By Nargess Banks
Photography by Aston Leach
‘I love the lifestyle, the unpredictability of it,’ admits Adrian Dennis. ‘No day is the same and I get to see the best sports events first-hand,’ says the photographer as he settles down for a quick cup of coffee before he is whisked off to another photographic assignment.
On the finish line for Mo Farah
Sports Photographer of the Year 2012, Adrian says athletics is one of his favourite sports to capture in pixels. ‘Raw talent shows in an individual event,’ he explains, ‘and to be on the inside of a track when someone breaks a world record… the atmosphere is electric.’ He recalls the moment Mo Farah won gold in the 10,000m at the London 2012 Olympics. ‘It was spine-tingling,’ he smiles, ‘and I was on the finish line!’
Adrian’s career journey has been a relatively smooth one. He studied journalism, but soon found himself behind a camera. ‘At 20 my goal was to be a photojournalist,’ he recalls, ‘and to join a wire agency like Agence France-Presse (AFP)’, which he joined in 2000.
Frontline in Iraq
Initially Adrian covered all areas – news, entertainment, and fashion, even war – and was sent to the front line in Iraq. ‘It isn’t my area of expertise, and it was scary,’ he says.
Nowadays, Adrian can be found at most of the major sport events.
Crossrunner
He gets around in his Honda Transalp. It acts as both his transporter and mobile office, where he can load up all his equipment, and ride in comfort. ‘I’ve got my eyes on the new range of Crossrunners,’ he smiles. With long working days, ride comfort is essential and the Crossrunner’s upright position suits him. A football match may last 90 minutes, but Adrian needs to be there hours in advance to get a good place, and he must edit the images afterwards on the spot, get them off to his agency and commute home.
Ultimately though, his job is to capture sporting moments that tell the story of a game or competition. He has to beat many other photographers rushing to do the same. ‘We look at the newspapers the next day to see who got the front page,’ he laughs. ‘There are highs and lows, but when you get the front page the feeling is amazing,’ he says, as he rides away on his Transalp to the next sporting event.
His cup runneth over: Britain’s number one tennis player Andy Murray holds the Wimbledon winner’s trophy during the presentation after beating Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in the men’s singles final on day 13 of the 2013 Wimbledon Championships.
Taking gold for Great Britain: Winner of the UK Picture Editors’ Guild’s Paralympics Photographer of the Year, Adrian photographed Britain’s Richard Whitehead cross the finish line to win the Men’s 200 metres T42 Final during the London 2012 Paralympics Games.
Shooting stars: Winner of London Games Portfolio, Sports Journalists’ Association Awards, Britain’s Sarah Grady, Judith Hamer, Helen Turner and Louise Sugden practise their shots in St Paul’s Cathedral ahead of the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
Flying without wings: Republic of Ireland striker Shane Long tries to climb above England defender Gary Cahill during the international friendly football match between England and Republic of Ireland at Wembley Stadium in London on 29 May 2013.
Chasing shadows: Winner of The Press Photographer’s Year, Photograph of the Year. Thailand’s Nina Lamsam Ligon rides Butts Leon past spectators as she competes in the Cross Country phase of the Equestrian competition in the London 2012 Olympics.
Poetry in motion: England’s centre Manu Tuilagi breaks through the French defence during the Six Nations international rugby union match between England and France at Twickenham Stadium in south-west London on 23 February 2013.
