James Marchington

Welcome

2025-08-19T22:51:00.000+01:00

This blog hasn't been updated for... well a very long time – but I'm still around! Currently working largely for Fieldsports Channel, but also photography, writing and video for clients such as the CPSA and The Shooting Channel.

I'll leave the blog posts here as something of a historical curiosity, but for more up-to-date stuff you can find me on Instagram here, and contact me via email, phone or whatsapp – contact details in the column on the right.

Quick update

2018-01-22T21:01:00.000+00:00

As always, it's been months since I last updated the blog - and plenty has happened in that time. I'm still producing two weekly video programmes for the TSC channel on YouTube. I am now appearing on camera in the Tuesday news show, which has been quite a learning experience - not just because of the technical challenges of lighting, recording video and sound in a 'studio' type environment, but also because presenting to camera really isn't my thing; I'm much happier behind the camera! I'm rapidly discovering that reading a script, sounding natural and looking into the camera is quite a challenge, and I've developed a new-found respect for TV news presenters.

The BBC's newsreaders have nothing to fear!

On top of the TSC production work, I have produced a lot of videos for the CPSA, including reports from their major championships in 2017, instruction videos in their 'How to Hit' series, and promotional videos for Facebook and other social media platforms. There are more of these in the pipeline, with the CPSA Annual Awards and the CPSA World English Sporting Championship coming up later in 2018 - follow their YouTube channel and Facebook page to see my work as it appears. And members will have seen my regular articles and photos in the CPSA magazine, 'Pull!', as well as the occasional write-up in Clay Shooting magazine.

My photo of Austin Coxhead on the cover of Pull! magazine

Plus there's been a host of smaller projects for clients including Eley, Just Cartridges, Save The Rhino, and many more. In case you're thinking it's all about shooting, I have also worked on a number of non shooting related projects too - most recently filming a performance by the lovely Yasmine Giles.

I've continued to steadily upgrade and update my gear, so my main video kit is now based around the phenomenal Panasonic GH5 micro four thirds camera, with a selection of prime and zoom lenses. My main stills camera is a Canon 5D Mk iii, mostly with prime 35mm, 50mm and 85mm lenses, but also my trusty old Sigma 70-200 f2.8 which produces stunning quality on the full-frame format, despite being nearly 20 years old! For wildlife I reach for my Canon 300mm, another stunning lens. I edit video in Final Cut Pro X running on a 27" iMac.

A taste of real videojournalism at the World Sporting Championships

2016-07-05T20:26:00.000+01:00

I spent a hectic and exciting few days working for the CPSA at the World Sporting Championships, at EJ Churchill's shooting ground near High Wycombe.

It was a terrific event, with all the atmosphere and excitement that you'd hope at a World Championship. That was no accident - the organising team from EJ Churchill, the CPSA and many more had worked hard to make it an event to remember.

I remember working in the Press centre at Woolwich at the London 2012 Olympics, and watching open-mouthed as radio reporters and videojournalists compiled their reports on laptops, uploading the finished pieces direct to their newsrooms.

How times change! Here was I doing the exact same thing - interviewing a sponsor or a winner, then rushing back inside to knock out a quick edited version to upload to YouTube, Facebook and the rest.

It was every bit as exciting - and nerve-racking - as I'd imagined. Normally I can take my time over an edit, fussing over a cut, tweaking the colour balance or the EQ on the audio. Here time was everything. I quickly learnt the value of having a basic "that's good enough" colour grade and EQ preset to throw onto everything, and covering up the odd jump cut with a simple lens flare transition.

The results looked a little rough around the edges, to my eye at least, but they did the job. It helped enormously that I had prepared some title graphics and selected a piece of royalty free music in advance. It meant I didn't waste valuable time at the venue, and it added a degree of polish.

All in all an exciting few days doing "real" videojournalism, a valuable learning experience, and most of all the client was happy with the results. So happy in fact they sent me a thank-you card. Isn't that lovely? People so rarely bother with cards nowadays, but it meant a lot to me.

I must give a quick shout-out to Lucy and Kate from Tweed Media, who were in charge of the social media side of things - posting a massive amount of material on Facebook and Twitter, and generally building the excitement around the event. Also to the lovely folks from Bucks New Uni media department, who were filming for EJ Churchills and were very forgiving when I stole part of their desk. Oh, and Carlito's Coffee which kept me going through the long days - a lovely guy selling some seriously good coffee!

To watch the rest of the videos, check out the CPSA's YouTube channel. And to see some of the great work done by the rest of the team, search on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the hashtag #WorldESP

James Marchington

Welcome

Quick update

A taste of real videojournalism at the World Sporting Championships

A busy week!

A moving tale

Interview with a legend

In the thick of it

Probably the best ferret in the world...

World Pheasant Association - a great conservation success

New look

That parakeet video

Shooting rabbits off a quad bike

Filming foxshooting through a thermal imager

Foxing Irish style

Pigeon shooting in Ireland with Jason Doyle

A foray into corporate video

My sheep video is famous!

Driven grouse - wow!

Airgun hunting on Skye

AirHeads - shooting ginger rabbits on Skye

Driven grouse and partridges at Farndale

Crow shooting in Ireland with Jason Doyle

Pigeon shooting with a young shot

Fox control with Geoff Garrod

An interview with gamekeeper Geoff Garrod