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SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY | EDITORIAL, EVENTS & STOCK | PHONE 0845 094 6026 | FAX 0845 862 8650

These are the occasional musings of TGS snapper and founder Gavin Ellis, bringing you the very latest happenings at TGS and other photo-tastic news! Stay fully informed by subscribing to Gav's Blog by e-mail.

Gav's Blog

Gavin Ellis

TGSPhoto's founder, Gavin Ellis, is a member of the Sports Journalists' Association and the BPPA. Gavin also holds a UK Press Card, AIPS Card, Premier League ID Card and an enhanced CRB check via the Football Association.

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Sunday 31 January 2010 » The Net »


The use of a goal net is a fundamental requirement when it comes to playing a 'proper' football match. Jumpers for goalposts are fine and shooting into a netless, full-size goal in the local park is good fun... but only for a while.

Let's face it, at the, er, end of the day, well before you get into discussions about goal-line technology, you really do need nets hanging off of your goal posts.

For Sunday morning footballers, the hanging of the goal net is a ritual that is almost as important as the game itself. This image of Black Meteors FC players shows that teamwork is vital even before their match on Hackney Marshes kicks off...



Cooperation is undoubtedly the name of the game. If you don't have the opportunity to lift out the posts and lay them down - or you've forgotten your stepladders - the only solution is to mount a team-mate's shoulders...



Once the nets are up, even the pre-match warm-up is more satisfying. I risked lens and limb to grab this shot of Lapton FC players getting in some shooting practice...



The nets themselves become part of the footballing landscape. Stalwart Hackney & Leyton Sunday League Chairman, Johnnie Walker, attends matches at the Marshes every week... rain, snow, wind or shine. Here Johnnie is seen enjoying a cigar as he watches the action from a vantage point between the nets...



Bizarrely, the use of tape to hang the net has become a controversial issue on the Marshes. On the South Marsh, tape is now banned and new fangled 'cable ties' must be used to secure the onion bags. On the neighbouring East Marsh, the old-fashioned methods reign supreme and tape is still de rigeur...



When the final whistle is blown, the nets have to come down. Members of the Shoreditch Fire Penguins team show that height is an advantage when detatching the precious mesh...



More from the Marshes soon I'm sure. Clickety, click this linkety-link for some images from this morning's action.

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TGS Blog articles are copyright Gavin Ellis. All the images seen on this site are copyright TGSPhoto. No images may be reproduced without prior permission. All rights reserved. Contact us for image licensing details.

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Thursday 28 January 2010 » In the Beginning... »


...there was 'The Goalmouth Scramble'.

Time for a spot of TGS history. Don't worry folks, I'll keep it brief!

The first website I developed, back in the mid-1990s, lived at the URL http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~gmen/index.htm. It was indeed called 'The Goalmouth Scramble' and brought together the latest news from three organisations that I was involved with at the time: East Ham United FC, Millwall Lionesses FC and Winger Magazine. It was an opportunity for me to learn a bit about HTML and I could showcase a few of my photos at the same time.

Reuben Gane, the indefatigable manager of East Ham United, was a driving force behind the web presence, submitting idiosyncratic articles under the pseudonym of 'Roland Clooge'. Here's Reuben pictured at East Ham's Manorway ground posing by a 'Snappy Sales' (his own company) advertising hoarding...



I've not been able to lay my hands on the pages from the original site, although I'm sure I've archived them to a CD somewhere. So, the most recent screenshot I can find (via the 'Wayback Machine') is from early 2004. This was the year that the tgsphoto.co.uk domain name was first used and 'The Goalmouth Scramble' was soon to become simply 'TGS'.

Sadly the images are lost from the page but it is possible to see 'The Goalmouth Scramble' name living happily alongside the 'tgsphoto' brand. The tagline in those days was 'Football in Essex in Pictures'...



The images were searchable to a certain extent, there was a blog, RSS feed and some rather odd, downloadable XML files. Clunky? Yes, but it did the job.

Things have moved on a fair bit over the last few years. I'm covering more sports now and TGS has a number of excellent regular contributors, helping to grow the archive. Image hosting has been moved from my own server to PhotoShelter to increase speed and functionality. The blog disappeared a few years ago but has now returned and the new (weird and wonderful) world of social networking has been incorporated into the TGS vision.

