My Highlights of 2015

This year has been nothing short of incredible. I made so many new friends, saw some unbelievable new places and had the time of my life touring the world. Every day I think about how lucky I am to do what I love for a living, and this year really cemented that thought. So here are my highlights from 2015, in no particular order:

1 - Gravity World Tour

I am hugely thankful to Against The Current for giving me the opportunity to shoot this tour. Spanning 3 months, 3 continents, 20 countries and 50 shows, it was definitely the most ridiculous experience of my life so far. Getting to see Asia was a particular highlight - Tokyo was amazing and I totally fell in love with the place. California was rather great too, I could picture myself moving there one day! I honestly never thought I’d actually be able to shoot a world tour, but I was happy to be proved wrong. It was tough at times and being away from home for such a long period of time can take its toll, but I wouldn’t have changed it for anything. 

2 - Guitar Hero Live

I spent a lot of time playing the Guitar Hero franchise in the past, so when I was given the opportunity to be immortalised as a photographer inside the latest release I couldn’t quite believe my luck. It’s still very weird when I see myself in the photopit while I play the game. Lots of my photos are used in the menus of the game too, which is a nice bonus! The whole creation process was a lot of fun, and you can see more of my photos from behind-the-scenes here.

3 - Gfinity

The growth of eSports has been quite rapid in recent years, so when I heard that Gfinity were bringing regular eSports events to the UK I was very excited! I was even more excited when I heard they wanted me to shoot these events. Gaming has always been a huge part of my life, so being able to combine that with my love of photography works out very well for me. I’ve been lucky enough to photograph the best players in the world from games such as Call of Duty, Counter Strike, Starcraft, FIFA and Hearthstone. I had a great time shooting these events, and I’m looking forward to 2016 already, starting with shooting the Halo World Championships in January!

4 - Morocco

I’d never visited Africa before this trip, so I was happy to oblige when my friend Jamie asked if I would help him shoot a video out there. We were tasked with capturing the atmosphere and culture of Marrakesh, as well as filming the incredible accommodation we were provided with. This project was a welcome change of pace to what I’m used to, and I had an incredible time. A particular highlight was driving for three hours to visit the Ouzoud Falls. There were wild monkeys everywhere and swimming underneath the waterfall felt surreal, just like a scene from a movie. I certainly would not complain if I was invited back to shoot this incredible country again! 

5 - Kerrang! Tour

After spending summer of last year on tour with them in the USA, We Are The In Crowd were kind enough to invite me back on the Kerrang! Tour in February. I’d attended the tour as a fan in the past, before I ever started taking photography seriously, so being able to shoot the entire tour was another thing ticked off the bucket list. With the line-up of Don Broco, WATIC, Bury Tomorrow and Beartooth, there was plenty to keep me busy! I made great new friends on this tour and captured some of my favourite images of the year. I have a lot to thank WATIC for!

6 - Slam Dunk Festival

Slam Dunk Festival has been a recurring event in my life since I first attended in 2006 when Fall Out Boy headlined. I have photographed it the last few years for various publications, but this year I was lucky enough to shoot it directly for Monster Energy. This allowed me to focus more on the bands sponsored by Monster, as well as giving me the freedom to capture the general atmosphere of the festival. I had a really great time and was even fortunate enough to use the Monster Tour Bus as an office all weekend! 

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A special thank you goes out to everyone who has taken the time to check out my work and follow me on my adventures, I appreciate every single one of you! I hope you all had a wonderful 2015. Here’s to another year, let’s make it a good one!

Happy New Year!