Sheep etc.

[Ed Sutton]

It's looking like a sheep packed Bank Holiday weekend for me. Today was the third day of the Deerplay Hill Trials. I've been to this three times and there didn't seem to be the same buzz about it this time. Maybe that rubbed off on me or perhaps the heat did for me. I only rocked up around nine thirty and by 12 I was nodding off in my car. Admittedly there hadn't been much on-field action to photograph as most were struggling to get the sheep anywhere within decent camera range before retiring or being timed out. As a result I didn't take many photographs, and very few were worth keeping, never mind showing to the world! These are probably the best of a poor bunch.





There weren't even many 'detail' shots to be had.



The tractor passing by made this one a little different.





I liked this idea but the elements never really fell into place as I'd have liked.



That's the six pic limit for this post.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Feeling uninspired I went for a wander.







I'll be back there tomorrow for the final, which might have a better vibe and more close range action. If the competitors are struggling again I might climb up to the release pens as there's always something to photograph there.

 

[Ed Sutton]

The final day at Deerplay, and my final day of sheep dog trials - unless I am really stuck for something to do. I have burned myself out on them and spent more time looking for pictures that were a bit different. Like trying to make abstracts of shorn sheep and dry stone walls because of the colours and textures. Needles to say, the sheep wouldn't play ball.





Bits of fleece mingled with moss.



Sheep (that would never stand in the perfect spot) and turbines.



A sunbathing lamb.



Stick - with spider.



Continued...

 

[Ed Sutton]

My hit rate with the action shots has improved. Which might be part of the reason I don't want to take any more of them!



You can't go wrong with a collie in the back of a van. (It's that stick again.)



Trophy time. It's iPhone pics posted straight to Facebook that are what it's all about these days. Someone with a 'proper' camera is surplus to requirements.



I let the others direct things to suit themselves and snap away in the in-between moments. I like this best of my trophy shots because the handler is looking in the same direction as his dogs, not looking at the camera and smiling!



Although I take those too.





That's it for sheep dog trials. Tomorrow it's the start of show season. I wonder if I've run out of steam for that as well?

 

[Ed Sutton]

My steam had not run out when I was presented with a load of Lonks, Gritstones, and other sheep today, even though I was feeling tired and as if I should have taken different lenses.

I framed too tight on this one (you have to be quick because sheep rarely look straight at you for long), but the tight crop makes a dramatic image I think. I'd like it to have been perfectly symetrical, but I guess sheep are like people - slightly wonky. On camera flash used, too.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Continuing my concept that converting any shot to black and white and 'framing' it instantly improves a picture (especially if it follows the street genre of any old crap so long as it's people close up which you then make up reasons for why it works... ), here's one I made earlier!


And another. Although I think this is a half decent pic. Or at least has some half decent elements in it. The way the judge's leg frames the Cheviot's head in particular.



It's turned out that I got a few decent pictures today. Some are 'Facebook pleasing' types, some are 'my' types. They'll wait until tomorrow though.

 

[Ed Sutton]

I try to arrive early to the shows so I don't have too far to walk back to my car at the end of the day. That means I often (always) have to wait for the Lonks to arrive. There were a few sheep already there being groomed. Jacobs are particularly photogenic with their spotted fleeces and varied horns. They are primarily a show sheep, so are usually halter trained and used to being handled. I doubt you'd get a Lonk to stand for being tied up. It would be off dragging the hurdle around the showfield!





This Jacob was helpfully tied up, enabling me to take a lot of shots until I got one that was in focus that I was happy with.



A Kerry Hill under control.



Judging time.



Sheep used as table during the interbreed judging.



As soon as I've selected a few there'll be some 'proper' sheep in the next couple of posts.

 

[Ed Sutton]

There was an innovation with the Lonk and Gritstone judging. All breeds should have been judged individually at 10.30, but because a lot of Lonk and Grit keepers show both breeds it was decided to alternate the judging of their classes. So it was aged tup Lonk followed by aged tup Gritstone, shearling tup Lonk followed by shearling tup Gritstone and so on. This made it easier for the sheep people and meant I got a good crack at both breeds. It did make it harder to tag all my photos in Lightroom though!



Showing and judging sheep isn't an old man's game.







And they definitely start them young.



Public interaction with nowty sheep!



The stars of the show next.

 

[Ed Sutton]

And so to the main attraction - for me. I don't seem to tire of photographing Lonks.



It's often difficult to get the eye in shot when the horns are so big. At least I got the sign in.







