The Times' Marc Aspland gives illuminating talk to Maidenhead Camera Club

Marc Aspland with camera club member Sarah Gardner.

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Maidenhead Camera Club welcomed The Times and Sunday Times chief sports photographer, Marc Aspland, to the Cox Green Community Centre on Tuesday night for an illuminating talk on the images he has captured.

Marc last gave a talk to the club in 2011 so there was plenty of sporting events and action to catch up on as he spoke about some of the images he's captured over the past decade.

The chief sports photographer for The Times and the Sunday Times, he is arguably one of the best sports photographers in the world. He has worked for the paper for more than 30 years, covering all summer Olympics since Atlanta 1996 and winter Olympics since Albertville 1992.

He has won numerous Sports Photography of the Year awards and was made an honorary fellow of the Royal Photographic Society in 2014. He is also the author of The Art of Sports Photography.

On Tuesday evening he brought some of his more recent images to life in a talk for the club. He spoke about various events, from London 2012 to Paris 2024 and included some poignant and moving stories from the events he's covered.

Jonathan Bowker, who arranged the talk, said: “The evening was a rare opportunity to better understand the life of a top sports photographer, to hear that less than 10 seconds of Usain Bolt running is four hours of waiting patiently with the pressure of the printing presses being held for the image of Usain crossing the finish line.”

He spoke about the range of images he captures, from drone shots to wide angle shots of sports arenas, to close up images of an athlete’s jewel encrusted nails.

Jonathan said the talk was 'captivating and inspiring' for the audience, most of whom are keen photographers themselves.

“Marc's skill at capturing the decisive moment, whether it be the knock-out punch or the winning goal was evident in abundance,” he said.

“He finished the evening with the three background stories behind the only three sports photographs he has at home.

“All three of them are football scenes - playing in an earthquake hit region of Türkiye, in a township in South Africa and on a cold, misty evening at his beloved Harpenden Town FC.

“They illustrate the power of the game to bring joy in tragic circumstances, to change lives, and perfectly illustrates why it's called the "Beautiful Game".

“Marc's love of all sport from grassroots to the highest level on the world's stage was clear to see in this stand out fixture of the Maidenhead Camera Club speaker season.”

If you enjoy taking photographs and would like to develop your interest further in a friendly and supportive environment, then visit Maidenhead Camera Club who hold meetings every Tuesday (8pm - 10pm) at the Cox Green Community Centre.