tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4554157548965147982011-08-15T19:08:05.943+01:00"...the best damn MMA photographer in the business"Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.comBlogger341100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-90196187863301425672011-04-05T14:35:00.000+01:002011-04-05T14:35:07.224+01:00

There's nothing more entertaining than an out-and-out scrap between two MMA athletes whom prefer to let their leather-clad fists do the talking inside a cage... fighters who pay little attention to the opinion of critics and, instead, seek to test themselves in one of the most physically demanding sports of our time. Such will be the case when Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz takes on

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-57569188584824838732010-09-28T14:23:00.002+01:002010-09-28T15:47:09.746+01:00

BAMMA was caught and submitted to demands of Broadcast Media, much like Marco Santi tapped out to Simeon Thoresen, above. On Saturday, in a departure from my usual fare, I travelled to Birmingham to photograph a night of MMA fights hosted by the relatively new UK promotion called BAMMA - (British Association of Mixed Martial Arts - if you prefer the long form) The headlining fight on the

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-79156327987547287182010-08-09T12:36:00.001+01:002010-08-09T12:43:56.588+01:00

There's a lot of chatter on the web following on from UFC 117 this past saturday - unsurprisingly so, as the main event fight of Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen surpassed the expectations of almost everyone. In one of the most edge-of-your-seats title fights I've ever seen, Sonnen domintated Silva for nearly a full five rounds... only to be caught by an arm-in triangle choke in the last two

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-65378520995671624022010-05-05T19:52:00.001+01:002010-05-05T19:57:15.797+01:00

Jacob "Stitch" Duran on MMAJunkie.com radio; hear Jacob talk about his upcoming book and, at the 25:04 mark, he gives me a shout-out on doing the cover for it.

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-85573287565661784342010-05-05T18:36:00.003+01:002010-05-05T19:00:21.553+01:00

It's funny how event the thorniest issue, when transposed to the personal level, can become crystal clear....

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-33117451691733653362010-04-10T00:47:00.004+01:002010-04-10T01:50:18.508+01:00

Yesterday, my "office space" for Saturday night was still undergoing some finishing touches; a little over fourteen hours from the time as I'm typing this, I'll be cageside (Side A, position 4) for the landmark event that is UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi. My time here so far has been an adventure that has been mind-blowing; not knowing what to expect of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, my senses have been

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-72373843343393636922010-04-04T13:31:00.002+01:002010-04-05T12:19:21.391+01:00

Since the events of yesterday will have brought dozens of fresh eyes to this blog and my twitter feed, I'd like to say a few quick words about the business of photography Professional photography can be a very expensive venture. Since I'm best known for shooting UFC events, here's a run-down of what I cart around to each event on average Two Nikon D3 digitial SLR's One Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-27061218632194112922010-04-03T12:47:00.010+01:002010-04-03T14:42:01.579+01:00

As every creative individual out there knows, be they painter, sculptor, writer, photographer and so on, one of the unfortunate challenges that we face is where less than scrupulous individuals or companies seek to use our works without permission or due payment.. especially in instances where such use of our works generate some form of revenue for them Some months ago I read (via Twitter)

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-23046670045158604562010-04-01T16:29:00.001+01:002010-04-01T17:43:57.843+01:00

Why was I in NYC early on Saturday, March 27 with Jacob "Stitch" Duran? ; info to come in a post later. For now, I'd like to shout out to UFC cutman Rob Monroe for taking this picture; you'll have seen Rob work some of the fights at UFC 111 last weekend - be sure to hit up his website here.

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-86671315009781661772010-03-29T17:18:00.000+01:002010-03-29T17:18:04.253+01:00

Hit up ESPN right now and you'll find my editor's choice of pictures as shot for them on Saturday night at UFC 111 in the Prudential Center; later this week I'll post some other pictures and talk a little about my experiences over there, both shooting, networking and socialising. Enjoy!

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-31935483832531754492010-03-26T04:57:00.003Z2010-04-04T16:17:51.899+01:00

Journalists who cover MMA, journalists who cover boxing - heck, even journalists that simply like to report on tough-as-nails fighters for their select print, web or broadcast outlet; they all came to Peak Performance & Conditioning Center at 54 west 21st Street this afternoon to witness Frank Mir, Shane Carwin, Dan Hardy and Georges St. Pierre work out for them and field their questions. I was

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-69666930692118158482010-03-24T14:17:00.002Z2010-03-24T14:19:32.367Z

Foreword: I had a day full of challenges yesterday in getting to Newark but, instead of writing a rant, I'm going to post what I had wrote whilst onboard my flight - staying positive and embracing all that's good in my life :) Perspective I'm at 38,000 feet over the Atlantic as I'm typing this; Eric Clapton is playing "Change the World" on the in-flight MP3 player and, looking out the window

