Darren Staples

Darren Staples

Based
The Midlands, United Kingdom
Born
Loughborough, United Kingdom
Status
Photographer
“I respect anybody who risks their life to tell a story that needs to be told.”

Beat

I cover news, features and sport, with an emphasis on feeding the hungry appetite for English soccer, sometimes shooting four games a week.

One Shot

. WHITBY, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Darren Staples
An ice cream van stands on a foggy beach in Whitby, northern England
“Us Brits are weather obsessed, and for me this image sums up a typical British summer.”

Profile

My earliest memory of photography is taking pictures of my little brother’s toothless grin with my mum’s Kodak Brownie after he lost his two front teeth.

At age 16 I joined my local newspaper as a darkroom assistant and I learnt a lot from looking at the black and white pictures I was printing. After being stuck in a 6x6 foot shed converted into a darkroom for 8 hours a day I would shadow the photographers on their assignments. You never stop learning in this profession.

I can’t remember my first assignment but I can remember photographing 18 Christmas fetes in one day for my local paper. As it was all on 35mm film in those days and I had to develop and print all the pictures before I went home, it soon taught me how to shoot efficiently.

In January 1989 a Boeing 737 crashed at East Midlands Airport, killing 47 people. I managed to shoot a picture of the captain being pulled alive from the wreckage that was used all around the world. It kick-started my career but also led to problems with some people in my hometown who thought I should have put my camera down.

I’m excited by any assignment that makes the heart beat faster.

I don’t shoot with a particular audience in mind. One man’s meat is another man’s poison.

My biggest lesson? When on assignment in India, always make sure that your food is thoroughly cooked. It’s hard to work with food poisoning!

I respect anybody who risks their life to tell a story that needs to be told.

Behind the Scenes

. LEEDS, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Paul Ellis
Reuters photographer Darren Staples stands among British Police officers after troubled flared between British National Party security and media during a trial of their leader at Leeds Crown Court.