Over the next month or so we will be revising portions of the main website – so apologies in advance for any inconvenience this may cause.

It is our intent to place a greater focus on the website in general – we really haven’t been giving it the time and care it deserves.   More information shortly.

While the prevailing severe weather hold (mainly in England, Scotland & Wales) we have made the decision to suspend event operations in these geographical areas.

Basically, events are likely to be cancelled and the law of the land requires that we look after those who work for us, or with us.   So, for the month of January 2010 we are still taking bookings for the rest of the year, but we will not be putting any vehicles on the road before 1st February 2010 (England, Scotland, & Wales – Ireland under continual review).  Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused.

As Ireland has not been so severely hit by the weather our operations there will continue as normal – though please bear in mind the following:-

1. If the weather changes suddenly our event photography team may not be able to reach you safely, or at all – should this occur please accept our apologies.
2. If you have taken the decision to cancel an event PLEASE let us know immediately so that we can advise the team – otherwise they will attempt to reach the venue if weather conditions are reasonable.

To all our customers, those who know us, and those we are yet to meet; we wish you a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year.

Notes:

1. Weddings – all booked weddings WILL be covered as agreed (unless weather blocks access roads etc..)
2. For those who have attended events in recent weeks our galleries can be accessed from our main page (www.specialeventphotography.co.uk) – orders placed will be fulfilled as quickly as possible and all prints will continue to be posted First Class Recorded Delivery – please allow a couple of extra days for your order to reach you.

On Boxing day 2009 the Greencastle 5 Mile Road Race celebrated its 24th year.   It is estimated that over 800 individuals took part on the day – personally I’d believe it – the community centre was packed, and for the main race it was a few  minutes before the last runner crossed the start line following the firing of the starters-gun.

Special Event Photography Ltd got the call to attend only 3-days before the event, yet given the time of year, the weather, etc.. we managed to pull a skeleton crew together and headed off to the snow covered Sperrin Hills near Omagh, Northern Ireland (where temperatures hovered between -2C and +0C with a little freezing fog, sleet and snow thrown in for good measure).  We have just finished processing, and uploading some 400 images from the event into our  Photo Gallery.

On the day there were 3 races – a walk, a wheelchair race, and the main running race.  Despite the weather it was clear that everyone enjoyed the day.   The races were followed by the award of prizes to the winners of the various races and categories.  The end of event raffle was drawn by none other than the the great John Daly (who regardless of the pre-race rumor mill managed to keep his coat on and avoided actually taking part in any of the races) – the star prize was a weekend for two at the K-Club Golf & Spa Resort – 5 Star Hotel in Co. Kildare.

Next year (2010) sees the 25th anniversary of this event which welcomes participants from all over the UK and Ireland and occasionally further afield.  Information on the 2010 event will appear of the event website in due course – this can be found at www.greencastle5.com (2009 Results)

One thing is for sure, the 2010, 35th anniversary event is more than likely going to be an even bigger event than 2009.

The benefiting charity for 2009 is the Ulster Cancer Foundation.  This charity will also receive a proportion of our online sales arising from the event.

Congratulations to all involved – participants AND organisers.

If you are organising an event during 2010 please contact us – we can probably attend and offer our services FREE.

Isn’t that what they say?   I don’t know about the ‘wicked’ label, but knackered would definitely cover it.

Boxing Day 2009.

A skeleton crew of just two answered a short notice call (3 days) to cover an outdoor sports event in Northern Ireland.  The temperature must have been around freezing, the event was at some 600ft above sea-level, and with only a staff of two available at short notice in the midst of the festive season we soldiered on.   These things happen and we do not mind answering and call for asistance short notice – though we cannot always guarantee to be avaiable.

Just for reference.  The further ahead of your event that you book us, the better job we can do for you.   A typical lead-in time is 4-8 weeks, some much longer.

We enjoy what we do, and lets face it… it got us away from turkey sandwiches for a day

We would like to take this opportunity to say that we hope you all had an brilliant Christmas and to wish you a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.

We are presently working on the final stages of our 2010 expansion programme.   The goal of this programme is to add at least 6 new Ireland based (north & south) event teams to our catalogue.

If you would be interested in joining the Special Event Photography team please contact us.  When we have finalised all the information we will issue you with an application pack.

Overall, we are looking for for the following:-

• New teams – not necessarily involved in event photography as full training will be given (but a defined range of skills are required collectively from the members of each team).
• Individuals able and willing to stand in at events in various roles – sales and photographers.
• Individuals, or companies, willing to seek out new work for our teams on a commission basis.

If any of the above are of interest to you then do please get in touch with us as soon as possible – information packs will be available from 30 Jan 2010.

