Ilkley RFC, Season Highlights Recap 2022-2023. Sport Action Photography.

As we are fast approaching a new rugby season '2024-2025' I started to look back at some of our previous seasons photographs and thought I would share a selection from 2022-2023 with you. 

Ilkley RFC, Season Highlights 2022-2023. Sport Action Photography. Photographed and selected by Ruggerpix photographers Peter and Cecile.

Ruggerpix  is brought to you by Yorkshire based photographers Peter and Cecile who specialise in Sport, Event and Travel photography.

Please take a moment to follow the link below and scroll through the Rugby Union related photographs which I hope you will enjoy.

https://www.procam.me/albums/275755-ilkley-rfc-season-highlights-2022-2023-sport-action-photography

In this album you will also find links to other aspects of our photography in our new Image Library ‘Procam’. We do hope you will enjoy our photographs and perhaps find some which will inspire and enhance your article or publication.

(downloads and prints are available)

For all album queries please contact Peter by

e-mail: ruggerpix@yahoo.com

Prepping camera's now for Ilkley 1st XV vs Manchester 1st XV - Pre-season Friendly - Home at Stacks Field - Saturday 17th August KO 15.00 (see Ilkley RFC website for details)

Ilkley RFC 1st XV vs Driffield 1st XV, 24th February 2024

Ilkley 1st XV vs Driffield 1st XV (eventually) - 24th February 2024 

Having missed the previous Ilkley RFC home game I was certainly going to make the most of this one which had previously been postponed several times due to bad weather and I did.

The weather was good with a glint of sunshine and we arrived at the ground in plenty of time to get a parking place then stroll into Ilkley for coffee with a delicious slice of  cake then a stroll back to the ground to prep the camera equipment ready for an action packed game.

Ilkley on the attack

Driffield on the attack

 Please follow the link below to view all 193 photographs

Hope you have the patience and stamina to view and enjoy them all !!!!

Ilkley vs Driffield All Photographs

Final Result

Ilkley 17 - Driffield 37

'Dales Road Trip' Dent, Dentdale.

 Dent in Cumbria was our next destination, only a short journey south of Sedbergh.

We had no great hopes for photography to add to our image library as the weather was certainly not on our side: very overcast and cloudy. The windscreen wipers were working overtime on our way which was via a tortuous narrow winding road. 

Despite our reservations we were to be very pleasantly surprised and found Dent to be an utterly charming and very photogenic village! regardless of the adverse weather conditions,

Cobbled Street in Dent, Dentdale.

Dent village is full of character and for me the bad weather actually added to its attraction giving lots of opportunity and scope for exploring the versatility of the Apple 12 Pro Max camera under pretty grim conditions.

Parking was no problem and our first attraction was Dent Village Heritage Centre and Museum. Our primary thought being ‘lets find some shelter get out of this awful rain’ but once inside we found it to be extremely interesting with displays and exhibits demonstrating all aspects of the village daily life in times gone by. 

Did you know Dentdale was an early 19th century powerhouse of hand knitting? learn all about The Terrible Knitters of Dent plus much more. Certainly well worth a visit and not to be missed, an absolute wealth of local history.

Dent Village Heritage Centre and Museum, Dentdale.

After that we settled for a delicious lunch in the cosy Meadowside Café. What a treat!

Meadowside Cafe Bar, Dent, Dentdale.

Suitably refreshed we continued our exploration of the village finding photo opportunities around every corner, cobbled streets, quaint cottages and in the centre of Dent the historical 12^th century church of St Andrew.

12th Century church of St Andrew, Dent, Dentdale.

All this and more, with the cobbles glistening in the rain and under a grey moody sky, a real test for the Iphone 12 Pro Max camera which it passed with flying colours. (Love the wide lens and the converging verticals it produces) 

Since discovering the excellent results produced by the 12 Pro Max I now prefer its lightweight convenience when on a walk and tend to leave what I call the 'Heavy Pro Gear' back at base.

Laning, Dent, Dentdale.