This much white on the face seems to be unfashionable these days, yet looking at older photographs of the breed it was more common. It didn#t stop this one getting a rosette.



"You can keep the rosette, but give daddy the envelope."



A few more Lonk pics to come.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Despite trying desperately to get a good shot of the tie and a sheep I failed miserably.



Lively bugger this champion.







I'll stop now...

Non-photographers often say to me "You'll get some good photos today" when the sun is shining brightly. When it's in the right direction that's true, but all too often it is in the wrong direction and creates problems. For example, whenever I moved to get the light behind me the exhibitors would turn their sheep round so I was looking at their bums - sheep's and exhibitors'!

 

[Ed Sutton]

Bad day at Black Rock Bentham Auction Mart today. I spent over an hour trying to work out why I couldn't get anything in focus with my telephoto zoom .It had worked well enough on the dogs at Deerplay.

Every time I punched in to view a pic it looked like this.



Had I altered any settings? I tried all focus modes, with and without image stabilisation, maxed out the shutter speed. No joy. Eventually I remembered I'd lost the lens cap and put a UV filter on the lens before I left home. I removed that and...

You can guess the rest.











There may be a few more.

 

[4wd]

These were in relaxed mode earlier - but it was only 2C

 

[Ed Sutton]

Just a few more from yesterday. But first a story. I gave a copy of my Lonk book to the family I visited last week and looking through it the farmer, a long time Lonk man, couldn't recognise the chap judging the Lonks at the GYS in 2019. When he found out who it was he was surprised to learn he'd been good friends with him but lost touch when the judge had moved to Wales over 20 years ago. Obviously he'd changed a bit in the intervening years. My photo has inadvertently lead to them getting back in touch and renewing their friendship.



Not being worn by a Frenchman...



Where would farmers be without baler twine and blue pipe?



Just a collie.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Escape route from previous page blocked with the ubiquitous baler twine.

 

[sirch]

Great to see this still going and some really enjoyable photos since I last looked

 

[Ed Sutton]

Great to see this still going and some really enjoyable photos since I last looked

Thanks Chris. I do sometimes wonder if my endless threads bore people.

 

[sirch]

Inspire rather than bore

 

[gramps]

I do sometimes wonder if my endless threads bore people.

Not at all - I'm not an avid follower but I drop in occasionally and enjoy seeing what you are doing - anyway you are doing it for you aren't you.

 

[ancient_mariner]

It's all good. I'm certainly not captivated by everything, but that's not at all a problem or unusual for many areas of photography.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Inspire rather than bore

Not at all - I'm not an avid follower but I drop in occasionally and enjoy seeing what you are doing - anyway you are doing it for you aren't you.

It's all good. I'm certainly not captivated by everything, but that's not at all a problem or unusual for many areas of photography.

Thanks all. I'll keep posting.

I am doing it for me, but I always feel that pictures need an audience of more than one or there's no point to them. Maybe that's just me?

There are other things I do purely for my own entertainment or enlightenment - like reading and fishing.

 

[sirch]

I am doing it for me, but I always feel that pictures need an audience of more than one or there's no point to them. Maybe that's just me?

Isn't that why we are all here? I really enjoy seeing other people's work

 

[lindsay]

I don't think I've looked at this thread before, no idea why, but I loved it. It's fascinating how you add story to the photos, sometimes hilariously. And I am a big BC fan anyway (got our 4th now, most are/have been working dogs). Thanks for keeping it going and making it an interesting read/view.

 

[Ed Sutton]

I don't think I've looked at this thread before, no idea why, but I loved it. It's fascinating how you add story to the photos, sometimes hilariously. And I am a big BC fan anyway (got our 4th now, most are/have been working dogs). Thanks for keeping it going and making it an interesting read/view.

Thanks LIndsay. Great dogs Collies.

I must admit that I like the writing words as much as taking photos.

 

[Ed Sutton]

I keep saying that's me done with sheep dog trials but I went to one today just so I could post some border collie photos for @lindsay

I'm pleased to report that the hit rate for in focus action shots was much better without that bloody filter! Bright sunshine and a pen that was close to where you could spectate from helped. Probably not as sharp as the pixel peepers demand but keep them small enough and nobody will know!

There's some cropping involved and processing too. It's was nice to be able to use high shutter speeds AND a decent (not wide open) aperture for a change! There'll be a few more pics to follow.

