere to run. the combatants have to have faith in their training, stamina, strength and willpower.

The evening had been organized by the Guernsey Dinner Boxing Club at St Pierre Park Hotel as part of their 2015/2016 season.

The nine Bouts were well matched and without exception every single fighter - winners and losers - made a good showing.

But back to my original point. I was at ring-side poking my lenses under the bottom rope, feeling the canvas shudder as each punch landed and happy to be on the outside looking in!

Pictures of all nine Bouts have now been added to my Galleries:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE GUERNSEY DINNER BOXING CLUB'S EVENING

The last 24 hours has seen this web-site record over 32,000 views.

May I thank you for the interest in my work.

Whilst this isn't a record number it actually illustrates the interest in the events that I have been photographing... not really my pics.

This small island, as I've said so many times before, offers countless different activities, gigs and motorsport meetings to visit that no-one has any excuse to be bored. Heaven help you if you moan about there being nothing to do near to me!!

I only manage to photograph a few of these events (you will notice a personal bias) but it seems to be clear that I'm not alone in having these passions.... they are Motorsport and Music gigs,,, if you haven't worked that out for yourself!!

Happy days :-)

Some of my weekends work can be viewed here:
VIEW PICS OF ALFIE BARTON'S BALLROOM EXPERIENCE 25th ANNIVERSARY GIG
VIEW PICS OF THE GK&MC MOTOCROSS MEETING
VIEW PICS OF THE AUTOCROSS CLUB BANGER RACING

This Anniversary gig was headlined as a 'Special'.

It certainly never needed any hype as another Fermain Tavern sell-out was guaranteed. The Alfie Barton Ballroom Experience gigs started 25 years ago (actually we think it was 27 years but who's arguing).

The idea was to get musician friends together, invite music lovers in to enjoy the vibe, then jam and improvise... just for the love of the music. The added bonus was that Alfie would invite a few of his famous friends to come along to enjoy the party.

Legendary is probably an overused word but none of the old crowd who frequented the 'Ballroom gigs' would let you call it anything less!

So inevitably all those who managed to get a ticket before the quick sell-out were buzzing with anticipation when Alfie took to the stage to announce that we were in for a busy night of entertainment.

Legendary and Special is exactly what it was.

The line-up included 'The Reverend' Ian Kewley, Denny Newman, Stewart Ivins, Nick Windsor, Colin Hewlett, Jim Delbridge, Alan Palzeaird, Chris Dean, Screamin' Jez Carvery and new boys on the block Kylypso amongst many others.

A fantastic start to 2016... same again next month anyone?

If you were at the gig I hope you think my pics capture some of the highlights.... If you weren't, silly you!!
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF ALFIE BARTON'S BALLROOM EXPERIENCE 25 YEARS ANNIVERSARY GIG

You'll have to read the previous Blog to find out why, but I'm rarely so keen to complete an edit as I have been with this one :-)

I've just uploaded about 180 pics of Saturdays Motocross racing. Round-1 of the 2016 GK&MC Championship.

The conditions were pretty miserable to stand around in - wet and windy!

They were even worse when you had to keep camera lens and glasses clear of the rain and drizzle.

But that is to be expected for January. And I did have a great evening to look forward to in a nice warm place... read the previous Blog ;-)

Now I've got to go. I've another edit to complete!

The Motocross pics can be viewed here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF ROUND-1 OF THE MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP

The short quiet period has definitely come to an end... and I haven't even managed to catch-up with all of the backlog of edits yet!

But it was back to normal shooting over the weekend with two Motorsport events which offered me plenty of action to capture. I'm trying to complete the edits as quickly as I can as I'm really looking forward to the editing of another event I photographed on Saturday night.

That one was REALLY special :-)

The occasion was Alfie Barton's Ballroom Experience 25th Anniversary Special at The Fermain Tavern.

As expected, the night was quickly sold out. Expectations were VERY high... this can sometimes lead to a gig not quite hitting the mark!

