A couple of films returned last week and I was somewhat disappointed. Instead of the reader Ray recommended XP2, which gives lovely clean images like this:

After so many years, I thought I knew of all of the attractions in the Pattaya area. So it was with some surprise that we stumbled across this place when we took a wrong turn on the way home.

Stand-up paddle boarding (SUP) is now one of the most popular ways of exhausting yourself on the water, and the leading player in the SUP market (and windsurfing) is Starboard which just happens to be based in Thailand; specifically, next to Lake Taco in Bangkok.

Which is why I found myself sat on a very large SUP with my camera gear in the middle of Lake Taco yesterday afternoon, to take some shots of the latest variation on the SUP theme: SUP Polo.

The competitors stand on large inflatable SUP boards inside an enclosure with goals at both ends. There is a ball, and the SUP paddles have ball-catching size holes in them so you can, theoretically, scoop the ball and chuck to another player or into the goal (you can also use the paddles for their more traditional purpose, but the large holes in them reduces their efficiency considerably). In reality, there is much splashing, crashing and general hilarity, with only the occasional goal.

I had my 12-40mm and 40-150mm lenses, both of which are waterproof but neither of which I fancied dunking in the lake. Luckily my board was large and stable so my gear was never in danger. No, the only problem was getting decent shots. There were people wearing white and people wearing all black. There were dark faces, light faces, messy backgrounds, highly reflective boards and the midday sun. All of these conspired to make photo taking difficult and I was not pleased with the results. But I am going to share some of them anyway.

Ninja SUP stance:

My 1931 Leica I is the oldest camera in my collection for which film can still be found, and I really enjoy shooting with it. I carry it around in a small bag along with its rangefinder and hood; and worry about the front of the lens becoming scratched because it has no lens cap.

But now it does. Several weeks of watching on eBay finally revealed what I was looking for; an original black-painted brass cap. Just like the camera, the paint has been rubbed away to reveal the brass and the two look just right together. At eight four years old, everything should look a little battered.