2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013

Merry Christmas...
Mixed Bag Photography would like to wish everyone a very merry Christmas. We would also like to say a massive thank you to all our customers & clients throughout 2019, we really appreciate it and look forward to seeing you all again (and of course any new customers) next year. As always, we will be looking forward to new projects and commissions throughout 2020, so if you have an event, commercial or private commission that you would like covering, please feel free to contact me using the form here

Retro & Classic, Battle of Britain and a wedding...
Croft for two meetings, Segways at Preston Park - Teesside, Blyton with Car Limits, a Wedding and a few other bits and bobs pretty much sums up August for me.
First up was the newly named Retro & Classic meeting (formerly Nostalgia). A superb mixture of both on track action and displays. Whilst the racing was good on track, the classic cars/vehicles and Army & RAF static stands were fantastic to see, I do love seeing really well prepared and looked after older vehicles. I always find those that have the vehicles really have a passion for these cars and are always happy to talk. Sadly, there were no fly-over this year or central displays on track, both are something that were definitely missed and hope these will return again at some point.
The annual Battle of Britain meeting was up next and I have to say, there weren't as many racing as I hoped or there had been in the last few years. The bike numbers were especially low although the sidecars had a great turnout. For me, the Mini Challenge and Northern Saloons were the highlight however, the Focus Cup was certainly interesting. It consists of a one make (Focus obviously) arrive and drive championship using 1997cc Duratorq diesel engines producing around 195bhp. After seeing very few race cars run diesels, this was definitely an eye opener.
The end of the month was also my first wedding and I thoroughly enjoyed the day. It was hard work and a long day but it was absolutely worth every minute of it, I also knew the Bride well so it made the whole thing even better.
I have another 4 booked in for 2020 which I am really looking forward to and whilst I'm not advertising the wedding photography side of things, word of mouth has started to take hold. There is a separate website for these here; I know it's not the most imaginative name but I wanted to keep it under the umbrella of the Mixed Bag Photography brand but separate from the sports and events side of things.

York Junior Triathlon, Bungee and grassin'...
So it's the end of July, more than half way through the year, already! At least we've had a bit of sun although it did then end abruptly and rain, a lot. Still, it's been another good month with the highlight most definitely being the York Junior Triathlon.
I got a call in early June asking if I'd cover this and, with it being something a little different to what I'd covered recently, I jumped at the chance. I did a bit of research into it and basically this event was one of nine in the Yorkshire Series which is all part of the Regional Junior Series of the British Triathlon.
With there being 300+ competitors, the brief was to get a flavour of the day rather than sit in one spot and take a photo of everyone taking part - something which I was really pleased about as it gave me the freedom to do what I do best. The event itself was well run and with it being a Junior series, was confined to a reasonable sized area at York Sport Village allowing me to cover all three disciplines (swim, cycle & run) throughout the day.
All in all, it was a superb day and the weather was perfect for both photography and those competing. The full set of images can be found here.
This month also saw more bungee photography with UK Bungee Club at Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge (which I really enjoy doing) and I'd recommend if you fancy leaping off a bridge on a Sunday. The photo's for this are wirelessly transferred to the sales guys using Canon kit (yeah I know) but I'm hoping to get some on my gear so I can pop some up on here at some point. Also covered Car Limits gift experience days at Blyton Park with Thrill Pic. This is a regular monthly shoot and a pleasure to do (when it's not freezing or raining which it normally does when I'm there!)
York Autograss was also thrown into a mixed month with their final round of qualifiers for the Mens Nationals which take place on the 3rd/4th August. As always with qualifiers, the racing was fast and furious with a place at the biggest meeting of the year up for grabs for both York and White Rose clubs.
A huge well done to all those that qualified and good luck for the big one, bring some silverware back to Yorkshire!

