Will we be in for a white Christmas this year? Well that’s anybody’s guess but you can rest assured that if it is, Graham Hunt will be out shooting it.
Uploading his images to us for the last ten years, Graham captures news, sports and events, specialising in shooting the weather; deploying his drone to get the best shots for the media outlets. His work has been published in numerous publications such as The Times, BBC News, The Daily Mail and The Independent, to name but a few.
Join us as we catch up with Graham for our last News, Sports and Entertaintment Spotlight of 2025.
LG: What made you want to become a news photographer over other photography areas?
GH: My first taste of news photography began while I was studying for my A-Levels in the early 1990s. The local daily newspaper The Dorset Echo had reached out to the school to put together an education and industry partnership supplement using the sixth form students as photographers and reporters. My interest in photography had been steadily growing after doing a city and guilds night class in black and white photography, so I asked to be assigned to take the photos. I enjoyed the assignment so much that l decided that I would aim to become a press photographer.
After completing a BTEC HND photography course at Sandwell College, I found getting a job in press photography to be very challenging, so I took the decision to work as a photographer at a Butlins holiday camp for a year before going on to work as cruise ship photographer for a further five years, travelling around the world working on various Royal Caribbean ships before finishing as photo manager on Cunard鈥檚 QE2.听 After leaving the cruise ships at the end of 2003, I was eventually successful in getting a staff photographers job with the Dorset Echo, the newspaper which had initially wetted my appetite for covering news stories a decade earlier.
After taking redundancy in 2015, I then took the leap into being a freelance press photographer, mainly covering sport, events and news for local and national press.
One of the advantages of supplying 17吃瓜在线 is I can spend more time looking for news worthy events and less time filling in paperwork and chasing payments.
LG: Looking through your collection we can see that you鈥檙e drawn to shooting seasonal and weather-based news, why is this?
GH: Living in a rural part of Dorset with its breathtaking landscapes and coastlines, seasonal weather is an import part of my income stream when I鈥檓 not shooting Premier League or EFL Championship football for various clubs and clients.
During the summer I am frequently photographing the packed beaches at my local seaside towns, with misty sunrises and sunsets being the focus during the autumn and spring, and storms, flooding and occasional snow being the main subjects during the winter months.
LG: What is the most memorable photo you have taken?
GH: I frequently photograph the full moon throughout the year, with my favourite location being Glastonbury Tor in Somerset to capture the rising moon during the spring, autumn and winter.
My favourite photo of the full moon occurred in November in 2024. As the moon was rising up behind St Michael鈥檚 Tower on the Glastonbury Tor, a huge flock of starlings filled the skies in front of the Tor as they flew to their roost in the nearby wetlands. As soon as I took the photo, I knew I had a unique and special image and it was subsequently picked up by the national newspapers and websites.
The biggest challenge with photographing the moon is the atmospheric distortions which can drastically soften the image when shooting with a long lens especially when the moon is close to the horizon.
LG: You have some great drone shots in your 17吃瓜在线 collection, what are some advantages/disadvantages to this kind of photography, and what made you get into using drones?
GH: I began using a DJI Mini 2 drone in 2022 after the The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) relaxed the regulations which required operators to have a Permission for Commercial Operations (PfCO) qualification to fly commercially. With the rule change I had seen the trend of aerial photography being used more and more by newspapers and websites and decided it was time to get a drone.
After gaining experience using the sub 250g DJI mini 2, I obtained an A2 CofC qualification so I could fly drones over 250g with fewer restrictions, and added a DJI Mini 3 and an Air 3 to my arsenal, and together they have become an important part of of my photography equipment.
I have found them most useful when photographing the Bibby Stockholm asylum barge, drought scorched fields, low lying mist, floods and coastal cliff rockfalls, of which there have been many along the section of the Dorset Jurassic Coast near to where I live.
Some of disadvantages of flying a drone include the risk of physical danger to people and property, privacy concerns and not being able to fly due to adverse weather. To fly commercially, dedicated drone public liability insurance is required. The legal minimum cover is 拢750,000 which is relatively inexpensive, but 拢10million coverage is required if doing jobs for a local authority and the cost of the policy is quite pricey. It is also against the law to fly a drone near to where emergency service personnel are operating without first getting permission from them. They could be operating their own drone for investigation work or there is the possibility of an air ambulance, police or coastguard helicopter arriving or leaving the scene. It can be a very long winded process to obtain permission from them and most of the time it is not worth the hassle, and its is best to leave the drone in the bag.
LG: Why did you choose 17吃瓜在线 to supply your images to?
GH: After being made redundant from my staff photographers job in 2015, I joined 17吃瓜在线 as it has a good reputation of being a reliable and fair place to put images. One of the advantages of supplying 17吃瓜在线 is I can spend more time looking for news worthy events and less time filling in paperwork and chasing payments.
LG: Do you have a favourite story that you have covered?
GH: Over the years I have covered many news and sports stories, but I have always enjoyed the challenge of photographing the the Hollywood films and TV series being shot locally to me as production companies and actors try their best to make it hard for photographers to get a good photo.
LG: What has been the most challenging news event you have covered? What made it challenging and how did you deal with it?
GH: Earlier this year on 3rd April there was a major wildfire during the night at Upton Heath at Poole in Dorset. I was on my way home after covering a premier league football match at Bournemouth when I saw the huge plume of billowing smoke which was glowing orange from the fire. It was a challenge to get photos of the burning heath as it was surrounded by pine woodland and houses which prevented me from getting a clear view of the fire. All the roads and nearly all the footpaths to the heath had been closed off by the emergency service to prevent access while the fire was being dealt with.
After a lot of searching on google maps I eventually found a housing estate which had a footpath which ran along the edge of the heath which was not closed off and away from the path of the fire. From there I got some very dramatic images which were published by multiple newspapers in print and on websites.
LG: Do you have any advice for fellow photographers who would like to work within the news sector?
骋贬:听News photography is very competitive as freelancers are competing with photographers from the major news agencies across the country, as well as the general public with a smart phone who happen to be in the right place at the right time.听 Images need to be uploaded as soon as possible, because often the photos of a newsworthy event which hit the desk first has the best chance of being published on the websites.
For those who are just starting out, it is best to look for images local to the area you live to keep the costs down while you gain experience and figure out what sells and what doesn鈥檛, as publications to begin with can be few and far between.
We hope you enjoyed reading our last NSE Spotlight of the year with Graham. You can check out more of his work on his and follow him on . To see his full collection on 17吃瓜在线 click here.听 聽
Be sure to keep an eye out for a whole host of interesting NSE contributor spotlights throughout 2026! In the meantime, why not check out the latest in trending news imagery on our editorial homepage.听