I had a bit of time off last weekend and decided to use a couple of days to get some self portraits with the mountain bike. Matt Hardy ( http://www.matthardyphotography.co.uk/) and I went down to the New Forest and found a spot where we thought we could get some good images. We came back with some images that we were happy with and we plan to do a few more shoots in the New Forest. It's not as easy as it seems, we have a huge forest right on our doorstep but most of it is off limits to mountain bikes. The trail network that they do have in place are all gravel tracks, it's not really mountain biking at all but aimed at families to be able to ride in the forest. We should be able to find a few spots that are okay to ride in and will yield some interesting shots, it's just a case of looking.

In the evening we went to Christchurch Harbour to catch the sunset, although we got there a bit late and only managed a few shots before the sun sunk below the horizon. I tried a few different things for this sunset and came away with this image.

The day after I went down to Watchmoor Wood in Verwood. There is a skills area in Watchmoor Wood, which includes some North Shore sections and a pump track. The lighting was good and I ended up with some shots that I am very pleased with. I shall definitely be revisiting this location for some different shots. 

To see all of the images from the two days riding please go to the shoots' album.

Well, Danni and I have completed our move to Dorset. We are settling in okay, I have started my new job, which I am enjoying.
I have added some images to the BDS Round 4 gallery, and I will hopefully updat the sports section with images from the National Champs in the next few days.

I may have a new project coming up concerning greyhound racing at the Poole Stadium, so keep your eyes open for more info on that one, I shall keep you updated here on my blog. I should also be attending a few Poole Pirate matches before the end of the season, which I am really looking forward to, it's been a few years since I've been able to watch my local speedway team.

I hope you all like the new website banner, this design will feature as my new sig on all of my upcoming photography work. I was aiming for something simple, but recognisable, Which I have hopefully achieved with the aperture symbol.

Round 4 of the 2011 HALO BDS saw a field of over 300 competitors descending on Llangollen in North Wales. 

Saturday was a grey and dreary day, with the track thick in wet, clingy mud. The uplift service was a slow process due to the narrow country lanes that the trailers had to negotiate to reach the summit, but most riders still managed a decent amount of practice runs.

Sunday, and what a difference. Sunshine and heat! The hottest day of the year so far and the track was drying out fast.
Seeding saw on-form Danny Hart take the top spot, just less than two tenths of a second ahead of Brendan Fairclough. Fairclough was trying to make this 4 wins from 4 visits to Llangollen, but could he match the pace of the blistering Danny Hart, and just how much would the recent knee operation affect his ambitions of retaining the title of 'King of Llangollen'?

A good showing for CRC saw Joe Smith and Matti Lehikoinen in 3rd and 4th spots respectively, with local hero Al Bond rounding up the top 5 for the Elite Men's seeding.
Saracen Madison's Manon Carpenter took the bragging rights for the Elite Women's seeding, with 4.5 seconds in hand over Transition's Emily Horridge. Can anybody stop this young woman from Wales?

Manon went on to win the Elite Women section, posting a time just shy of 4 seconds faster than second placed Emily Horridge. Katy Curd of Rose Bikes took third, with Jess Stone and Emma Wareham rounding off the podium.

Elite Men's race runs came round and Steve Peat was looking fast, posting a first split time of over a second faster than anybody previously down the hill. That was all undone with an off in the very final section however, leaving the fan favourite with 17th place overall.
Next up was Sam Dale, who put in a very respectable time to take the Hot Seat. He didn't keep it for long though as Josh 'Ratboy' Bryceland, the next guy down, bettered the time set by the Sunn rider by 1.2 seconds, 2.5 seconds faster than Hart's seeding run! What, if anything, had Hart kept in reserve?
Al Bond, Matti Lehikoinen and Joe Smith were the next three down, and none could get within 1.5 seconds of Bryceland's time, would this be his first senior win?

Brendog next, and the young Monster/Specialized rider was really looking to upset the party and claim his fourth win at this venue. However, he couldn't match Bryceland's run, and was over a second down by the first split. By the finishing line he had dropped a further 2 seconds on the Hot Seat time, and ended up finishing 7th for the day, not the weekend Brendan was hoping for.
That left it to Danny Hart, the on-form rider, and the favourite to take the win. The first split time came in, half a second in hand on Bryceland! Surely if he completed his run error free the win would be his. Hart certainly looked fast down the bottom part of the hill, and everybody waited eagerly for the time to flash up as he passed the finish...... just over 1.5 seconds down on Josh Bryceland! That second split time of Bryceland was just superb and gave him the overall win, the first of his senior career.