The other outcome can be for the night/atmosphere to reach into the all-time, best-ever, top-gig short-list... and this one made it. It was that great!

So the reason I'm trying to get the Motorsport edits out of the way ASAP is that I can't wait to browse through my 'Alfie Barton' pics.

Keep a check on this website for my Ballroom Experience uploads... they won't be long ;-)

First up though, the Autocross pics:
VIEW PICS OF THE AUTOCROSS - WINTER ROUND 7

With the Vale Earth Fair Collective's 2016 fundraising events about to start I thought I should make an effort to catch up with my 2015 Vale Earth Fair galleries!!

In the next few weeks the VEF Collective will be organizing more of their popular fundraising 'Unplugged' gigs where we can experience some of our favorite bands stripped down (thankfully just in a musical form!)

I really love how a familiar song is re-imagined. I also fancy the creativity and discipline required of the bands when re-interpreting their work can energize and refresh the group.

Keep a eye on Facebook for the dates of VEF Unplugged.

So what about those Gallery updates?

Well they include Ukuladeez, Schema, Lord Vapour, Kilig and Fernweh, Robert J Hunter, Honest Crooks, Bonsai Pirates and Gay Army!

Phew, and there are still quite a lot to go! Follow this link to view the latest pics:
CLICK TO VIEW THE LATEST VEF 2015 BAND PICTURES

It's a few years since I've found my way down to the Bridge to watch live music.

I used to be quite a regular at the E&G but this habit waned when the gigs became irregular and then stopped all together. They are back now though.

But this weekend I was tempted to see how the St Sampsons scene is doing in 2016 by a different venue. I reckoned I knew what to expect as from what I could remember the Northerners always knew how to party. I should know, I'm one of them ;-)

Saturday's visit was to the Mariners Inn.

Now I'm far from a regular here but I pop in a few times a year for a quick pint when I'm in the area. However I'd never really explored all its nooks and crannies. It was one of these spaces that had been cleared to see if it worked as a setting for gigs. Out with the Pool tables, in with the drum kit!

It turned out to be quite successful as the 'cosy' area made you feel part of the gig. There's also a raised area at the back for more folk to view the bands. Even the lighting was good for me :-)

The great shame was that many of the punters didn't make an effort to walk the few feet away from the bar to support the bands... what's new, eh!

I still think that the Mariners holds promise as a worthwhile new live venue.

This gig was for charity, the Friends of Anthony Thomas - 'FoAT'. This is a very deserved cause and rumor has it that a couple more gigs might be planned. Try and support them as Mark Guillou and the bands do the whole thing for free!

I photographed a couple of the bands... Zimmer and Underdog. The pics can be viewed here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF UNDERDOG
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF ZIMMER

Motorsport in Guernsey barely pauses to take breath over the festive season before it is revving up again in the New Year.

So today I was also back in action photographing two championships.

The first of the day was a very wet affair. Round 1 of the Guernsey Kart & Motor Club's Winter Kart Championship at The Track. As I have said before, it is well worth wrapping up against the elements to capture motorsport action when the track is flooded. This adds real drama to the pics.

After that damp start things improved by the time I arrived at Chouet beach for the Autocross Clubs Banger racing championship.

It looks like 2016 is going to be another busy one. I look forward to it.

These Galleries present todays action:
VIEW PICS OF ROUND-1 OF THE WINTER KART CHAMPIONSHIP
VIEW PICS OF THE WINTER AUTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP

CLICK TO VIEW THE LATEST PICS OF THE ELECTRIC SHAKES
I'm going to have to be careful.... this 'tidy desk means a tidy mind' thing is getting a bit out of control!

I'm even quite enjoying being a little more in command of the back-log of work. It's actually good fun re-living my life in pictures. In this case it was a gig that happened a few weeks ago.

Another edit bites the dust... I think this could catch on with me :-)

Today's edits have sorted out another gig at the Fermain Tavern when The Electric Shakes headlined with able support by a resurrected Gay Army and Ray and the Guns.

