Walcot v Brixham

By shendyNo Comments
More than 10 years ago now, I took a fair few photos at Walcot RFC in Bath - a colleague was initially captain, subsequently chairman and is now secretary. The old (film!) photos are on my sports website. Anyway, I was asked to go to their first home game of the season (against Brixham) to take some photos for them to use on their website. It was a decently sunny day, which always helps the quality of the photos - it was just a shame about the result, as Brixham racked up 40 points. Walcot are in black and white, Brixham in the rather fetching pink. It's still possible to be a bit creative when taking sports photos. This is undoubtedly the shot of the day - the Walcot winger taking out his opposite number high and in the air as he went up for a high ball. It was very obvious, but amazingly the referee and touch judges all missed it - the...
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Getting all Historical

By shendyNo Comments
Thinking about published photos of mine, it reminded me of by far and away my most successful picture. This is legendary Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee being carried off the pitch in Northampton in 1988, after he'd slipped and knackered his ankle ligaments. Basically, I scooped the world on this one. I was the only person on the ground with a camera on a fairly dull day in a match against Leicestershire. I offered the photo to the resident journalist from the Chronicle and Echo, and they published it on the front page. It was also printed in Wisden and Cricketer magazines. I must have made all of £30-40 out of it. Mind you, to a student 22 years ago, that was a decent bit of cash! And it's in Lillee's autobiography "Menace". When the book came out, I just happened to see it in Borders and had a flick through. And blimey, there was one of my photos! I rang up the publishers and...
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i-team.cc Mark Brookes Memorial Ride

By shendyNo Comments
Two postings in a day - you lucky people. Well, I say "you lucky people", but does anyone actually read this blog? Today was the i-team.cc (my cycling club) Century Day - the aim is to get as many of the club as possible riding 100 miles on the same day. It also ties in with a ride and meet at Gloucester Docks in memory of i-team member Mark Brookes who died too young a few years ago. Not having ridden my bike since November, I wasn't riding, but fulfilled my role as unofficial club photographer. This is the full bunch of reprobates who met in Gloucester. Most of them are from the Portsmouth branch of the club, who drove to Hungerford and rode from there. Special credit to Jon Skidmore and Phil Freeman who rode solo from Bristol and Shrewbury respectively. The Portsmouth branch then headed back via Birdlip Hill, which is a bit of a beast - particularly near the top with a...
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Saints v Saracens, 25/04/2010

By shendyNo Comments
Last home game of the season, Saints v Saracens in the 4th meeting of the season - and with potentially another one to come in the playoff semi-finals!A glorious sunny day, and a cracking game of rugby - the only problem being the final result - 28-27 to Saracens. Saints had a chance to win it, missing a conversion with only 2 minutes left. To be fair, Saracens played really well, and looked massively dangerous with the ball in hand - which is a major change compared to how they played at the start of the season.Lots of good photos this week, with the good light really helping.Some nice acrobatic stuff, as Jon Clarke doesn't quite get it right under a high ballBen Foden and Bruce ReihanaDylan Hartley flattens Neil de Kock just as he gets the ball awayLee Dickson gets hit pretty damn hardEuan Murray and Dylan Hartley prepare for the forthcoming collision.Bruce ReihanaAnd finally, a couple that I...
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