In 1992, I was approached by Peter Robinson, FIFA’s Official Photographer for many years – and a personal friend. He had been asked to find a photographer to work with UEFA and TEAM Marketing on their new concept of the UEFA Champions League. He felt as FIFA’s photographer, he could not get involved – and I was honoured to be asked.
Starting with the first matches in 1992, I worked as the marketing photographer for the UEFA Champions League – and when I left EMPICS in 2005, the business was still assisting in this work. It still remains one of the most exciting and innovative commercial and marketing projects in sport.
A couple of seasons in, I suggested that every player in the competition should be photographed against a “star ball” background. TEAM loved the idea – and in the ensuing years we spent August sending a photographer to every major club in Europe to photograph each member of their squad. It was a major logistical challenge – I remember landing at the airport in Croatia to photograph Hajduk Split while there were UN planes on the tarmac during the break-up of Yugoslavia – but it dramatically improved the opening graphics on television. This style of photography has now become part of every sports programme but it was a first back in the early 90s.
Photography always sounds a glamorous profession and I greatly enjoyed the respect that TEAM Marketing gave me. I would travel in Business Class, the same as their executives and the UEFA officials – and be picked up wherever I went by a driver.
For a man with no head for heights, this was quite a challenge. At huge stadia like the San Siro in Milan, I’d not get back to the pitch side until well into the first half!
My last “proper job” was in 1983-5. I was a photographer at the Leicester Mercury. It was one of the most enjoyable times of my life. Working within a community, making connections, then gradually gaining trust and respect is a rewarding process.
In 1981, I started my first job after school as a Trainee Press Photographer at Mercury Press Agency in Liverpool. I’d not bargained for my first week in employment to involve the coverage of some of the worst rioting on mainland Britain. I’ll always remember the phone ringing late at night after the family had […]
I lived in a council house on the ring road in Liverpool (Queens Drive) – and had very supportive parents (although I might not have thought so at the time). I went to a Catholic Boys’ Grammar School, St Francis Xavier’s – I and was very religious (up until the moment I was 18 – […]
In 1985, I was a 22-year-old press photographer in a well-paid and rewarding job at the Leicester Mercury. I had excellent colleagues – and a very comfortable life. However, it was not enough for me – and I wanted to work for National Newspapers and create my own business. So I set out to create […]
It’s amazing how easy it is to take and send high-quality photos these days. You can pick up an iPhone, take a snap and with a couple of clicks send the image around the world. It wasn’t always that simple – here’s a tale from 1985 (just over 25 years ago) when taking and transmitting […]