BritBowl 2010

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If you've followed this blog for a while you'll know in my free time I like to watch American football.  Well this weekend was the culmination of the years efforts and the best teams in the country gathered at the sixways stadium in Worcester for their respective finals.

The finals stretched over the whole weekend and covered flag and full contact from cadet (7 and up) through junior, youth and senior.  I must say it was a joy to see the youngsters playing flag American football in the stadium, the look on their faces showed what it meant to them.

The big game was of course the senior leagues kitted final which was played on the Saturday evening between the Coventry Jets and the London Blitz.  The final was a lot closer than many had thought it would be with some incredible plays on both sides of the ball throughout the game. The final result was London Blitz 34 - Coventry Jets 20.  Unfortunately due to me having arranged to meet someone on the Sunday (who didn't turn up) I couldn't stay for the second days events but I'm sure it ran as smoothly as the first day.  All in all an excellent weekend of American football.

The shots you never see

So last Sunday saw the opening weekend for the British American football league which has recently been renamed British American Football Association Community League (BAFACL).  As always whenever I get chance I travel with the Colchester Gladiators to cover the games.

it's inevitable when going through post production there's always those shots that never see the light of day, the ones that nobody (except me) ever sees.  Above is one of those shot's, I'd been tracking the player running with the ball towards the endzone and just as he approached the score line and a crunch tackle was about happen I panned straight into the goal post and captured the above image.  Oooops!

Over the years I've got hundreds of shots like this, maybe the ref sticks his arm up straight across the lens or a player runs in front and causes the autofocus to be confused.  At the end of the day it just comes down to trying to be in the right place at the right time and luck. 

American Football Photography at Britbowl

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A couple of weeks ago the British American Football season 2009 finished with it's annual finals. the games were played at the keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster.

This year the Colchester Gladiators had achieved the honour of being the southern champions in Div 2 there BritBowl final was against the Leicester Falcons.

I set out to instead of simple shoot the game to capture the day from as a player would experience it.



Above is a short slide show of images that tell the story form the Gladiators point of view. The game itself has been touted as the best game ever played on British soil .... when you're on the wrong side of a one point game that's hard to believe.

Congratulations Colchester Gladiators

Congratulations to the Colchester Gladiators American football team after their massive win last Sunday over the London Olympians.

Before the game both teams were unbeaten they are hotly tipped as the teams to beat in the race for the playoffs and national championship.

The London Olympians are the most successful British team in history and have sent more players to the NFL than any other British team. The Gladiators hadn't beaten the Olympians for 23 years. In fact the gladiators first official game was against the Olympians 26 years ago.

The final result was 28 - 16. However it doesn't end there, as the national finals are a North v South affair it is highly likely this will not be the only time the two teams meet this season.

See the Gladiators website for more details.

Bowing to Public demand

For a long time I've been receiving complaints from my niece that everyone else appears on my blog at some time except her. So in the interest of fairness (and to stop the e-mails / phone calls and verbal complaints) here's a picture of her before her prom day.

I can honestly say in no way did i intend to miss her out and in fact i was very surprised she had never appeared on the blog at all. I apologise for the amount of time it has taken for this picture to be added and hope that it is adequate :-)

In other news last weekend was the NFL game at Wembley when the San Diego Chargers took on the New Orleans Saints (my team) at Wembley. The weekend started on Friday at the Green Man pub where the Colchester Gladiators had organised the now legendary Great British Tailgate Party. I have a feeling that next year they'll have to plan for an ever bigger event.

Finally i fly out to New Orleans tomorrow (9.15). I'm away for about six weeks but can be contacted via my normal e-mails or those that have my skype details can still ring me either skype to skype or on my American mobile number.

Next time i update this blog I'll be in the USA ... how mad's that!

Fishing where the fish are ...

Those that know me know of my love for the sport known in the UK as American football. Next week Wembley stadium is playing host to two of the top teams in the NFL, The New Orleans Saints and the San Diego Chargers.

