Rain stopped photography

We hoped Prescot Cables' game at home to New Mills would be dry, but rain was forecast to start around kick off, and it followed my bus to Prescot. To say the visitors have not enjoyed a good season is an understatement, as they had played 18 games without gaining a point. Rod, our drummer, was tempting fate pointing out we were not planning to give them a Christmas present when they came in from warming up. I did not catch the reply, but one word sounded like "off".

The pitch had last been used three weeks previously, and looked as though it had benefited from the rest, but the rain was heavy enough for the possibility of the match being abandoned. I took up position on the gasworks side.

Andy Scarisbrick

The weather was warmer than usual, so I did not realise how wet I, and more to the point my equipment, was getting, which would cause a problem later. The match officials seemed to have read that week's You are the Ref, as the referee was responding to the condition of the sides normally used by the assistants by using the right diagonal.

The visitors showed no sign of overcoming their difficulties, and Rob Doran scored after about 10 minutes.

Rob Doran

We consolidated our lead with two goals in quick succession a few minutes later from James Edgar, who has worked hard to keep opposition defences busy but has not been rewarded with goals.

James Edgar celebrates his first goal with George Mannion and Joe Nicholson

New Mills pulled a goal back just before half time, and I headed to the bar with a reasonable set of pictures, although I am still working on not noise reducing away the rain.

I went back to the gasworks side for the second half, where the rain seemed a little lighter, which may have been my imagination. I was starting to have a spot of bother, as I was running out of cloth (a normal handkerchief) for drying the front of the lens, and was just moving the water around. I was just about operational, although I missed James Edgar completing his hat trick in a bit of a goalmouth scramble, and thought Phil Bannister had scored it.

Phil Bannister

Shortly after this I had to stop, as I was suffering from condensation, something I have successfully avoided in seven or eight years taking pictures outdoors, There are precautions, like keeping the camera dry, and putting it in the bag before I go indoors. However, the mild damp weather created a similar environment in the camera, with the wind blowing on to a wet front of the lens creating a temperature difference and condensation. Once I had it, there was not a lot more I could do in the photo department, so I watched the last 25 minutes without viewing through a small rectangular window.

James McCulloch in my last usable picture of the day, half an hour from time

The rest of the pictures from the game can be seen here.

Final score: Prescot Cables 5 (Edgar 3, Doran 2) New Mills 2.

Nice cigar, but no try

Prescot Cables planned to make a special occasion of the game at home to Warrington Town, with local Mayors and the Member of Parliament being invited. Unfortunately, whilst the week had been reasonably dry, it rained overnight on Friday, and by Saturday morning the pitch was no longer playable. With most football in Liverpool being postponed, I decided to head for Birkenhead Park. The opposition of the day was Wirral RUFC, from a couple of miles down the road, so they could take a late decision on whether to play. A slippery pitch in football can lead to broken ankles, whereas rugby players are likely to end up flat on their faces in the mud, which is in many ways the idea. Standing water is, however, a problem for everyone.

At the time I needed to leave home, the game was still on, so I bought a ticket. Some refer to Merseytravel's Walrus card as "Oyster style", presumably meaning it is small and plastic. The essential component of Oyster is pay-as-you-go, whereas Walrus is pay-before-you-go, so you need the day planned before you first use public transport, and changes are either wasteful or expensive.

No sooner had I got on the bus, I found the game was postponed. However, Waterloo (one less zone on the Walrus) were still playing. This was against Sheffield, so if there was an announcement, it would have been made by then, although it was still raining heavily. I presented £10 at the turnstiles, and was pleasantly surprised to receive a programme and £7 in return.

I took a position on the terrace side, where there were pools of water: the pitch looked soft but playable. Waterloo were playing into a stiff breeze, with low cloud, and, with the floodlights being under repair, it was fortunate both sides' kit included some white

That did not last long, particularly for the forwards. although some of the backs tend to stay standing for longer.

Soon, mud was starting to merge with facial furniture.

For the second half, the hosts took advantage of being at home, and changed into dry kit, of a colour to do no favours to my exposures.

The referee also changed into something drier, although he was more visible.