What had started out to be a wet miserable day, actually turned out to be one of the highlights of our ‘Dales Road Trip’ providing a variety of opportunities to show through our lens the charm and character of Dent in Cumbria. 

All photographs taken on our Dent adventure can now be viewed at our image library. 

To view all our  Photo Albums

please follow the link to our Image Library

Peter W. Clark photographer

We do hope you will enjoy the photographs and perhaps find some which will inspire and enhance your article or publication.

(downloads and prints are available)

They may also help find your next

film/video location.

More location photographs of our

'Dales Road Trip' to follow.

Aysgarth, Askrigg, Hawes, Gayle, Bainbridge

and finally 

Buckden.

Cottages, Dent, Dentdale.

Ilkley RFC vs Moortown RUFC - Patience is rewarded

It's been some time now since Ilkley RFC last had a home game at Stacks Field (before Christmas) 
but my patience was rewarded last Saturday afternoon when Moortown RUFC visited for their 1st team league fixture vs Ilkley.

 

During the previous week, in eager anticipation of the weekends rugby I had extracted  my Canon 7d SLR and an appropriate sport lens, in this case a Sigma 70-200 2.8 and prepped them ready, cards formatted and batteries charged.

We arrived at the venue early, assembled the kit and started to prowl round the touchlines waiting for the teams appearance.

Well worth the wait although a slow start for me as I was initially some distance from the action. 

I soon got back into the flow of the game which over the two halves built up into a crescendo, loved it!!

Ilkley had the edge, it appeared a hard fight but they won in the end,

Result: Ilkley RFC 29 pts, Moortown RUFC 22 pts.

Then it was a race back home, downloading, editing and uploading to my website Ruggerpix.

Phew !!!! 

For those of you with the stamina, all photographs can now be viewed, please follow the link.

There is also a link to the Match Report written by Sean Crannigan

👇👇👇

www.ruggerpix.com

'Dales Road Trip' Sedbergh in The Yorkshire Dales National Park.

After leaving the Ribblehead Viaduct our next destination was Sedbergh which although in Cumbria is part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Driving along the B6255 Blea Moor Road to the hamlet of Appersett then turning left and admiring the stunning scenery along the way, eventually arriving at  the market town of Sedbergh in the late afternoon . 

We soon located 'The Red Lion' a very cosy traditional style pub which was to be our accommodation for the next two nights.

By the time we had unpacked the weather had worsened and it was coats and hats on then outside to combat the drizzle for a quick stroll and explore around the nearby streets before sitting down to a tasty dinner in one of Sedberghs finest old coaching inns ‘The Dalesman’

Next morning we continued to explore Sedbergh taking my iphone 12 Pro Max camera but now with the addition of a 'small rig stabilizer kit' which gives greater stabilility and grip to the whole unit. Last thing you want when leaning over the bridge trying to get that almost impossible waterfall shot is for the phone to slip out of your grasp and disappear into the murky torrent below!!!

Another extremely useful tool when looking for interesting camera subjects and preliminary investigation prior to your visit is to explore the area with 'Google Street View' which can be found on Google maps.

👉👉👉

The Main Street was quite interesting and several of the specialist craft shops/workshops drew our attention.

 

On our route we called in at St Andrews Church which is located on Main Street. The church is designated by English Heritage as a Grade 1 listed building and has many interesting features.

Well worth a visit, interesting viewpoints external and internal plus maybe say a prayer or two.

To view all the photographs in our Album

'Sedbergh, Cumbria, England'

 please follow the link.

👇

Peter W. Clark photographer

We do hope you will enjoy the photographs and perhaps find some which will inspire and enhance your article or publication.

They may also help find your next

film/video location.

(downloads and prints are available)

More location photographs of our

'Dales Road Trip'

to follow.

Dent (In the Yorkshire Dales National Park)

Aysgarth

Askrigg

Hawes

Gayle

Bainbridge

and finally Buckden

'Dales Road Trip’ Ribblehead Viaduct, North Yorkshire, England.

 

Several months ago we mapped out our plans for the first of our Yorkshire Dales Road Trips. Stage one was to head up above Settle to the Ribblehead Viaduct.