American Football catching on in England

Whilst the majority of Brits couldn't care about the game, its worth noting that tickets for the game sold quicker than the latest Robbie Williams concert proving there is a growing fan base in the UK. Many have questioned why the NFL would fly two teams to a foreign country to play a regular season game (this is not an exhibition game it really counts). The answer is simple American Football in its home market has reached saturation point. Everyone who is interested in American football in the US has their team, so when the marketeers get together to try and work out how to sell an extra 20,000 shirts the answer is simple, fish where the fish are. The UK has a large audience of fans who regularly watch every weekend, in fact sky TV shows more live NFL football than British football. By bringing over a game to reward those fans it is hoped (and been proven) the fan base will grow and the all important merchandise sales will increase.

The build up to the Wembley game has already started and last night i had the pleasure of spending an evening with a reporter and two photographers from New Orleans. You can see the full report here of the Saints v Panthers which went out in their newspaper (the Times Picayune) this morning.

It's a long story but over the internet i've been speaking to a great many people in the New Orleans area and i've decided it's about time I went over and saw that part of the world (and at the same time watch more American football). In just about two weeks time i sahll be boarding a plane and flying to the big easy. I plan to stay for about 6 weeks but who knows .....

Colchester Gladiators v Essex Spartans

One of the big rivalries the Gladiators have is with their nearest rivals the Spartans. Earlier in the year the Gladiators had travelled to the Spartans home ground and beaten them convincingly. The Spartans came to Colchester a few weeks ago intent on returning the compliment. Watch the video to see the outcome. Unfortunately I wasn't at the game as I was shooting a wedding. The same will happen this Sunday when the Colchester Gladiators travel to play the South Wales Warriors in the wild card play offs. I will have to ensure my phone is on silent as the text messages relaying the score will no doubt start coming in shortly after kickoff.

Been trying to keep up with the portrait / wedding shoots lately so the blog has been a little idle. I'll upload some stuff soon.

A Commercial Shoot

A few weeks ago I set about a different style of commercial shoot. Basically its an advert for the Colchester Gladiators American Football Club. Being the marketing manager for the team its my role to raise the profile and attract more and larger sponsors. Those that know me know I like to work outside of the box (in fact most of the time I refuse to acknowledge a box exists).

I always stress, "if you want to be noticed do something noticeable."

Anyway after several rewrites and plenty of takes this is what we finished up with. Hope you enjoy it!

This is just the first of four.

Bingo Lotto

I was asked last weekend to do some publicity shots/ PR for the British American football association and the Bingo lotto TV show.

The basics of it are the Bingo lotto launched last week and had a large photo call in Trafalgar Square. The hosts of the show, Joe Pasquale and Suzanne Shaw were there as well as representatives from various sports from all over the UK.

A percentage of the money raised from Bingo lotto goes back to sports. As well as Joe and Suzanne Antonio Fargas was also their as a guest of British American football.

Antonio is best known in the UK for playing the part of Huggy Bear in the 70's show Starsky and Hutch. He also spent time in the jungle along side Joe Pasquale in the show "I'm a celebrity get me out of here". A slightly less known fact (at least in the UK) is that his son, Justin, plays for the Oakland raiders as a running back in the NFL. As can be seen here all the celebs were more than happy to pose with members of the Colchester gladiators youth team after the all important PR shots had been captured.

Who wants it more?

Last night was the end of the season for the professional American football league (NFL) in America.

The last game of the season is a big match up between the AFC and NFC champions called the superbowl. This year the New York Giants were squared up against the New England Patriots.

The Pariots were favourites by a long way and had managed to go the whole season without loosing a match (American football does not have draws). Neither of these teams are my team but I must admit I do tend to go for the under dog and as the Giants had travelled to London and played at wembley earlier this year I was hoping they could pull off a massive upset.

The game kicked of at about 11.30pm and finished at about 3.30am but was one of the best games i've ever watched. It came right down to the last few seconds with new england leading. A fantastic play saw the Giants QB scramble away from a definite sack and throw a pass to a receiver who made a catch that will probably not be bettered for many years. To cut a long story short the Giants came out winners in a game that a Hollywood scriptwriter would have been proud of.

The catchphrase the NFL had used in marketing the superbowl this year was "who wants it more" The QB scramble and catch were certainly proof that the Giants wanted the win. Who wants it more is something that could be used when assessing your own business ..... you or your competitor.