It's (perhaps) interesting to note that if you pop 'The Goalmouth Scramble' into Google, the top result is tgsphoto.co.uk.

Plans are currently afoot for another web presence. It's early days but watch this space ;)

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TGS Blog articles are copyright Gavin Ellis. All the images seen on this site are copyright TGSPhoto. No images may be reproduced without prior permission. All rights reserved. Contact us for image licensing details.

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Monday 25 January 2010 » The Marshes and a spot of Usage »


I enjoy my regular Sunday morning assignment to cover football on Hackney Marshes. However, things are set to change for the 2010/11 season and beyond.

At the moment there are eleven well-maintained and regularly used football pitches on the East Marsh of Hackney Marshes. In May this year work will commence in earnest to convert the land into a car park for the 2012 Olympics. The famous Hackney & Leyton Sunday League will be affected as their matches will be moved to the nearby South Marsh for the next couple of years. The plan is to restore the East Marsh to footballing use after the games, but officials of the League are still not 100% convinced this will happen...



Workers stand atop a large pile of earth on the East Marsh of Hackney Marshes. Works will soon begin in earnest to convert the playing fields to a car park for the 2012 Olympics.

For the time being, action is still taking place on the East Marsh. After several unplanned weeks off due to the bad winter weather, a full programme of matches took place yesterday. Here's a spot of action by way of proof...



Adam & Eve FC (orange kit) battle it out with Delta FC on the East Marsh, Hackney.

Follow this link to see our sizeable and searchable archive of Hackney & Leyton League images: http://www.tgsphoto.co.uk/hackneyleyton.html

On Saturday, Dave Simpson made the long trip to Shropshire to provide our coverage of Dagenham & Redbridge's away game at Shrewsbury Town. He was rewarded with a couple of nice usages this morning in the national press...



The Times, Monday 25th January 2010 - Paul Benson opens the scoring for Dagenham.



Daily Star, Monday 25th January 2010 - Dave Hibbert celebrates the equalising goal for the Shrews.

Next up for the Daggers is a vital home clash with Notts County tomorrow evening, kick-off 7.45pm. Live photographic coverage will be available via TGS. Up the Daggers!

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TGS Blog articles are copyright Gavin Ellis. All the images seen on this site are copyright TGSPhoto. No images may be reproduced without prior permission. All rights reserved. Contact us for image licensing details.

posted by TGSPhoto at 2 Comments

Saturday 23 January 2010 » Brentwood Fight Night »


Frank Maloney put together a packed card of no fewer than 13 contests at the Brentwood Centre on Friday night. Maloney has a number of very exciting prospects on his books and the proceedings proved to be compelling throughout. I was ringside to capture the action for several clients.

In the most explosive bout of the evening, up-and-coming Flyweight Ashley Sexton entered the ring and went head-to-head with his fired-up opponent Usman Ahmed even before the first bell had sounded. Less than three minutes later, Sexton landed a stiff right to Ahmed's jaw and the fight was over, bagging the English title for the man from Cheshunt...



Frank Maloney was certainly pleased with Sexton's showing and posed for a quick picture at the end of the bout...



Hammersmith Super-Middleweight George Groves boasts an outstanding amateur record and had won his first seven professional bouts before Friday's outing. Here he waits in the neutral corner after sending his opponent, Bulgarian Gregor Sarohanian, to the canvas at the start of the third round, improving his record to 8(6)-0(0)-0...



EDIT: Indeed this was the image that the Hammersmith & Kensington Times used to illustrate the story of Groves' victory...



There was a cracking, old-fashioned ding-dong that would have graced any show between Harrow's Akaash Bhatia and West Ham's Mickey Coveney. In a six-rounder that could have gone either way, Bhatia triumphed after some good work in the later rounds...



Travis Dickinson found himself up against highly experienced campaigner Hastings Rasani in a Cruiserweight contest. Birtley's Dickinson showed that he has true potential as he overcame the Zimbabwean on points, landing some big shots in the process...



