News

Swan Inn, Farnborough
Rock covers band, Said & Done played The Swan Inn Farnborough along side a host of other artists. A good night to catch up with local musos including the excellent Tre. The addition of some good lights & a smoke machine added to the fun.

Cornwall
Time for a holiday, but took a few moments to catch one or two classic shots in and around Cornwall. The Eden Project, near St Austell was a good day behind the camera.

Mothers Union
Spent the week as part of the team at Pilgrim Hall, East Sussex, on the annual Mothers Union family holiday event. Got lucky with the weather, so plenty of action in around the pool.

The Bassetts & Friends
The Bassetts & Friends at the monthly M:Touch (music & community) event at The Royal Oak, in Yateley. Great night of music and a chance for muso's and fans of music to meet up and help raise money for local causes.

Gig On The Green
Not much happens in my home town of Yateley, so it's nice when something does. The local park was fenced off, facilities installed and a big stage & PA erected. Fill the whole lot up with a few thousand people, top tribute acts (Oasis, Take That, Pussycat Dolls) and a host of local artists and you have the first Yateley - Gig On The Green mini-festival.

Lashings World XI
A team of ex-international cricketers called the Lashings World XI came to play one of the local village sides in a charity event. I've never really watched cricket before, let alone photographed it. I learn a lot about sports photography today, not all of it good. However, some of it was, and that's what matters. Thanks goes to Zimbabwe Test cricketer Henry Olonga for returning my camera after borrowing it to take pix of his friends.

Tre Debut
Back to M:Touch at the Royal Oak in Yateley for the debut of Tre, a three piece rock band of considerable quality. I have known and played guitar with all three of the band on various stages over the years, but it was nice to be out front for once to see what they get up to from a punters perspective.

Pinks The Cat
Pinks the cat made the national media, The One Show on BBC1 to be precise. Found five years after going missing and 400 miles from home, staff at Ash House vets in Aldershot traced his very surprised owners to Glasgow. After a good grooming and a bit of TLC from the nurses, the BBC sent a small film crew to capture Pinks being reunited with his human family. What was I doing? I was taking the stills and trying to keep out of the way. If you look cloely at the video footage, you might see a fleating glimps of my left ear. Oh the fame!!

Wedding Dilemma
Being a wedding guest AND evening reception photographer was easier than I thought it would be, mainly because bride & groom, Leanne and James not only gave me loads of food and drink, but also just let me get on with taking the photos. Thanks guys, it was a pleasure x

Pilgrim Hall
Took a small set of photos of Pilgrim Hall in Sussex for the Mother's Union organisation. The venue is to be used later this year as a holiday retreat for families in need of a break. Nice place, might go there myself - hold on a minute, I am, later this year, to work at a holiday retreat for families in need of a break (well when I say work, I mean play football with the kids and drink tea).

British Touring Car Championships
I managed to get a nice set of images from the British Touring Car racing at the Thruxton. Being able to wander round the pits, chatting to the drivers and mechanics was great. I also learnt a lot about 'panning' or to put it another way, I'm not very good at it. I need to practice.

Wheels Day
My annual pilgrimage to Rushmoor Arena near Aldershot for the huge outdoor Wheels Day motorshow. Hundreds of cherrished, vintage & custom vehicles salivated over by thousands of people. A real car enthusiasts haven and I go every year:-)

Passion Play
Several churches in the Yateley area of North-East Hampshire came together over Easter to produce a contemporary version of a Passion Play, a re-enactment of the crucifixtion of Jesus. Roman soldiers were played by members of the local Airforce Cadets, the local church ministers played the part of the Pharisees (religious baddies of the time) and even the papparazi were there (me and a few others). Best of all though was Jesus, portrayed by a guy called Derek, who not only has his own real beard, but is also a carpenter by trade. Type cast?, possibly; but still brilliantly acted.

Jack
I wish all pet photography was a easy and as enjoyable as the one I did with Jack. The light was fantastic, the owner was a joy to work for and all Jack wanted to do was play. We even got muddy for the sake of art. Result.

Volksworld Car Show
Managed to rattle off a few nice pix of some of my favourite cars at the Volksworld Car Show at Sandown Racecourse, before having to return home with an dodgy tummy afer buying a rather suspect tasting lunch. I think I'll take sandwiches next year.

Vector Illustrations
Tried my hand at vector illustration today, or drawing with a computer rather than a ink to put it very simply. I took some of my airshow images and the painstakingly added hundreds of reference points around the main outlines. Then you fill in the gaps with black and Bob's your Uncle. There is an easier way called auto tracing, but the idea was to learn a skill, not just push one button and be satisfied with a less than average result.

Jet Engine Frenzy
I somehow managed to get left alone in a hanger full of aircraft engines. I couldn't resist a chance to take some creative & stock images.

Lost Tangerines
Funk, soul, rock band The Lost Tangerines taken at the Royal Oak in Yateley as part of the monthly M:Touch music/community event. A very talented bunch of young people and a pleasure to work with.

Wedding
I actually got asked to photograph a wedding recently, something I've never really fancied doing. Taln & Mayk, the bride and groom like my arty stuff, so that's what the got. I believe I made a good job of it.

Queen Elizabeth
Zoomed off to Southampton docks to photograph the new Cunard Queen Elizabeth ocean liner setting off on her maiden voyage.

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