In this particular case the edit has been very slow in coming as I kept looking at the folder of pics and could see it was going to be a very difficult shoot to process. I was right!

I can't be the only one who keeps putting off a job that I don't fancy, can I?

The lighting for this gig was a near disaster... photographically that is.

My guess is the guys 'n gals who where there just to have a beer and a bop didn't give a second thought to the illuminations.

But as a photog, that is top of my list. Being given a stage washed from all sides in single primary colours with very little 'depth' or tonality usually has me thinking about going home early!

In this case I knew that this was a rare chance to see The Electric Shakes play in Guernsey... then there was the opportunity to see Gay Army after they have been silent for maybe five years.

Hanging around to see these bands was rewarding and worth the perseverance. I even managed to salvage a few pics that more than do justice to the lighting that was available. You might even think that I am whingeing for no good reason :-)

I guess a few challenges are good for all of us? And I'm sure this one won't be my last!
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE RESURRECTED GAY ARMY

CLICK TO VIEW A FEW MORE PICS OF RAY AND THE GUNS

Technology..... It's a Love/Hate thing for me.....

I'm about to use the word 'fail' again in a 2016 Blog and it's only the 2nd of January! Read on to have a chuckle at my expense :-)

I think I come out of the 'boys like toys' mould and have been spending on technology since I first collected pocket money. Back in those days Lego was cutting edge!

However as the years have passed I've trained myself to consider purchases more maturely.

But every few years the itch starts again and the Internet draws me to something special.

A few months ago I decided that I deserved a new cutting edge computer. Weeks were spent researching and the day came to press the 'Buy button' for a system that is now the envy of NASA. I think there might be a Blog to come later on the specs!

The thing is, past experience has shown me that computer upgrades never go quite as smoothly as you hope. These days software registrations, passwords and many other things try and trip you up at every turn.

This is why I planned on making the move over to the new speed machine a slow and measured affair. Even then there have been several hiccups and late nights. I think there's another Blog there too!

Now let me tell you this little story.... It actually relates to yesterday's Cross Country Blog.

As you may have read, I'd been asked to photograph the run for the Guernsey Press. Part of the brief was making it VERY CLEAR that there was an EARLY print deadline. I also knew that the back page layout had already been planned and my shot had to be an upright. A blank hole awaited. No problem I thought.

I spent an enjoyable hour or so taking the pics down at Mont Cuet tip whilst chatting with the Guernsey Press Sport's Editor... he really is passionate about sport and journalism in general.

When we parted my last word to Rob Batiste was that I was going straight back to the office and the pics would follow ASAP.

Forty-three minutes after my last photograph (aided my blisteringly fast Super Computer) I had selected, edited and tagged my pics ready for e-mailing.

I was enjoying the warm feeling of being on top of a job.... Little did I know!

I probably qualify as a 'belts and braces' guy. This outlook means that I always submit my work to two different client e-mail addresses. I also BCC copy them into another one of my own accounts. This is checked to ensure the e-mail has 'left the building'.

It was only when I received a remarkably calm phone call from Rob that I realized something had gone wrong... he asked 'When can I expect to get the pics Andrew'?

Oh, heck. The print deadline loomed!

I told Rob the e-mails were sent nearly three hours ago to his xxxxx@guernsey-press.com e-mail address. 'But that one hasn't been active for years' he said 'there's no hyphen in there now'!

Due to my belts and braces mentality I had saved a copy of all the pics on to a USB stick (just in case of problems) and I offered to pop down to Rob's office immediately but he suggested that I simply 'try the correct e-mail' and of course this worked first time!

But what had gone wrong? I had to try and find where this ancient e-mail had appeared from.

Well, what I have found out only re-enforces my Love/Hate of technology.

I think that the move to a new computer and the installation of new e-mail systems were the problem. It seems that the 'helpful' software takes a look at your old 'Sent' folders and lifts all the e-mail addresses out into a new Contact list.