This was a low scoring game, more rare in rugby of either code than a few years ago. Better pitches and rule changes have reduced the incidence of matches with pushing and shoving in the mud for 80 minutes finishing 3-0. This was not quite such a game, but the scores came from a penalty apiece in each half. I only attend three or four games a season, but I think this is the  first I have been to where both sides stayed in single figures, and the first where neither side scored a try.

As for the cigar, I was not actually going to attempt to smoke one (the last time I did was when you could do so indoors), it was far to wet for one to stay alight.

The rest of the pictures from the game can be seen here.

Final score: Firwood Waterloo 6 Sheffield 6

A visit from the leaders

Before Prescot Cables' game against Northwich Victoria it had rained heavily during the week, but been dry on Friday. Our Chairman was in correspondence on Twitter on Saturday morning with the visitors, advising that the pitch was playable, but its continuing to be so would depend on the weather. A referee was on standby to inspect, although it was not forecast to rain until around 1:30. It arrived a little later than anticipated, when I was at the bus stop following reports on Messenger from the club bar, local public houses and from those stuck with shopping, whilst trying to grasp why so many buses disappeared into thin air on travel apps (they have not invented one whose predictions cope with a sudden traffic jam).

Arriving at the ground a few minutes late, I was surprised to see the places that normally accumulate standing water had drained reasonably well. Low cloud as well as the rain meant lighting conditions were poor, with floodlights required from the outset.

Marcus Burgess was unwell so we saw Ben Morrow return to action for Cables.

Ben Morrow

Andy Paxton's policy is not to have a goalkeeper on the bench, which seems a sensible use of resources, as you rarely replace a goalkeeper unless he is injured or sent off. Ben has been at Widnes - for a young goalkeeper, being on loan a division below and gaining for first team experience is probably more productive than watching from the bench.

I took up position on the gasworks side, quickly realising this was not such a bright idea. After some time of my rain cover flapping in the "breeze", I joined everyone else taking shelter under the stand, which also provided some shelter from the wind. I am still working on a balance between showing rain in a picture and a decent amount of noise reduction.

Danny Flood

I was able to emerge again after a few minutes, to find some water in the goalmouth, but with the pitch otherwise bearing up. I have to admit to losing track of when in the weather related proceedings the visitors scored their first goal (the record says 20 minutes, which suggests in the downpour), but they scored again a minute from time in the first half.

James McCulloch & George Mannion

The second half was drier, so I just had the wind to contend with. We had the chance to score when Rob Doran was fouled just inside the penalty area, but put the resultant kick over the bar. I do not think it made any difference to the outcome: whilst we had a good performance, Northwich are top of the table for a reason, and we did not look like denting their armour.

James Edgar

With the poor lighting conditions, I had a limited range of pictures that came out at print quality. Although the Echo no longer produce the Merseymart supplement, so the shape is not as important as it was, landscape format is still better for their website, where they report on the club most weeks. I try to keep the player libraries at the Echo and TheNonLeague magazine up to date, which is not helped when the most suitable images are of exactly the same four players I sent in from the last game.

The rest of the pictures from the game can be seen here.

Final score: Prescot Cables 0 Northwich Victoria 2.

If you are not going to Yorkshire ...

... the next best thing is for Yorkshire to come to you.

Prescot Cables' scheduled game at Ossett Town saw Saturday morning scenes quite common at this time of year. Dewsbury and Ossett are good for beer and pubs, so a number of our train crew were waiting on the results of a 9.30 pitch inspection - the need for such an event does not usually bode well. The anticipated postponement found us all dressed up with nowhere to go.

I decided instead to attend Birkenhead Park's game at home to Sheffield. They have no FA strictures about turnstiles, so a table with a pile of programmes and a cash box is perfectly sufficient. However, they have moved it since my last daylight visit: had I arrived by bus, I would have seen it as I walked through the pedestrian gate; however, from the train in the opposite direction, it was hidden by the gate as I breezed through the vehicle entrance and wondered why nobody was taking money. Fortunately I stopped to look around, so the gate man attracted my attention and relieved me of £5 in return for a programme with one of my pictures on the cover.

The visitors' strip was blue and white with red socks.

