A few highlights from our planned coverage over the next couple of weeks...

Sunday, 14th March - Arsenal Ladies vs FCR 2001 Duisburg. The Gunners are 2-1 down from the first-leg of the Women's Champions League Quarter-Final so this looks set to be a real humdinger.

Wednesday, 17th March - Lakeside Hammers riders take to the Arena Essex track for pre-season practice after some team and individual photos.

Friday, 19th March - The Lakeside Hammers speedway season gets underway with the visit of Ipswich Witches for the first installment of a two-legged challenge. Shale-tastic!

Thursday, 25th March - The England women's team continue their FIFA 2011 World Cup qualifying campaign with a home game against Austria. Loftus Road is the venue for this vital international fixture.

Monday, 29th March - TGS heads to Dagenham & Redbridge FC for the final of the Essex Senior Cup. AFC Hornchurch and Colchester United will lock horns for the coveted county trophy.

Wednesday, 31st March - Cricket is back and the long lens will make an appearance at the Ford County Ground in Chelmsford for Essex CCC's home friendly against Worcestershire. Hopefully the rain will stay away!



Here's a provisional list of what else in store...

13-03-10 - Chelsea vs West Ham United
13-03-10 - Dagenham & Redbridge vs Rotherham United
13-03-10 - Millwall vs Charlton Athletic
13-03-10 - Doncaster Rovers vs Derby County
13-03-10 - Leyton Orient vs Walsall
13-03-10 - Thurrock HC 3rd XI vs Romford HC 3rd XI
13-03-10 - AFC Hornchurch vs Horsham
14-03-10 - Hackney & Leyton League
14-03-10 - Arsenal Ladies vs FCR 2001 Duisburg
16-03-10 - Romford vs Great Wakering Rovers
16-03-10 - Lincoln City vs Dagenham & Redbridge
17-03-10 - Lakeside Hammers Press Day
19-03-10 - Lakeside Hammers vs Ipswich Witches
20-03-10 - Dagenham & Redbridge vs Macclesfield Town
20-03-10 - Arsenal vs West Ham United
20-03-10 - Havering HC vs Ipswich HC
20-03-10 - Upminster RFC vs Dagenham RFC
21-03-10 - Hackney & Leyton League
21-03-10 - Boxing York Hall
21-03-10 - Blackburn Rovers vs Chelsea
22-03-10 - Wolverhampton Wolves vs Lakeside Hammers
23-03-10 - Romford vs Enfield Town
23-03-10 - West Ham United vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
24-03-10 - Tottenham Hotspur vs Fulham
24-03-10 - Blackburn Rovers vs Birmingham City
25-03-10 - England Women vs Austria
26-03-10 - Boxing Goresbrook Leisure Centre
26-03-10 - Lakeside Hammers vs Wolverhampton Wolves
27-03-10 - West Ham United vs Stoke City
27-03-10 - Bradford City vs Dagenham & Redbridge
28-03-10 - Hackney & Leyton League
28-03-10 - Carlisle United vs Southampton
28-03-10 - Burnley vs Blackburn Rovers
29-03-10 - AFC Hornchurch vs Colchester United
31-03-10 - Essex CCC vs Worcestershire CCC
01-04-10 - Essex CCC vs Worcestershire CCC
01-04-10 - England Women vs Spain
02-04-10 - Lakeside Hammers vs Eastbourne Eagles
02-04-10 - Eastbourne Eagles vs Lakeside Hammers

All this and much more at http://tgsphoto.co.uk.

TGS uses PhotoShelter to handle online sales, high resolution file distribution, Search Engine Optimisation, image archiving, gallery organisation, website customization and a whole lot more.

PhotoShelter is a great way to attract new customers, show your images professionally and do business with your clients online. Various subscription plans are available to fit a wide range of needs and pockets.

CLICK HERE to save money on sign-up. TGS gets an account credit too so it's a win-win situation!

