My dad chopping my head off in all my fishing portraits – that encouraged me to check out how to shoot pictures.
At 16, I went to college in Rotherham to resit the exams I failed at school, and they ran photography courses at night. From the first day I loved it and never wanted to be anything other than a photographer.
In 1986 I covered a local dramatics society preview in Dinnington for the local paper. I got paid about £2.50 and never looked back.
I can remember thousands of my assignments over the past 26 years, so I guess they all leave their mark on you in some way. Photography is my life, not a job.
I can’t stress enough how much photography rules my life. I love everything I do, although soccer is a particular passion.
Reuters has a worldwide audience, and I’m always conscious of that, but no matter how old or experienced I get, there’s nothing like the buzz from seeing a hard copy of a British publication that’s used one of your pictures really well.
I have a vivid memory of an FA Cup final at Wembley during the good old days of film. You had to carry a system for developing film like the Jobo – a big tank with a heater and thermostat for the chemicals. Unfortunately we forgot the heating system and mid panic we filled the Jobo with several kettles full of boiling water, wrapped the unit in black bin bags and taped it up before going out to shoot the game. To our great relief, the chemicals were at the exact temperature at full time to develop the film. Not recommended for the faint hearted!
The person I respect the most? Bill Brandt, without question. He takes photography to a place I can only dream of. A true legend.