These colours may have some civic connection, as Sheffield Corporation buses were white with blue trim and red wheels. That was until 1968 when the Conservatives won control of the Council, and the wheels started to be painted blue. When Labour regained control the following year, they went back to red. Another plausible version of the story is that a new general manager just preferred blue, but reckoned without the tyre maintenance contractors, who were notorious for not matching wheels, and changed his mind when buses started to appear with mixed wheels, like odd socks.

Followers of these pages will know the hosts' colours are also red, white and blue, which sounds like a clash (historically, the home side changed in such an event), but the different pattern meant the distinction was clear.

I took up position on the Park side. From the local weather, you would not have thought games were being rained off elsewhere, and the sun was behind me.

The visitors quickly opened the scoring, and had much of the play for the first few minutes.

We have looked before at the photographic potential of the line out. The principle is straightforward, the hooker throws the ball between the lines, and the players jump for it. Lifting was allowed in the nineties on the grounds everyone was doing it anyway. There is no requirement to throw the ball upwards, only for it to travel 5m horizontally, and we can see here that the ball has been thrown low, so the player at the front can catch it. I have never seen this, and was not expecting it twice more: it seems a tactic that relies on surprise.

The Park side is where the visitors' substitutes and coaching team are located, and on this occasion a photographer was with them. The jovial suggestion was made that I should buy some high vis and go the pitch side of the barrier, but I will stick to the spectator side, where there is no risk of interfering with the movement of the coaches. Having said that, with the gusty wind, players kicking penalties had to use a decent bit of force to make sure the ball went into touch, so I was relieved not to be fishing it out of the bushes.

Kicking off at 2.15 in the winter has become more or less universal at this level of the game, saving expenditure on floodlights. Naturally, the light fades towards the end, with the final whistle being around sunset, so I need to drop the shutter speed, giving the chance for another of those photos with the ball carrier reasonably frozen and everyone else slightly blurred.

This was an evenly matched game, with the hosts levelling twice, but unable to pull ahead, and finally falling to a converted try ten minutes from time.

The rest of the pictures from the game can be seen here.

Final score: Birkenhead Park 12 (T. Brown, Chidley, C. Hall) Sheffield 19.

Steam pipe trunk distribution venue

The day before Prescot Cables' game at Witton Albion, the hosts, with commendable accuracy, explained that the pitch was playable, but heavy rain was forecast overnight, so an inspection was scheduled for the morning. Lighter than expected rain meant this was not required.

The club's name comes from Witton cum Twanbrooks, one of Northwich's constituent villages, after which the parish church, St Helen Witton, is also named. I decided the most comfortable travel option was by train via Chester. It was raining heavily when I changed trains, and I anticipated a late postponement, although the rain was lighter in Northwich. The walk to the ground was along a new road built on a former railway alignment. Running alongside were some large bore pipes with warnings about high pressure steam, and visual evidence leaking from one. I am not sure whether they only carry steam, as I thought a factory that needed it would generate it on site.

I was concerned I might have made a wasted journey, as a number of players who would normally be starting but for injury emerged from the bar just as I arrived. However, the pristine playing surface drained well, and a few ground volunteers were energetically forking to make sure. There is a stand along one side and some covered standing on the other three. It was clear the floodlights, in a corner arrangement, would be needed from an early stage. I took up position opposite the stand.

Rob Doran opened the scoring after 30 minutes. I was not in the best position to capture the goal ...

... but I captured his celebrating with his normal unflappable match day demeanour.

The lead did not last long, with Jamie Menagh, formerly of this parish, scoring four minutes later.

Jamie Menagh chases Connor Grainger

The rain continued to fall throughout the half. I attempted to get an impression of the rain in the pictures, but I think I removed quite a bit with over enthusiastic noise reduction, which removes grain, but can also remove anything that resembles it. The pitch was draining well, aided by a comprehensive replacement of divots at half time.

For the start of the second half, I went behind the goal we were attacking, and was rewarded by capturing a first goal for the club from Joe Nicholson.

Joe Nicholson shoots for goal ...

