Sol Campbell, London – 23 January
46mm lens 1/1000th f2.8 ISO 800
We had an interview with the former England international in which he opened up about living with the threats that still go on 22 years after his acrimonious move from Spurs to Arsenal. I wanted to take a portrait that hinted at this so I placed him looking out from a window of his London home.
England v Italy, Six Nations, Twickenham – 12 February
560mm lens 1/2000th f4 ISO 4000
Aaah, I just love the hurly-burly of international rugby. I don’t know what it is with modern rugby players’ shorts but this sort of incident is happening more and more. Possibly something to do with the lower tackle heights? Are players now targeting the shorts as an area to grab hold of?
Manchester City celebration, Emirates Stadium, London – 15 February
59mm lens 1/1250 f4 ISO 4000
This seemed to be a key moment in a pivotal match in the Premier League title race. City, away at Arsenal, taking the lead in the second half and really stamping their authority over their nearest challengers. When Jack Grealish scored, I quickly got up from my seat and ran over to the corner flag where they were celebrating as I wanted to get the scoreboard in the background. But what makes this picture for me is the expression on Erling Harland’s face, seeming to sob with joy on his teammate’s shoulder.
The Severn Bore, Minsterworth, Gloucestershire – 23 February
400mm lens 1/2000 f3.5 ISO 400
I was down in the Bristol area covering an evening England Lionesses match when I realised that the next morning there was going to be a five-star Severn Bore. This natural phenomenon happens when a very high tide causes a wave of water to travel miles up the river and canoeists and surfers can enjoy epic rides. I had no idea really what I was doing or where I should go for the best view so headed to a pub called the Severn Bore and waited, and waited and waited. Finally it arrived and I couldn’t believe how close the surfers were to the river bank, ducking dangerously under branches as they sped by.
Wales v England, Six Nations, Cardiff – 25 February
190mm lens 1/1600 f4 ISO 4000
This is a fairly simple picture to take, it’s just a matter of being in the right place at the right time and not missing it. The Principality Stadium is fantastic for photographing rugby, the sight lines and backgrounds are so good especially in the corners for tries. It’s always pulsating when England are down to play there.
Cross Country Chase, Cheltenham Festival – 15 March
160mm lens 1/1600 f4 ISO 2500
Jockey Ben Jones is dumped into the bottom of the final fence after his horse Francky Du Berlais refused to jump. Horse racing has the knack of producing the odd comic picture like this. Even though for the majority of time I’m photographing the winners of races, it sometimes pays off to turn my lens on some of the back-markers.
Mary Earps, England v Brazil, Wembley – 6 April
130mm lens 1/1600 f4 ISO 4000
Mary Earps of England celebrates after her heroics in the penalty shootout helped win the Women’s Finalissima for the Lionesses. For the recently crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year, this was just the start of a memorable year. She is great to take pictures off because she always wears her heart on her sleeve, never concealing her emotions whether winning or losing. Immediately after the match ended I knew she would do something so I placed myself between her and the crowd. Thanks Mary, I knew you wouldn’t let me down.
The Chair, Aintree – 13 April
29mm lens 1/2500 f13 ISO 1250
I have always loved photographing the famous Chair fence on the Grand National course at Aintree. The enormous ditch on the take-off side can inspire the horses to make huge, daring leaps. Plus when it’s a nice, sunny day the lighting can be perfect. For this image I put a remote camera in the ditch, adjusted the settings to get as much depth of focus as possible combined with a very fast shutter speed to freeze the sideways action and hoped for the best.
Mo Farah, London Marathon – 23 April
155mm lens 1/1600 f4 ISO 1000
This was Farah’s last ever marathon before he retired for good later in the year. He seemed quite a disconsolate figure as he turned off his watch while slowly crossing the line. The finish at The Mall has such a spectacular background and I liked how it contrasted with the slightly sad athlete. It made me think back fondly to the many times I have photographed Farah crossing various lines in jubilation.
Coventry v Luton, Championship play-off final, Wembley – 27 May
70mm lens 1/1600 f4 ISO 2500
It’s the penalty shootout in the world’s richest match, the prize a spot in the Premier League. Luton Town have just scored their sixth successful penalty and up steps Fankaty Dabo of Coventry City. Next, oh dear – he skies his shot high and wide and Luton have won. Recently I have worked out a bit of a plan for penalty shootouts where I try to get as near to the goal as possible on the left hand side. This is where the goalkeepers stand when they are not in action but it means a lot of celebrations happen towards them. However, the assistant referee also stands on that side on the goal line. So to get a clear view I go much nearer the goal, a tactic that really paid off on this occasion.
Everton v Bournemouth, Goodison Park – 28 May
125mm lens 1/1250 f4 ISO 800
On the final day of the Premier League, Everton needed a win to avoid relegation. Fortunately the only goal of the game, scored by Abdoulaye Doucouré, happened in my corner. I made sure to go a little looser on this celebration to keep in a lot of the Goodison faithful going wild in the background. It’s a great feeling to be at a big game that ends 1-0 and you have got the only goal and celebration.
Manchester City v Internazionale, Champions League final, Istanbul – 10 June
24mm lens 1/1600 f4.5 ISO 4000
The first thing I do when I get on the pitch at a major match like this is try and bag a decent spot for my remote camera behind a goal. The only problem is that all the photographers from the global agencies are let on before me so it can be tricky finding a spare place. I managed to get this angle. I’ve always thought a remote camera is a very low percentage camera, you need a huge amount of luck to get something good and most matches you get nothing. However if you don’t try, you’ll never get it and my luck was really in that night. It also really helps that it was the only goal – and what an important one too.
