England v Denmark & Arsenal v Bayern Munich

Last night saw me sitting through the turgid affair that was England v Denmark. Wembley’s a fantastic place to work at for photographers, with ridiculously fast ethernet and power around the pitch, and some of the brightest floodlights in the country. It’s always great to shoot a big international match too, even if the football was terrible.

A late Sturridge goal saw England snatch a 1-0 win. I was partially blocked for the goal, and the celebration ran away from me which is frustrating as the papers were always going to run with the goal and celebration (especially when Sturridge does his stupid dance right in front of 20 photographers!).

The match was more about getting decent stock though, with it being the last match before Hodgson picks his World Cup side. I’m quite pleased with my set and a usage in The Sun this morning was a nice surprise too.

In other news, I was surprised to find out this week that I’ve been Highly Commended for Vauxhall England Individual Photo of the Year 2013. I’m really pleased to be recognised alongside some of the best photographers in the country from agencies such as AFP, Action Images and Getty, especially as I only had one England match to choose photos from.

I submitted two photos so I’m not sure which one was commended, but I believe it was the one below of Andros Townsend.

A couple of weeks ago I shot Arsenal v Bayern Munich at the Emirates, probably the second best stadium in the UK to work at. It was a very eventful match, with a red card, two goals and two penalties, as Bayern dominated to win 2-0.

It’s not all glamorous internationals and Champions League football though, I’ve also shot the usual football league action recently: Charlton v QPR and Southend v Hartlepool.

Lastly here’s a bit of non-league action from a couple of games at my local club Canvey Island.

I always enjoy shooting non-league, it’s often much more eventful than the ‘big’ Premier League matches and often tends to produce better photos as players aren’t afraid of getting stuck in. In the two matches below there were 8 goals, 5 red cards (including managers) and 2 penalties!