... and watches it go in

Shortly afterwards, I moved back to the side. At this time of year, there is a point when the floodlights go from assisting with natural daylight to taking over the primary illumination. I had not given this much thought before managing my own white balance - I was only concerned with illuminance. Colour balance is expressed in temperature units: high temperatures for blue light, and low for red. This feels counter intuitive: as the afternoon gets darker and colder, the light gets bluer, so its "temperature" goes up. Once the floodlights take over, the temperature falls to the red end of the spectrum, in a clear discontinuity, one frame needs balancing for shade, then a few frames later it is for fluorescent light. There is not, however, much difference in the processed output.

George Mannion in cloudy light

Marcus Burgess with the floodlights dominant

We held on for a good win, our form at home starting to show on the road. Witton have struggled more than we expected at the beginning of the season, but this was a demonstration that we can perform when missing some first choice players. Our latest recruits from the Youth Team, Andy Scarisbrick and Connor Grainger, continue to impress, with the latter adjudged by a poster on the Witton forum to have caused their defence problems all afternoon.

Andy Scarisbrick

Having visited Witton's new ground, I bought a sandwich on my way to the train at (as I did not realise until later) their old one, Sainsbury's on the site of the Central Ground being a successful example of a club working with the retail sector to develop new facilities.

The rest of the pictures from the game can be seen here.

Final score: Witton Albion 1 Prescot Cables 2 (Doran, Joe Nicholson).

Unseasonably warm

The first couple of weeks of November were unseasonably warm. I cannot remember getting so far into the month without the thermostat turning my central heating on. However, the rain was more seasonal, with some expressing concern before Prescot Cables' game against Clitheroe that it might be rained off. A number of other local fixtures fell to the weather, but ours survived with no sign of standing water. This probably helped our attendance: we certainly had a couple of visitors from Skelmersdale United - either to see how Andy Paxton was getting on or on a scouting mission.

We were joined by a German guest. Dr Mike, who watched Cables whilst researching at the University of Liverpool, had brought some relatives and friends for a short visit. He and most of his party procured tickets for Old Trafford via a method that sounded as dodgy as it was inconvenient, but his cousin Markus, a supporter of SpVgg Unterhaching, elected to join us in Prescot.

More heavy rain fell when we were in the pub before the game, but by the start the sun had returned temporarily. I made my way around the pitch in the opposite direction to my normal practice, going first behind our own goal. I was rewarded with some pictures of our defence with the sun behind them.

Jonah O'Reilly with Clitheroe's Sefton Gonzales

With the sun low in the sky, some pictures had a lot of back lighting, not necessarily from looking into the sun, but also from its reflection on the perimeter fence. This could be dealt with using the raw converter but would probably have been unsalvageable relying on the JPEG from the camera.

Antony Shinks - as captured on camera ...

... and the picture rescued

The rugby was on the television in the bar...

The game was goalless at half time. Rob Doran giving us the lead early in the second half. Clitheroe restored parity through Sefton Gonzales fifteen minutes from the end. Although both sides looked as though they could score, we were primarily working to retain the point. The defence performed well, with some sterling work from Marcus Burgess ...

... and good backup when needed.

Joe Herbert clears off the line

Another solid performance, assisted by some tactical timing from the crowd returning balls that had gone into the space on the gasworks side to purchase a few seconds breathing space, ensured we held on to a hard fought point against a team currently in a play off position.

The rest of the pictures from the game can be seen here.

Final score: Prescot Cables 1 (Doran) Clitheroe 1.

A city with handles

On the way to Prescot Cables' game at Lancaster City, all three pubs we visited offered the choice of a straight or handled glass. Two had a traditional dimpled glass, the third had a German looking contraption with a heavy base. I, not surprisingly, was the only handle user: Richie, our leader in beer and pub choices, chose a straight glass with the observation that we were not in Oxfordshire. Whilst southern beers served with a loose head work particularly well with a tankard, I am surprised they are not more common in the north: with the glass filled to overflowing for a creamy head, it seems handy to have part that stays dry.

By the time we reached the ground, it had started to rain, so fortunately we were playing towards the covered end. It was still unusually mild, so some had taken the chance to have a haircut before it gets too cold.

Jazz McCulloch

I was in the wrong position to capture the pre match handshakes, which is convenient for getting numbers, boots and haircuts all in a few frames to assist with captions. Numbers on the front of shirts, you know they make sense.