 

[lindsay]

Lovely shots and lovely dogs. Proper dogs. We've had a couple of retired working collies, and a couple of rescued/rehomed pet ones, the current one was a stray in the west of Ireland before coming to us. BC's are the greatest!

 

[Ed Sutton]

I took the scenic route over the fells to Lowgill. A couple of Steve's sheep had found a new way out after the baler twine blocked their escape route. I herded them back and pulled the hurdles he'd obviously left beside the potential gap to block it off in front of the rotten wooden gate they'd jumped through. On my reutrn journey I saw the hurdles had been tied to the gate with more twine!

I stopped off at The Cross of Greet Bridge to take a look at the restored sheepfold, but I was on the wrong side of the river. There's a few sheep hang around there, including a Lonk or two.



From there until the turn off for Botton Head (not Bottom Head as it shows on Bing maps. ) it's all Swaledales and a few Cheviots, but at the junction there are often Lonks to be seen. There were no sheep to be seen there on my outbound trip, lots of squashed sheep dung on the road though. That made me think that maybe they'd been gathered and moved. However, on my way back there was a few hot looking Lonks lying on the remains of the winter grit pile. It won't be long before they have their overcoats removed.



The sheep at the dog trial were Dalesbreds. Recalcitrant ones that were problematic for teh dogs, and which knew their way off the field. That meant not many were penning, so chances of close up dog-sheep action were few. Not many handlers were showing up either. It was baking hot and I was flagging early deciding to call it a day around one thirty, when a veritable convoy of pick-ups arrived, but I'd had enough. The temp guage in teh car read 30..



Stroppy Dalesbred.





This chap is from Brazil. He's been over here for 20 days indulging his sheep dog obsession and is planning to come back twice a year.

 

[gramps]

Great Collie shots.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Lovely shots and lovely dogs. Proper dogs. We've had a couple of retired working collies, and a couple of rescued/rehomed pet ones, the current one was a stray in the west of Ireland before coming to us. BC's are the greatest!

Great Collie shots.

Thanks, both.

They're great subjects.

 

[Ed Sutton]

I'd been getting into rhythm photographing the Gritstone judging and it was the break before the Lonks started. I was idly snapping the winning Kerry Hills having their pictures taken 'properly' when Grace asked me if I'd photograph their Kerry Hill on its own. I didn't have the best lens for the job with me. I'm no good at directing the posing. And I could see the aged Lonk tups being taken from their pens. I did my best, making sure I kept nic and his sheep free of background intrusions (which meant waiting for people to walk out of shot and reposition myself every time the sheep moved out of position). Luckily the sheep decided it had had enough before the Lonks had been judged!


How it should be done.



I drew the line at lying on my belly (getting back up at my age is quite a procedure...) but did kneel down and used the flippy screen.

Probably more of my usual style of sheep photography to follow.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Pretty slim pickings from today's harvest if I'm honest. Just a couple for now.



What's that Capa quote about not being in close enough?

 

[Ed Sutton]

Not many decent pictures of anything to be honest. There was a small turnout of Lonks and I missed the start of their judging photographing that Kerry Hill, then missed some more when I went back to my car to get my waterpoof jacket when the rain started. The rain stopped as soon as I got the jacket on.... My best Lonk shots are in the post above. Although this one is OK.



A good entry of Gritstones though.





Tried some low angle stuff.



I prefer this to the posed shot. Champion Gritstone and overall Show Champion. Robert Fielden doesn't show very often, but when he does his sheep are usually in the prizes.





The show was lucky with the weather. Apart from the brief shower it held off until after I left at 2.30. It's a testament to the enthusiasm of the local farming community that the show is going on. It got moved from the town's park on spurious grounds after a washout one year. Started up in a new location, developed the grounds, then got 'evicted'. It had been a big show with horse jumping, cattle, sheep, loads of family attractions and more. With nowhere to go the sheep section committee arranged a sheep show two years ago at the last minute. That proved a success so they found a better venue last year which also went well. This year they were back with more attractions - a fun dog show and an egg show being two, plus fairground rides and food and craft stalls. There's limited car parking and it was almost full. People were arriving all day, even as I left. People really do want these events to carry on.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Harden Moss sheep dog trials and sheep show today. This was my third visit, each time I've taken a different route, and each time I've got lost.

A disappointing turnout of Lonks and Gritstones, but lots of Whtefaced Woodlands - which I didn't photograph much. So probably not much to show when I get round to dealing with that I have got.

