England women’s cricket team with the World Cup – 23 July
20mm lens 1/1250 f4 ISO 1000
Lord’s felt very different that Sunday in late July. Not only was it packed out for the Women’s World Cup final between England and India but it seemed that a different crowd was attending, with more young people, especially women, than usual. After England’s dramatic victory, I followed the team on their lap of honour and witnessed endless selfies as the captain, Heather Knight, posed with spectators and the trophy.
Faker, one of the world’s top eSport players, at the Seoul E-sports Stadium – 29 March
100mm lens 1/320 f2.8 ISO 3200
This has been a slightly strange year for me as for the first half of the year a lot of my time was taken up with a large, long-term multimedia project, Sport 2.0. It meant a lot of video work and time away from the usual roster of events. A section of my project involved the rapid, global growth of eSports or competitive video gaming. One of the countries I visited was South Korea, where eSports are so popular now that it could easily be called the national sport. Faker, real name Lee Sang-hyeok, also known as “God” in the eSports world, is a player whose talent in the game has been compared to Lionel Messi.
Young male gamers in an internet cafe, Seoul – 31 March
26mm lens 1/125 f2.8 ISO 2500
Gaming cafes, or PC bangs as they are called in Korea, were set up by the government to promote internet usage. They are now so popular that players will often spend hours and days there. These PC bangs are now the parks and playgrounds of the country.
Anthony Joshua walks into Wembley – 29 April
16mm lens 1/100 f4 ISO 5000
This was the scene as Anthony Joshua made his ring walk before his heavyweight unification victory against Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley Stadium. A turnout of 90,000 fans made it the biggest post-war crowd for a fight in this country. Theatrical spot-lighting, thousands of cameraphone lights and the illumination of the famous arch all contributed to the atmosphere in this photo.
Joshua knocks down Klitschko – 29 April
560mm lens 1/1000 f4 ISO 5000
It was an amazing fight at Wembley. Both fighters hit the canvas and this picture was taken right at the climax as Klitschko went down for the final time. Joshua’s pose reminded many people of Muhammad Ali towering over Sonny Liston in their famous fight in 1965. It was a privilege to be at Wembley that night although it was really hard to work. Dry ice was being pumped around the stadium, which made it so hard to focus through the haze. The light in the ring was particularly bad and the photo position I was given was a long way from the ring, so I was forced into using a very long lens. All these elements, along with having a very boisterous crowd right near me, made the evening quite a challenge.
John Terry gets thrown into the air by his Chelsea team-mates – 12 May
100mm lens 1/1600 f3.5 ISO 2500
Even though he did not play that night, the Chelsea captain, John Terry, was treated like a hero in the celebrations after his team clinched the Premier League title by beating West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns. After 22 years it was his final season with the club before leaving for Aston Villa.
Harry Kane scores the winner in the final match at White Hart Lane – 14 May
41mm lens 1/1000 f5.6 ISO 2500
The match against Manchester United was Spurs’ last at their old stadium before it was knocked down to make way for the new one. It couldn’t have gone much better for the home side with Harry Kane scoring the winner at the Paxton Road end in the second half. I deliberately shot this game quite loose, which meant I kept a lot of the stadium in my images. It reminds me of an old-fashioned picture, one that was taken before the invention of the long telephoto lenses that are so commonly used these days.
Cristiano Ronaldo in the Champions League final, Cardiff – 3 June
400mm lens 1/1600 f3.5 ISO 4000
After opening the scoring in the final against Juventus, Cristiano Ronaldo runs off to the corner flag to celebrate in his inimitable fashion. The Real Madrid striker is one of those players you can’t take your eyes off and always provides strong images. He certainly isn’t shy when it comes to showing people how good he is. I particularly like how his veins stick out and the muscles tense up as he shouts for joy.
Watching a finish at Royal Ascot – 21 June
53mm lens 1/200 f7.1 ISO 400
I find Royal Ascot a real treat to photograph, but for once it’s not the actual sport that most interests me. The spectators are the real stars of the show and this year I wanted to produce a gallery that concentrated just on them. The Royal Enclosure, with its strict dress code, provides scenes that haven’t changed for years.
Infrared image of Wimbledon – 10 July
24mm lens 1/1000 f9 ISO 400
The eventual ladies champion Garbiñe Muguruza volleys during her victory over Angelique Kerber on Court Two. This year I decided to experiment with taking some images of Wimbledon using an infrared camera. I thought it might be interesting to show a place we all know so well in a very unfamiliar way. An infrared camera detects infrared radiation or energy (heat) and converts it into an electronic signal, which produces the image. A normal camera forms the image from visible light.
Federer wins his record eighth Wimbledon – 16 July
145mm lens 1/1600 f4 ISO 800
Roger Federer closes his eyes and rocks his head back as he realises he has created history at Wimbledon by winning his eighth men’s singles title. As much as I love his talent, the great Swiss is notoriously hard to photograph as he makes it look so easy. It seems as if he is hardly putting any effort in at all; everything looks so calm and serene, which is not what photographers are after. He is also a dreadful blinker, especially on his forehand, closing his eyes at the moment of impact. Doesn’t really make him look like the champion, does it?
Polish para-athlete high jump, Olympic Stadium – 22 July
165mm lens 1/1600 f4.5 ISO 2500
Lukasz Mamczarz of Poland performs a one-legged clearance as he hops over the bar in the men’s high jump T42 final during the World Para Athletics Championships. This is yet another example of a para-athlete wowing the audience with an extraordinary feat. He didn’t perform many jumps so I had to quickly study his technique then find the right angle to picture it correctly.
