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 The Joe and Joseph naming convention had been replaced by Joseph and Joseph J. Both players featured in the pictures I sent to TheNonLeague magazine: I stayed with the previous convention for now.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).

An absolute humdinger from 25 yards out

Listeners to the excellent Forward the Hamlet podcast will be familiar with the opening sequence, in which my friend Richard, who posts on Dulwich Hamlet forums as Pink Panther, describes, in his distinctively deep and clear voice, a goal as "an absolute humdinger from 25 yards out". At Prescot Cables' game against Trafford, we had one too, of which more later.

I had agreed that before the game I would photograph Phil Bannister's presentation for 100 appearances. I got a bus to get there in plenty of time, but an accident on the M56 was causing congestion for 20 miles around, so it was a bit late. This would not have been a problem, had the driver not slowed down once past the congestion as though he was early. The presentation therefore had a rushed air, and certainly no time for speeches. At least I got a picture for Phil and his family.

Doug Lace (Club Secretary), Phil Bannister, Andy Paxton

We played at Trafford earlier in the season, losing 8-0, watched by Andy Paxton, who was to be appointed as manager the following morning. Things did not bode well for this return fixture, with an early goal from the visitors, and a first half performance that left something to be desired. We were, however, able to level the scores towards half time with a goal from Rob Doran.

Rob Doran

My photographic experiments continued: where the ball or part of the action is set against the night sky, I try to keep the background as dark as possible. Using the raw file editor, we can use the levels and noise reduction to remove grain and enhance this effect.

Joe Herbert

The second half immediately looked as though it would be much better, with a penalty converted by Rob Doran in the first few minutes. I had found the first half frustrating photographically, with most play in front of the stand, when I was on the gasworks side. The second half was more promising.

Danny Flood

Phil Bannister celebrated his award with the goal of the match, and a contender for goal of the season. This was our "absolute humdinger from 25 yards out", leaving the defence and goalkeeper standing. I was standing in front of Jonah O'Reilly's father, who often gets our goals on video, and neither of us were surprised not to have captured it. Get in!

The scoring was completed with our fourth goal from Lloyd Dean shortly before the end.

This result illustrates the turnaround since Andy Paxton became manager, particularly at home. In turn, attendances are about 30 or so up on the same period last season, and more people using the bar after the game. This has been achieved with relatively small changes in personnel. Of the starting XI, nine players were with us at the beginning of the season, with only Marcus Burgess and Lloyd Dean (who have admittedly been highly significant additions) having joined under the new management.

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

Final score: Prescot Cables 4 (Doran 2, Bannister, Dean) Trafford 1.

They read a lot of newspapers

Some Premier League supporters wax lyrical about the times when games started at 3pm on Saturday. Leaving aside that some of us remember non league kickoffs as a moveable feast during the winter, if they want football at 3pm on Saturday, we can help them find some. When their games are at the traditional time, they often impact upon our travel. Prescot Cables' game at Droylsden coincided with Manchester City, on the same tram line, playing Bournemouth. I wondered whether I should catch a tram at Deansgate-Castlefield to beat the crowds, but there was efficient flow management at Piccadilly, so I had no difficulty getting the first tram.

The weather was quite light, with sunny intervals, which was new, as it has been gloomy on my previous visits. I started next to the stand ...

Phil Bannister

... and worked around behind the goal we were attacking.

James Edgar

Our old friend and former Assistant Manager Ged Murphy was playing: a slight surprise, as I thought he was concentrating on coaching. Whilst he coaches well from the technical area, it sounded as though his team mates did not always find his on field instructions helpful.

Ged Murphy

We were quickly ahead with a goal from James McCulloch.

James McCulloch

The sun started to come out as I was working my way round the ground. By the time I was opposite the stand, it was behind our players. The home goalkeeper did not look as though he expected it.

This was a chance to see whether shooting in raw made any difference with back lighting. We can use the lighten shadows function in Photoshop Elements, which can make the player look faded. Using the exposure functions on the raw image gave a better result.

Lloyd Dean

The hosts scored towards the end of the first half, and we restored our lead courtesy of Rob Doran early in the second.

Rob Doran

Two quick goals from Droylsden ten minutes later handed the lead to them, and they added a fourth at 80 minutes. However, we continued to play to the end, and snatched a goal from a rebound falling to Lloyd Dean. This was too close to full time for another, so we were disappointed to lose despite scoring three away from home.

Joining us from the bench was Joe Evans, recently signed from Cammell Laird. We already have a Joe Evans: it would be simpler if players were like actors, and could not have the same name as an existing performer. We seem to have adopted this solution on a small scale, with the new Joe Evans being Joseph for these purposes.

Joe Evans

Joseph Evans

This blog likes to keep an eye out for quirky items, and I spotted something for the Facebook page Non League Bins. Not many grounds get through enough newspapers to need two bins reserved for recycling them.

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

Final score: Droylsden 4 Prescot Cables 3 (McCulloch, Doran, Dean)

Shooting raw part 2 - night

You know you have arrived when one of your pictures is on a pump clip! The latest product badged for us by the Melwood Beer Company featured two of our longer standing supporters.

In my previous post, I looked at saving pictures in raw format and processing lighting and exposure on the computer. Whilst I will use this for non sports pictures, I was not yet sure whether the benefit was worth the extra work for sports during the day. However, being used to stretching the best the camera has to offer in low light, I was keen to see the effect at night. With a lack of success in the FA competitions, we have not had many midweek games, so I was fortunate to have a quick opportunity to test with our game at home to Kendal Town.

As in the weekend's game, we started well with an early goal from Lloyd Dean as I was making my way round to the gasworks side.

Lloyd Dean

When I got the pictures home, the first thing I looked at was the white balance. In the shutter priority mode on the camera, I use the auto setting, which under floodlights imparts a slight yellow cast. There is a fluorescent setting, but whilst floodlights are gas discharge lamps, and like a domestic fluorescent light contain mercury, they also contain sodium, which explains the yellow cast. As with the daylight photos, it took a few attempts to get the setting right, but the advantage of a floodlit game is that the lighting is constant throughout.

Danny Flood

The real revelation came with the exposure. Because I use a consumer lens with a small maximum aperture, I have to slightly under expose the image to retain an acceptable shutter speed - 1/200s is the slowest we can get away with, with some movement blur in the players' hands and feet and in the ball.

The lighten shadows function in Photoshop Elements has a tendency to increase noise, particularly light grain on a dark background. Using the exposure function on the raw image allows lightening with much less increase in noise - and for that which remains, the noise reduction function is much more powerful than that on the camera (which should not be a surprise, the computer has more processing power).

Marcus Burgess

Amidst this technical detail, there was a game going on. Kendal equalised after about 20 minutes with a shot that hit the bar and bounced downwards. Observers nearer than me were confident it went in, but Jordan Connerton avoided a Russian linesman moment by putting the rebound in the net.

Rob Doran restored our lead a few minutes later.

Jordan Connerton restored parity for the visitors 20 minutes into the second half, and for the remaining time the spectators were treated to a game with a realistic chance of going either way up to the end, with a draw being a fair result.

We saw the first appearance this season by Antony Shinks, returning a break from playing and some time in the United States.

Antony Shinks

The game was also the 100th appearance by Phil Bannister, who made a welcome return to the club in pre season.

Phil Bannister

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

Final score: Prescot Cables 2 (Dean, Doran) Kendal Town 2.