Both our Joe Evanses (or Joes Evans) were playing. The Joe and Joseph naming convention had been replaced by Joseph and Joseph J. Both players featured in the pictures I sent to TheNonLeague magazine: I stayed with the previous convention for now.

Joe Evans, aka Joseph J Evans

Joseph Evans, aka ... er ... Joseph Evans

It was quickly apparent this would not be one of our better performances, as we so often find at Lancaster. The hosts took the lead after 10 minutes, and added 2 more in the half hour. Any hope of coming back was probably extinguished when Lloyd Dean was sent off five minutes from the end of the half. I did not see the incident, but we then had the free kick. Waiting in the queue for the tea bar, a home supporter thought the sending off a little harsh, although retaliation (if that is what the card was for) tends to result in dismissal regardless of gravity.

My travelling companions disappeared to the pub at half time and did not return. I feel duty bound to remain in post, and was right to do so, as I like to capture players' first appearances, this time by Andy Scarisbrick. The announcer pronounced his name as written; I thought it was Scares-brick; and my friend Dr James from Crosby, not far from the village from which the name derives, pronounces it Scays-brick: none of us have had the chance to ask him. Oddly, I used the speech feature on Google Keyboard for Android to input this text before editing it manually, and it correctly spelled all three pronunciations. That was a surprise, as it always renders "goals" as "girls" - and I have never even lived in Hull.

Andy Scarisbrick

As those who went to the pub anticipated, the performance did not get better in the second half, with the hosts adding a further two goals. Our impressive home performance has still to replicate itself on the road.

The rest of the pictures from the game can be seen here.

Final score: Lancaster City 5 Prescot Cables 0.

Friday night lights

A number of rugby union clubs in England must have been disappointed when the hosts were knocked out of the World Cup, as they will have been hoping for increased bar revenue showing the games. Last Friday saw the third place playoff between South Africa and Argentina. I say Friday saw it, I had no intention of doing so, as I am not a fan of televised sport, and had no strong interest in the outcome. However, alternative entertainment was available at Birkenhead Park, in the Cheshire Cup semi-final against New Brighton. This was the first time I have photographed rugby under lights. Given that, in both codes, recovery time means it is only practical for a team to play once a week, midweek games, at least at the level I watch, are rare.

I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived, as they were not charging for admission. Unfortunately it also meant there was no-one to ask to point out a member of the committee, so my pint that has been on offer from the webmaster for use of my photos once again remained unclaimed.

I tried the light meter on my phone, not a precision instrument, and obtained a reading of 320 lux under a pylon. That suggests as a rough estimate the lights are set up for an average value of 250 lux across the field.

When play got under way, I quickly got some good results particularly in the fairly static parts of the game such as scrums.

I took up my normal position on the Park side, which, being even more lightly populated than usual, allows plenty of freedom of movement to follow play.

The line out is not everybody's favourite part of rugby union, and indeed it was the first part of the game with which rugby league dispensed in 1897, but it is useful to the photographer. In an evening game I could use the raw converter to lower the level of black to make the players appear in particular contrast against the sky.

Both teams were playing in a kit with a substantial amount of white, which is always helps with lighting.

I was alternating between 1/200s and  1/250s shutter speeds. The results from this when players are running across your field of view are always variable, but I got more than enough to make up a collection.

There was a difference of two steps between the teams: both played in the same division last year, the hosts having left through promotion and the visitors through relegation. A win for Birkenhead Park was not unexpected, but the final score, with the hosts being able to prevent New Brighton from scoring, was not necessarily a fair reflection of the balance of play.

The rest of the pictures from the game can be seen here.

Final score: Birkenhead Park 36 New Brighton 0.

Disappearing pictures

I posted an unusually small collection of photos for Prescot Cables' game at home to AFC Liverpool in the Liverpool Senior Cup. Two thirds of the way through the game my two week old SD card stopped working, taking my photos up to that point with it.

The disappearing photos included our match ball sponsor enjoying his hospitality. We do not usually take pictures of the sponsors, but this was a bright chap aged about 10 called David. As he was prepared to spend what I assume was his birthday cash or something similar, and bring four paying adults with him, he got a few more goodies than usual, including a pair of gloves from Marcus Burgess. I wondered whether I would have been able to pay for a sponsorship when I was 10, but the equivalent of the current £50 was only £8.99 in 1978.