Now I'm sure you are like me, few of us remember actual phone numbers or e-mails any more as the phone/computer does that stuff for us now.

So when I started to enter the Guernsey Press e-mail addresses the 'helpful' computer finished them for me... I didn't realise that the 'old' e-mail address had been filled in - I just pressed send!

When I double-checked that the e-mailed pics had arrived back into my own backup e-mail, I enjoyed the warm feeling of success thinking that the job was done.

FAIL!

A word I hope won't feature in another Blog this year :-)

BTW, a blank back page was averted and my reputation has survived - but only just!

I was asked to photograph the FNB Trustees Cross Country race for The Guernsey Press on News Years day.

The full-time 'togs were tied up having a New Years Day drink with the Baliff in the Royal Chambers... nice and warm and dry!

So it was this lowly photographer who obliged with the uncomfortable stuff :-)

Earlier in the morning I'd had a phone call from Sports Editor Rob Batiste who had seen the heavy rain and strong wind and he briefed me that he wanted me to head off to Mont Cuet tip with the idea of capturing runners, head down and battling against the rubbish weather in front of one of the ugliest backdrops in Guernsey.

Rubbish conditions in front of piles of Guernsey rubbish, get it?

So it was there that I waited half an hour for the first runners to appear in the handicapped cross country race.

But, right on cue, as the first competitors appeared in the distance the rain eased off, shame.

So I had to do my best to find an image of a runner grimacing against the wind.

This is where it got doubly difficult. As soon as the competitors caught a glimpse of my camera up came their chin, they straightened their back and even managed a smile!

Then I noticed a photo opportunity. It wasn't 'on brief' but I fancied it.

Superman came into view to save the day!

Previously I'd noticed a 'DANGER - KEEP OUT' sign on a fence so I quickly moved around hoping to capture Superman in the same frame as the sign. And I just managed.

This is the result. It made me laugh. I await to see if it made the Sports Editors selection for tomorrows back page....
CLICK HERE TO VIEW A FEW MORE PICS OF THE CROSS COUNTRY

3am EDIT: I've just watched the Jules Holland Hootenanny and realized how many of the artists on the show I've been lucky to photograph.... then I got hooked by the BBC coverage of Glastonbury 2015..... MASSIVE & MAGNIFICENT... and I want to photograph it :-0

So to the Blog>.................

I warn you, this is going to ramble.

It's New Years eve and inevitably, like so many of my previous Blogs, it'll be late by the time I manage to upload this update. Also, as is often the case, I've partaken in a couple of pints of Real Ale and a few glasses of red wine. (3am EDIT.... add a couple of Whisky's to that list too). What could possibly go wrong!

I'm sitting here at years end (I guess like many others) thinking both about the year that is about to become history together with the future... 2016, here we come.

These moments of contemplation will always be individual and personal. But allow me to share my own thoughts.

Inevitably my mind goes back through the previous busy year of photography. Once again I have enjoyed almost every moment of my 2015 photographic year.

But things could always have been done differently... and certainly there is always room to improve and change. So that begs the question 'What could I have done differently and where did I go wrong?'

So I will allow myself to expose (nice little photographic reference there!) some of my photographic failings to you, just as long as you promise not to tell anyone else!

So where did I fail?

Well, just yesterday, I was updating a picture gallery for one of my favorite local bands... Thee Jenerators. THIS IS A LINK TO THE GALLERY

The latest gig I photographed them at was a photographers nightmare. When you combine a band that will not stand still for a moment together with light levels akin to candlelight it will always be a challenge.

I'm pleased to say that I ended up with quite a few keepers (33 out of the 49 pics taken), but could I have done better?

My personal 'style' of photography encompasses taking as few pics as I possibly can (born lazy, eh). I try and limit the shutter presses to the peak moments of action. My belief is that you give yourself a massive editing workload by being 'trigger happy'.

