The good weather this weekend though seemed to bring good fortune with it, it was a good weekend.
Saturday was the next installment in the West Ham's relegation scrap. Having been dismal in the three home games previously I was hoping for something better. The draw at Everton gave us hope and in the end three welcome and deserved points came our way against a niggly Sunderland team. The referee was poor (for both teams), in fact as poor as I can remember a ref being for quite some time, and Sunderland were very sly with lots of tugs of shirts and arms putting players off balance, and getting away with it. A win against Wigan in our next home match should, I hope, be enough to ensure survival.
Sunday morning I went to our archery club for my first outdoor shoot of the season, a Western. It took a bit longer than I had 
thought it might to shoot 8 dozen arrows. The first four dozen at 60 yards and the remainder at 50 yards. My gear can just about cope with this distance although others were shooting up to 100 yards. The sun was out but there was a chilly breeze. Without really having anything to compare it with I had no great feeling of achievement nor of disappointment at my final score of 577, but I'm told it is a good score for someone in their first year.
thought it might to shoot 8 dozen arrows. The first four dozen at 60 yards and the remainder at 50 yards. My gear can just about cope with this distance although others were shooting up to 100 yards. The sun was out but there was a chilly breeze. Without really having anything to compare it with I had no great feeling of achievement nor of disappointment at my final score of 577, but I'm told it is a good score for someone in their first year.Straight afterwards I had to whizz off to Newport Pagnell, via home, to photograph the MK Dons ladies team in their final match of the season against Norwich City. 
I managed to get there just after kick off, about 10 minutes late. I found myself a spot behind the goal at the edge of the penalty area. Conditions were not ideal as the sunlight and the Dons white shirts can cause metering problems. I decided to shoot with the camera on manual to try and get around that. The Dons took the lead around midway through the first half, and although I did get a shot of the player shooting, it wasn't great and the ball wasn't in shot. Norwich equalised a few minutes later, but at the other end of the pitch, so no shots of that!
I managed to get there just after kick off, about 10 minutes late. I found myself a spot behind the goal at the edge of the penalty area. Conditions were not ideal as the sunlight and the Dons white shirts can cause metering problems. I decided to shoot with the camera on manual to try and get around that. The Dons took the lead around midway through the first half, and although I did get a shot of the player shooting, it wasn't great and the ball wasn't in shot. Norwich equalised a few minutes later, but at the other end of the pitch, so no shots of that!The second half saw three more goals, but all for Norwich who won comfortably in the end. A shame for me that I didn't get
the chance for more goal shots at my end. My Canon 70-200mm f2.8 really isn't quite long enough for football, even with the 1.4x extender, but I just can't afford the 300mm or 400mm f2.8 prime lenses that you really need for those sports with a bigger pitch. Nevertheless, if you can anticipate the action you can still get some decent shots with this kit. You can also get
away with a fair bit of cropping when they are viewed on the web too, making them look better than they really are. I am looking forward to getting my new computer next week though, as my old one died in early November and it's almost impossible to do anything worthwhile with photos on my netbook. Photoshop will be a welcome sight after months making do with the GIMP. A few of the best shots from the match are shown here. I hope to get the chance to shoot more photos for them next season.
the chance for more goal shots at my end. My Canon 70-200mm f2.8 really isn't quite long enough for football, even with the 1.4x extender, but I just can't afford the 300mm or 400mm f2.8 prime lenses that you really need for those sports with a bigger pitch. Nevertheless, if you can anticipate the action you can still get some decent shots with this kit. You can also get
away with a fair bit of cropping when they are viewed on the web too, making them look better than they really are. I am looking forward to getting my new computer next week though, as my old one died in early November and it's almost impossible to do anything worthwhile with photos on my netbook. Photoshop will be a welcome sight after months making do with the GIMP. A few of the best shots from the match are shown here. I hope to get the chance to shoot more photos for them next season.So a good weekend all round, apart from the sunburnt head that I got for my troubles on Sunday. When the sun is out and there is a cool wind you just don't notice it's strength.