Escort RSR & North of England Championship...
Five race meetings this month as well as a couple of private commissions and commercial shoots made for an enjoyable, varied month and plenty to go at on the editing side (the thing people forget has to happen).
The BRSCC and DDMC were both at Croft and as always were a superb mixture of cars, classes and racing. The DDMC was particularly good this time round as it included both the Fun Cup endurance teams and SLS (Scottish Super Lap) which is similar to Time Attack in that it's the fastest lap in a given period rather than direct racing agaisnt each other. The Fun Cup on the other hand was direct racing. For 5 hours! I could only watch for the first couple but they were still at it hammer and tongs when I left. I've seen Le Mans and other endurance races but it never seems so full on on TV, this was full on and brilliant to watch. Really fancy doing a full race if anyone wants to invite me?!
Racing also took place at both Yorkshire Dales (Stu Nichols Memorial) and York for the North of England Championships. Both were filled with action and great racing as always with Autograss, good turn out of drivers and cars too which always makes for a better meeting.
I also popped along to Dalton MX track for a White Rose MotoX meeting, something I hadn't done in at least 3 years. It was brilliant. I really forgot how good MotoX is and I will definitely be doing some more if I can. I'm keeping an eye on both Dalton and White Rose MX for when I have another spare weekend (not too often) as I'll be heading back down. It's proper fast, furious and action packed.

Tarmac and dirt ovals...
Back to Croft this month but this time for some 4 wheeled action from the British Automobile Racing Club in the form of the Northern Saloons, MX5's, Mini's and Caterhams. With me also photographing trackdays/gift experience days, it was Sunday only which meant race day! It was a superb day all round and seeing the Dunlop National Mini Challenge for the first time was pretty impressive, these things go like stink and don't need to brake for corners! Ok, a slight exaggeration but it certainly looked that way.
The Northern Saloons appeared a little down in numbers (notably Kirk Armitage in his Class B1 M3 was missing - but as I later found out, there was a new addition to the family - massive congrats again to all the family) but with them opening it up to other cars, it was still a great set of races as always.
MX5's and Caterhams finished off the days line up and, again, a great set of races from them although, once again, the MX5's were a little down in numbers. Everyone that did race however, seemed to love the new track - it appears to have been an excellent investment.
Sandwiching Croft was Autograss which were both at York. First meeting was a qualifier for the Nationals (which are held at the beginning of August) and was a great day with 2 sets of qualifiers followed by 2 heats and a final. Steevo's Class 7 Mini Pickup was without doubt the most spectacular incident of the weekend with a heavy roll and direct landing on Richard Blockley's Class 7 with Blockley appearing to duck on impact! Needless to say, that was Steevo done for the weekend however both drivers were perfectly ok if not a little sore the next day.
The second meeting was major incident free (there were still a few little bumps as always) which allowed 2 heats and a final which worked well with the large number of cars and drivers signed on.
Another great month but this weather does need to start improving, it's now into May and it feels like it's bloody Autumn. Roll on the better weather and the arrival of summer.

The motorsport season has started...
Well, that's it, the motorsport season has officially started. We've had autograss at both Scunthorpe and Yorkshire Dales as well as the NEMCRC at Croft, a few images of all three can be found below.
As always it's great to be back trackside and so far the weather has been kind with only a handful of autograss meetings cancelled. If we can get through the British April showers, I reckon we'll be in for a good season again.
As for Croft, the bikes are always great to see and hopefully, with Oliver's Mount restarting, there will be plenty more to come through the year. Croft is also due for a resurface in April and the Northern Saloons will be the first to test it out at the April DDMC race meeting; here's to seeing what the new tarmac brings.

Trip out to North Cave Wetlands...
First trip out to North Cave Wetlands of 2019 and it was actually quite a warm day considering it's only mid Feb. It wasn't quite as busy as I've seen it before but I guess it's quite late in the winter season so might not be as many wintering birds as I expected. That said, it still made for a nice walk as it always does. Here's a few images from the couple of hours I spent wandering around.

Happy New Year...
Here it is again, another brand spanking new year ready to be taken on by all 7 billion of us on the planet and me! The plan, as always, is to plough through yet another year, taking photos as I go and keeping the website up-to-date. I've got to admit, I was a little rubbish on the blog last year but all the galleries were kept fresh with a selection of images, something which I'll be doing again this year.
With the diary slowly filling up since last October, if you have an event, gig, commercial venture, sports event, family or formal celebration you would like me to cover in 2019, please drop me an email or give me a call and I'd be more than happy to have a chat with you.
Happy new year to all and a BIG thumbs up for what 2019 has in store!

If you have an event you would like me to attend, why not get in touch? From sports meetings to corporate, private or fundraising events, I'm more than happy to hear from you and to discuss your requirements. Click for details