2024: WRAPPED!

As the year draws to a close, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the highlights, achievements, and unforgettable experiences of 2024.

Inspired by Spotify Wrapped, here’s my own breakdown of the numbers that tell the story of my 2024:

Number of shoots: 84
Number of clients: 33
Total images shot: 54,348
Total images delivered: 2,935
Total miles driven: 5,945 miles
Furthest distance travelled for a single shoot: 4,832 miles
Biggest project: The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, shot on location in Manchester.
Number of regrets: 0

2024 has been absolutely mental.

This year, I had the privilege of working with some amazing clients and collaborators. Here are some of the standout moments:

BBC PHILHARMONIC: This ticked every single one of my boxes. Working with an incredibly high profile client, in a creative way, surrounded by an amazing team… just wonderful.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK: Photographing a Russian supermodel in an open-doored helicopter over Manhattan. What’s not to love.
PM: Photographing (not ‘shooting’ crucially), the Prime Minister (who at the time was Rishi Sunak) two days before the election. Easy.

January

Two assignments loom large in Jan, and that was shooting for Shades Dancewear, as well as the Science & Industry Museum.

Shades was a fun (if a little intense!) assignment in Birmingham, photographing young dancers in dancewear designed for different skin tones. Working with the students was so fun, and I think the shots turned out great. The other shots were for shot on assignment for the Science & Industry Museum, who asked me to come in and document some demolition taking place on site, which was AWESOME. The guys in the cherry picker let me get real close and I almost got set on fire. GREAT START TO THE YEAR.

February

Highlights include: shooting performance stills for Phoenix Dance Theatre, as well as leading a photography workshop for a women’s group in Greater Manchester!

Shooting for Phoenix is always great, and this show was no exception. Shooting mast movement in low light is always a challenge, but I think it was this year that Lightroom introduced it’s Noise Reduction using AI filter, and as a result, the images look so clean, even though they were shot around 6400 ISO! The women’s group workshop was also so much fun, and something a little different for me. I was asked to come in, teach the participants how to shoot, and then leave them to it - which was really fun! And they shot some really nice images, shown here.

March

Highlights from March include: Comedians! Comedians! Comedians! Bolton Uni! Harewood House! Pints! And the biggest enquiry of my career!

March is normally when things tend to heat up for me, calendar-wise, and this year was no exception. I started the month working with the amazing Tom Lawrinson, and then two days later, the wonderful Rachel Fairburn. Next up we had TikTok sensation Karl Porter alongside the hilarious Ben Silver, and by that point I was exhausted… and only a week in! Other highlights include shooting some really lovely stills for the fine folks at Harewood House. I loved that assignment so much… portraits in beautiful locations? YES PLEASE. I also managed to hit up the Photography Show and hang out with some awesome people, and as well, I received an email for an assignment which dominated my Summer…

April

Highlights from April include: The New Principal Conductor of the Halle Orchestra! More meetings! And spending time with Princess Anne’s husband!

Things were starting to heat up in April, but one assignment in particular stood out - being asked to photograph the new Principal Conductor of the Halle Orchestra: Kahchun Wong. This assignment was right in my wheelhouse - photographing someone performing at an incredibly high level, on location, battling the elements, with an amazing team around me. For the creative, we really wanted to ‘place’ Kahchun in Manchester - so we picked a rooftop overlooking the Bridgewater Hall (Kahchun’s new home), showcased the Manchester skyline, and as well, included the cranes - which speak to the new beginnings and change that Kahchun brings. Before him, Sir Mark Elder held the role for 25 years - and so being trusted with such a prestigious assignment really was a highlight in my year of highlights.

As well as Kahchun, I thought I’d throw in a snap of my sister’s dog Bowie, and as well, a nice pic of Sir Tim Lawrence, on location, at the Science & Industry Museum. You might have seen Tim in The Crown on Netflix (well, not him, but like… someone playing him), and he was just so polite and friendly. In the 30 seconds or so I spoke to him, I asked him if he and his wife (Princess Anne) had enjoyed the Six Nations, and watching Scotland win the Calcutta Cup a couple of weeks earlier at Twickenham - he said he really enjoyed the match even though it was a bit cold. So that’s nice.

May

Highlights from May include: Backstage with All Killa No Filla! Back at the Science & Industry Museum with Dr. Chris & Dr. Ronx! Ballet Central! Yet more meetings!

May was a vibrant, exciting time for me this year, spending time backstage with the fabulous Kiri Pritchard-Mclean and Rachel Fairburn as they performed All Killa No Filla: LIVE. That first shot you see was shot on 35mm film on my Dad’s old camera from the 90s… just a wonderful (if temperamental) piece of equipment!

