Underwater In Swanage

I have been lucky enough to get a couple of days diving in Swanage and get some good visibility as well. I found my first UK Sea Slug, which doesn't sound that glamourous but I love them :) The one on the left is Flabellina pedata and was about 1.5cm long so I was using a 100mm Macro lens with a canon 500D diopter, 2 Sea & Sea YS110 aplha strobes: 1/200 f16 ISO 200 on a 5D camera.

I managed to meet up with some other keen underwater photographers so a good weekend was had by all. I also managed some deeper dives down to 22m looking for larger aquatic life, sadly the viz was not great so no pics there.

Slovakian Adventure

This was the second event of the year that took me to a country that I hadn't previously visited. The event was about a 4 hour drive from Bratislava and the surrounding area was absolutely stunning. We were up in the mountains and at a golf and ski resort called Tale, (pronounced tali).

We were warned about the danger of the bears and wolves that roam the area, and to be honest, despite the occasional attacks on local people, I was rather hoping to come across some of the animals as one of my passions is wildlife photography.

That aside being in the mountains presented some weather challenges with 3 of the 4 days being disrupted by electrical storms, with one being right overhead. There was intermittent sunshine but Tale is definitely somewhere I would love to return to.

UniCredit Ladies German Open

Laura Davies, took her second title of the year by winning in Germany. Her earlier win in New Zealand gave her the title of the Oldest Winner on the Ladies European Tour. It was Laura's 74th global victory and she took home the 50,000 Euro winners cheque as well as an Audi A5 convertible.

Sadly, photographically speaking, the weather was not fantastic with rain nearly every day. The prize ceremony was blessed with the only sunshine of the week so I managed t get a "non rainy" shot of Laura with the Audi A5 in the background, a technically easy shot to take, just make sure you stop down enough to obtain the depth of field you need.

Turkish Airlines Ladies Open

This time we managed to avoid the nightmare of the volcanic ash an had a very nice flight out to Turkey on Turkish Airlines. I always find that having a TV screen in the headrest in front of you with 60 films to choose from makes flying a little more bearable. The event took me to the National Golf Club in Belek, Antalya which is a fantastic location for golfers with some superb 5 star al inclusive hotels, which are dangerous if you like a tipple, (just ask some caddies), and equally good resort courses. The national Golf Club is the oldest one in the area, dating back to 1994 so not really that old compared to courses in the UK but considering that 2 of the 13-14 courses in the area are just over a year old, the National is something of a heritage site. The course is tight, tree lined and water comes into play on a majority of the holes so there is plenty to catch the wayward golfer. The greens are also pretty firm meaning that anything but the loftiest of wedges can skid through to the waiting rough or bunker unless your ball striking and spin control is up to speed.

This week turned out to be especially important as Melissa Reid finally recorded her first professional victory. We have all been waiting for a couple of years for Mel to win and 4 second places along with lots of top 10 finishes meant that it was only a matter of time before she won, but she kept us waiting. Anyway, congrats to Melissa, I am sure that this is the first of many wins, and on this form I am sure that she will take her new confidence into next week when we travel to Munich for the Unicredit Ladies German Open Presented by Audi.

VCI European Cup

Congratulations to Anna Nordqvist and Sophie Gustafson for winning the Euro Nations Cup. It was a pretty exciting final round with a 3 hole play-off required for Sweden to close the door on the Australian team of Carrie Webb and Karren Lunn.

After the celebrations and the obligatory trip to the bar at the end of a long day, it was time to drive back home, which was the small matter of 1300 miles. Home safely after 2 days of driving, 7 tanks of fuel and another £600 of repairs to the car I was looking forward to a couple of days off.

Day 1 of the VCI European Nations Cup

Drizzle on the first tee didn't dampen the players mood during the first round of the tournament. The Austrian pair of Nicole Gergely and Stefanie Michl took line honours, carding six under par. Their achievement was made all the more remarkable as Stefanie only arrived in Spain from the USA at 12:3o last night and without her clubs and clothes. She was able to compete today by borrowing clothes from Maria Verchenova, a Russian competitor, and by sharing clubs with her team mate. Fortunately, for team Austria, both girls use Titleist clubs and a Scotty Cameron putter. The team format means that, unlike stroke play events, players can share clubs so long as there are no more than 14 in the bag. The good news for the Austrians is that Stefanie's clubs are on their way to Madrid as I write so she should be re-united with them by her tee time tomorrow.

Spain produced a late rally to tie for the lead by birdying the 17 & 18th holes but with eight teams within 2 shots of the lead and three rounds left, everything is still to play for.

VCI European Cup

The VCI European Nations Cup is one of my favourite events of the year as the promotors always make the effort to launch the event is a spectacular way. This year it was magic shows on stage, glitter and lots of music, along with the obligatory champagne, wine, canapes ad finger food. The new addition to the line up this year was a painting of 'Birdie" the official mascot to the event. Each team had to complete the painting by colouring in their respective flags. Above you we have Gwladys Nocera showing that she could be next in line as one of the great French impressionists. The tournament itself starts tomorrow and comprises 18 teams playing.

VAV's Make their way to Denia for the VCI Euro Nations Cup

With all flights cancelled from the UK there there was only one thing for it.. a Road Trip to the east coast of Spain for the European Nations Cup. Four VAVs (Volcanic Ash Victims), Myself, Bethan Cutler, Media Relations Manager for the Ladies European Tour, Matt Cooper, from Golf 365, and Steve Walsh a professional caddie and friend. I made the 1300 mile, 2 day trip from the New Forest, picking up passengers on the way until I arrived at the Channel Tunnel. The drive itself was not too bad apart from having to stop in Paris to find two new tyres that needed to be replaced as I, thankfully, spotted 2 blisters on the outside wall of the drivers side front. Anyway we eventually made it to Denia and just in time for the Opening ceremony.

Thanks to Matt for the Photo of one of our "Pit Stops" Here you can see Bethan on the fuel, Steve with the squeegee and me cleaning the drivers side window. Sadly we were not as quick as the F1 teams but we did our best :)

Congratulations Anja.

Congratulations to Anja Monke on winning in the Lalla Merryem Cup. Sadly the prize presentation was held a day later to coincide with the Mens European Tour so I only had a shot of Anja with the flowers that she received on the 18th green. A couple of weeks off now before the Ladies are in action again at the VCI European Nations Cup

Moroccan Adventure.

Today is a first for me, as last night, I travelled to Morocco. I am here for the Lalla Meryem Cup, a Ladies European Tour golf event that is run along side the Men's tour event. The weather certainly makes a change from what we have enjoyed (or not) in the UK so hopefully there will be some nice blue skies and bright colours to shoot. I have only just arrived at the course but had time to walk to the 18th green, which looks like a tough finishing hole as a lake dominates the right hand side of the fairway and runs in front of the green . The sun starts to set here at about 17:30 so I will try and get some shots about then . Info: Canon 1Ds MkII 24-70mm f2.8 L @ 24mm f11 ISO 200 1/250.