However, I had a nice chat with the stickmaker. He mostly uses Lonk horns. we swapped cards. I'll be sending him as couple of my snaps (probably the ones here) and giving him a call in the hope I can go take some photos of the process of him working through the sequence of making a crook from a Lonk horn. The best laid plans though...

Lonk horn partially pressed.



Thistle crook in progress.



Very much a snap or the stickmaker with another which was being worked on as the demonstration crook.



There was also a shearing competition. Not easy to get a good vantage point.



Mostly young lads but not all!



Any more will appear much later!

 

[Ed Sutton]

A few more shearing snaps.

As I said earlier, my vantage points were limited...



One sheep goes beyond the last 'hatch' on teh stand so that the others will be lured in.





When clipped the sheep go down a chute.



In this case to a collecting pen. From which they did attempt a mass breakout by going back up the chute causing chaos on the shearing stand! I was too slow to catch peak mayhem.



All done.

 

[Ed Sutton]

I realise not that there were only a few Derbyshire Gritstones as the Derbyshire County Show was also held yesterday... I suppose I should have ignored my usual subjects and gone for the Woodlands. The pictures might have been of the same things but the sheep would have looked different.

If I had to pick one breed to photograph exclusively I think it would be the Whitefaced Woodland. Less contrast in the faces makes exposure simpler than with the blackfaced breeds, and they are a good looking sheep. Some call them the Whitefaced Lonk!



At least the sun shone and the predicted thunderstorm hadn't arrived by the time I and a lot of sheep people were leaving.







Millie, the rather greedy tame sheep!



Reminiscing.



A disappointing effort overall.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Every stick has a story. Well, some do. I didn't post this one before because it's rubbish, but having spoken to the stick dresser I now know it's being made for the owner of the Champion Gritstone from Todmorden, from one of his own Lonk's horns. He'd had another made as a gift but it was too light, so he's commissioned a new one to his own requirements of head shape and balance. And I thought a stick was a stick!

Fingers crossed I'll have more stick making pictures sometime next week - after I've recovered from the Great Yorkshire show.

 

[Ed Sutton]

An early start today to make sure I missed the morning rush hour in Harrogate and didn't miss the judging of the Gritstones. I timed it right. Leaving home at 5.30 was spot on!

The show's transition to a four day event isn't popular with the sheep fraternity, but it's the prestige that tempts them regardless. All sheep have to be penned by late Monday, even if they aren't judged until Wednesday. And they have to stop until the show closes on Friday. This means there has to be someone to feed and water them. It also means a lot of time spent doping nothing. It was the first morning today, and looking at the contents of this hayrack I got the impression drink had already been taken on Monday night.



It stayed dry until the morning judging had been completed. The sun even shone a time or two. Lonk judging was scheduled for 2.00pm. The clouds burts around a quarter to.



It didn't last long and the judging started only a few minutes late. I'll not look through my pics until I recover, so these are just some randoms. It's a frustrating place to photograph. Without a press pass it's impossible to get in the ring during the judging. Shooting from behind a packed ringside fence limits you to the spot you choose at the start, pretty much. Then in the sheds it's natural light only, and that dwindles away the deeper in you go. It's also very cramped. If I wasn't so obsessed with certain breeds there would be lots of opportunities around the shed edges, but my preferred subjects lurk mostly in the gloom!

 

[Ed Sutton]

This is more story than picture interest.

This is a screen shot of the Gritstone classes held at the GYS. There are quite a few.


This year one breeder won every single one of those classes. You'd expect them to be an old timer with decades of experience. But not so. Josh and Megan are keen as mustard, and obviously know their sheep. Great stuff!

 

[Ed Sutton]

Decisions, decisions.

I can't decide which of these goes best with a caption of: Getting the results to social media.



Much as I like the pointing finger I reckon the other shot has the edge and is also better balanced as a picture.

Other views welcome.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Some shots from the Gritstone classes.





As usual I prefer the ones where I'm in fairly close and the frame is filled with action.

 

[superpippo]

Decisions, decisions.

I can't decide which of these goes best with a caption of: Getting the results to social media.

View attachment 395228

Much as I like the pointing finger I reckon the other shot has the edge and is also better balanced as a picture.

Other views welcome.

I am not sure that either really go with the suggested title.
#2 has the use of the phone and the suggestion of the results going to the media. Equally he could just be googling something. The chap in the suit seems to be inattentive to what the other man is doing.
#1 has better ineraction between the characters. There is a real connection that they are both looking at some info.
For me #2 is a more interesting shot