Following the perceived success of last year’s passing of the Tour de France, everyone decided it would be a good idea to run another professional cycle race along our street — only this time going up the hill rather than down it. The end result was much the same — a lot of guys on bikes came past very quickly and 30 seconds after they had done so, all the spectators went home.
Back in November 2013 I mentioned that the town of Wigan had lost a chance to appear on the blog (preferring on the day a picture of scaffolding in Hebden Bridge). So here it is, the 138th different location to appear on this blog, yes, I do count these things. I could talk about the football match that drew me there but I’m not going to. Let the symbolism of the picture suffice, the three players captured under the shadow of the DW Stadium’s west stand.
As seen in the Brighton half marathon this morning, one of 12,000 runners (a number which included our Clare) but the best-dressed, in their way. I know this image is a bit technically dubious, but hey, sometimes you get only one chance to capture the sight. Now I just need to think of a way to work “Loading” into the deeper meaning somehow.
My fourth-ever trip to the Amex stadium, home of my beloved Brighton & Hove Albion since 2011, and this is the third time it has appeared on the blog. This was also the first time Joe has been able to visit. He’s declaring for the Albion, which is a brave move for a Yorkshire-born 11-year-old, so it was good to see an exciting game, and a win — 4-3 for Brighton over Birmingham City. This picture was taken just after Inigo Calderon put the Albion 2-1 up.
Visited the National Football Museum today, on a reconnaissance for a field trip I will be bringing my students on in a couple of weeks’ time. Yes, I get to take them to the Football Museum — and why not, it’s an interesting place, worth exploring. This exhibit, for example — showing a womens’ football team pictured during World War I, a time at which due to the regime’s need for labour women’s rights had quite a flowering. And then, as evidenced by the quote along the top of this image, they were then squashed over again (“The game of football is quite unsuitable for women and ought not to be encouraged” — from the Football Association, 1921). As goes football, so go many other areas of life.
Halifax Town’s number 7 trots over to do his duty, while the substitutes of Aldershot Town look on. The home team (that is, Halifax) won 1-0. I’ve been to quite a few football matches during the course of this blog and don’t think I’ve ever managed a decent action shot — it’s not an easy genre of photography to master, particularly not when you’re up in the stands and limited to a single vantage point. This one isn’t an ‘action’ shot at all of course, but I kind of like it for its feel of being a pause, a moment of transition between one bit of the game and another.
1,092 days ago, on September 4th 2011, I photographed this same event — it was day 10 of the blog. As then, I pictured it at the stonemason’s yard which resides on the canal, near Hebden Bridge station. With all other things being equal then you could check back if you like to see if my technique has improved at all over these three years of ample practice. Personally, I think it has; a bit. More than my running, anyway.
…so I think the Tour de France should be the subject of today’s picture… don’t you? I doubt any other world-class sporting event is going to come within a few feet of my front door again. Of all the ones I got today I like because of my friend Simon’s smile, and also the fact it has the yellow jersey on it — he’s just visible in the centre.
The first two days of the Tour de France pass through Yorkshire this year, and on Sunday 6th July the race goes right past my front door, literally. The associated publicity campaign has already begun, with a noticeable increase in the number of bicycles to be seen on any given public holiday — as today was. There will be more, I am sure.
Impossible to get a shot that was both photographically interesting and which captured the drama of today’s events at the City Ground, Nottingham. This picture is as good as I could manage to capture the tension that was released by Leo Ulloa’s 92nd minute goal, one already burned into the memories of all Brighton & Hove Albion fans I am sure. If you want to read more about that, go to this page. I am too drained. Seagulls!!
Being 42 