6/25. I loved working for Spurs at White Hart Lane and, within reason, pretty much had the run of the place (just like Jermain Defoe). Most football snappers would be disappointed when a player turns away to celebrate but I had quite an open brief so was happy to focus on the fans. I also like to have a different perspective so was in one of the elevated TV positions with an 800mm telephoto which is probably twice as long as the standard football lens. The club published the photograph widely and I’ve always wondered how many of the fans spotted themselves - there’s about a hundred of them in there and it’s interesting to see the range of expressions. This kind of real-world experience has been invaluable in setting up the advertising productions we’ve done with fans for clients like McDonald’s, Sony, Coca-Cola and EE. (For 25 Years of Mooneyphoto)
5/25: World Cup Warm-up /
5/25. With England’s participation in this summer’s Russian World Cup making the news, I’m reminded of the Finals in Germany 12 years ago when I was working behind the scenes with the senior men’s team. This picture, taken just before the game against Trinidad and Tobago in Nürnberg, is one of my favourites but makes me wince slightly when I think of the circumstances. The dressing room is a busy place but I was drawn to the showers by the sound of metal studs on tiles and a football hammering against the wall. I wasn’t surprised to find Wayne Rooney in there as he was often first to be changed and almost always had a ball so I said I’d trust him not to hit me and sat on the floor in the firing line. He had one more shot while I was there and it grazed the top of my head which no doubt explains the mischievous look on his face. (For 25 Years of Mooneyphoto)
4/25: Sisters /
4/25. Somebody once asked if I get permission from the people I photograph on the street (or the bus) and I have to say I don't. It would be interfering, risk changing the dynamic and they might say no. It's important to be considerate and polite of course and I don't think that's a contradiction. Anyway, I reckon these four ladies travel around London on the 476 just waiting for someone to take their picture. Surely they must be sisters? If only I'd asked them. (For 25 Years of Mooneyphoto)
3/25: Network Q Kiss /
“If anything gets overheated, it won’t be the car” ran the headline on this Vauxhall Network Q shot for Cogent and it’s always been a favourite. The kissing couple were a real item discovered by Keely, our producer, in a corner of Leeds’ Hi-Fi Club one Saturday night while the romantic pastel lighting and twinkling stars came courtesy of Harvey Nichols’ window display. If I had to explain the rearview mirror casting the shadow across his eyes, I’d say it was inspired by the masked ball in Romeo and Juliet… (For 25 Years of Mooneyphoto)
2/25: Umbro Coat /
This is one of four ads we shot as tests over a couple of days in the late 1990s. Dave Godfree and Nick Hastings, the creative team from DMB&B, needed something fast to present at a sales conference so faxed over the layouts and left us to it. There wasn't much of a budget so my nephew Luke and two of his mates met us at Leeds Road Playing Fields in Huddersfield one night after school. They asked what I wanted them to do so I said “set up some goals with your coats and start taking shots”. 20 rolls of film later, we called it a day and they went home for their teas. This is the very first of the 720 pictures I took and I remember it clearly because after the ball hit the post, it continued with some velocity and hit me where it hurts. The pictures went down so well that a budget was found and we were invited to do them ‘properly’. I didn't think we’d capture such special moments again and luckily the agency agreed, paying us the money as a usage fee for the tests instead. The campaign went on to win a Gold at the Cannes Lions, a Silver at the Campaign Press Awards and a D&AD Pencil. (For 25 Years of Mooneyphoto)
1/25: Menin Gate /
It’s 25 years since I started out as a photographer and I’ve been thinking about the pictures that have been important to me. I took this one, of the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium, while I was on tour playing guitar with a band in the early 1990s. After the soundcheck, I went out for a walk with my new Nikon, turned a corner and was stopped in my tracks by the the Memorial to the Missing with its 54,000 names from World War One. I lost all sense of time as I tried to cover every angle but eventually wandered back to the venue. As I got closer and heard faint but familiar music, I thought it odd they were playing one of our records. Then I realised it was live, the band were on stage and I was late so the roadie was playing guitar. He was much better than me anyway and this frame really got me thinking I might be better at composing photographs.