OK we might be a little early, but lets face it there are Christmas items in the shops already.

We have been thinking about the run-up to the turn of the year and the events that are ahead of us in coming weeks – all of which we are really looking forward to.  We got to thinking about 2010 and what we could do thats new and innovative.

The good news is that we have come up with some ideas, still taking shape for the most part but we hope we will have something new and exciting to report in coming months.  As they say, all good things take time.

But it doesn’t stop there… we are always open to ideas, especially from you our customers.   One thing we have decided on is that for any customer who provides us with a new, exciting, innovative idea which we eventually use (and is not already in use by another operation)  we will give £100 immedaitely after first use.  That is £100 for an idea.

So e-mail us, or fill in your details at one of our events and we’ll see where we go from there.

We are pleased to announce that we have obtained a Free-Phone number so it won’t cost you to call us at the office.  We should point out that out of office hours while you can try us on the 0800 number you may be better to catch us on the business mobile number (07547 650840 anytime – it’s an O2 number so you may be able to get a free call to us on that aswell if you are on O2 yourself).

Generally there is someone near one of the phones up to 18 hours a day (including weekends).

The new office FREE phone number is 0800 6123 156 – always try it first, if no luck then call us on 07547 650 840.

Well the winter season is upon us, the season of the formal and the Christmas party.

Hand-in-hand with this goes an increase in enquiries and bookings.  November is busy – especially mid-month and again in early December.  If you are having a sizable party or a formal function and you want a FREE official photographer why not give us a call and discuss what we can do for you – we are more than happy to meet up with you at a time and place convenient for you if you  would like to discuss an event.

Our equipment is very versitile.  Cameras are radio linked to our on-site computer systems; for larger events we have a comuterised pont-of-sale system which will prodce your favorite prints within a couple of minutes (on-site); and where space permits we can bring along a portable studio to give your guests the oppotunity to have a studio portrait (formal or fun)  all while enjoying your party.

We are looking forward to meeting up with a lot of old friends this eason… an a lot of new one too.  Meantime, take care.

More details on available via our main page www.specialeventphotography.co.uk

We have teamed up with Space Encounters Mobile Planetarium a schools science resource.  You can find the website HERE.

As part of the partner setup when a school books either ourselves or Space Encounters they will have the option of hiring both services resulting in a significant discount on the cost of the Mobile Planetarium.   Space Encounters is also supporting a £100/€100 discount on the wedding services of Special Event Photography for any teacher (or their friends) who are getting married during 2009/2010.

We believe this is a unique combination of schools resources and with Space Encounters offering a discount, and Special Event Photography Ltd offering a significant commission its good news for schools on all fronts.

We are pleased to announce that each year we aim to help 2 specific charities in some manner – this can be by way of free photographic services, donations, or where possible actively promoting their cause.   Each Summer we review our chosen charities and seek, over the years, to give everyone some degree of support.

Well we have chosen our first charity for the next 12-months.   The Ireland Air Ambulance Service.  A worthy cause to say the least.   Why was it chosen?  Someone mentioned in passing that the Air Ambulance service were holding an abseil and we realised that we hadn’t even got this service on our list – and one of the team is an ex-pilot!   Enough said, we had to include them this time.   In Ireland with the enormous number of country roads and isolated dwellings miles from a hospital etc.. it is vital that there is support for a service that can completely by-pass the road infrastructure and get needy patients to a hospital FAST.

We encourage everyone reading this blog entry to vist the Air Ambulance website to learn more.  Indeed, we would suggest that if you are not based in N. Ireland that you seek out information on Air ambulance services in your geographical area – and if service is lacking that you and other like minded souls look into ways of establishing a service.  The key thing here is that you never know when you, or someone you care about will need it.

Ireland Air Ambulance will be launching Ireland’s first ever dedicated Air Ambulance Service later this year.  The service which reguires funding of approximately £1.6 million per annum, will operate 52 weeks of the year and will carry a specially trained trauma surgeon on board at all times.  This will allow Ireland Air Ambulance to deliver life saving medial services at the scene of a potentially life threatening emergency.

Responding to emergency calls Ireland Air Ambulance will provide free air ambulance cover to 19 counties in Ireland, including Northern Ireland, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Leitrim, Louth, Longford, Mayo, Meath, Monahan, Roscommon, Sligo, Westmeath as well as Rathlin Island and The Isle of Man.

The Charity is funded entirely by donations from the general public and members of the business community, the charity’s aim is to ensure Ireland is no longer the only region of Europe without any Air Ambulance, but they need your help.

If you would like further information please visit their website at  www.irelandairambulance.org , or contact Ireland Air Ambulance directly on 0870 200 4050, or via e-mail to info@irelandairambulance.org

Safe journeys to all.