Hackney's Larry Olubamiwo sent out a strong message to the Heavyweight division with a very confident performance, despatching Scott Belshaw to the canvas four times in the first round. The fight was waved off and Larry now looks forward to some longer and higher profile encounters...



Brighton's Ben Murphy and Morden's Lee Cook put on an hugely entertaining show for the Southern Area Lightweight title. Murphy prevailed after ten intense rounds...



The main fight saw a controversial split-decision as Doncaster's Jamie McDonnell wrested the British Bantamweight Title from Hackney's Ian Napa. Many observers were convinced that Napa had done enough to retain his Lonsdale belt but the judges saw it differently and it was McDonnell that celebrated when the scorecards were read out...



EDIT: The Hackney Gazette ran with this image to illustrate their story by boxing writer Ken Selleck. Here's the tearsheet...



To round off this post, here's a general view of some Dickinson vs Rasani action taken with a Lensbaby. It's not something I pull out of the camera bag very often but it can give an interesting result from time to time...



For the full selection of images, all shot on Canon EOS 1D MkIII cameras, click here: http://bit.ly/8Ocieb

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TGS Blog articles are copyright Gavin Ellis. All the images seen on this site are copyright TGSPhoto. No images may be reproduced without prior permission. All rights reserved. Contact us for image licensing details.

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Monday 18 January 2010 » Hoops and Flashes »


I made a very welcome return to an old stomping ground last Friday evening: the Brentwood Centre, home to the London Leopards basketball team. It was a chance to catch up with some old friends and to shoot a frame or two.

The Brentwood Centre does not have the best of lighting so, rather than shoot at very high ISO, I took along the roughest-and-readiest of artificial lighting set-ups!

Using two small, relatively low-powered flashes was never going to illuminate the whole arena - even less so given that the main hall is painted a fetching muddy brown on most surfaces! It was a case of clamping a couple of guns either side of the hoop, using Pocket Wizard remote triggers to activate them and making the most of what was possible.

Here's a view of one of the two remote flashguns. You can see that the positioning is far from ideal, i.e. too far behind the baseline and much lower down than I would have liked. However, I simply used the existing infrastructure - in this case a temporary stand - as a clamping point...



The second flash was set up in a similar position on the other side of the hoop.

The flash rigs can be seen in the image below. Each incorporates a flash (in this case a Canon 580EX II), Manfrotto Super Clamp, Pocket Wizard Receiver unit, Paramount Cords flash shoe with mini-jack and a few other special widgets to keep it all together.

It was straighforward to connect an external battery pack to each rig and it was all secured with a safety cable in case it came loose from the clamping area...



Parts of the rig can be easily transplanted to a lighting stand if required.

At this point, it'd be wise to show a couple of example images...





So, as I see it, the plus points of this technique are as follows:

(a) The lighting has a more 'three-dimensional' feel than using a single flash.
(b) It was possible to shoot at a satisfying ISO500 f/5.6, rather than ISO3200 f/2.8 (or wider).
(c) The flash duration provided a much better action-stopping 'shutter speed' than the ambient light ever could.
(d) Much improved colour saturation as the use of flash eliminated any nasty white balance issues.
(e) Extremely fast set-up and tear-down time.
(f) Easily repeated.
(g) Pretty safe as the flash rigs themselves are compact with no trailing cables, etc.
(h) The rigs fit in a small case so not too much to transport.

On the downside:

(a) The light is quite directional and casts fairly harsh shadows. The images look 'flashed'.
(b) The small guns don't have a hope of filling the venue with light and, as a result, it's only practical to shoot in and around the key.
(c) Ditto, without bouncing larger studio-style strobes, the drop-off is significant resulting in dark backgrounds.
(d) The guns don't really have enough power to overcome the ambient light at brighter venues (let's face it, the Brentwood Centre is really gloomy!).

If this was a regular gig for me, I'd certainly break out the studio heads and some nice tall stands. However, for quick and easy deployment, I think I'd use this technique again.

Up the Leopards! Full gallery from this event can be seen HERE. I'm back at the same venue on Friday for Frank Maloney's boxing show. The TV ring lighting will be a bonus.