Fastest through the speed trap was also Bryceland, and so he joins the small group of riders to win the £1000 Tag Heuer watch on offer for the fastest speed trap of each race this season.

What a weekend! The spectators turned up in force for race day, the weather was great, and the racing was just unbelievable. The win for Josh Bryceland leaves him top of the overall standings at this point in the season, with just Fort William to go.
National Champs are back at Llangollen at the end of July, which promises the fiercest racing of the season as the top guns battle it out for the title of National Champion.

Elite Men

Josh Bryceland - Santa Cruz Syndicate
Sam Dale - Team Sunn Montgenevre
Danny Hart - Giant
Joe Smith - Chainreactioncycles.com
Matti Lehikoinen - Chainreactioncycles.com

Elite Women

Manon Carpenter - Madison Saracen
Emily Horridge - Transition Bikes
Katy Curd - Rose Bikes
Jess Stone - Gravity Girls Team/Trek
Emma Wareham - Leisure Lakes

For the full list of results see Roots and Rain at this link.

To see a selection of my favourite images from the weekend choose a link below.
Saturday practice - http://www.jonathancarre.org.uk/250611-llangollen.html
Sunday race - http://www.jonathancarre.org.uk/260611-llangollen.html

To view all of my images from the weekend visit my Roots and Rain account.

I was down at Llangollen today for round 4 of the HALO British Downhill Series. It was a rather dreary, overcast day, with the riders having to contend with thick, clingy mud on track.
The sun came out at the end of the day and the forecast promises sunshine for tomorrow, so fingers crossed for some nice shots from race runs tomorrow.
I have posted a handful of images to the album for today, more will go up over the next week when I have had chance to edit them.
Click on the link to visit the album.
http://www.jonathancarre.org.uk/250611-llangollen.html

Little play around on a curved sea wall today at Rhos-on-Sea. Images are so-so, but I thought I'd put them up for you to look at. May have to go back and get more horizontal!
That's the new West Shore hoodie that arrived a couple of days ago, and I love it! Really nice and comfy, and a little thinner than normal hoodies. Ideal for slipping on after a summer ride for the evening BBQ.

The shoot from my Little Orme session is now up in the Sports section. Click here to go to the album.
http://www.jonathancarre.org.uk/190611-little-orme.html

Project sponsored by

Just got back from a session on the Little Orme, Llandudno.
First 'war wounds' for the Shango as the frame fell on some rocks, got away a bit lightly though as three little scuffs was all that I ended up with, one on the forks and two on the frame itself. What is a little more frustrating is that I managed to smash one of my external flashes, the risk of extreme sports photographers everywhere I know, but frustrating nonetheless, especially with next weekend's BDS round to shoot.
Images will be up later once I have looked through them and edited a couple.

The images are now up from my session on Colwyn Bay the other night. Had a nice play on one of the groins down at the seafront. This bike is shaping up to be a lovely play bike, although I may swap the tyres over for something a bit more knobbly if I ride something natural like these rocks again. The tyres supplied are perfect for their intended use (dirt jump and street), but are a little slippy when it comes to natural objects.

Click the link to go to the album and view the images. 
http://www.jonathancarre.org.uk/140611-colwyn-bay.html

Once again, a big thanks to my sponsors for supporting this project.

Took the Shango up to Llandegla yesterday and had a bit of a play on the skills area. Got a few shots and should hopefully be going back tomorrow for another shoot, weather permitting.
As always, thanks to my sponsors for their support.

Firstly I must say a huge thank you to Halfords and Voodoo who have kindly sponsored my current project by supplying me with a new Voodoo Shango dirt jump bike. 
I did an initial shoot this morning of the bike and its details. I'll just post this quick one up for now, and the other images should be up in the next few days when I get the chance to edit them.
Initial reactions to the bike are very good. It seems a very solid build, and is hopefully going to make a very nice little play bike. The current project is going to be centred around the Freeride and Skills areas of Llandegla trail centre, but will also hopefully include some street locations around the North Wales area.
So, a more detailed review and images coming in the next few days.