The Ribblehead Viaduct carries the Settle–Carlisle railway over Batty Moss at Ribblehead, North Yorkshire.

This structure has been photographed by many notable photographers and I was determined to try a few standout shots which I hope you enjoy.

There are many words to describe Ribblehead viaduct, a few that come to mind are – imposing, dramatic, stunning, amazing, impressive, but when seen close up it really comes down to a short intake of breath and WOW!!!

What a feat of planning and engineering! You cannot imagine the blood, sweat and tears that must have gone into its construction. There were many fatalities amongst the railway builders (navvies) through accidents and illness, so many in fact that the local graveyard had to be enlarged.

We set out that morning in cloudy and overcast weather conditions but when we arrived at this monumental construction the clouds had cleared leaving me with ideal conditions for the aspects of photography I had in mind. On this Dales Road Trip I had left my Canon 7D SLR and an assortment of lenses (the heavy gear) at home and intended to use the camera in my Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max which I had been trialling for the last few months and had been particularly impressed with the performance of the wide angle lens, this generally produces converging verticals but I happen to like this effect and it does pack a lot of landscape in.

What a photogenic structure, taking into account the weather, time of day and the many viewpoints available it is inevitable that we will make many return trips to photograph it in its full glory.

To view all the photographs in our Album

'Ribblehead Viaduct, Yorkshire'

 please follow the link.

Peter W. Clark photographer

We do hope you will enjoy the photographs and perhaps find some which will inspire and enhance your article or publication.

(downloads and prints are available)

More location photographs of our

'Dales Road Trip'

to follow.

Sedbergh (In the Yorkshire Dales National Park)

Dent (In the Yorkshire Dales National Park)

Aysgarth

Askrigg

Hawes

Gayle

Bainbridge

and finally Buckden

Paris, Pavement Cafe's

There are many aspects to our photography, one which is to bring out the character of the locations we visit.

Several years ago we visited Paris with one or two photographic projects in mind.

One of the projects for our Image Library was to portray the character and chic of the pavement cafe's of Paris.

I hope you will enjoy our selection and re visit as more photographs are added

It was no easy task as the majority of cafe's we photographed in Paris looked extremely inviting, unfortunately we did not have the time or capacity to sample them all.

A rarity, empty tables. So Inviting.

Busy, busy, busy, people watching.

Staying cool, Front of House or should I say 'un garçon de café'

Parisian Chic

Our camera's were a Canon 7d and 30d with Canon lens EFS 18-200 plus a Sigma 10-20 DC HSM. 

All this was carried in our Kata 3N1 30 backpack.

Captions invited, please post in the comments box

To view ‘Paris, Pavement Cafe's’ album please follow the link.

Peter W. Clark photographer

We do hope you will enjoy our photographs and perhaps find some which will inspire and enhance your article or publication.

(downloads and prints are available at the link below)

www.procam.me

Ilkley RFC, Ex Players Lunch, Legends. 4th December 2021

Unfortunately was not able to photograph the ex players attending the lunch but I did manage to photograph 'legends' in the making at the league (North One East) game which followed, Ilkley vs Malton and Norton. 

Ilkley RFC Ex Players (Legends)

Ilkley RFC Ex Players (Legends)

Ilkley RFC Ex Players (Legends)

Archive photographs (EX PLAYERS) courtesy of Ilkley RFC

Once again the weather was not on my side, overcast and rain and as I prefer to photograph from the touchline near the action and away from the distractions and restrictions of the stand I anticipated a soaking so dressed accordingly but even so it was not enough and at half time I had to call it a day, hoping that when I arrived home and edited the results there would be a reasonable collection of acceptable photographs.

Ilkley vs Malton and Norton 4th December 2021

Ilkley vs Malton and Norton 4th December 2021

Managed to rescue enough to post to my website Ruggerpix plus a couple for the Ilkley Gazette to accompany the club scribes match report. If you didn't manage to get to the match then read the report, it is 'a thriller'.

   To view all photographs from the afternoons rugby please follow the link to my dedicated website.