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TGS Blog articles are copyright Gavin Ellis. All the images seen on this site are copyright TGSPhoto. No images may be reproduced without prior permission. All rights reserved. Contact us for image licensing details.

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Monday Papers »


It's always a voyage of discovery when I browse the sports pages of the national press every Monday morning, irrespective of whether or not I'm expecting to see usages!

Today it was very pleasing to see Martin Dalton's excellent image of a Norwich goal celebration used nice and large in the Daily Star - I particularly like the little cut-out section for the scorer's raised finger. All the better given that Martin had experienced an especially soggy afternoon at the Weston Homes Community Stadium...



Chris Martin of Norwich celebrates his second goal against Colchester United with Wes Hoolahan and Grant Holt. Norwich went on to win the game by five goals to nil.

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TGS Blog articles are copyright Gavin Ellis. All the images seen on this site are copyright TGSPhoto. No images may be reproduced without prior permission. All rights reserved. Contact us for image licensing details.

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Sunday 17 January 2010 » An afternoon with Arsenal Ladies »


I've been covering women's football for many years now and I always enjoy the opportunity to attend a match involving the country's most successful team, namely Arsenal Ladies.

The female Gunners use Boreham Wood FC's Broughinge Road as their home ground. Today they entertained Sunderland in the FA Women's Cup after an unsuccessful attempt at staging the game last week. Conditions had improved significantly since the cold snap and a low winter sun illuminated proceedings throughout. The match was a re-run of last year's Final which Arsenal won by the odd goal in three.

Arsenal midfielder Katie Chapman is set to follow in the footsteps of her England teammates Karen Carney, Alex Scott and Kelly Smith when she makes the move across the Atlantic to join the Chicago Red Stars in February. I have never seen her give less than the proverbial 100% for any of her clubs and today was no exception. This powerful header, pouncing on a rebound from the crossbar, put the Gunners 1-0 up...



It was clear that the strike meant a lot to Chapman who is playing out her last few games in the famous red and white. Over the years, Arsenal have been able to bring in and develop numerous youngsters to continue their incredible record but you have to wonder who will follow in her footsteps...



Kim Little sealed the victory in extra-time with a three goal burst and looked pleased with her performance as she returned to her own half after completing her hat-trick. Scottish international Kim heads the Arsenal goalscoring chart by a country mile this season...



Some beautiful light as well today. With a 1pm kick-off, there was the chance to shoot straight into the sun (a technique that I enjoy using as much as I can) and here's a frame of defender Jayne Ludlow on the burst for the Gooners with the turf flying in her wake...



Arsenal will meet the winner of the Leeds vs Watford tie at Boreham Wood in the next round. Further images available here: http://bit.ly/5QhhAN

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TGS Blog articles are copyright Gavin Ellis. All the images seen on this site are copyright TGSPhoto. No images may be reproduced without prior permission. All rights reserved. Contact us for image licensing details.

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Friday 15 January 2010 » Barking mad? »


Yes, I was. Totally.

I followed Barking Football Club avidly from the late 1970s through to the early 1990s. My support for the Blues also kicked-off my interest in photography. I edited the club's programme for several years and it was very much a case of generating my own content to fill it. So I started to take a camera to most matches from the mid-1980s as snapping some pics seemed to be a good way to help fill the pages.

So, I've dusted off the negative scanner and here are a few images from the early days of my photographic career.

At the time, the club was followed by a relatively small but very loyal band of supporters, who travelled to away games in good numbers and always in good cheer. Here's a shot that I took at Windsor & Eton FC back in March 1990...



I was also involved with the club shop. Here, Drew, Geoff and Richard are seen outside the second incarnation of the Mayesbrook Park store known as 'Emporium II'. I hope you like the way I managed to compose the pic to get that pole to stick out of Geoff's head!



I did shoot some action at the time as well. This image of John Ray heading for goal at Hayes in May 1990 is a bit of a rarity - Blues lost the game 6-1 and barely had an attack...



Let's finish this blog post with a goal. Danny Benstock finds the net for Barking against Witney Town in an FA Trophy match played at Mayesbrook Park in September 1990. Blues went on to win the match 4-1. This particular frame was shot on a Canon EOS600 camera fitted with a Canon 70-210mm f/4 EF lens. The film stock was a roll of Fujicolor ASA400...