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-17727690232947909752010-03-20T17:48:00.005Z2010-03-20T17:57:53.564Z

In the world of sports, it's often a given that you need a healthy dose of self-belief to climb to the lofty heights of success that are within your competitive sphere; UFC middleweight fighter Dan Hardy (pictured) is one such individual whose confidence in his own abilities is often mistaken for arrogance and supreme ego. What is sometimes lost on many people is this: no matter what you do, if

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-43915678129475328532010-03-17T11:19:00.003Z2010-03-18T08:32:57.886Z

It's all arranged now - a week today, I'll be starting my UFC 111 "Fight Week" coverage, split between time in Manhattan, NY and Newark, NJ. A big thank you to Sean at ESPN and Diann at the UFC for smoothing over some last-minute hiccups to make this happen. My shooting plans are coming together and already I have a very busy schedule: basically there's not a single day from Wednesday - Saturday

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-17841410172237925772010-03-03T18:42:00.000Z2010-03-03T18:42:23.045Z

Around 6996 round trip airmiles over an six day period; about 16,000 capacity in the Prudential Center; twenty-two fighters laying it all on the line for up to 185 minutes of fight time in the Octagon (hopefully it will be less than that, for obvious reasons) and - if all goes to plan - a few thousand photographs shot, resulting in many GB strain on my HDD. If you don't know what I'm talking

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-32993761992523782272010-02-10T14:27:00.002Z2010-02-26T08:55:08.299Z

A few days ago, on the back of a little twitter conversation between myself and UFC fighter Nate Marquardt, I used Google to see if I could find links to previous Zoom galleries of UFC fights that I'd shot for ESPN. After a few hours of hunting around I managed to dig up a few which I'm going to blog here - both for your enjoyment and as a handly little reference for me. UFC 100, UFC 99, UFC 95,

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-36755216919159687052009-12-20T22:28:00.006Z2009-12-20T22:57:36.664Z

Earlier today I spent a few hours shooting the lovely Emma for one of the top stylists at Glasgow's Rainbow Rooms International hair salon. Emma is a "new face" on the modelling scene and one which I think we'll see a bit more of in the future.Together we shot four different hairstyle / accessory looks in the space of a few hours; there was supposed to be outfit changes too but we were let down

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-89948038350238142942009-12-18T13:13:00.017Z2009-12-18T19:26:01.706Z

It's that time of year again, when we look back at the past year before making plans and looking forward to the new one. Two weeks today it will be 2010 - the first day of the second decade of the 21st Century.As with most things in the western world, we deal in units of ten so I'm not going to break convention here - I'm going to talk about ten "work" assignments that I had this past year.1. UFC

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-29360772295077937512009-12-17T18:16:00.007Z2009-12-17T19:26:42.460Z

So recently I noticed that Dana White, the president of the UFC, had been named number four in their list "The Decade's Outsized Personalities"Dana is certainly a passionate and opinionated person and has, on at least one occasion, crossed the line with commentary that drew universal criticism. It's clear that he operates in a rare and very direct fashion and that candor is what polarizes

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-90676149635306888452009-12-12T13:11:00.005Z2009-12-12T23:32:45.724Z

So UFC 107 will air later tonight and I thought I'd post a few thoughts on how I think the main card fights might play out - it will certainly be interesting to see how right/wrong I am in my calls!1. Diego Sanchez vs. BJ PennMy heart says that Sanchez' fire will outlast Penn's cool in this fight. Sanchez is an incredibly determined fighter who just doesn't give up and I feel he's got the tools

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-49817695637808369092009-12-11T19:10:00.004Z2009-12-11T19:18:46.248Z

Announced today over on UFC.com, the second UFC Fan Expo will take place at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on 28-29 May 2010 (that's Memorial Day weekend, in case you didn't know)The first Fan Expo was a blast and even though it was a bit rough around the edges, I had a great time documenting the scene for ESPN and Fighters Only Germany as well.I don't know what fights they have planned for

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-20195434524176379692009-12-02T18:15:00.002Z2009-12-02T18:19:55.426Z

"Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are in; the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a ttoal mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?"The above certainly holds

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-75038430296838730472009-11-13T15:19:00.004Z2009-11-13T15:26:17.686Z

In a little under forty minutes from now, the twenty-two fighters who will be competing at UFC 105 on Saturday night will be taking to the podium here inside the MEN Arena and stepping up to the scale. Waiting for them will be a crowd of MMA enthusiasts, already several hundred strong with more flowing in to seats that won't remain vacant for long. As I arrived earlier the queue to get in was

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-5396630555741443562009-11-12T20:25:00.011Z2009-11-12T20:40:02.841Z

Now I could post a boatload of shots from the pre-fight press conference for UFC 105 showing fighters squaring off on the podium and sitting at the table whilst they field question from the press, or I could post some of the work that I'm best known for - fighter portraits.Guess it's some portraits then, right? :) From an artistic standpoint I decided to go a little against my past method of

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-74865478632477748872009-11-12T18:17:00.007Z2009-11-12T18:22:48.790Z

Just a quick update - one of my images shot as Randy Couture trained at Straight Blast Gym last night is anchoring on the front page of ESPN's MMA section, anchoring an article by Franklin McNeil.Don't worry - my promised update regarding today's UFC 105 pre-fight press conference is still in the works...

