Archive for February, 2007
Register article on Ofcom, PlusNet, etc
Tue Feb 27th - 10:34pm
It turned out that The Register did want to use the article I eventually wrote for NowPublic.com, they were just a bit slow in replying and by the time they gave me the go-ahead the article was already live.
So we took a step back and decided to do a piece with a wider view, still looking at the original issue of PlusNet and the Ofcom regulations but also considering the role of "citizen journalism" sites in consumer issues.
This was one of the more complicated articles I've had to write. I've tackled bigger subjects before but there was so much background info in this one, and so many quotes, that it took a couple of days to write and then a couple of evenings to edit down to something readable. Still ended up at four pages on The Register which is long for that site, but I think it moves along at a decent pace.
Leona Dunbar
Mon Feb 26th - 12:08am
Here's some info about the female referee who made her debut at Saturday's Invergordon vs Balintore match. And I'll take this opportunity to wish Leona all the best in her new duties! I'm sure she's going to have a great time being whinged at every week by the shower of yobs that pass for footballers around here. (Joke!)
24 February 2007: Leona Dunbar walks onto the pitch for her first game as a qualified referee, acting as line judge at the Invergordon vs Balintore game. 20 year-old Leona, a clerical officer at the Inverness fire service headquarters, follows in the footsteps of dad Ian who also refereed matches in the northern league. Leona recently completed a 6-week training course followed by written and oral exams, and is the first female referee to qualify in the region.
Invergordon vs Balintore (part 2)
Mon Feb 26th - 12:07am
Here are some more action shots from Saturday's match. Not the greatest action but I wanted to give the papers a few more verticals to choose from.
Football + cricket group = crazy day
Sat Feb 24th - 10:57pm
What a day I've just had! Went well though…
I had to be in Dingwall at 5pm to do a photo of a group of kids who are learning to play cricket, but I also wanted to do the Invergordon vs Balintore football match which kicked off at 2:30pm.
Not too difficult you might think, but remember that I don't drive and taxis were going to be prohibitively expensive, so it was bus all the way! That wasn't the most difficult aspect of the day though…
I was expecting 100+ kids in the cricket group and for a group of that size in a big sports hall I wanted to use the 1Ds, which means shooting at ISO 200 max to keep the noise down, otherwise you lose the benefit of the resolution. Shooting at that ISO meant taking my studio strobes along so I had to pack everything into a suitcase and two bags and drag the whole lot around with me all day!
But it turned out that all the effort wasn't necessary. When I got to the cricket group there were only about 60 of them, and by the time they were set-up for the group shot I still wasn't happy with the lighting so I just went ahead and did the shot with the good old 1D at ISO 800 with a single flash. Worked a treat.
There's another mad rush next Saturday, going from an event that I can't mention yet to the Balintore vs Thurso game. Thankfully I won't need to take a suitcase for that job though!
Okay so here are today's pictures, starting with the football.
Tough competition for action shots this week with Andrew and Callum both there, so who knows what the papers will use? Andrew was away even earlier than I was but I expect Callum was there for the whole game so if anything spectacular happened later on then he'll have it.
And here's the cricket group. Info from the press release: "Under the guidance of Adam Park-Elliott the Cricket Scotland Development Officer for the Highlands and Islands local coaches have been working with these boys and girls readying them for the coming season. Many will have the opportunity of playing in trials for the North of Scotland teams which will play in the summer festivals in Edinburgh."
School football team photos
Fri Feb 23rd - 7:20pm
Here are the team photos from Wednesday's under-13s and under-15s football matches between Tain Royal Academy and Peterhead Academy. There's no photo of the Tain under-15s team as the teacher in charge didn't want one taken.
Tain under-13s:
Peterhead under-13s:
Peterhead under-15s:
Football dog story in Ross-shire Journal
Fri Feb 23rd - 5:17pm
There's a brief story in this week's Ross-shire Journal about the dog that ran onto the pitch during last week's Balintore vs Golspie game. Somehow the player in the photo, James Skinner, has ended up being identified in the headline and throughout the story as Balintore captain John Skinner.
It's not uncommon for names to get mixed up somewhere along the editorial process at any newspaper, and it's even common for pictures to be credited to the wrong photographer. But on this occasion I do want to mention that I supplied the correct name and explained what happened during the incident, as I don't want anyone thinking this was my mistake!