More Barking-related imagery can be seen here: http://bit.ly/6Am8pD

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TGS Blog articles are copyright Gavin Ellis. All the images seen on this site are copyright TGSPhoto. No images may be reproduced without prior permission. All rights reserved. Contact us for image licensing details.

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Wednesday 13 January 2010 » Lakeside Hammers 2010 »


As Lakeside Hammers announce their line-up for the forthcoming Elite League Speedway Season - http://bit.ly/5gjIGQ - here's a look at the riders through the medium of some previously unpublished images...

Krzysztof Kasprzak...



Jonas Davidsson...



Adam Shields...



Kauko Nieminen...



Stuart Robson...



Paul Hurry...



Daniel Davidsson...



Jerran Hart...



Up the Hammers!

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TGS Blog articles are copyright Gavin Ellis. All the images seen on this site are copyright TGSPhoto. No images may be reproduced without prior permission. All rights reserved. Contact us for image licensing details.

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Pics and Papers »


So where do all these images end up?

In newspapers and magazines on the whole, both of a national and regional flavour. Here's a random selection of our football-related tearsheets with a few words about the stories behind them...



Dagenham & Redbridge snapper Dave Simpson captures plenty of celebrations as the Victoria Road brigade certainly haven't been goal-shy this season. This one stands out for me as a particularly nice usage. Jon Nurse's brace against Lincoln City is highlighted in The Sun on 31st August 2009.



I don't cover as many Football League matches as I would like to. However, I do squeeze in a few between my other duties and this usage shows that it's not always what happens on the pitch that is of interest. Some of you may have forgotten about Ali-G but I spotted a lookalike in the stand at Millwall recently, proving that the Staines Massive is still alive and kicking. Not a great night for the visitors as they were roundly despatched from the FA Cup but The Sun published my shot of the 'gutted' Ali-G on 10th December 2009.



George Phillipou made the trip to the Valley for Charlton's match with Swindon. It turned out to be a dramatic encounter with the Addicks stealing a point at the death despite playing the second-half with just nine men! George was on hand to capture Miguel Llera's emotional outburst after he scored the homesters' vital second goal. The Sun ran his image nice and big on 28th December 2009.



Top West Ham snapper Rob Newell ensures that TGS has a superb archive of Hammers' images. The Evening Standard recognised this when they used a shot of Matthew Upson in action against Chelsea on 21st December 2009. The image was used on the back page of the paper and this is the online usage that accompanied the printed version.



The stock fodder of the national press is the goal and celebration image but sometimes a well-composed action shot stands out from the crowd. Martin Dalton captured this intense tussle during the match between Colchester United and Yeovil Town and The Sun ran it large along with the match report on 17th August 2009.



Mark Hodsman was present at (arguably) the biggest upset of the FA Cup 1st Round. Bath City made the long trip to Grimsby and dumped the Mariners out of the Cup with a comfortable victory. The Sun enjoyed Mark's excellent team celebration image and used it in the paper on 9th November 2009.

Just a few our bits and bobs. I'll update with some other sports at a later date!

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TGS Blog articles are copyright Gavin Ellis. All the images seen on this site are copyright TGSPhoto. No images may be reproduced without prior permission. All rights reserved. Contact us for image licensing details.

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Tuesday 12 January 2010 » Anyone for Subbuteo? »


With a lack of outdoor football, time to break out the table version for a quick snap.

Here's a classic moment from the hotly-contested match between Partick Thistle (yellow and red kit) and Crystal Palace (claret and blue striped kit).

The unmarked Eagles' centre forward heads past the forlorn Jags' goalie. The onion bag bulges and Palace are in dreamland.



What fun you can have on a table in Braintree, eh?

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TGS Blog articles are copyright Gavin Ellis. All the images seen on this site are copyright TGSPhoto. No images may be reproduced without prior permission. All rights reserved. Contact us for image licensing details.

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Things to look forward to »


As the snow gradually thaws, there are already some things to look forward to away from the frosty football pitches of Essex.

The opening fixtures of the 2010 speedway season have been announced, taking Lakeside Hammers to local rivals Ipswich Witches for the first leg of a Challenge match on Thursday 18th March.