This was highlighted for me during 2015 when I shot an indoor sporting event alongside an ambitious young local 'photog'. He was using his camera in machine gun mode and must have gone home with 1000+ pics. I took 251 and had 170 keepers after the cull.

I have also had this experience whilst working off-island alongside top pro motorsport and festival 'togs. Some, but by no means all, fire off endless pics - seemingly with the idea that 'One of 'em has to be a keeper'! So maybe it's me who is completely wrong on this but one thing I'm sure about is that my editing time is a lot shorter than theirs!

But back to my point. I still think that restraint is a good thing. I believe that I should consider the timing and composition of each image before I press the shutter release button.

Even after taking this stance the final part of the photographic process is still to come... the edit. This is the time extra discipline and ruthlessness is needed and I think I'm failing in this area and could complete most assignments to a better standard by taking a less 'precious' view of my pics during the edit.

Although I attempt to restrain myself at the capture stage I then go on to 'fail' when it comes to the edit. I think I'm not ruthless enough when deleting the rubbish.

So let me take one step back, I mentioned that I've just updated the Thee Jenerators Gallery. This led me to be distracted by looking through some of the old pics in the Thee Jenerators gallery. Some going back five years. This was quite enlightening.

Remember that I said that Thee Jenerators were one of my favorite bands. This is because they take 'performance' beyond simply standing behind a microphone.

This then is where my lessons started and my current 'mantra' of trying to be vicious with my picture editing revels itself as still needing a bit (OK a lot) of work!

There are quite a few pics in the gallery which, I think, capture the full character and performance of this energetic band... but too many pics have crept in that are nothing more than average... or worse. These should never have seen the light of day... or the Internet! Thankfully most of them are from several years ago, including the 5 year old example below. Maybe this proves that I am getting a bit better at what I'm doing ;-)

It's clear that I still have loads to learn but take this New Years tip from me and short-cut your own scholarship. You can borrow my own New Years resolution that 'In 2016 I will try and make my picture edits more ruthless'. The delete button on the keyboard is there for a good reason..... to help us improve the quality of our work.

I'm resisting the urge to delete my 'fails' from the Thee Jenerators gallery to give you the chance to see what I am talking about here. I'd love to know which pics you think are the 'fails'. Please let me know what you think and we can compare notes.... This is my e-mail CLICK HERE TO E-MAIL ME.

You can be as ruthless with me as I like... I need the help ;-)

Oh, and one final tip from me (for FREE).... and it's one that I use myself sometimes.

I still have some old 1GB cards that only hold 36 pictures. It really focuses your mind when you shoot with one of those - just like it did when I started taking pics on real film and it cost money with every click!!

3.15am EDIT: Time for bed I think ;-)

I've been trying to sort out the digital equivalent of an end-of-year desk tidy.

It always seems that during the busy times of year a few photo-shoots get left in the to-do folder waiting patiently for attention.

Of course these aren't my Commercial assignments but the sort of stuff I do for fun... meaning there's NO money in them, hence no urgency ;-)

To be more precise, normally they are gig and Festival pics. You find me a band who wants to spend money on professional images instead of pleading poverty and I'll put the edit higher up the list!

I still have two major galleries to catch up with ASAP... Jersey Live 2015 & Vale Earth Fair 2015. In both cases the 'Press Edits' were completed at the time leaving plenty editing in the 'to-do' pile.

I'm going to need an endless supply of black coffee me thinks!

But before starting on the mega edits I've added a few smaller updates from a few weeks ago.

A Fermain Tavern gig highlight was when The Graveltones visited Guernsey. Their gallery had already been updated here CLICK TO VIEW THE GRAVELTONES GALLERY but I've now uploaded pics of the supporting bands... Jersey's Tadhg Daly and the much photographed Sugar Slam.

Take a look here:
VIEW THE LATEST PICS OF TADHG DALY
VIEW THE LATEST PICS OF SUGAR SLAM