New York Giants v Miami Dolphins at Wembley

Pin It Last weekend (is it a week already) The NFL brought over two American football teams to play at Wembley stadium in a regular season game. In sports terms this was BIG, it was not a friendly with second string players it was the real thing with points at stake.

The club I'm a member of (the Colchester Gladiators) are without doubt the most forward thinking club in the country. Over several months prior to the game they had been and booked the Green man pub for a massive pre (and after party). The weather did its best to stop any fun but due to the good natured crowd and the excellent wet weather planning everything went well. The club had organised a massive marquee which housed a DJ trade stands and a bull ride which went down extremely well with the gathered crowds (over 2,000). Added to that the dance performance (you can see one of their performances here ... I'm stood next to the DJ wearing the No.53 shirt) by the Kukri allstarzz and everyone was very happy.

After several pints loads of football chat and being interviewed by Nuts TV (details to follow) it was time to head down the hill to the stadium.

From the outside Wembley is an absolutely stunning stadium and seemed to cope well with the masses all turning up to get into the game. To say tickets were hard to get hold of for this game would be an understatement. The NFL had half a million ticket requests - Wembley at max capacity can only seat 90,000.

Everyone entering the stadium had a search for security reasons. I had my D2x swung round my neck with the plan being if they said i couldn't bring it in I'd run back to the Green man and leave it with the guys there (OK it would be a fast walk). After several of the security men had a chat they decided I could bring it in as long as i promised not to use it ..... yeah right.

The seats i had managed to get were in the upper section and after several escalator rides we reached the viewing are. Stepping out into the arena was a truly breathtaking experience a fantastic venue for any sporting event. One of those things that has to be experienced to be fully understood.

Not only were the seats I had in the upper section they were also very high, in fact if they were much higher you need a Sherpa to guide you to your seat. In fact a couple of times during the game we had to ask God to sit down so we could see.

Having said that the view was fantastic, better than at crystal palace or Don Valley stadium because although you are high you're not far from the sideline.

The game itself wasn't a fantastic spectacle and was heavily affected by the constant down pour (with such a fantastic stadium you'd have thought they'd have put a closeable roof on it). Just before half time i decided to go and grab a programme. in typical British style here's where it starts to go wrong. At every food counter massive ques stretched back after a long walk i found the merchandise stand again with a massive que. Although i didn't eat at the stadium word soon spread that they had run out of beer and food and the staff serving couldn't speak English causing a mix up in almost everyone's orders. In typical Brit fashion we build a fantastic stadium then act surprised when a hungry thirsty crowd turn up. Down get me wrong I love this country but some things really annoy me.

The second half got slightly more interesting when the Dolphins rallied and made an attempt to get back in the game scoring a great passing touchdown. However their plans were scuppered when they attempted to kick an onside kick that simply skidded accross the pitch and out of bounds leaving the Giants to simply run the clock out.

Getting out of the stadium took a little longer than most stadiums had been to (although in fairness they aren't capable of holding 90,000). Also gone were the escalators just never ending rows of stairs to go down. Once outside we headed back up the hill to get back tot he Green man in time to watch the next game amongst friends.

All in all an excellent weekend made even better by the Colchester Gladiators tailgate party at the Green man. the weather could have been better (it didn't stop raining all day) and the service inside Wembley was very poor. The stadium though is well worth a a visit.

The NFL in Colchester

For the last week the NFL have been running an American Football school in Colchester assisted by the Colchester Gladiators. Here's some images from one of the days.

Colchester Gladiators v Oxford Saints

Photography Interview

I've been bonkers busy over the last week so I'm afraid the blog has been a little quiet. Here's some of the things i've been up to.

A while back I agreed to an interview with an online forum. Some of the questions that came forward really got the grey matter ticking over whilst others were more simple. You can read the interview here and at the same time why not join the forum?

Last weekend I travelled down to Sussex and watched (shot) the American football match between the Colchester Gladiators and the Sussex thunder (slideshow to follow). As this is the part of the world where Emma Duggan lives I dropped in and we spent some time talking all things photography.

We swapped lenses and ideas and set about shooting each other (and Emma's dog Freddie). During this time Emma got this great shot off me (not the easiest of subjects).

