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GreenLightGo

Photographers in British Speedway

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What’s been put online was screenshots of a private watts app conversation. I think the person who made it public is the one stirring things up. 

Im sure everyone on here has texted / said stuff that could be frowned upon if made public. 

Maybe there’s more to this than meets the eye ? 

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10 minutes ago, Jonny the spud said:

What’s been put online was screenshots of a private watts app conversation. I think the person who made it public is the one stirring things up. 

Im sure everyone on here has texted / said stuff that could be frowned upon if made public. 

Maybe there’s more to this than meets the eye ? 

The private WhatsApp group seems to be one element of it yes. And of course this goes on in all forms of life.

but I understand it’s gone way beyond that and it is toxic and hostile behaviours towards the laddie. And that’s not on. 

As I said earlier up the thread, if the ‘men’ involved have a genuine grievance wouldn’t the mature thing be to sit down and discuss with the BSPA media team rather than pick on a young kid?

if I was the boy’s father I would be livid and action would certainly be taken in the strongest possible fashion.

Bullies cannot be tolerated. The photographers need to be named and shamed and banned. 

Lets wait and see what action the BSPA will take

 

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My son started getting a lot of online grief when he started out. I used to defend him all the time until he asked me to step back and let him prove himself. 

Going public in a blaze of publicity isn’t always the best solution 

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9 minutes ago, Jonny the spud said:

My son started getting a lot of online grief when he started out. I used to defend him all the time until he asked me to step back and let him prove himself. 

Going public in a blaze of publicity isn’t always the best solution 

There are also comments on facebook which everyone can see, it isnt private anymore. 

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9 minutes ago, therefused said:

There are also comments on facebook which everyone can see, it isnt private anymore. 

As I have said before- it’s gone way past ‘comments’.

I would say 100% of parents would not accept or tolerate. 

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22 minutes ago, Jonny the spud said:

My son started getting a lot of online grief when he started out. I used to defend him all the time until he asked me to step back and let him prove himself. 

Going public in a blaze of publicity isn’t always the best solution 

And prove himself he certainly has, in his quiet unassuming way . He is one of British speedways most popular riders and a credit to you.  i do not think i have ever heard a bad word about him.

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It is all quite weird. Of course we can't see the comments any more as they have been deleted. As I know one of the photographers mentioned it seems very surprising he is involved in 'bullying'. I do know that he certainly has moved with the times as he showed me all his mobile equipment a number of years back where he could edit and send pics off from the track. It is also surprising at first that speedway media are using a young untried photographer as I had the feeling tried and tested was preferred. Someone who people know is reliable and has done the job for years and will generally always turn up and produce. Obviously taking a big chance using someone who has no track record and you don't know if he will find something else to do in a year or so.....and you have p'd off others.

Then of course you see the name Lanning and some of it comes into place. I did see a few pics online recently and thought 'ah ha'......

The thing is a couple of months ago a young lady at I think Berwick was also taking pics and was pretty good and then a fuss was kicked up and it seems she was stopped. Of course she isn't a 'Lanning' and so it all blew over very quickly so it seemed to me at least

Bullying should never be tolerated, but hard to comment when we don't seem to know the whole story

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12 minutes ago, iris123 said:

It is all quite weird. Of course we can't see the comments any more as they have been deleted. As I know one of the photographers mentioned it seems very surprising he is involved in 'bullying'. I do know that he certainly has moved with the times as he showed me all his mobile equipment a number of years back where he could edit and send pics off from the track. It is also surprising at first that speedway media are using a young untried photographer as I had the feeling tried and tested was preferred. Someone who people know is reliable and has done the job for years and will generally always turn up and produce. Obviously taking a big chance using someone who has no track record and you don't know if he will find something else to do in a year or so.....and you have p'd off others.

Then of course you see the name Lanning and some of it comes into place. I did see a few pics online recently and thought 'ah ha'......

The thing is a couple of months ago a young lady at I think Berwick was also taking pics and was pretty good and then a fuss was kicked up and it seems she was stopped. Of course she isn't a 'Lanning' and so it all blew over very quickly so it seemed to me at least

Bullying should never be tolerated, but hard to comment when we don't seem to know the whole story

Interesting points you make. Glad you end your post the way you did.

If you’re good enough then you’re old enough. It seems his work has made the national newspapers with both speedway and in darts. Would they accept his pictures if they weren’t of the highest quality? I think he already has a pretty good track record at least the editors of the big national newspapers seem to think so. 

This story is simple. A lot of 50/60 year old photographers have seen a 17 year old surpass what has taken them years to get to and they don’t like it one bit. Instead of being mature and having a grown up discussion, they started to bully him.

i find it hugely ironic that the sport and its fans loves to see a teenage sensation on track beating the regular guys. 

But not if you’re a photographer.

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11 minutes ago, GreenLightGo said:

Interesting points you make. Glad you end your post the way you did.

If you’re good enough then you’re old enough. It seems his work has made the national newspapers with both speedway and in darts. Would they accept his pictures if they weren’t of the highest quality? I think he already has a pretty good track record at least the editors of the big national newspapers seem to think so. 