As well as the BTS stuff, I also shot some live performance of Ballet Central’s end of year show, as well as being on assignment back at the Science & Industry Museum photographing Dr. Chris, and Dr. Ronx.

June

Highlights from June include: Harewood House! Shoots on the 40th floor! Ballet Central! And the Eras Tour! (that last one was not for work).

June was relentless (not as much as July, but still), and alongside work, peppered with some amazing live events that I manage to score tickets to. For work, I was back at Harewood House, photographing artists for the Biennial. I love stuff like this - shooting amazing people in front of what they’ve created, and the 12 or so artists at the Biennial were so kind to give up their time in the final prep days to have their portraits taken. I also spent some time on the 40th floor photographing the senior leadership team at Urban Bubble, which was absolutely wild. What a location. I had my portfolio reviewed at PhotoMeet ’24, which was equal parts invigorating, reassuring, and educational. I also went to the end of year show for the photography degree at Bolton Uni, and as well, photographed some of the curatorial team at the Science & Industry Museum as they restored a hot steam engine. JAM PACKED.

July

The biggest month of my career. So far.

Highlights from July include: Photographing the (then) Prime Minister! The BBC Philharmonic! Phoenix Dance Theatre! John’s Boys! And trying to maintain some kind of social life!

I cannot fully put into words the emotions I feel when I look back at July. Why don’t we start with being asked to photograph Rishi Sunak, two days before the election. One of the strangest, most intense days of life. And there’s been a few! Or the BBC Philharmonic - one of the most prestigious orchestras in the world - on location in an abandoned fire station. Or Phoenix Dance - one of the most critically acclaimed modern dance companies - working with their dancers to create imagery for their latest show. And how about yeah - we shot all of that in the space of a week.

I’m gonna be posting loads more about the BBC Phil, and I can’t actually share the images just yet - but when I do, it’ll not only be here, but on my website too, so you can see the shots nice and big.

August

Highlights from August include: The King’s Trust! Professor Brian Cox! Budpaest on film!

August is normally one of my quieter months. My clients are all on holiday, so it’s a nice chance for me to get a break, relax, and put my feet up. NOT THIS TIME.

August saw me shooting some very high profile stuff, including Professor Brian Cox backstage at the Royal Opera House - WOW (thanks Amy!). I also shot some really nice photo-story style stuff for the Kings Trust (thanks Chloe!), and then, finally, managed to put my feet up for a long weekend in Budapest - where I couldn’t resist putting 5 rolls of film through my camera.

Wonderful.

September

Good GRIEF what a month September was. I feel like I’m losing my mind when i look back at the shots. Dancers from the greatest dancers on Earth! Models from the most prestigious agencies! And a helicopter over Manhattan! What a life.

October

The fun didn’t stop in October, with three wonderful highlights. The first: Balloon Fiesta! The second: Manchester Science Fest! The third: my best mate had a kid!

Basically when I was in the States, I was very graciously invited down to Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta… and that was an offer I simply couldn’t turn down. I mean, I was already in America! Why not! And you know what, it was mad. Getting up at 4am to drive into the middle of the desert to hang out, drink coffee, and witness this bizarre event. I loved every second. Next up, was documenting Manchester Science Festival - a very different vibe!! It was actually great, and a real highlight was meeting Paul Franklin. Paul was the visual effects supervisor on Interstellar and Inception - and he won Oscars for both. It’s so rare I ask for selfies, given the nature of my job, but for this I just couldn’t help myself. I was properly star struck. And then finally - my mate Ciaran had a little boy, and he’s so cute! And the baby’s not bad either! Eh! I’m here all week! Try the veal!

November

So, the problem I’m now encountering is that I shot a bunch of stuff in November but I can’t share any of it yet… which is a bit annoying. But! One thing I CAN share is my workshop I did with the University of Cumbria! I spent the day on location with the students teaching them what I shoot looks like, and these are the results. Not bad huh. In fact if you scroll down my feed I did a whole post about this, so check it out.

Aside from that, November proved a great time to catch up with pals, see some great live shows, and generally try to recover from madness of October.

December

So here we are - the final stretch.

December has been… relentless. And PACKED with stuff I can’t share just yet, so below, I’ve included some images from my camera roll, which should give you a sense of what I got up to!

And finally…

Finally, I’d like to thank some of the wonderful people who’ve helped me this year. I’m so fortunate to have some amazing clients, but without the support of my friends, family, and colleagues, I wouldn’t be able to get out there and create this stuff.

So a big thank you to Naomi, Phe, Becca, & Alena for their amazing work alongside me this year.

Oh and I got a new headshot. Okay bye!