The "Day of adventure" photography training day has now started to fill up and I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone. It seems like we've got a great cross section of people coming from complete amateurs to all out professionals. I really love these days as there's nothing better than spending time with creative people.

American football in the Rain

A couple of weeks ago the Colchester Gladiators played the Ipswich Cardinals. The game was probably the wettest I've ever witnessed, torrential rain from start to finish. I certainly learnt quite a lot from working in these conditions. I had the camera wrapped in a tesco bag and had to continually keep wiping the lens. Lighting was poor too and i finished shooting the game at ISO 3200, don't you just love the British summer?

See the slide show below

American Football season starts again

At last the British league has started again! Gives me something to look forward to on Sundays again! Sorry I haven't updated the blog lately its been really busy .... wil add some more stuff soon.

Click below for the slide show of last Sundays game. The Colchester Gladiators are playing at home again this Sunday so come and down and make some noise. To see the slide show full size click here.

Saying goodbye to some new friends

All week I have had the privilege of meeting and working alongside some fantastic athletes from the USA.

A group of American Football players from all over the USA had flown into the UK for a visit and to play a couple of games against the local Colchester teams.

I know that some of the boys parents and relatives have been checking out this blog for more news so especially for them (and anyone else who may be interested) click here for a slide show of what the guys got up some of the time during the week. There is sound so make sure your speakers are on. I'll try and put the remaining images up soon.

Hope you like it. Feel free to comment

American All Stars

This week the colchester Gladiators American footbal team (who i'm heavily involved with) are playing host to a traveling American high school team of grid Iron stars. the players have been recruited from all over the USA and are amongst the best for their age groups.

I've just got back from meeting the American players at their first (official) practise at the college in Colchester. Some of the players were finding the weather a little challenging (cold) but as I explained if you don't like the weather in England wait half an hour and it will change.

From what i've seen they're going to give a fantastic display of Grid iron skills on the field and leave many of the Gladiators players with more than the occasional bruise.

I'm guessing that some of the players parents and families may be reading this to see if they can spot their loved ones so i intend to up load my images through out the week very soon. Keep an eye on this blog and i'll put a link to the images.

If you want to know more about the American All Star team and their game against the Gladiators on Friday the details can be found on the Gladiators blog by clicking here (there's also some more images from this morning).

Also the BBC were at the Gladiators training last week and there write up and video can be seen by clicking here. Any photographer out there who fancy coming along to take some action photographs under spotlight of these guys in action on friday will be more than welcome.

Fun on the Ice

This Saturday the Chelmsford chieftains had a home game against the Invicta Dynamos. In case you weren't aware the Chieftains and the Colchester Gladiators (american football club) are sporting partners. As such the Gladiators travelled over (on mass) to support Chelmsford in this cup game. As the official Colchester Gladiators photographer I went along to capture what happened.

The first period was hard fought and very close, however by halfway through the 2nd period the Chieftains had made the game theirs.

After the game the Gladiators along with the Essex Flames cheer leaders were invited onto the ice for some photographs. Not something I've done before photographing on ice, needless to say I didn't venture very far from the barrier in case I went A* over T*.

The other problem was ice hockey players don't tend to be as big as American football players as can be seen in this shot. The ice was so slippy I had a word with the Chieftains general manager afterwards and advised him to put some grit down in case someone slipped ..... I don't think he was too impressed.

In all seriousness it was a great night out and we were felt to be very welcome.

Chelmsford Chieftains

Last night I went to the Chelmsford Ice and Leisure Centre to watch the Chelmsford Chieftains play the Telford Tigers. The Chieftains won the match 6-1. The game was heavily attended by the Colchester Gladiators American football club, strengthening the bond between the two teams. The Colchester Gladiators and the Chelmsford Chieftains are due to announce very soon the sporting partnership and will jointly promote each others seasons (which run opposite to each other).

A big thanks goes out to Marky Mark (the chieftains DJ) for giving the gladiators a mention and for pushing the fact they are looking for new players. He also kindly wore a gladiators hat all night (see image). Also a big thank you to Andy Driver (Chieftains PR and marketing) for making me / us feel so welcome. I know the two clubs will both benefit from the new partnership.

The Chieftains certainly put on a show worth watching and i would suggest anybody who has spare time on a sunday evening throughout the winter goes along and cheers.