Your discount code is: TG3PH9XN84



From the PhotoShelter Site: UK Sports & Editorial Photographer Gavin Ellis of TGS Photo says "PhotoShelter is the power behind the TGS web presence and my subscription consistently proves to be the best money I spend every month."

For the full guided tour of PhotoShelter, click on this here linkety-link: http://www.photoshelter.com/tour

Labels: Archive, Gallery, Images, Photos, PhotoShelter, Website

Folk often ask me what is the point of maintaining a large archive of images. Why don't I just keep the most recent stuff and consign the older piccies to the recycle bin? All that selecting, editing, captioning, organising and uploading must be a real pain in the posterior. Surely it's a pointless exercise?

My answer is always the same:

"Thar's value in them thar photos!"

Latent value. Just waiting to be released.

PhotoShelter is the power behind the TGS web presence and my subscription consistently proves to be the best money I spend every month. Furthermore, PhotoShelter plays a fundamental and crucial role in enabling me to make sales to clients.

I see a regular churn of stock downloads but, from time to time, some more notable usages pop up that make me even more motivated to maintain 'that thar' archive.

With the help of Hackney & Leyton Sunday League Press Officer, Tom McEvoy, I became involved with "Love Equals Football" earlier this year. Puma and Sky had teamed up to launch a Sunday League football promotion and were seeking some images to kick-start their campaign. Tom pointed them in the direction of the TGS repository and, fortunately, they were pleased with what they found lurking in the dusty depths of the PhotoShelter galleries.

As most of my work is in the editorial field, model releases were going to be an 'interesting' challenge. However, the benefits of spending every Sunday morning on the Marshes soon became clear. Four images were selected and a combination of goodwill and good contacts made it possible to secure the vital releases. These pics had not previously seen the light of day in published form.

So, here they are, both in their original form and as seen in the current (March) edition of Four Four Two magazine. You may also encounter them on the web and in some related TV advertising.

1. This frame was taken on the East Marsh of Hackney Marshes way back on Sunday, 13th May 2007. Lapton FC players celebrate a vital goal in an end of season play-off game for the title against Santos...



...and here it is in the magazine version...



2. This pic is unique in the sense that I didn't even leave the car to take it! The morning of Sunday, 4th February 2007 was cold and foggy. Conditions were so bad that I decided to stay in the comfort of the vehicle until the last possible moment before commencing my match coverage. I'd just assembled my gear on the passenger seat when I spotted a London Aprilia player walking across the East Marsh, wheeling his bike and chatting on his mobile. It was one of those 'must-snap' moments...



...and here's how it looks in the mag...



3. I can't say that I'm often in pain when taking a pic, but this image saw me suffer (a bit) for my art. Hailstones fell on the South Marsh on Sunday, 22nd November 2009. Chunky, rock-hard hailstones in a near gale-force wind slamming against the back of my head. Many players ran for cover but these guys tried to take shelter under a brolley which was being shredded by the wind and icy downpour...



...and here's how the pic was finally used...



4. Those Lapton boys again. Rather different weather conditions this time round on the South Marsh! It was Sunday, 11th May 2008 and pleasantly warm and sunny. Lapton had won the League and were well up for an end of season celebration image...



...resulting in this magazine version...



As I mentioned above, PhotoShelter provides the hosting for TGS's image library. Without this fantastic facility, I would struggle to maintain the ever-burgeoning archive (now at 70,000+ pics). Then there's the excellent fotoQuote pricing module (that's built into PhotoShelter folks!) which enabled me to price up this particular usage quickly and professionally.

PhotoShelter also made it possible for the Sky and Puma creatives to search the archive, download preview images and create collaborative lightboxes. A really big thumbs up to PS! Nice work guys. Also, a massive thank you to Sky and Puma for their passion and interest in the work of TGS.

It certainly ain't no schmarchive!

Clickety-clicks: PhotoShelter, TGS Hackney & Leyton League Pics and the TGS Sunday Football Archive.

Labels: Archive, Four Four Two, Hackney and Leyton League, Hackney Marshes, Images, Puma, Sky Sports, Sunday Football