Lawrence Trott -- Bermuda Society of Arts Small Gallery, west exhibition room, City Hall, Church Street. Gallery hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Saturday.

Until October 14.

*** For such a sports-mad island, it's strange that this exhibition of photographs by Mr. Lawrence Trott is the first in recent memory dealing solely with sports. But it has been well worth the wait.

Mr. Trott, a sports sub editor and senior reporter at The Royal Gazette , has been well known in Bermuda for his superb photographs of cricket and much of his work has appeared in The Bermuda Cricket Annual, RG Magazine and in overseas publications such as the West Indies Quarterly, The Cricketer and Wisden magazines in England as well as The Nation newspaper in Barbados.

But in this exhibition, Mr. Trott shows that he not only shoots excellent cricket photographs but has also turned his `long lens' on the likes of such sports as cycling, soccer, track and field, motocross, rugby, swimming, golf, equestrian events, sailing, powerboat racing, tennis and netball.

And while there are a number of cricket photographs on show (10 of the 36 in the exhibition) the finest shot is of swimming -- namely the close-up of Bermuda's top swimmer Chris Flook taken during pre-Commonwealth Games training this year. Good close-ups of swimmers can be one of the hardest to take but Mr. Trott has excelled here showing Flook taking a quick breath while the water is being pushed ahead of him. In fact the photograph reminds one of the Life magazine shot of American Olympian Mark Spitz who won a chestful of gold medals during the 1972 Olympics in Munich, West Germany.

The key to being a good sports photographer is anticipation and also knowing the sport one is covering. And many of the finest sports photographs are not solely based of the glory of winning but many times in the pain of defeat. Mr.

Trott has captured a few of those moments very well.

In a photograph titled `Down and Out' he shows Clint Smith coming to the aid of a fallen runner lying in agony on the track during the inter-school sports day in 1989. In another titled `Emotions', he has quickly focused on a rival comforting another runner after she dropped the relay baton during the inter-school sports day this year. A second later the photograph would not have been there but Mr. Trott had seen it and clicked quickly and sharply. If you wait in sports photography the moment has gone and Mr. Trott shows he is fast and focused with the camera.

In a few of the photographs Mr. Trott has used the early morning light to full advantage creating a dream-like state which belies the exertion being put into the sport. In one, titled `Sunrise Silhouette', he shows us four cyclists racing in the Bermuda National Cycling Championships backlit by the glorious orange tint of sun. In another, titled `Beach Shadows', he has managed to display runners in the Huw Morris Duathlon on Horseshoe Beach in silhouette with the sparking water as the backdrop.

In the 10 cricket photographs Mr. Trott's expertise really shines. In particular his photograph of the great West Indies fast bowler, lanky Curly Ambrose, relaxing at Edgbaston in England is delightful. And what strikes one about the photograph is the now `famous smile' of Ambrose which Mr. Trott has caught superbly.

While many of the photographs in the exhibition are very artistic, Mr. Trott also shows the `hard news' aspect of his work in the picture simply titled `Bowled' where he has been quick enough to capture the bail in mid air the second Pakistan's Mudassar Nazar has bowled Phil Simmons of the West Indies during their match in Antigua in 1988.

But while there are photographs of both local cricketers at Cup Match and members of the West Indies Test team, it is Mr. Trott's photograph of young Antiguan kids playing `Beach Cricket' which captures the essence of the game.

He has caught the fun of the pick-up game with the small batsman going for six with a huge hook. And if you were ever wondering why the West Indies consistently thrash the other Test playing countries of the world, it is all displayed in this photograph! Kyle Hunter RIDING HIGH -- Mr. Lawrence Trott captures the speed, power and agility of show jumping with his photograph of Susie Kendall riding Duke of Windswept during the Mini Grand Prix at Government House in 1989. Mr. Trott has turned his `long lens' on the likes of such sports as cricket, cycling, soccer, track and field, motocross, rugby, swimming, golf, equestrian events, sailing, powerboat racing, tennis and netball.