Borussia Monchengladbach v 1899 Hoffenheim

I went to watch Borussia Monchengladbach play 1899 Hoffenheim today. How did they lose? Leading 2-1 up to the 86th minute, they ended up losing 2-4. Three goals in 4 minutes! The picture above is the equaliser.

I had a great afternoon (I’m a rugby fan, and really not into soccer), and had great seats with my eight year-old son. I just took a 18-200mm lens, not wanting to look too professional; my 200-400mm L would have been fantastic, though. Where I would love to have been is with the guys down on the touchline, though.

Death of an Army Base

Wegberg Military Complex, near Monchengladbach, Germany,  has housed an officers’ mess and has been home to a military hospital. It is currently home to Service Children’s Education. Most of the houses are empty as are the majority of office buildings.

The Allied Rapid Reaction Corps will leave the area next year for Innsworth in Gloucestershire, and the neighbouring Rheindahlen Military Complex (aka JHQ) is due to close within the next few years.

What was once a thriving, albeit small, British military base is now almost a ghost town.

Burg Satzvey Medieval Tournament

Back from a great day at Burg Satzvey’s medieval tournament. Took up a position close to the action and got some great shots with my 100-400mm lens. More at www.photoboxgallery.com/gthomas or at PhotoShelter.

Protection for Non-Professionals

I was in London a few weeks ago, and when travelling  I’m never without my camera and a load of heavy accessories. I was out in the morning taking pictures in Hyde Park – people, birds, views, anything.

I’m not a professional photographer, but I’ve been taking pictures for many years, have got some good equipment and, I think, I know how to use it. During my hour in and around Hyde Park I was recognised (mistakenly) as a professional photographer twice and invited into a press launch once.

I declined that invitation because the press officer for the organisation whose launch it was saw my 100-400mm lens and assumed I was a pro from one of the Dailies. She would have expected me to carry a press card and I don’t. It was a private event and that would have been her right.

However, in all other respects those who carry press cards have no more rights when it comes to photography than those of us who do not. But the fact the Metropolitan Police guidelines on photography state: “Genuine members of the media carry identification, for instance the UK Press Card, which they will present on request”, even though the guidelines also say, “Members of the public and the media do not need a permit to film or photograph in public places and police have no power to stop them filming or photographing” says, yes, anyone is allowed to take pictures, but if they don’t have a press card then they are up to no good.

If members of the public do not need a permit to photograph in public places, and if the police have no power to stop them photographing, why should the presence or absence of a press card make any difference?

And if professionals have the protection of press cards (which is how the Met Police clearly see them) as well as protection from their employers and unions, what protection do us non-professional, non press card carrying photographers have?

Early Morning Images

I’ve just returned from a conference in Marienfeld, near Gutersloh in Germany.  I was up early, as usual when I am away, taking some pictures. Here are a couple. All comments gratefully received.

Hotel Klosterpforte

Be Prepared!

I was at my son’s cub scout pack’s annual barbecue last night and of course I took my camera. It was actually funny as a couple of other people there had just bought new DSLRs and had taken theirs (both Nikons) along to practise.

Got asked by a ‘journalist’ from a local magazine to take some pictures as her photographer hadn’t turned up. I think she picked on me because I had the biggest camera, and certainly the biggest lens. And suddenly my flash was out and I was crawling around trying to get a good angle for the presentations. All for the cubs’ barbecue.

I don’t think I’m going to win any awards, but since a great many of my pictures happened to feature my own  children, there’s a good chance there’ll be a family interest in ‘The Bulletin’ next month!

Beached

A picture from my visit to Crete last year. I like the fact that the woman’s left eye is ever so slightly open. She knew I was taking this picture, it seems.

The Real Africa

I blogged a few weeks ago about some photos of Africa, from my time living in Zambia, that I had printed out for a project my kids were doing at school on Africa. I wrote about wanting to create some images that did not simply reinforce the stereotypical view that people already had.

From the feedback I have received I think that was quite successful. My son’s teacher said that the picture of the mother with child in a pushchair (see below) provoked a lot of discussion in her class of eight year olds, including: “Do they have pushchairs in Africa?” and “I didn’t know they ate ice-cream in Africa.” It got me thinking about whether any resources of this nature exist for schools: sets of photographs that can help children learn more about Africa, aid discussion and stimulate debate/further investigation. If anyone knows of anything like this, please let me know.

Back!

I’ve been back a few days but haven’t had time to post anything. So, my apologies.

As for the photos I took? I can’t say I’m that excited about anything I took, though I didn’t really go off the beaten track. I did, though, really feel the pressure to do something different and not just settle for the ordinary, which has got to be a good thing even if I don’t feel I achieved it yet. Here are a few shots, though, and I really would welcome feedback. Thanks for looking.

Invasion of the inflatable turtles

Pilot Beach Resort Hotel

Georgioupolis Beach

Out of Order

Stop!

Tourist Train to Lake Kournas

Off to Crete in the Morning

Bags are packed, the kids are asleep, and we’re off on holiday in the morning. Early – we’ll probably need to get up at 3.15am. But we are all really looking forward to this week in the sun all together, and I am looking forward to seeing what photo opportunities await us.

I’ve done a little search for Georgioupolis, which is the nearest town to our hotel, and looked at some pictures. Then I read Chase Jarvis‘ latest blog entitled Your Photos are Boring, an exhortation to “lean out of the edge and become interesting, noteworthy and remarkable”. An invitation to “innovate, create, differentiate”.

So how am I going to make my images stand out from the 658 images on Flickr tagged with “Georgioupolis”, let alone the 215,554 tagged with “Crete”? Stop playing it safe, as Bruno Axhausen suggests in his blog, Why do I still shoot?

And ignore the opinions of my critics and my fans as Seth Godin suggests in his blog, Ignore your critics? He suggests listening to your ‘sneezers’, the first time I’ve come across that word.

So how will I make my pictures stand out from the crowd? I’m not sure yet, but I’ll have a hell of a time trying!!

What a challenge!