The gymnastics club La Patriote in Limoges organised the finals of the central France zone artistic gymnastics competition on saturday 13th and sunday 14th of may 2017.  During these two days more than 900 competitors, aged from 9 to over 30,  performed in front of a large audience (and the judges of course) at the gymnase Henry Normand in Limoges

The whole competition was covered photographically by several members of the PhotoLim87 club, my slot was from 15h to 23h on the saturday during which time I took nearly 1200 photos.  Fast shutter speeds to freeze the competitors' movement combined with poor lighting in the arena made the excercise very difficult.  I kept no more than 200 of the 1200 shots !

The 22nd avril 2017 was the cross country day in the Grand National event week at Pompadour.  I arrived with a group of friends from the Jumilhac photo club around 11am in very strong sunshine.  After resrving a table for lunch in a local restaurant, we crossed to the race course which had been transformed into a 3.8km cross country course with numerous obstacles such as ditches, tree trunks and lakes. 

Thanks to a very relaxed approach by the organisers, we were able to move around freely on the course getting right up to the obstacles to take photos but the timing of the events meant shooting around midday with very strong contrasty light almost directly overhead - unavoidable and not easy to work with, especially when shooting into the light. 

Around 12h30 we made our way to the restaurant for an excellent lunch in good company then, suitably fortified, returned to the course for around two more hours of photography.

In december 2016 I went with a group of friends to Périgueux for an evening "christmas lighting".

Périgueux's christmas lighting was something of a disappointment - very little real christmas lighting and the street lighting, using sodium lamps, was a strong yellow, almost orange, which gave a rather unattractive tint to all the photos.  However, we did succeed in taking some well composed shots, which, once converted to b/w, turned out quite well.

Towards the end of the evening we headed for the outdoor ice skating rink where we were invited to join a group of people sharing a glass or two beside one of the market stalls - a really warm welcome which quite transformed the outing.

September 24th 2016 in Limoges was dry and warm, quite sunny, just about ideal for the national finals of the "Courses des Garçons de Café".  Around 100 entrants, who must be employed as waiters, race over a town centre course of about 5km carrying a tray of drinks.  Liquid levels are measured and there are time penalties for spillage.  

There are a number of different categories such as local entrants, ladies, team etc with cash prizes for the winners and runners up.  The local entrants were particularly well supported and of course sponsored by the café or restaurant where they work.  Major suppliers in the area put on a display with free samples, including drinks.

A great fun day !

The 11th september 2016 the members of our photo club visited the airshow "Legendair" at St Junien.  The day was sunny and very hot and after a rapid tour to view the options we ate lunch together at a café on the airfield.  After, we spent the afternoon taking photos of the magnificent historic aircraft and cars.   During the visit I was able to borrow a demo sample of the latest Sigma 150-600mm telephoto lens from friends at the Photolim stand.  Powerful, but oh so heavy !!!  On an APSC camera, the 600mm is too long for this type of event but I can imagine how it would be invaluable for wildlife photographers for example, where you could use a tripod.

Here is a selection of images from the day's visit...