“Brawl I Want for Christmas”

After what seemed like an eternity, Saturday 3rd December finally saw the return of the Tiger Bay Brawlers at Newport Centre for “Brawl I Want For Christmas!”

I can’t even remember when the last one was, it seems so long ago- actually not that long ago, not that it really matters- but I was looking forward to this so much I excited about it for the whole week before.  It’s such a challenge taking photos at these bouts as everything happens so fast. There are different ways you can do it, but I want to try to do things in a more interesting way than just taking action photos.

A few years ago I showed a photographer some of my “best” music photos and the response was “that’s a singer… that’s a singer… that’s a singer…”  with every one. It made me feel like giving up- I felt pretty insulted and like I’d been wasting my time. I carried on doing it out of habit probably, but found that I started thinking a bit differently about my photos. My style is still evolving three or four years later, and I expect it to keep evolving as I see the work of others and get better as a photographer myself. How does this relate to the Roller Derby? Well, I’ve gone off the point as I always do, but basically, I want to take more interesting photos, which concentrate on all the aspects of a bout, not just the girls skating. Some of my favourite sports photos are of the little things that happen between plays and the little interactions between team mates or referees and that’s what I want to do more of, while still capturing the exciting bits of the action. I think I’m getting there.  In the mean time, the Game Face will always entertain.

Anyway, back to Saturday, another great win for the Tiger Bay Brawlers as they ran out convincing winners against The Central City Rollers’ B Team, the Slay Belles. I had every intention of talking about jams and stuff, but having only been to 3 bouts I’ve just realised I’m still coming to terms with the rules of the game- it’s kind of hard when you have a camera stuck to your face- but I guess the blogs (and photos) will get better as I start to understand it more. What would really help is a really good computer game. If we could go back to 1991 and get Electronic Arts to make a roller derby game for the Megadrive I’d be sorted. Maybe things would be different if they’d done that instead of John Madden Football or EA Hockey. At this moment in time I know when to cheer and that’s about it.

Anyway, here’s some photos….