Esther MacIntyre was on duty on the weekend and she was busy capturing all the glamour of the Mount Isa Cup on Saturday and all the fun of the Colours for Cancer event on Sunday.

I was backing her up at the campdraft in Camooweal on Saturday morning and then the rugby league later that day.

I had a bit of a disaster with the camera at the footy which caused me much embarrassment.

Somewhere between Camooweal and Mount Isa the memory card in the camera became slightly dislodged so all my photos subsequently were “demonstration mode” only and not saved.

It does tell you this in the viewfinder in an alarming red font but without my glasses I didn’t notice it. 

So none of the hundred or so photos I took at the Wanderers v Black Stars game were saved, nor my ones of the special presentation of jerseys by police to the league as part of the One Punch Can Kill campaign (see more on this later in the week) nor most of the Town v Normanton photos.

Somehow I noticed to my horror the problem towards the end of that game and madly tried to made amends in the little light I had left.

I tell you I could have cried and it reinforces my belief that although I sometimes fluke a good photo, I am primarily a journalist armed with an occasionally working camera rather than a photographer who also works with words.

At least all my Camooweal photos came out and again we’ll push these out later in the week.

It was great to see so many people there for a wonderful event.

It’s rare I get up to the border and although it was still cool when I arrived at 9.30am (one camper laconically told “it got a bit cold overnight” which probably meant it was bloody freezing) it quickly warmed up into a beautiful day.

There was a huge number of nominations for the campdraft.

I would have loved to have stayed on for the rodeo Saturday night as I suspect the party was a sight to behold. Maybe next time. Derek Barry