This story is simple. A lot of 50/60 year old photographers have seen a 17 year old surpass what has taken them years to get to and they don’t like it one bit. Instead of being mature and having a grown up discussion, they started to bully him.

i find it hugely ironic that the sport and its fans loves to see a teenage sensation on track beating the regular guys. 

But not if you’re a photographer.

In a way I think if we had the same situation in our work place the reaction would also be negative. It might not be bullying, but I have had situations when starting a job when someone has said they wouldn't tell me all they know, they had to find out for themselves so I would have to as well. Or someone actually said he was going to go slow(on London Buses that was) and put the blame on me being inexperienced.....so if a youngster comes along with all the gear and people are pulling strings all over the place I can understand people are well peeved. That shouldn't end in any sort of bullying though 

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If bullying is happening yes it is wrong. 

I asked a question last week having heard about this but unfortunately did not get an answer so I did a bit of investigating.

To get a llicence to take photographs you need to be 18. Is the problem that some object to strings being pulled for someone under that age to take photographs at tracks?

 

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1 hour ago, iris123 said:

It is all quite weird. Of course we can't see the comments any more as they have been deleted. As I know one of the photographers mentioned it seems very surprising he is involved in 'bullying'. I do know that he certainly has moved with the times as he showed me all his mobile equipment a number of years back where he could edit and send pics off from the track. It is also surprising at first that speedway media are using a young untried photographer as I had the feeling tried and tested was preferred. Someone who people know is reliable and has done the job for years and will generally always turn up and produce. Obviously taking a big chance using someone who has no track record and you don't know if he will find something else to do in a year or so.....and you have p'd off others.

Then of course you see the name Lanning and some of it comes into place. I did see a few pics online recently and thought 'ah ha'......

The thing is a couple of months ago a young lady at I think Berwick was also taking pics and was pretty good and then a fuss was kicked up and it seems she was stopped. Of course she isn't a 'Lanning' and so it all blew over very quickly so it seemed to me at least

Bullying should never be tolerated, but hard to comment when we don't seem to know the whole story

The reason the speedway media and elsewhere go for his photos is that he does different; different angles, different viewpoints -- brings a whole new thought process to the job.

Some of the old toggers have been churning out the same old, same old, same old shots for years. Boring - might as well take photos from the files.

They are being shown up for their lack of drive/initiative and don't like it.

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23 minutes ago, Richard Weston said:

The reason the speedway media and elsewhere go for his photos is that he does different; different angles, different viewpoints -- brings a whole new thought process to the job.

Some of the old toggers have been churning out the same old, same old, same old shots for years. Boring - might as well take photos from the files.

They are being shown up for their lack of drive/initiative and don't like it.

Is this a fact or an opinion  I ask because I think I have seen statements before (maybe even from Steve Hone, who has posted here) that at least the Star didn't want new ideas or angles etc....

Seems a few points have cropped up. No 1 is he under age and is getting some big advantage he really shouldn't be getting? His father could be held responsible for putting the lad in this position he really shouldn't be in if a pass should only be issued to 18 year olds or over

The other thing that bugs me, just on the surface as I don't know all the details, is why the fuss about him and nowt about the young woman at Berwick ?

And tbh I get fed up quite quickly with all these strange pics with HD or the dark framing around the edges or taking pics from ground level.......

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1 hour ago, edmon said:

If bullying is happening yes it is wrong. 

I asked a question last week having heard about this but unfortunately did not get an answer so I did a bit of investigating.

To get a llicence to take photographs you need to be 18. Is the problem that some object to strings being pulled for someone under that age to take photographs at tracks?

 

Interesting but with respect irrelevant. You are trying to establish cause for the behaviour but you don’t know. Unless of course you are one of the magnificent 7..

If the reason for their behaviour is that someone has been given a card illegally then it doesn’t excuse what they are doing one bit. Their protestations should go to the BSPA. 

Can you share where you obtained the information about having to be 18 because you are suggesting Nigel Pearson is engaging the services of someone under the correct age and that the issuer of the cards is breaking their own rules. Both pretty serious.

i really can’t see either party above taking a huge risk because if anything happens to the kid on the track wouldn’t there be an insurance liability? And wouldn’t that be void if rules were broken? (I confess I don’t really know the insurance issues for staff etc)

BUT still doesn’t excuse their behaviour does it? 

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I have been impressed with some of his photographs.  I have no idea if you have to be 18 to get a pass but it would seem odd if that is true when you can race when as young as 15.

Equally, I can understand older photographers feeling aggrieved if they feel that a competitor is getting an unfair advantage because of his connections. However, you don't deal with that by bullying the person concerned. You deal with it by taking the matter up with those you feel are allowing what you perceive to be unfair competition. 

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18 minutes ago, Aces51 said:

I have been impressed with some of his photographs.  I have no idea if you have to be 18 to get a pass but it would seem odd if that is true when you can race when as young as 15.

Equally, I can understand older photographers feeling aggrieved if they feel that a competitor is getting an unfair advantage because of his connections. However, you don't deal with that by bullying the person concerned. You deal with it by taking the matter up with those you feel are allowing what you perceive to be unfair competition. 

Totally agree with you.  

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