The Sporting Picture

90 year old Roy and Chums….. @EJChurchill

cornishlad — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 21:13:02 +0000

Those regular followers of my blog will know I photographed Roy Malpas and his friends at EJ Churchill shooting ground earlier this week. Roy was celebrating his 90th birthday and is proud to shoot at EJ Churchill every week with his friends. A leisurely 50 bird English Sporting with a cup of tea before and after is a great way to spend the afternoon with some friendly banter thrown in along the way.

Here are a few more pictures from the afternoon I promised I would post on my blog.

Congratulations Roy, I only hope I have your energy and enthusiasm for life when I’m your age.

Could this be the oldest hot shot in the UK?

cornishlad — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 21:21:09 +0000

Today I had the pleasure of meeting Roy Malpas at EJ Churchill shooting ground. Roy is a much loved regular client and comes in with his crew every week for 50 bird sporting round come rain or shine. Not only is Roy a pretty hot shot but he has also just celebrated his 90th Birthday.

As fit as a fiddle he will put some of us younger ones to shame. Having shot his first gun in 1941 Roy has a wealth of knowledge of guns and as it happens Photography and Cinematography, so you could say we got on like a house on fire. I only hope I have his energy and zest for life when I am his age….

I just wanted to post a quick portrait of him for his family and friends to see. I will post a few more on here in the future.

In the meantime is Roy the oldest clay shooter in the UK?

Roy Malpas – 90 years and 1 day old

The BDCI charity clay shoot pictures are now online!

cornishlad — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:13:52 +0000

The images from yesterdays BDCI Charity Clay Shoot are now online.

Please go to my gallery page by clicking here. You will see the BDCI gallery with the Land Rover badge and the access code is the hosts christian name followed by 20052013 without any spaces. Any problems please email me thesportingpicture@gmail.com

Thank you.

Dovecote Park BDCI charity clay shoot at West Wycombe Park

cornishlad — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:53:21 +0000

Today I attended West Wycombe Park for the Dovecote Park charity clay pigeon shoot. Another fantastic day of simulated game for the 20 or so teams of 4 that shot over 5 stands with 80 birds being released on each stand.

Some great shooting had by all and over £20,000 raised for The BDCI (Butchers’ and Drovers’ Charitable Institution) The charity exists to provide support for those who work, or have previously worked, in the meat industry but have fallen on hard times, regardless of their circumstances. Widows, dependants and children may also be eligible for assistance.

For those that attended and are eager to see the images they will be online later this week. Please sign up to my Sporting Picture page to get an alert when the images are ready either by Facebook, Twitter or WordPress by clicking on the relevant application on the right.

E J Churchill set a fabulous course and great entertainment was had with the exploding clays on the bolting rabbit and teal stand.

In the meantime here’s a great picture of Sir Edward Dashwood shooting a blazing bunny and Micky Rouse who entertained us today with their incredible shooting skills.

Thanks to all the E J Churchill staff and competitors for making it such a fantastic day to photograph.

#hunt pictures from the VWH now online!

cornishlad — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 22:25:34 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I was very lucky to get invited along to a Vale of White Horse Hunt in Wiltshire by another great Country sports photographer Kay Thompson based in Cirencester whom I was introduced to on Twitter. I was keen to get some hunt images under my belt before the end of the season and after a shout out on Twitter Kay invited me along to the rather grand Vale of White Horse Hunt who met on this particular day in a village north of Swindon. Having only ever taken a few pictures on one previous hunt I was a total novice to this sport. My attraction was the spectacle of these ladies and gentlemen on horseback parading through the British Countryside with a pack of hounds leading the way.

I was not disappointed, it was a great day, full of wonderful people, laughter and an incredible sight to photograph. Here are a few of the images from the hunt. Those that attended the hunt and wanted to see more pictures please click here. The password for the gallery the name of the village where the hunt met.

Special thanks to Kay for making this possible for me and also driving me around all day!

Kay’s images from the day can be seen by clicking here

Beaters Day and Pickers Up at West Wycombe Park

cornishlad — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 23:34:17 +0000

There was a beaters day at West Wycombe Park today and one thing I never have enough practice at photographing is dogs retrieving birds. I spoke to David Swallow, the head keeper who said it would be fine to hang out with the picker ups and photograph the action from the back of the field. The guns today also had several dogs amongst them who were keen to retrieve the birds too. I spent most of the day with a gentleman, David Frost, one of the writers for the Shooting Times and other shooting titles. He has 4 black lab, all whom are very well trained and excellent gun dogs. I also spent time with Tony and Alistair and their Cocker Spaniels who helped towards more great pictures. There was plenty of friendly banter going on today between the dog handlers as to the merits of their dogs, Spaniels verses Labrador……… I’m keeping out of this one!!!

Here are a few pictures, more can be found at the top of the page entitled ‘Picking up at West Wycombe’ or on my Facebook page by clicking here

EJ Churchill Staff Day Pictures Online!

cornishlad — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 21:38:28 +0000

Today I had the great privilege to shoot (with a gun) on the West Wycombe Estate with some of the staff from EJ Churchill for their annual staff day. I also took my camera along and took some pictures between drives. Here are some of my favourite images from today, others can be found by clicking on the page at the top entitled ‘E J Churchill Staff 2013′ . To all who attended please feel free to copy and save them and use them for your own personal use, all I ask is a LIKE on my Facebook page by clicking here. Thank you!

Special thanks to Rob Fenwick and Sir Edward Dashwood for inviting me along. I am proud to say I hit double figures on some drives!

Merry Christmas Message….

cornishlad — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 16:04:13 +0000

Showsley Estate Shoot 15th December

cornishlad — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 17:04:49 +0000

Last Saturday I attended a fabulous shoot at the Showsley Estate, near Towcester with some pretty keen shots! We started the day with a brilliant duck drive, followed by five more mixed drives (mainly pheasant) throughout the day stopping for roast lamb in the shooting lodge at lunch time. A great day for all concerned with a final bag of 373 finished off with homemade cake and tea in the lodge.

I am currently working on an album for each of the guns that the host is giving them as a momento of the day. Here is a selection of my shots from the day…..

What’s with the toilet roll you say? I can’t tell you that……

Henley Shoot 1st December 2012

cornishlad — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 12:01:07 +0000

For those that attended the shoot near Henley on Thames on 1st December you will be pleased to know the images are now online to view. The gallery is kept private and is only available to those that attended. The password is the hosts youngest daughter’s christian name.

Please follow this link and enter the password to view the images. http://www.photoboxgallery.com/thesportingpicture

Prints and various other products can be purchased online via the secure shopping cart facility. Should you experience any difficulty please email me thesportingpicture@gmail.com

Thank you.

Mark