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-13161133163466374522009-11-12T17:20:00.003Z2009-11-12T17:36:24.968Z

So last night one Quentin from Xtreme Couture gym kindly invited me along to shoot Randy Couture going through a pre-fight training session at Straight Blast Gym in Manchester; it's not often that one gets that sort of access so naturally I jumped at the chance.At age 46, Randy is a five time UFC champion, having won belts in both the LHW and HW divisions. His physical conditioning and stamina

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-210283370075895202009-11-11T11:34:00.003Z2009-11-11T11:53:02.083Z

Anyone heading to Manchester for UFC 105 might have to contend with some major roadworks that started in the city yesterday; seems that Great Ancoats St - Swan St - Miller St are being torn up so do bear this in mind when you're heading to town - this will affect anyone trying to get to hotels like Travelodge Ancoats, the Crowne Plaza and other areas close by.Hope none of you get snared in it :)

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-4053525950795684582009-11-11T00:52:00.003Z2009-11-11T01:01:58.716Z

So in just over five hours from now I'll be starting my jolly jaunt to Manchester, England to cover the fight week activities of UFC 105 for ESPN.Kicking off and 1pm, there'll be the first of two media work-out sessions with headlining fighters participating - I'll shoot Brandon Vera, Michael Bisping, Mike Swick and Ross Pearson before noon, then Randy Couture, Dan Hardy, Denis Kang and James

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-29335508705279821792009-11-08T22:26:00.005Z2009-11-08T22:33:06.785Z

At some events, you get a nice little press area to work from so you can download / edit / caption and transmit your photos - tonight at the 2009 BAFTA Scotland Awards was no exception... though I have to say that the mini buffet and the Smirnoff Ice that I helped myself to seemed to make the whole process fly by :) Props to Gillian and all the crew at Material MC for all their hard work in

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-18951263415846391402009-11-07T11:39:00.001Z2009-11-07T11:40:59.887Z

Seven days from now, I'll likely have finished off breakfast at my hotel and be going through the ritual of ensuring my gear if fully cleaned and charged, ready to go There's a definite buzz when it comes to fight day - a sense of anticipation. Strolling from the hotel, it's easy to spot other fight fans as they head to the arena - the sense of cameraderie is palpable. With eleven fights on the

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-2798074349896527682009-10-29T00:11:00.000Z2009-10-29T00:11:18.596Z

MMA Reporter Franklin McNeil (no relation) has an excellent write-up regarding the controversy surrounding the Machida - Rua result from UFC 104; specifically, that the judge's decisions are solely reflective of how they saw the fight. First off, I'd like to say that I've not seen the Machida-Rua fight yet; therefore I have no opinion on how the fight was scored. That said, I've been sat next

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-4292248495023606592009-10-26T22:28:00.000Z2009-10-26T22:28:23.966Z

seems that Brock Lesnar is mortal after all; he's been knocked out of UFC 106 by a case of flu (no-one knows for sure if it's H1N1 but hey, he's had it for going on three weeks now) A side-effect of this is that ESPN have ran my shot of Brock at the pre-fight presser for UFC 100 to anchor this article. It's always nice to see my archive work getting used from time to time. Anyways, here's

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-9824253781794919072009-10-25T00:27:00.010+01:002009-10-25T02:21:51.582Z

I can't begin to tell you how much I'm looking forward to getting back to the MEN Arena for UFC 105; not just because of the fight card itself, but also because it's where I shot my first ever UFC event - UFC 70, back in April of 2007. Many years had passed from the day that I first saw UFC 1 on VHS. As a contributing photographer to the agency Camera Press, I received regular emails detailing

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-455415754896514798.post-84717210297408917982009-10-24T14:13:00.001+01:002009-10-24T15:25:11.159+01:00

The old phrase of "better late than never" applies; whilst I've been tardy in getting a blog off the ground, I figured that now is as good a time as any - especially when the next few weeks will see a flurry of photo related activity. What's on the menu for the next month? Well obviously the main event is UFC 105 at the MEN Arena on November 14; I'll be down for the "fight week" activities from

Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340679107615086793noreply@blogger.com0