Mid-way through 2019 I was honoured to be accepted as a member of the Wedding Photojournalists Association, a global body founded in 2002 to champion the very best in reportage and documentary wedding photography. To gain membership, photographers have to demonstrate an ability to work in a candid, original style and have the highest professional and ethical standards.

I’m one of just 48 English based members and the only wedding photographer living in Suffolk. The WPJ holds regular competitions throughout the year open to its members around the world. A panel of respected photo-journalists judge each round and picking up an award is a pretty big deal.

You’ll understand then, how completely cock-a-hoop I was to win an award with this image from a wedding shot over the summer. Yes, I’m fully aware it’s not a usual wedding photograph. There’s no bride & groom and it’s difficult to make out peoples faces. However, if you were there, in this moment, this image will transport you back there in an instant. The soul band romping through a catalogue of Motown classics, the feel of the bass thumping though your chest, the smell of dry-ice, the smiles of the people dancing with and around you, lost in music. Not a cheesy photo-grin in sight, instead a 1/125th of a second frozen in time to look back on in the years to come.

There may be some who view at this and don’t really get it. You know what, that’s totally ok. We all like different things which is something to celebrate. However, if this resonates with you, welcome – you’re in the right place!

Thanks for reading this latest post and why not take a look at others in the Talking Pictures series, each of which takes a single image and explains its place within my work.