Moeen Ali’s hat-trick v South Africa, The Oval – 31 July
700mm lens 1/1600 f7.1 ISO 400
Moeen Ali celebrates with his team-mates after getting the wicket of South Africa’s Morne Morkel to finish and win the match for England with a hat-trick on the fifth day of the third Test at The Oval. The final dismissal came via an umpire referral, which gave me enough time to put on a 1.4x converter so I could get closer into Moeen’s face as he reacted to the decision. Fortunately, he was lifted up slightly by Jonny Bairstow, so I wasn’t blocked by his team-mates.
Mo Farah wins the 10,000m at the World Championships – 4 August
400m lens 1/2000 f3.5 ISO 4000
Urged on by a delirious 56,000 crowd, and despite a couple of stumbles that nearly caused him to fall, Mo Farah found his familiar sprint finish to claim another 10,000m world championship gold medal. Of course it was pure luck for me that Farah decided to look straight down my lens as he crossed the finish line. At major championships such as these there is keen competition between photographers to find the best areas to shoot from, so I was relieved that my arriving at the stadium extremely early that day meant I could choose the precise spot I wanted.
Nafi Thiam clears the bar on her way to heptathlon gold – 5 August
400mm lens 1/4000 f4 ISO 400
The Belgian Olympic heptathlon champion, Nafi Thiam, was a model of consistency, easily winning her competition at the World Championships. Her long braided hair makes for great pictures, but it’s especially graphic in the high jump. It was just a case of getting the background clean and waiting for the sun to come out so as to light up her face and hair perfectly.
Usain Bolt’s agony in his final race – 12 August
400mm lens 1/1600 f3.5 ISO 4000
It was his final race before retirement and everyone expected Bolt to go out in a blaze of glory. I was tracking him as he sprinted down the home straight when suddenly he pulled up with an injury. In a split-second I had to decide whether to stay on him or switch to the GB team who were on their way to victory. I am so glad I decided to stay with the great Jamaican as he finally crumpled to the ground, his hand held up almost seeming to wave goodbye. It was a sad end for such a huge global superstar, an athlete who has provided so many amazing moments.
Ben Stokes dives athletically to field against West Indies – 8 September
700mm lens 1/1600 f5.6 ISO 3200
Ben Stokes is one of those players that, as a photographer, you can’t ignore. He bats, he bowls and he fields brilliantly. Good pictures just seem to follow him around. Unfortunately for him images taken outside a Bristol pub in late September made the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Sunset over Lord’s – 8 September
28mm lens 1/800 f5.6 ISO 1600
This summer saw the first official day-night test in England, at Edgbaston at the beginning of the West Indies series. The conclusion of that series was at Lord’s and there was a beautiful sunset there one night as play was extended late into the evening because of earlier rain. It’s a rare sight to get such a sunset over the iconic pavilion with a Test match in full swing.
Sheffield United fans’ joy, Hillsborough – 24 September
500mm lens 1/1000 f4 ISO 1000
In late September I undertook a picture essay that covered three tense derby matches in three days. The final of these games was the Steel City derby. I wanted to concentrate on the fans, to show the tension, nerves, joy and despair that surround these sorts of games. The Sheffield United fans were tucked away, high up in the Leppings Lane End, but one section was softly lit and it was perfect to show this celebration of victory as the final whistle blew.
James McClean’s scores Republic of Ireland’s winner in Wales – 9 October
24mm lens 1/1600 f3.5 ISO 4000
I tend to set up a remote camera behind the net at every major football match I cover. Luckily for me at this match the ball hit the net right where my camera was placed, the shutter triggered by the remote control on top of my hand-held camera. The goal meant Wales were knocked out and the Irish carried on to the World Cup play-offs.
Chris Kirkland, the former goalkeeper, in his back garden – 10 October
70mm lens 1/1600 f2.8 ISO 200
Chris Kirkland, the former Liverpool and England goalkeeper, decided to give the Guardian an interview in which he revealed that he suffered from depression, which led to his retirement from the game. I had to be highly sensitive to the subject but at the same time hint to the story. When I saw his back garden had a mini set of posts I thought it a perfect backdrop. This picture is lit with a strobe that can use a high-speed synch so I could push up the shutter-speed and get a small depth of field despite the ambient sunshine.
Brutal shoulder charge, Barbarians v New Zealand – 4 November
400mm lens 1/1600 f3.5 ISO 4000
Vince Aso of the Barbarians gets thumped in the face by a shoulder barge from Luke Romano during the Barbarians v New Zealand match at Twickenham. This was a special match to mark the 125th anniversary of the All Blacks and as such was supposed to be “friendly”. The reigning world champions actually trailed at half-time but didn’t hold back after the break, which is clearly illustrated here by Romano’s dubious challenge.
Mike Brown’s face-first fall v Argentina – 11 November
400mm lens 1/1600 f3.5 ISO 3200
After collecting a high-ball, England’s full-back crashes his head into the turf following a dangerous tackle from Joaquín Tuculet. The Argentinian received a yellow card and the extra man advantage seemed to galvanise the home side. Brown suffered concussion and was forced to sit out the rest of the match. Whenever a high kick goes up and players compete for the catch, the potential for a special picture is always there.
Mark Foster, former world champion swimmer, near his home – 24 November
39mm lens 1/200 f8 ISO 200
Mark Foster, the former world champion swimmer, who carried the British flag at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics, chose to give the Guardian an interview in which he announced he was gay. He has a beautiful home in Hertfordshire and there was a charming stream nearby. After a scan of the area I settled on a lovely setting that I thought suitable for the portrait. However, it was quite dark under some trees so I needed to illuminate the area with a couple of strobe lights.