Ramsey 79 vs Helsby 0. Rugby

                      Try, Try, and Try again


Ramsey may have dropped a division since last season, but so far the first team are on a winning form. Four out of Four wins, and as the scoreline suggest pretty comprehensively too. Rugby is one of the many sport event taking place any weekend on the Isle of Man. Ramsey's home ground overlooks the sea on one side and the mountains on the other. Both first and second team are sponsored by local business. The players are all volunteers, and the club house bar and events too are run by volunteers. All games are free to watch. Local sport is often at the heart of a small town and community, and Ramsey is no exception. Always a good day watching/photographing the rugby, even better one when you capture the winning action, from the winning team. Commiserations to Helsby, but congratulations to Ramsey, back to winning form.

Isle of Man TT, Sidecar TT 1

                                All in a row


I've neglected the blog this week, as I've been photographing this, The Isle of Man TT Races. These three lined up nicely coming round the corner, just passing my local and favourite pub in Ramsey, The Central. Today we have an unscheduled race break due to the torrential rain, otherwise known as usual summer weather. Back to it tomorrow. 

Manx Semi Cup Final, Rugby

                        Ramsey 0-48 Douglas

During the rugby season, through the winter, I can be found here, photographing my local rugby team. This wasn't a league game, but a cup game, The Manx Cup, and as you can see by the result, not a good one for my daily photo of my town, Ramsey, but a good result for the opposition, from South of the island, that being the Isle of Man. For those that don't know where that is, it's commonly referred to jokingly as the Rock, or the Rock in the Irish sea.

Other bloggers our world posts can be found here

Manx Classic Sprint & Hillclimb

                        Classy and Classic 


I didn't get to cover any of the Manx Classic Sprint & Hillclimb today, due to the fact I was covering the Semi Final rugby game, but lucky to have this classy car drive past me as I left the game.

The Manx Classic is held at three different venues, over 3 days, across the Isle of Man. They are:
Governor's Sprint
Creg Willey's Hillclimb 
Lhergy Frissell Hillclimb

More info about the event can be found here

  

Ramsey 5-47 Bowdon, Rugby

                                 Half Time


Most Saturdays I can be found at Ramsey's local rugby pitch photographing the game. I've photographs wins, losses, draws, cup finals, both won, lost and survival games. Unfortunately this survival game became a relegation result for the local side. I'll be back next season, and so will the team. Hopefully photographing a promotion result and a few more winning cup finals.

Isle of Man TT

               The Greatest Show On Earth




The Isle of Man TT (Tourist Trophy) is two weeks of road racing (first week practice, second week races) that takes place on the Isle of Man, May/June each year. This means the island is given over to tourists from across the globe and motorbikes. The races are actually run, not on a purpose built track, but around the island itself, the roads us locals use everyday normally. It has been described as "The greatest show on earth" and indeed is both dangerous and exciting. It's also my favouite time of year on the island, the busiest time, and fun, fun, fun. This is one from last year, my usual spot in Ramsey. My other usual spots are the pubs. Not many places in the world you can photograph a bike race and prop up the bar at the same time.





Isle of Man TT 2014
24th May - 6th June

Rugby

                        Ramsey vs Marple

Saturday afternoons from late Autumn to late Spring are spent photographing Ramsey Rugby and whichever team they are playing that week. This week, visiting Marple from across, or should I say England. Ask any local and the island is considered the mainland, and England, Scotland and Wales, "across." Sadly, I have to mention the result which was a loss for Ramsey, playing in red and blue above, though the photograph shows the one and only try scored by the lads. I'd also like to add, this photo does not show the gale force wind that almost knocked me off my feet several times!

Skywatch # 88

Rugby, of course

Yes, yes, I know I've been away again in the real world and let the blog lapse. What the hell has happened in the meantime! People are Twittering, and posting tweets, when really should that not be twits, and they are.......? Not forgetting Google + with those "hey we are sooooooooo, you know cool" circles to "hang out" in virtual world instead of actually hanging out in the real world. Then of course there is Facebook (ok, guilty as charged on this one) trying desperately to not be outdone by the new kids on the virtual block and turning sane folk into virtual paranoid stalkers. So I return to post a simple post on the usual Blogger format to find everything has changed. Huh? Apart from my attitude and photography skills that is. How to incorporate them into this new virtual blog world?