2009 finished on a high note for the Hammers with a memorable victory over the Coventry Bees in the Knockout Cup Final. The team for 2010 will be announced later this week. Here's a reminder of how the boys lined up for the start of last season...



Lakeside Hammers 2009, (standing from left): Kauko Nieminen, Phil Morris, Jonas Davidsson, Adam Shields, Stuart Robson, Joonas Kylmakorpi, Lee Richardson, (kneeling from left): Chris Mills, Rob Mear

For those that need a dose of brakeless racing, here's a LINK to our speedway images.

The Ford County Ground is one of my favourite places to work. It was good to see success continue for the Essex cricketers in 2009, gaining promotion back to the top flight of the County Championship after six years in the lower division.

Cricket returns to the Chelmsford venue on Wednesday 31st March (yep, that's March!) when Worcestershire are visitors for a two-day friendly encounter.

Last season's Press Day line-up...



Essex CCC 2009, Back Row (left to right): Adam Wheater, Jaik Mickleburgh, John Maunders, Tom Westley, Tony Palladino, Mervyn Westfield, Maurice Chambers, Varun Chopra, Chris Wright, Michael Comber, Jahid Ahmed. Front Row (left to right): Matt Walker, Grant Flower, James Middlebrook, Alastair Cook, James Foster, Mark Pettini, Graham Napier, David Master, Jason Gallian, Tim Phillips

Running alongside the first class cricket, there's the club scene which commences in mid-April. The Shepherd Neame, T Rippon Mid Essex and Lords International Leagues cater for teams of all standards across the county.

They also provide some 'snap-worthy' moments...



Barker of Bentley is dismissed in bizarre circumstances having played on to a Davis delivery

Ditto, here's a LINK to our extensive archive of cricket images.

Roll on March.

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TGS Blog articles are copyright Gavin Ellis. All the images seen on this site are copyright TGSPhoto. No images may be reproduced without prior permission. All rights reserved. Contact us for image licensing details.

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Monday 11 January 2010 » Bring on the Boxing »


Many folk (well, two) have asked me which sport I prefer to shoot above all others.

The answer to this question is certainly not straightforward as my passion for snapping sport covers many, many bases. However, if I was sat on a chair with the metaphorical gun to my temple, I am (pretty) sure I would utter the word 'Boxing'.

I'll be perfectly honest and admit that I'm not what you'd call a boxing aficionado. However, over the last few years I've learned more and more about the 'sweet science'... and the more I learn, the more I enjoy shooting it.

Being ringside for a fight with camera in hand is quite something. The first couple of times I had this privelege, I left the venue feeling like I'd been in a bout myself. Trying to match the timing of my shutter releases to the landing of the punches was impossibly difficult. I found myself ducking and diving, swerving and swaying to get the shot. That, and the sound of the crowd and the impact of the thwackery itself.

With increasing experience and knowledge of the pugilists, the 'hit'-rate gradually went up. Understanding the significance of a twitch of a shoulder and seeking out the combinations made for some interesting images...



Ian Napa defeats Carmelo Ballone to win the European EBU Bantamweight Boxing Title at York Hall, Bethnal Green, promoted by FTM Sports/Maloney Promotions

TV lighting is great from a snapper's viewpoint; consistent and bright enough for action-freezing shutter speeds. There are some issues with white balance, but nothing that a piece of white paper and a custom setting can't overcome.

I've covered a fair number of televised shows over the last few years but I still appreciate the challenge of a gloomy venue. Fortunately, flash is not out of bounds at boxing in the UK. It's not to say that whacking a big flash on your camera and popping away is going to make life particularly easy, but it can yield some nice results...



Debutant Tony Conquest makes a bit of a mess of Bobby Scott's face during a Light-Heavyweight boxing contest at York Hall, Bethnal Green, promoted by Miranda Carter/Left Jab Promotions

Boxing, by its very nature, lends itself to a certain amount of pain and injury. A bad cut can cause a fight to be stopped and plenty of invaluable work takes place in a fighter's corner between rounds to ensure the combatant can continue.