'Ruggerpix' 

 

Ilkley vs Malton and Norton 4th December 2021

                                                     

Grassington, A Charming Market Town in The Yorkshire Dales

 A Market Town in the Yorkshire Dales Revisited

While having a coffee meeting in our usual location, the Riverbank Café next to the River Wharfe at Burnsall in the Yorkshire Dales we had a last minute change of plan and decided to drive up the Dale to the market town of Grassington for a browse around the independent shops surrounding the market square. 

This suited me fine as it would allow me to take additional photographs for our image library. 

Grassington Market Place

As I had not anticipated a photoshoot I used my iPhone 12PM camera which I have used on several previous occasions and have been more than impressed with the results especially with the addition of a SmallRig stabilizer kit. 

Absolutely love it, great practical combination. Especially like the wide lens and the resulting converging verticals. What do you think?

Grassington Shops

The resulting photographs I have uploaded to ‘Grassington in the Yorkshire Dales’ album which can be found in our image library. 

Grassington Folk Museum

 

You may recognise a few of the locations photographed as Grassington was used as the backdrop for the filming of the recent series of ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ and is known as the fictional village of Darrowby.

To view ‘Grassington in the Yorkshire Dales’ album please follow the link.

Peter W. Clark photographer

We do hope you will enjoy the photographs and perhaps find some which will inspire and enhance your article or publication.

Maybe perhaps help to locate your next film/video production.

(downloads and prints are available)

Ruggerpix – ‘A Challenging Afternoon’ for both teams and the photographer.

 

Ilkley vs Pocklington (North One East) k/o 2.15, 20^th November 2021

 The venue: Stacks Field, Ilkley, Yorkshire.

                                     

I had made all my preliminary preparations for this assignment on the day before.

My camera – Canon 7D SLR with twin battery pack, all batteries fully charged, a formatted 16gb memory card plus one spare and my Sigma 70-200, F2.8 lens which I find to be most useful for this type of work, finally a Slik monopod to help keep the camera steady.

Checked all camera settings functioning and then laid all out ready to pack into my equipment backpack on the Saturday morning.

On the following morning the weather was dry but a little overcast and felt chilly so made sure I was well wrapped up then finally packed everything away.

We managed to arrive at Stacks Field comfortably well in advance of the 2.15pm k/o which gave me chance to have a walk around the pitch and  go through various camera checks.

I usually set the camera shutter speed to 1/1000sec. and the ISO to 400 these generally give good results but it soon became apparent that the overcast cloud rolling down from the Dales and the cool breeze were going to be a challenge to both camera and photographer.

Most of the afternoon was spent constantly adjusting camera settings knowing full well that decreasing the shutter speed could produce image blur and increasing the ISO would produce image noise (grain) but it had to be done to let adequate light into the camera to produce at best an acceptable result to capture the fast action.

More importantly I had to constantly adjust my scarf to produce a warm happy photographer.

The decreasing light levels made action photography quite a challenge and a lot of work was required in my image editing software Adobe Lightroom.

To view all photographs from the afternoons rugby please follow the link to my dedicated website Ruggerpix

 Ruggerpix

 A full match report can be viewed at Ilkley RFC website.

Linton in Craven, a Lovely Village in The Yorkshire Dales.

Spent several days in and around the beautiful and very photogenic Yorkshire Dales village of Linton in Craven taking photographs for our image library and researching all the points of interest of which there are many. 

I must admit the Fountaine Inn ‘Fish and Chip Friday’ did help determine what days would be best for our photography. 

The weather also helped a little as did the very dramatic scenery on the River Wharfe at Linton Falls. 

                                     

  Followed by the calming tranquillity of Linton Parish Church. 

    

To view all our photographs of this beautiful area in the Yorkshire Dales - Linton in Craven, Linton Falls and Linton Parish Church please follow the link to our image library - 

👇👇👇

Peter W. Clark, photographer

 

We do hope you will enjoy the photographs and perhaps find some which will inspire and enhance your article or publication.

(downloads and prints are available)