2024
Year In Review...
INTRODUCTION
This 2024 Year in Review doesn’t contain any of the agency photos I’ve taken. It doesn’t contain any of the private commission work I’ve been asked to do over the last 12 months. Being honest, it doesn’t even contain the 12 best photos I’ve taken in 2024.
So why have these images been chosen for this publication? Isn’t it kind of weird that I selected them? Let me try to explain…
Firstly, the images are all taken around where I live. As I spend most of my working hours covering both amateur and professional sport, it isn’t that surprising that many [or even most] of the photos presented here are of grassroots sport.
I’m passionate about providing a window into various clubs that may not have regular coverage, where teams may only receive media attention when they do something out of the ordinary.
Chatting with many characters in and around local clubs, I’ve listened to tales about when they played, but don’t have many photographs to show beyond a few blurry snaps taken [usually] from a distance.
Professional sport doesn’t have that problem. Too many photographers seem to think that all roads lead to sitting at the side of a Premier League or EFL pitch, pro-rugby, Diamond athletics event…that grassroots sport is at best a brief stepping stone to greater things and not worthy of their time.
There are some brilliant photographers that ply their trade at grassroots level – either full time professionals or keen amateurs, but they are sneered at by some…after all, if they were any good, then they would be earning a living taking photos of recognised stars and exclusively covering top-level clubs.
I hate this attitude.
So here are a few images that mean something to me. Where they are of sport, it is of grassroots sport where the briefest of moments that would normally pass unseen by nearly all, have been frozen in time.
I could try and tell the story for each image but have chosen to present them as is - for you to read into them what you will. These images represent a moment in time for me as well – a good conversation, a competitive game, or simply one-thousandth of a second of sporting passion that connects all levels of sport.
The final words I have are for the many photographers that sit in all weathers, at times with such poor lighting, capturing images of various sports week-in, week-out…usually getting little recognition, certainly not getting paid for what they do, and in doing so, dedicating many hours to showing off the teams and sport they love.
To those photographers and videographers – you are all stars, and I applaud you for being there, capturing those few milliseconds that would normally be lost in time, and providing memories for when people aren’t able to play anymore.
I hope you enjoy these few images.
JANUARY
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MARCH
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