"I Am..." an Olympic Table Tennis Player

Ask a professional table tennis player to serve eight balls towards the camera lens and guess what happens?

Eight out of eight shots soar into the lens hood at breakneck speed, blink and you'll miss it. This just goes to show why Andrew Baggaley will be representing Great Britain in this year's London Olympics.

With Andrew holding the title of Britain's leading Table Tennis medallist of all time at the Commonwealth games,  it didn't take long for him to showcase his talent. Precision, stamina and tactics all play an important part in the game he explains. Ranked as England number one in every age category (U10, 11, 12, 14, 17 and 21) and coached by his brother Stephen, the Baggaley brothers are a force to be reckoned with.

Having recently attended the kitting out session at Loughborough, Andrew arrived home to his training ground of Milton Keynes complete with various Team GB outfits. Unbeknown to me, Table Tennis is actually ranked as one of the most watched Olympic sports worldwide. Enjoying a quick game or two myself, it would of been rude not to knock up with Andrew, and as you can imagine I didn't stand a chance.

Sponsored by the Swedish brand Stiga, Andrew currently plays for SV Pluderhausen in the German Bundesliga and can often be found jet setting between various international venues. Highly regarded as a possible medal winner for the upcoming games, Andrew was selected as one of the London 2012 Olympic Bid ambassadors. I'm sure you will all join me in wishing Andrew the very best, hoping he can bring home another gold medal. If you are on twitter, follow Andrew's progress here and send him some support!

The "I Am..." Series

The first post of 2012 and the start of something new. Looking back over the past nine months, it's been an eventful time. Photography is like no other career, more of a journey and one which i'm thankful to be a part of. In my relatively-short time as a professional photographer (when compared to others) no day is ever the same, made unique by the people you meet along the way and the stories they have to tell.

Last year, after we finished a corporate shoot in Buxton, I had time to shoot an environmental portrait of a foundry worker. Thrilled by the experience of getting to know the person behind the job, it's inspired me to start a large scale personal project for 2012.

By creating themed and theatrical portraits in their working environments, the aim is to showcase different career paths and the individuals behind them. These will then be catalogued with background information regarding the career on a new website called:

Capturing a career in it's natural surroundings will allow me to convey the characters personality in a single photograph. I'm looking to photograph different careers, from the popular everyday jobs right through to the unique and courageous that keep the world turning.

There is no doubt that this will be an ongoing project, as I could run into several hiccups along the way, i.e. getting permission or the rights to photograph in certain areas can be troublesome.

Each individual that I photograph will receive a fine art print in return for the opportunity they have given me. The photoshoot will then be featured on a behind the scenes blog showing the buildup, with the final image being displayed on the "I Am..." website.

It's going to be a real labour of love, taking large amounts of time to organise these photoshoots, but the outcome will be special.

If you are interested in helping out with this project, or have a career path you want to share, please feel free to get in touch.

I've already shot a few individuals for the project, and have some fantastic opportunities lined up for the coming months. Below are a few shots which kick started the whole idea:

The first instalment of the "I Am..." series will be revealed shortly! Like my Facebook page, follow me on twitter or keep checking back here for further updates.