So, for now, 'til I get my head round this brave new virtual world, I will leave you with a scene known well to the blog followers here. A Saturday rugby game. Silhouetted players against the late afternoon Winter sky. For other Skywatch shots around the world click here

Boys don't cry

Don't think, shoot.

My World - Ramsey Rugby

Sometimes you are just in the right place at the right time and better still you have your camera with you. Forget the light being too low for the speed of the game. Forget it's raining casting that misty glow. Forget the light breeze knocking you off balance. Forget you have no tripod. No excuses. If you take images of people, sport photography, your kids school games, listen up. You get one chance and like that rugby ball you had better grab it with both hands and just have faith in your manual setting, and most of all yourself and just shoot the scene in front of you. One second later you've lost the shot, so don't pussyfoot around just point the damned camera and get that classic pose. One second either side of this shot and you've lost it and they are not coming back around for you to create the right conditions. You get the shot. You're onto the next one.


Ramsey are the boys in blue. Unfortunately we lost(well I do actually support them being an honorary Ramsey girl) I still don't get this game in the way I get football(soccer to my American friends out there) but I have an instinct for what is going on. Enough anyway to follow the action and just know when to shoot. If you really want the best advice on how to get this shot other than getting you speed right to freeze the action(novices try sport mode), setting the right ISO for the conditions, choosing the right weather setting remember this. Footwear. You don't wear killer heels(leave those for the pub) you wear your trainers and you run your ass off and follow the action. OK, not for the whole game but, not that committed but you get the gist. So what if you get a ball in the face, you also get the shot. Black eyes lasts for a week, the image lasts a lifetime. Rugby, like photography is not for wimps! Only joking.

Ooh it's good to be back.

More my world images can be seen here.

Manx Grand Prix - Abc G

The boys are back in town

The G letter shot

You thought you were safe here didn't you, I mean you thought those noisy motorbikes had left the island after the TT. Well you are right they had. So what's with choosing more bikes again for the lettter. Well what we have this week is the Manx Grand Prix. Well what we should have. You know that rain that just won't stop here, well it's still going on an on an on, unlike the motorbikes which are crashing and coming to standstills. So apologies but this is an archive of the race a few years ago. Does give me the chance to show you something about the image. The red number plates.


So what's special about those then you ask. They indicate that this is a practise race. So there. I may not be able to show you any racing from the Grand Prix just yet(or at all working elsewhere) from this year but you got to learn something. Riveting eh! Oh yes the rider with number 2, Shane Connor. Now more stuff you don't know. See this image. Well the high res version large frame of this image hangs on the very wall of the very room of the very hotel he stayed in, and I , yes I have held his winning garland. Now that would have been a great G shot.


For more G shots try here.

SURE SIDECAR A RACE

Sidecar A Race

Yellow Peril

Flaming orange

Lucky No 7

U is for united. That's what the sidecar team have to be.Working in tandem as you can see. U is form uniform they wear. U is for my universal images that find themselves around the globe.
U if for U have probably had enough of me banging on about the bikes, but honest it's only two weeks of the year and one of those is practice week. This is race week. These images were taken from Taubman Street, the Sure Sidecar Race A.

A FINE VINTAGE

Golden Oldie

Well of course I would be making the most of this time. T is...... tada the TT. Tourist Trophy in case you were wondering what that bit actually stands for. Ah but it hasn't started yet has it no? Ah but I have no images of them whizzing about during practise week either have I? Erm, no again. So what have we here, one from the 900 from last year? No again. Confused, well no more than usual reading my blog of course. I think the look of the bike may give it away. It's not an old race from yesteryear and" Ye Olde Isle of Man TT Road Races" when the world was in black and white film cameras(yes kiddies you had to get the film developed)ruled the roost. No it's a vintage bike in a vintage race. That would be vintage stuff then.


