By Eddie Keogh

Photographically it’s been a year of shooting new sports. Mainly Olympic and Paralympic sports but this past week it’s been country sport in the form of pheasant shooting. It’s funny but it’s only now as I sit down and write this blog that I’ve realized the connection.

The skills in shooting game gave rise to the Olympic sport of trap shooting . Trapshooting was originally developed to provide a method of practice for bird hunters, even the targets were called clay pigeons. But I doubt the Olympians started the day with a glass of Sloe gin or cherry brandy – though on a cold December morning it does hit the spot.

Land Rovers are lined up outside, while Labradors and Springer Spaniels whine in anticipation because they know what’s coming next. The men, all local farmers wearing every shade of green adjust their breeks and grab their shotguns. The conversation takes a more serious tone as pegs are taken and guns are loaded.

The beaters are seen in the distance approaching an area of long grass, waving flags and making enough noise to disturb any wildlife . The guns are placed evenly around the area in a semi-circle so as the birds take flight they hope to get a well presented angle to take a shot.

Pheasant that fly too low or close are left, a shot like that is considered unsporting. The pheasants are wild birds so there no two shots are the same. No one knows how many pheasant will fly from a run, which direction, which height and which speed. Even trickier is shooting on a foggy day as you don’t see the bird until it’s almost above you. So the skill and the challenge is certainly in following the flight of a rising or curling bird and picking your shot.

The dogs are tied to a stake or their owners and get very excited once the shooting starts and the birds begin to fall. Once the shoot is over and the whistle goes, guns are unloaded and the dogs are released to retrieve the birds which they carry very gently in their mouths and then drop at the feet of their owners.

After the second run, the drinks reappear and it is then you get the feeling this is a very social affair. Here I was witnessing a way of life that has passed down the generations. A chance for friends to get together, enjoy the sport of shooting and bring home the dinner.

By Eddie Keogh

Wouldn’t it be lovely if we could step back in time? I know I never will but occasionally you come across a scene that has barely changed for hundreds of years. This was certainly the case when I visited Eton College this week to photograph the annual Eton Wall Game between The Collegers (scholarship holders) and The Oppidans (the fee paying pupils).

Sport doesn’t get more elite than this. It’s only played once a year, there is only one pitch of its kind in the world and you need to be a pupil at Eton College, one of the most exclusive public schools in the world. Bear in mind that this school has produced 19 British prime ministers including the present one, David Cameron. It’s highly possible that one of the boys in these pictures will enter Downing Street as Prime Minister one day.

The game has a long history here with the first recorded game taking place in 1766. It encompasses elements from both soccer and rugby, but the unusual bit is that it’s all played up against a brick wall 110 meters (yards) long and a pitch that is only 5 meters wide.

I won’t attempt to explain the myriad of rules, needless to say you need to go to a good school to understand them all. Understanding Harry Potter’s game of Quidditch is easier.

Prince Harry most famously played the game back in 2002, I imagine I would have been rubbing shoulders with a few more photographers there that day.

Now, wouldn’t it be lovely if we could step forward in time. Imagine; the game’s popularity has grown around the country. It’s now being shown live on Sky Sports and this Sunday’s headline fixture is Eton v Millwall. Maybe that’s just one wall too far.

As part of our photographic coverage of Euro 2012, Darren Staples and myself from England and Michael Dalder from Germany are covering all the group games in Kiev and Lviv in Ukraine. Our first game was between Germany and Portugal last Saturday in Lviv and proved to be a very interesting day.

Saturday is a busy day to get married in Ukraine and as the city was also packed with fans it was only time before both parties would meet.

Tina Lemboke and her friends from Rostock in Germany were the first to grab a souvenir photo with a wedding couple. The couple were more than happy as it was a good opportunity also for them to get an unusual wedding picture. Tina said’ “They are so friendly here, everyone has been so welcoming.” That proved to be very true as a member of the wedding party opened the boot of his car and presented Tina with a bottle of vodka.

As they left another group of German fans spotted the wedding couple. Five students from Ulm in southern Germany, who had travelled for 24 hours by train to get here. Students being students, a normal picture wasn’t good enough. To everyone’s surprise Paul Schlenker wrapped his German flag around the wedding couple and there was another picture sure to be a hit on Facebook. These fans had a marathon schedule ahead of them as Markus Gamm pointed out. “We have no accommodation tonight and a 25 hour bus ride back to Germany. If we win tonight, we will party all night and sleep on the bus. Hopefully the full 25 hours. ”

Some couple’s managed to find a quieter spot in a local park to celebrate their wedding.
As I took a picture from a distance I was spotted and asked to join them. I ended up sharing a glass of red sparkling wine to toast the marriage of Ivanna to Yaroslav Rotchuk.

Their photographer was even happier when I offered him the loan of my Canon zoom so he could shoot some portraits.
Germany won the match 1-0, let’s hope all those newlyweds don’t get substituted in the biggest match of all.

