Catching up with the rowing @Quintin Head

I finally got to catch up with my other hobby of photography at the weekend. Its been almost a year since i covered a sporting event. My favorite being any of the rowing events that take place throughout the year in the UK. Since 2007 I have been taking pics at most major Uk events. This includes all the Tideway Heads, Nat Champs Henley and Nat Schools in Notiingham. Quintin Head has long been a favorite of mine, I can still remember doing my first one 4-5 years ago and there were only 100 boats. This year there were nearly 200 which makes it rather cool. And its the only one where crews get to race upstream so I see a different view from Hammersmith Bridge. Welcome to Birdman Photography.

Here are a few of my favorites of the racing and I'm pleased to say my pics although maybe not the best quality still have a uniqueness to them. This I think comes from my passion for the sports and ensuring that every picture is one i would like to buy.

Always the hardest part for me is sorting the order of photos to make them easy to find. It takes patience that I have little of, however using Lightroom2 has revolutionized this. You select the pics and it will file them for you whilst converting them in size and meta data.
Amazing how good Twitter is for promoting pics to Rowers. Everyone seems to have an account and are happy to follow Birdman. Which is awesome news. Latest analytics show 1000 unique visitors which is pretty good considering its only 24 hours later and that means probably 2-3 people from each boat have been on Birdman site.

iPhone 5 new cable issues

Why oh why have Apple changed the charger adapter for the new Iphone. Of course it s a rhetorical question. Commercial reasons are far too obvious, I think its because they don't really give a damn about planet earth.

Q: Why shouldn't we just put our old chargers in the bin and buy a whole new selection of goods?
A: Because its unethical (like starting a sentance with because). Especially in these days of economic downturn they have forced us to spend more all because of the bottom line. I personally don't want to buy another in car charger and new leads for home and office.

I'm on the verge of handing my phone back to the office and returning to the 4 in protest. I have 10+ leads for this and the Ipad why do I have to invest in more. I spent the weekend looking for the one Iphone 5 lead i have so far and therefore due to the terrible battery life spent the weekend with no phone.

What do you think.

Frustrated.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

Snow Time in January 2013

Its early 2013 and the heavens have opened with a delivery of the white stuff. After a particularly balmy winter we were given ample warning and the excitement was palpable in our house. Friday morning involved a 6 am wake up call by both children, "please can we go outside". Made us quite happy that we have such intrepid explorers. Luckily I had whizzed past Homebase on the way home to buy a couple of tabogans. Its now sunday and we have been on the slopes of Hambledon twice a day. The good news is both of them are snow nutters, with a lack of fear that will do them well on the slopes of the Alps later this month. How kind of mother nature to supply us with the chance to test the cold weather aptitude of the children and give them a first hand glance of freezing feet and near vertical drops.

2010 View from Hambledon

1013 View of Child Okeford

I was particularly proud in the pub last night when a fellow father pointed out that my daughter had spent time working out the fastest sledge before requesting a go. I thought I'd share these pictures to show the difference between 2010 and 2013 snow form the top of Hambledon. It measured 4.5 inches on my car friday morning and I can't remember the depth from 2010. With any luck this will be here to stay. The way the roads have been cleared this year is fantastic so a big thank you to the council for sorting us out.

The real shame about a snowfall after a wet christmas is the feeling of something lost. There can be nothing more special than a white christmas it just makes you feel fantastic. The fact that you can eat and drink as much as you like "guilt free" because you have been out in the snow. As all fathers know the excercise is double because we have to carry and pull everyone everywhere but hen thats half the fun.

  

The 3 peaks Challenge in the UK

Whats it like to do the 3 peaks, well i've just completed the challenge and its great fun, hard work and more mental toughness than physical. Luckily we did lots of training beforehand in the Dorset hills. However nothing could have prepared us for the rains on Scafell Pike, 1 months worth in 1 day. watch this video to get a glimpse of the challenge.
We managed to raise over £12000 for a very good cause the round table Childrens Wish appeal which helps terminally ill children fulfill a wish. I also raised a further £700 for the National kidney Federation which is very close to my heart after my mother passed away last year.
Check out the website for further details. The donations were enhanced by an article in the Daily Mail so thank you for that.
www.fontmell3peaks.com

Msambweni - Samawati House

In 2010 we were lucky enough to go out to Kenya as a family of four. We chose Samawati House for obvious reasons, the photos sold it as well as the recommendations. It has a pool with a 12m infinity edge dropping into the surrounding jungle, Amazing! The BEach is only 3 minutes walk from the garden and stretches for miles. It really did do everything it said in the description with fantastic staff and luxury bedrooms.

The Ferry to Mudeford

Every twelve minutes there's a ferry across the little channel that takes only a few minutes.

Hengitsbury head beach huts

What to do for the day. I love these pics taken using hipstomatic they evoke a sixties beach scene. The huts here are so surreal. It's almost impossible to find an identical design. Today we caught the land train to the Bournemouth side of Hengitsbury. It's cheap and fun for the kids with a big iced cream at the end.
We thought we'd check out the beach and a gentle stroll turned into a full fossil hunt. Every stone became a dinosaur tooth which was fun until your hands dry out. It's quite a way round following the sea shore but a very rewarding hour as the IOW provides stunning views of the Needles.
Rounding off the day with dinner in the restaraunt did produce a £205 bill for burgers and chips. Quite a shocker really but then it was £25 a bottle of decent vino planco. Time for bed now what a great day in the wild.