So you see it's not all modern brightly coloured garish noisy motorbikes bombing around the snoozy island that sound like demented hairdryers on speed. No. We do your classic laid back, vintage, easy riding, mellow,cool, classic, rumbling baritone machines too. I do mean vintage with some going way, way, back. Some riders go way, way, back too. They can probably still recall the days when you could get a cold strawberry milkshake from a certain chip shop.

For more biker boys doing biker boy stuff hit the links below.

S
S1

Sb

Sn

For more ABC see Mrs N and team.

RAMSEY RUGBY RELOADED - ABC LETTER R

Another balls up!

As I inadvertently posted a r for a q last week I thought I'd play it safe with a reliable R, boys swinging into action. We have had lots of boys keep swinging recently haven't we on the blog? Just the way the cookie has crumbled. They are the blue shirts, black shorts, and stripey socks by the way. Ssh! Not allowed to name the other team, the away team. Let's just say people on Douglas may know them. I'm actually more of a Football( it's not soccer it's football) but I do think Rugby is a fabulous contact sport to photograph. I can also tell you at least one of those blue shirts went to see Star Trek. How do I know, ah well my sweeties I was with him and G. at that very Star Trek showing.

If you want to see my close up Rugby images and play guess the famous statue pose see links below.


Hand's off it's my ball
Grab
Statue
Run for it
Flags

Bottoms up

Soft Focus

Wonder if anyone else saw the this game?

PHOTOGRAPHING RAMSEY RUGBY - MY WORLD

Statues

My world

I asked recently what you'd like to see on the blog. I was surprised to see so many ask for more of  the sport photography I am known for. So not motorbikes and the Isle of Man TT but the Rugby again for those  who just wish to be known as J, O, M, and B. Here you are. Ramsey are the ones in the blue shirts. J. by the way has turned this image of mine into a mousemat. In fact this image is also on a mug a set of coasters and greetings cards as far as I know. 

This wasn't a recent game, last season. Had to use an archive tonight due to a little editing of the images and selecting ones for the website. Hence the late post. Back to the Rugby. It's a game I photograph a lot as the pitch is between the park and the beach a place as you have noticed I photograph a lot. It's free to watch. Not many sport events you can say that about now can you? The Superbowl yesterday I think prompted the request for more Rugby images. Although on the surface they are very different games the basics for photographing the action shots are the same. Freezing the jumps was the most requested pose. "How you make them look like statutes." OK here are the jumping statues. I know one of those posing players well. He has been called many things, but never a statue.  For M, you are right it is unusual for a female like me to be good at sport photography, but if you want I'll give you pink flowers. For a price. I get bored photographing flowers. I need a challenge. I'll stick with 120mph motorbikes.

For other my worlds click here and thank the skywatch team for the idea.

Yes

maybe

could be

Snooooooooooooow!

I hope so. I am the only person not to photograph it this year.

ISLE OF MAN TT- MY WORLD

Would you do this?

Isle of Man TT -  My job is photographing events like this.

I am a photographer I sell my images freelance. This year images were sold privately, public, motorbike magazines and for print on strange items for mugs to T.shirts. Who knows you may have my image without even realising it in magazine you picked up at the airport in say Brazil. What though is the TT.

This is very important part of My World.  It is our biggest tourist attraction and my biggest chance to photograph a World Event, over 1000 images in two weeks. My busiest and most profitable time. Next year I am already booked for a magazine and an online website. Click here to see of my images on the blog. All subject to copyright. 

MY WORLD and thank the skywatch gang once again for another inspired idea.

RAMSEY RUGBY

The Isle of Man really isn't full of men, despite the photo. We actually have a higher percentage of woman here, as do most parts of the world(not Alaska I hear though.) Perhaps this is why our sport events are often frequented by hordes of single woman. Purely to show support for whichever team they support you understand!

The 2 Teams above are Ramsey( the darker shirts) and Douglas Vagabonds. This was a home game for Ramsey, so the support was tremendous, but alas we lost( yes I support them) as we have all too often this season. Sorry lads, but you know I'm right. All that beer in the Rugby Club perhaps hampering your skills and speed. Ther'e 's always next season.