Novak Djokovic, Wimbledon – 5 July
400mm lens 1/2000 f2.8 ISO 2000
For a good few years I have sensed something has been going on with Djokovic and the Centre Court crowd. Does he feel unloved? That he doesn’t get the recognition he deserves? This was at the end of a routine second-round match against Jordan Thompson of Australia and I could tell something was up with him. Before shaking hands at the net, the world No 1 turns to the crowd behind the umpire’s chair, cups his ear and pops his eyes. It felt really bizarre.
Centre Court, Wimbledon – 12 July
16mm lens 1/1600 f7.1 ISO 1600
This has to be one of my favourite spots to photograph sport. I could spend hours and hours there (in fact over the years I have probably spent days and days there). You get such a good feel for the game and the players often turn around towards you while looking towards their coaches and friends. Recently, due to building work, this spot has been slightly remodelled and I noticed that by placing a wide angle lens low down on to a shiny metal post in front of me I could achieve a nice reflection. Something a bit different.
Stuart Broad, fifth Ashes test, The Oval – 31 July
840mm lens 1/1600 f5.6 ISO 1600
The final day of the final Test and we all knew it was Broad’s final day of cricket. It seemed like the whole crowd were willing him to take a wicket. But it just wasn’t happening and the clock was ticking. He needed a change of tactic or a change of luck – so he swapped the bails over. The next ball he got Timmy Murphy out. This was his reaction as he points in disbelief towards the stumps where a moment before he had performed his moment of witchcraft. Definitely one of the moments of the year.
World Canoe Slalom Championships, Lee Valley – 23 September
400mm lens 1/30 f32 ISO 100
I’ve always loved photographing this sport but rarely get the chance. When the sun is out it can produce spectacular images. For this picture I wanted to convey a feeling of water flying everywhere as the paddler speeds down the course. So I moved to shoot it back-lit against a wall in shadow to show off the white streaks but also adjusted settings to get this feeling of movement.
Harry Kane, England v Italy, Wembley – 17 October
24mm lens 1/1600 f4 ISO 4000
It was a historic year for Harry Kane, not only did he become Spurs’ all-time leading goal scorer, he also became England’s leading scorer. This picture shows him celebrating a goal against Italy and confirming England’s place at the Euros next year. This goal also confirmed him as England’s record scorer at Wembley. This picture is taken with a remote camera placed at a slightly different angle, behind one of the stanchions Wembley uses to hold up the net.
Rugby World Cup final, Paris – 28 October
400mm lens 1/1600 f4.5 ISO 3200
After a pulsating, close-fought final between South Africa and New Zealand, the Springbok captain holds aloft the Webb Ellis trophy and so confirms his country as the most successful World Cup team ever. If only every winning captain lifted a trophy like Siya Kolisi – he does it perfectly. If you want an example of how not to do it then take a look at Martin Johnson in 2003.
World Trampoline Championships, Birmingham – 12 November
165mm lens 1/2000 f2.8 ISO 3200
I love the challenge of going to photograph a sport I’ve never covered before, working out what happens and when. Seeing the synchro pairs in action I wanted to create an image that gave over this sense of flying up in the air together. Fortunately I managed to find a spot in the crowd where I could get a clean, dark background but also be at the right height to get both performers close together.
Adam Johnson memorial ice hockey match, Nottingham – 18 November
30mm lens 1/200 f4.5 ISO 3200
This was a very moving occasion – the first time the Nottingham Panthers ice hockey players had been back on the ice after the tragic death of their teammate Adam Johnson. He was killed while playing in a match in Sheffield. It was clear the whole sport had been shocked so it was a powerful statement to see the ice hockey community come together like this. I knew the players would form a circle of remembrance before the game started so I thought it was best to find a spot high up in the crowd to look down on them.
Everton fans protest, Goodison Park – 26 November
23mm lens 1/1000 f4 ISO 4000
After their 10-point deduction in November, the Everton fans held a mass protest against the Premier League. Before the match everyone attending was handed a pink card with the Premier League logo and the word Corrupt on it. As these were fairly small I decided I needed to go quite close to the fans holding up the signs just before kick-off but at the same time have a wide enough angle to show the widespread anger.
Leon Edwards, UFC world champion, Birmingham – 30 November
50mm lens 1/400 f1.4 ISO 1250
A couple of weeks before he went to Las Vegas to successfully defend his UFC welterweight world champion belt, I visited a small MMA gym in Birmingham to see Leon train and take his portrait. For this picture I positioned a couple of lights to the rear and either side of him and then used a reflector behind me to put some light into his face.
Ipswich Town fans, Portman Road – 16 December
16mm lens 1/2500 f4 ISO 1000
Ipswich’s story is quite remarkable and they seem like a football club reborn. This year promotion from League One has been followed by a rise towards the top of the Championship. Could the Premier League be just round the corner? I went to the recent “Old Farm” derby versus Norwich, a match Ipswich haven’t won for 14 years. I didn’t expect to see this on a Saturday morning, full on pyro for the Ipswich team bus arrival. After this spectacular display one of the ultras turned round to me and said “We better not lose after all this.” They didn’t, it was a 2-2 draw.
Luke Humphries, PDC World Championships – 17 December
400mm lens 1/1600 f2.8 ISO 3200 multiple exposure
To get something a little bit different at the darts is a challenge. One thing that plays into my hands is the fact I know exactly what they are going to do and where it will happen. Plus they do the same action over and over again. So I can have a bit of fun and experiment. This multiple exposure created in camera is caused by five different exposures with me moving the camera slightly right to left while firing the shutter. The deep black background really helps too with something like this.
