2023 - A Year In Review
There goes 2023, disappearing into the rear-view mirror, like a lay-by cafe of global unhappiness. Thankfully, there were a handful of positive moments to dilute the unhappiness so here, as tradition and vanity dictates, is my photographic round-up of the year.
In domestic news, a very regular theme of the year was industrial action and the ensuing strikes which sadly don’t often make striking photographs. They do allow for moments when things come together nicely. Stealth dog for the win.
The war in Ukraine continued, with volunteers travelling to the UK to attend rapid multi-week courses in urban warfare, artillery, weapons handling, first aid and every other aspect of conflict that usually takes years to learn.
I found myself photographing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak standing in front of this podium slogan more times that I was expecting.
In February, I visited the EpicLAN esport tournament. The full post can be found here.
In March, a break-neck speed trip to San Diego with the PM for less than 24 hours in-country reminded me how much jet lag can mess you up. I genuinely have no idea how people like President Biden can operate, flying around the world, constantly operating in multiple time zones.
A little closer to home, POTUS came over to visit Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, culminating with a rock star light show in Ballina.
Fighter jets made a few decent images too, both during a test flight over a North Sea wind-farm to show the new sustainable aviation fuel being tested by the Royal Air Force, and during rehearsals for the Coronation fly-past.
Other military manoeuvres were a little less graceful.
King Charles III finally got his chance to sit in the big seat, with swathes of the UK going very red, white and blue for his Coronation. A guided tour of Royalist John Loughrey’s makeshift tarpaulin home on the Mall was just like a regal edition of “Through the Keyhole.”
Summer brought the annual Chelsea Flower Show and the rush to illustrate the heat.
Glastonbury was as beautiful as ever, despite giving the gift of Covid to a bunch of the working photographers, including myself. I blame Elton’s crowd, with all that singing.
Brighton Pride proved to be the wettest I’ve even been while holding a camera. Hats (and brollies) off to those who braved the storm.
There was a lot of head-holding as the Lionesses reached the finals of the World Cup.
Meanwhile, in the British Museum, there weren’t many heads to hold as ownership of the Elgin Marbles made headlines again.
As polling figures continue to show strong support for Labour, Keir Starmer chose to unveil his new Shadow Cabinet in suitably sunny conditions.
Global weapons dealers and international Government defence teams came together again for the DSEI arms fair in London.
Out on the streets, protests such as this one against the Iranian Islamic Regime called for less violence in the world.
My coverage of the annual Labour Party conference was cut short by events in the Middle East.
Without question, one of the biggest news stories of the year saw Hamas fighters carry out a surprise attack on Southern Israel and the subsequent retaliation by the Israeli Defence Forces on the Gaza Strip. My full blog can be found here.
One of the images I come back to is this photo of a child’s drawing, shown to me by an organiser at a refuge for those fleeing the violence in Southern Israel. A young child had drawn what he’d seen on the day of the attacks, including masked men trying to get into his home, while his father tried to escape through the roof, only to come face to face with a Hamas fighter.
Elon Musk continued to make interesting unusal choices.
Having spent two weeks in Israel, covering the fallout from the attacks by Hamas, it was interesting to return to London and photograph protests by pro-Palestinian groups. While it wasn’t possible to cover both sides of the story while there, it was satisfying to be able to provide coverage of multiple sides of the ongoing situation.
Daily life continued in England, with the cost of living crisis pushing people to extreme acts, while others hit the high streets.
As Christmas approached, the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier returned to port after months of deployment, carrying out sea and air trials. The eager families packed the port to greet their loved ones as they came ashore.
My final assignment of 2023 was to visit Stonehenge for the Winter Solstice, something that I’d never covered in all of my years as a photographer. A very early start was made worthwhile by smiling people and a burst of sunshine through the clouds as dawn broke.
With that, that’s a wrap for another year. Thanks as ever for visiting my site, and for your support over on my Instagram account. Huge thanks must go to Getty Images for supporting me with the features that I found, and for assigning me to such fascinating stories. As ever, a massive thanks must also go to Nikon Europe for making great kit and providing such excellent professional support.
Here’s to 2024. Strap in. This could get interesting…