I took my usual position on the gasworks side, and started snapping away. The visitors were playing in purple, a kit colour I do not encounter very often, and which turns out blue on photos.

Despite losing the pictures up to about half way through the second half, I was able to to try what I wanted with the remaining images, mainly trying to get the AFC Liverpool kit to come out in its natural purple. I tried different combinations of lighting temperature (blue / yellow) and tint (green / magenta), and found the combination that made the visitors' shirts come out in the right colour made the players close to the orange of our shirts.

A purple AFC Liverpool kit - and orange everything else

Rob Doran in more natural colours, and the AFC Liverpool kit looking blue

There was a gentleman also taking photographs with a decent looking kit, who I thought was with the visitors, as he was behind the goal they were attacking in the first half, and was more towards their end in the second. This may not have been the case: when I posted my collection online, AFC Liverpool asked to use a picture to illustrate the match report on their website.

Joe Nicholson

Both sides had their chances, but the game looked to be heading to penalties, until Lloyd Dean was brought on, and almost immediately made an impact with two goals in as many minutes putting us through to the quarter finals. It is the advantage of this competition, the small size of the County FA makes for a small number of rounds.

Connor Grainger, stepping up from the youth team, made a first start, having come on from the bench in a previous game.

Connor Grainger

We also saw five minutes from Josh Donnelly, who showed promise in pre season, but who has not been able to play in the season so far.

Josh Donnelly

After the game, I was able to catch David and replace the missing picture with one by the pitch and one with Andy Paxton for him and his family.

The rest of the pictures from the game can be seen here.

Final score: Prescot Cables 2 (Dean 2) AFC Liverpool 0

The special soup

For Prescot Cables' visit to Glossop North End, engineering works halved the train service between Liverpool and Manchester. Having experienced the same the previous week, I travelled on the team coach. I thought of frequenting the Star opposite the station, but everybody else went into the ground, so I joined them and had a pint of Howard Town Longdendale Light in the clubhouse. One table was laid with tablecloths and place settings, presumably for sponsors, although the quality of the Mettrick's pies meant they were eating the same as us, just with plates, knives and forks. When I had finished my pint, I bought a lamb and mint pasty, and went to watch the players warming up.

One reason I took the coach was that the weather did not look pleasant for a pre match walk, but it gave me the opportunity to try my technical changes in a variety of conditions. We started playing towards the clubhouse when the rain had only just stopped and the sky was still dark. This is the first time I have had to switch to shutter priority mode (at 1/320s) during the afternoon this season.

Joe Herbert

It was, however, as my mother used to say, referring to clearer sky in the distance, a bit lighter over Bill's mother's. I never understood this phrase, being unclear who Bill was, and his mother never seemed to live in the same place. It was bright on the field, with another early goal from Lloyd Dean.

Match action seemed to be in midfield so I moved next to the dugouts. By this time the sun was coming out, so I went back to the sports mode on the camera.

Antony Shinks

The hosts equalised through Jamie Rainford on the half hour.

Surrey Street is a picturesque addition to our division, with fine views in most directions. There is also a reminder of the town's industrial heritage / blot on the landscape (delete according to preference) in the shape of a large chimney, no longer in operation, which no-one has been able to afford to dismantle, but which provides a handy landmark.

For the second half I followed the the same pattern as the first, starting behind the goal we were attacking...

Shane Glean

... and quickly moving towards the half way line. There was some heavy rain, then the sun broke through the clouds which gave some good effects.

George Mannion

The trees cast some irregular shadows: raw format let me deal with these much more effectively than I would have been able with jpegs.

James Edgar

A slightly lucky goal about 15 minutes from time handed all the points to Glossop.

Most clubs close their tea bar after half time, as there is little demand after this. However, clubs are obliged to provide hot food for the players and match officials after the game, so Glossop also keep the hatch open after the game.

Whilst one tends to be wary about "special stuff" in these parts, I can confirm this was a most tasty pea soup.

The rest of the pictures from the game can be seen here.

Final score: Glossop North End 2 Prescot Cables 1 (Dean).