Some while back I posted an explanation of how my long-term interest in photography unintentionally evolved into me providing a voluntary service to charities and non-profits to cover in-house events for them. It started with the Saracens Foundation back in 2014, and has grown, mainly by word of mouth (cos’ I’m dead cheap!!) to include:
- Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice
- London Youth Rowing
- Lords’ Cricket Community
- Impact Festival
- Red Trust
- Reboot the Future
- Step Change Studios
- Active Westminster
I’ve been asked a few times, ‘why don’t I charge them?’, and the answer is quite straightforward; that the appreciation I get for providing a voluntary service eliminates the pressure and stress that professionals probably experience in order to comply with deadlines. But it’s more than just that: it’s the memories; the number of remarkable people I’ve had the pleasure of working with; the places and events I have attended on their behalf, and the eclectic mix of people who have appeared in front of the viewfinder. This year’s list includes Tamsin Outhwaite (actress), Kier Starmer (Leader of the Labour Party), Hugo Lloris (Captain of Spurs and France), Baluji Shrivastav (Blind musician), Andrew Triggs-Hodge (Olympic Rowing Gold medallist), Rankin (celebrity photographer), and The Duke of Gloucester (cousin of the late Queen).
It’s become a habit to pull together a representative collection over the course of the year into a slideshow, and the evidence from 2022 is here:
In addition, the event of the year, was The Oarsome Challenge, a fundraising event, organised by London Youth Rowing in which 16 crews rowed 16 miles of the River Thames through central London from Greenwich to Chiswick. My role was to provide the still photography by tracking the crews from a motor launch: here’s my Oarsome Challenge slideshow.