Tain vs Peterhead
Wed Feb 21st - 11:43pm
Continuing my one-man mission to encourage more school sports coverage in the local papers, today I photographed the under-13s and under-15s football matches between Tain Royal Academy and Peterhead Academy.
Not a great day for Tain as they lost both matches, but hopefully some of the photos will make their way into the papers. When you consider the skill and dedication that these young people have, I think it's a shame that their efforts and successes go largely unreported.
I was only looking for three strong photos from each match so I'd have enough to share around the Ross-shire Journal, the North Star and Peterhead's local paper the Buchan Observer. I actually got 20+ good action shots from each match but for the papers I specifically want peak action foot-on-ball photos with one player from each side. I think the under-13s photos are by far the better ones.
The ones from the under-15s game suffer from the same problem as the ones from most of the adult matches I cover: It was all brute force, very little player-vs-player action. The younger kids kept control of the ball until they could safely pass it, whereas the older ones would just take possession and boot it up the pitch. With that kind of play there's really only one thing you can do and that's set up camp on the goal line and grab shots as players run towards you.
The last shot is the Tain player scoring his team's only goal of the game.
Balintore vs Golspie vs Pooch
Mon Feb 19th - 3:22pm
Photos from Saturday's semi-final between Balintore and Golspie, which saw Golspie make it through to the final after a late penalty. A frustrating game for photos as it was very scrappy and stop-start, not a lot of clean action.
Highlight was the dog that joined in during the second half!
I'm trying to track down the dog and its owner for a little story the paper wants to do, so if anyone knows who they are then please call me on 01862 832 588 or leave a comment on this blog entry. Both of those options are preferable to e-mail as I get a huge amount of spam and there's always a chance that I could miss your message.
And while I'm putting out personal appeals, this will no doubt have Jean screaming at me in embarrassment but can anyone volunteer to sell the raffle tickets during the first half of Balintore home games? It only takes about 15 mins, just before half-time. I sell them before the match but Jean ends up doing the rest which means she misses part of the game, hardly fair considering all the work she does for the club. If you can help then see me or Jean or Beth or any other committee member, we're usually there at least an hour before kick-off. Thanks!
Childcare and family support day
Mon Feb 19th - 1:17pm
Two pics from the childcare and family support day at the Memorial Hall in Balintore on Saturday. I avoid working on spec nowadays but I only found out about this event late on Friday afternoon so I thought I'd might as well call in on my way to the football. Turns out it was a good gamble as nobody else turned up to take photos. The drum circle pic is going in the Ross-shire Journal and I've sent the other pic to the North Star but I haven't heard if they're going to use it or not.
Thanks to everyone who patiently posed for the photos!
17 February 2007: Parents with young children were invited to the Memorial Hall in Balintore on Saturday to learn about childcare and family support in the local community. Pictured are Fiona Ednie, Development Manager with Direct Childcare, and Ian Goode, Childcare & Family Resource Officer with the Highland Council, along with the few parents brave enough to pose for the photo! They are: Erin Wood with Ryan, Marion Willox with Ty, Mark Weir with Jack, and right at the front is Layla who simply had to be in the picture while her mum watched from a distance.
17 February 2007: Children were encouraged to dress up and make lots of noise during a drumming session at the Memorial Hall in Balintore on Saturday. Steve Sharpe of Happyness Drum Circles said: "It's all about bringing people together to have fun and to be expressive as a group. Drums are a great way for kids to play and to become a band, that's what the mission is all about." Assisting the drum circle was Henry Fosbrooke of the Woodland Orchestra. Away from the drums, the half-day Highland Council event gave parents an opportunity to learn about childcare and family support in the local community.
Politician’s £45,000 travel expenses
Thu Feb 15th - 9:06pm
Did another little story for NowPublic.com today. I think Labour MP Eric Joyce's travel expenses have been getting a fair bit of coverage in the mainstream media over the last couple of days, but a major point has been largely ignored: By saying that he'll review how many meetings he attends, he's really just cutting down his workload for the same salary, not saving money as such. So I thought it would be worth drawing attention to that. Plus I wanted to find out just how much travelling you can do in a year for £45,000.