Here's a pic of Greg Barton shortly before the referee stopped his Middleweight fight with Darren Barker in the third round at York Hall, Bethnal Green back in 2007.



Mustn't forget the venues themselves. The Troxy in the heart of East London recently hosted the Flaming Lips in concert and it's also a boxing venue of note with art deco features and a fine atmosphere. OK, it's not York Hall (I'll come on to that subject at a later date) but worth a general view from the balcony methought...



General view of a boxing show at the Troxy, Limehouse, London, promoted by CityBoxer

..and how's about a 'decision' pic to finish. In a close fight there can be a huge outburst of emotion from the winning fighter and his supporters when the decision is announced...



Lenny Daws celebrates after defeating Barry Morrison in a Light-Welterweight boxing contest for the British Title at York Hall, Bethnal Green, promoted by Matchroom Sports

Plenty more to come on this subject! To see some more boxing pics, just follow this here LINKETY-LINK.

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TGS Blog articles are copyright Gavin Ellis. All the images seen on this site are copyright TGSPhoto. No images may be reproduced without prior permission. All rights reserved. Contact us for image licensing details.

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To Tweet or not To Tweet »


I have to say that I never really thought I'd get along with Twitter. But it seems to have multiple and simultaneous uses which are starting to grow on me. Tweet direct to Facebook... Tweet blog posts... Tweet using the rather interesting http://bit.ly... and so on.

Seems to me to be a good way to get links out there and (hopefully) to keep interested parties up to date with all things TGS.

While I'm passing through, here's a LINK to a rather fine pic usage by our man at West Ham, Rob Newell. Up the Hammers? Well, that's entirely up to you.

Also, will jolly old Twitter Feed tweet this post automatically? Who knows? ;)

Now a pic. Anyone missing the speedway season?



Up the (Lakeside) Hammers!

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TGS Blog articles are copyright Gavin Ellis. All the images seen on this site are copyright TGSPhoto. No images may be reproduced without prior permission. All rights reserved. Contact us for image licensing details.

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First Post »


So, here we go. The first post.

It's been a wee while since I started to Tweet
.

It's also been some time since TGS set up a Facebook Fan Page
and it's now even possible to (occasionally) hear my, er, dulcet tones via Audio Boo.

So, the logical progression was to embark on a fully fledged blog of sorts and this, it seems, is it. I think this is also a result of having a bit too much time on my hands at the moment, what with all this dodgy snow stuff everywhere. The challenge is going to be posting regularly and finding interesting bits and bobs to blog about.

All I can say is that I'll give it my best shot. In the absence of interesting wafflings, I guess I can always post a pic and write a few words about it. Voila...



Ex-West Ham Star Julian Dicks gently reminds his Grays Athletic players that they are losing by three unanswered goals at home to Ebbsfleet.

I may also (gratuitously) take the opportunity to link to some of TGSPhoto's published work in the local and national press...

The Sun, 10th November 2009

...or perhaps to link to some products that I'm looking forward to...

Think Tank Photo 70-200mm Rain Cover

...or maybe to share a few ideas on technique and what have you. For example, over the years I seem to have developed a bit of a reputation for 'shooting into the sun'...



We use the rather snazzy Photoshelter to host our ever-increasing archive. At the time of posting this blog, there are 69,000 pics in our online galleries! Here's a slideshow of some recent work...



I may even relate a few interesting experiences while out and about shooting... and perhaps wax lyrical about some of the fine friends and colleagues that I encounter on my travels.

I'm certain I'll find time to make honorable mentions of our regular TGS contributors: Rob Newell, Dave Simpson, Peter Butcher, Martin Dalton, George Phillipou (get better soon mate!), Mark Hodsman and Chris Royle. Excellent folk one and all.

Hopefully some or all of the above.

But most of all, who knows? Well, I do know that there will be pics, so let's finish with one...



Katie Chapman of the excellent Arsenal Ladies (soon to be an ex-Gooner) - this pic can be seen in the current edition of She Kicks magazine, just check out the centre pages.

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TGS Blog articles are copyright Gavin Ellis. All the images seen on this site are copyright TGSPhoto. No images may be reproduced without prior permission. All rights reserved. Contact us for image licensing details.

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