It’s been our national dish for over a 100 years now and although it’s seen some strong opposition from lasagne and chicken tikka masala, it’s as popular now as it ever was. As a young boy, I have fond memories of Dad rushing in the door with parcels of fish and chips wrapped up in last weeks newspaper. Crispy battered fish with chips covered in salt and vinegar – comfort food at it’s best.

I’ve just spent three days traveling around London’s high streets and back streets looking for Fish and Chip shops. From The Codfather in Northolt to The Rock and Sole Plaice in Covent Garden. I’ve met every nationality working behind the counter and queuing in front of the counter, which confirms it’s broad appeal. Back in 1995, British people were demolishing an incredible 300 million portions of fish and chips every year!

The birth of fish and chips has an interesting international story. We hadn’t even clapped eyes on a potato until they were bought back from South America by the conquistadors in the 17th century. It was the French who invented the chip and the Jews who brought deep fried fish to Britain. There are differing opinions but it’s claimed that the first combined fish and chip shop was opened by a Jewish immigrant, Joseph Malin, within the sound of Bow Bells in East London around 1860. The importance of this national dish was never clearer than during World War II when the British government made sure fish and chips were one of the few foods that was never rationed.

It became the Friday evening meal of choice for the more devout Catholics who refrained from touching meat on a Friday (though this is also a custom which remains popular for British people in general). But if you’re visiting London for the Olympics, remember they’re open every day of the week. So tuck in to a portion of fish and chips but just don’t expect to run the 100 meters under 10 seconds afterwards.

“There’s an old fashioned East End welcome waiting for you.” There’s a good chance you’ll read that quote on the pre-Olympic hype about London. But only those with a sense of adventure will really see and feel it.

Most spectators visiting the Games will enter the park via the shiny new Westfield shopping center. There you can take time out in Starbucks, Costa Coffee, McDonald’s, Nando’s, Pizza Express or even TGI Friday’s. Now I’d put good money on most of our visitors knowing these brands from whichever corner of the world they’re from. But will they have experienced The King Edward VII, The Lord Cardigan.

The Cart and Horses, The Adam and Eve or even The Bow Bells. Now that’s visiting London and the landlord’s and ladies and the people inside those pubs are the real Eastenders.

London’s first pubs appeared as public places where people could gather and drink. This dates back as far as the Romans, but are first thought to have become a common sight in the Anglo-Saxon period, when people opened their homes as alehouses. When the Romans finally withdrew from Britain they left behind the start of the modern pub and in 965 King Edgar decreed that there should be one Ale House in every village in England.

But each pub has a history and a story to tell. The Bow Bells is haunted by a ghost that has a habit of flushing the toilet in the ladies when patrons happen to be sitting on it!

Ye Olde Black Bull used to be called Mooro’s as it was owned by England’s soccer World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore. The Greyhound was rebuilt after being one of many pubs bombed during the war.

And then there’s the food. Classic British dishes, Fish and Chips, Bangers and Mash, Toad in the Hole or Shepherd’s Pie. All washed down with a pint of London Pride and don’t forget that famous pub saying, “One for the road”. You can’t rush a good pint, remember life’s a marathon not a sprint.

The world now is a very different place to the one that held the Ancient Olympic Games which only lasted for one day. In those days only men could compete and only unmarried women could watch. It was rumored that women would dress up like men in order to get in, but that sounds a little Pythonesque….

The greatest show on earth is due to take place this summer in London. For a London boy who has photographed sport for the past 30 years, having the Olympics here is very special. It won’t be my first, that was in Los Angeles. As a 21 year old kid working for a London news agency, I can still remember my jaw dropping when I was asked to go. My hair is a little greyer now, but I still have the photography bug and was looking forward to covering the Olympic test events.

Now it’s a very serious business. The stadiums and venues are ready and the testing is now in full flow. As a photographer working for Reuters in Britain we shoot a lot of Premier League football, so to have the opportunity to shoot some different sports is challenging but really interesting. We need to get the right balance on each job, from nailing an important moment that tells the story of the day to shooting some pretty or unusual angles. Sometimes I get it good and other times I get it better. (Ok, I’ve missed a few, just don’t tell the boss.)

The test events have worked well for the photographers, but then they would if you have the highly regarded sports photographer Bob Martin as head of photography. He has looked at every venue and worked out all the best angles and locations for photographers to get the best possible shot. The international agencies will be allowed to clamp cameras in the roofs of several venues to get some unusual angles on the action. 1400 photographers have been accredited, with 50 paid staff and 750 volunteers assigned to them.

There were a few sports I hadn’t shot before, archery, rhythmic gymnastics, mountain biking and the paralympic sport of goalball.

There was a fairly steep learning curve on those days, but after a bit of time you get a feel for where the pictures will be. With only six months to go now before it all starts, Olympic fever is steadily getting bigger and bigger. The real deal is coming to town, bring it on.