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