2025 - A Year in Review
As we cruise into Q2 of the century, to borrow a bit of awful business speak from the office people, it’s been a mixed year for coverage. My favourites this year feel like they have a few more “moments” in than major news stories, partly through the luck of the draw and partly due to that old nemesis of the photographer, geography.
Speaking of which, I started the year with a wonderfully British morning in the car park of Alexandra Palace as owners of the Sinclair C5 came together to mark its 40th birthday. The older I get, the more I consider subject enthusiasm as the most important ingredient of a good photo story. All hail the British eccentric.
The “Just Stop Oil” environmental campaign group kicked off their year of protests with a particularly visual moment outside the Royal Courts of Justice.
Now this may strike you as an odd one to include but those who work in the media may appreciate why I’ve added this. Aside from a notable few, politicians today are in a state of permanent fear of how images will be interpreted, resulting in a real sense of paranoia when photographers are around. Genuine moments of normality are becoming a thing of the past which is why it’s always a pleasure to work with the Defence Secretary John Healey and his team. When you’re travelling with him, he seems to adopt the American approach of “if you can see me, you can photograph me”. A moment like this where he was reading official documents with his feet up on a desk in the back of a military transport plane flying to Scandinavia is an example. It may seem unbelievable that this feels like an important shot to me but it’s a real rarity.
It also helps when his team ask if I want to sit in the jump seat of that same plane as it comes into land.
My favourite trip of the year was to Nuuk in Greenland, principally to cover the visit of US Vice President JD Vance, but when his plans changed, spend the week wandering the city, recording daily life. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I definitely have an arctic soul so this place was heaven. The opportunities to record these moments of quiet expanse are everywhere.
During my stay, I received an email, asking if I could give some thought to the upcoming partial solar eclipse. After a drive around looking for landmarks and shapes, and some plotting with a photography app, the clouds played ball and gave me this great moment.
At the Blue Light emergency services exhibition, a demonstration of how to cut someone from a car was making decent photos until I spotted a closed stairway to a mezzanine above, letting me create a more abstract version of the procedure.
I’ve covered the London Marathon many times over the years so wanted to find something to make it a little different. Thankfully, a bored child laying on the glass floor of Tower Bridge gave it that tweak that I was after.
A visit to the Chelsea Flower Show presented me with this homage to the film “Top Secret”.
As you may well know, my knowledge of football is… well.. “slim”. The advantage of that is that when I was asked to cover the Spurs victory parade, I was just looking for moments and shapes rather than feeling that I had to follow any one particular player. Walking ahead of the bus, I saw a man sitting on a traffic light and realised that he’d be just about the right height to make contact if things went my way.
Marching soldiers are impressive to watch but trying to find something different can present a challenge. During one run through by the soldiers on Horseguards Parade, I noticed that as they turned, their arms made a fan shape. It definitely feels like "shape” has been a big element of the year.
The following day, I travelled with the Coldstream Guards up to Berwick-Upon Tweed for their 375th anniversary. Waiting on the platform at the train station to return back to London, this fun moment came together nicely.
Sometimes, there’s very little effort to make a picture that works for me. During a press preview of a new installation at the Natural History Museum, I enjoyed the appearance of the audience sitting among the stars.
Glastonbury Festival is always a highlight of the calendar for me. As ever, roaming the fields into the early hours unearths fascinating performers and great acts. In a small tent in the Green Fields, I found Estonian folk band Duo Ruut, performing to a laid-back nighttime crowd. Crouching in front of the stage and shooting through some fairy lights captured the feel of the performance for me.
You have to love Glastonbury night people.
The daytime people were the ones making the headlines though. Waiting to cover Kneecap, I decided to shoot the previous group, Bob Vylan, as I remember them being good in previous years. After shooting the first three songs and heading to the waiting area by the side of the stage, lead singer Bobby Vylan started his now famous chant of “Death to the IDF” and we suddenly had a news story.
The ongoing arrests of protestors holding “I Support Palestine Action” placards in Parliament Square produced some of the most bizarre visuals of the year.
I watched as a police officer helpfully pulled a pensioner’s shopping trolley for her, as another helped her walk to a police van where she was taken into custody after she was arrested.
A trip up to Birmingham to document the City’s tribute to Ozzy Osbourne was a moving moment.
Over the years, I’ve seen outbursts of grief and mourning that have been, in some part, on show for the cameras, but this felt totally genuine. As a lifetime fan of rock music, there was a quiet sadness in the crowd that held a real respect.
Flags were an unexpected story of the year, with lamp posts across the country becoming the focal point of a debate on patriotism. During my coverage of the story, I found myself in Leeds as machinists stitched and assembled the US flags that were to be displayed across Westminster and Windsor during a State Visit by Donald Trump. It seemed fitting at this time of dispute over nationality, identity and origin to document the incredibly talented team of local women at work.
On the topic of public debate, I attended the first Reform Party conference. There was a lot to unpack. Money has clearly been injected into the party to give it the US Republican Party feel, with dry ice entrances worthy of “Stars in their Eyes” and huge posters of Nigel Farage promoting a gold bullion trading company in the main hall area.
2025 saw another visit to the bi-annual DSEI arms fair in London. During this period of global conflict and instability, interest was as high as ever. The displays of the weapon and ammunition manufacturers never fail to provide striking visuals.
In over two decades in the job, I made what I think was my first visit to Chequers, the countryside retreat of the Prime Minister, to photograph a day of meetings and talks between Keir Starmer and Donald Trump. Much fanfare on the day for the “Tech Prosperity Deal” appear to have been a little hasty as recent weeks have seen the process stall due to US re-negotiations.
I haven’t really talked about gear much in this post but I have to tip my hat to the Nikon Z 35mm f1.2 lens. A visit to the Big London Tattoo show allowed the lens to shine in the darkness. It’s big but it’s a belter.
The same lens shone when photographing Andrew Schneider’s NOWISWHENWEARE art installation. To say it was dark in that room would be an understatement. A hastily-provided stepladder, a willing model and a fast prime lens saved the day and made something intriguing.
The horrifying knife attack on a train from Doncaster made international news. Rushing up to the scene the following morning, the day was spent trying to find an angle that showed the story, hours after it had actually occurred. A bit of patience and luck resulted in the forensic teams being momentarily visible through the doors of the first class carriage.
My final addition of the year was one of those moments that came in the middle of a day of scrambling, crawling, sweating and hunger, covering a lightning speed trip to South Africa for the G20 summit. As I’ve written about before, the best moments photographically nearly always come from the seconds before or after “the picture” is due to happen. The looming presence of French President Emmanuel Macron as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz reaches in to kiss Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was one such example.
There we go. Another one down. Thanks, as ever, to Getty Images for giving me the opportunities to cover these stories, to Nikon Europe for providing me with the cameras and lenses to catch it all, and to 3 Legged Thing for providing support of all shapes and sizes to my toys when I need it. Finally, thanks to those of you who follow my work here and on Instagram. Here’s to a visually appealing 2026.