Simon Mooney / Behind the Scenes /  by Simon Mooney

I left my job as art director in 1993 and set up a photo agency in Huddersfield. Over the years, we built and run The FA's official photo library, worked for Premier League clubs and produced advertising campaigns for brands like McDonald's, Coca-Cola and Sony. We shot one televison campaign for Playstation at what was then The McAlpine Stadium, casting young Town player Ben Sweet in the starring role.

Our speciality is behind the scenes, working with players and staff, like this film of Spurs preparing for the derby with Arsenal.

The England project was the longest running at just over five years and I photographed 67 games from the dressing rooms at two World Cups and a European Championship.

We have behind the scenes Premier League experience with Everton and Fulham, as well as Spurs.

A programme seller tipped us off to watch a boy called Rooney and we documented his rise from youth team to the world stage.

There's a fantastic opportunity here to make a film and tell the inside story of Town's return to English football's top flight, from the perspective of the the people who made it happen. My experience working with managers, players, staff and commercial departments fits perfectly with Ben Sweet's connection to the club and skill in writing for film.

Halloween in Hackney /  by Simon Mooney

I set off down Stoke Newington High Street about 10pm and walked through Dalton and Shoreditch before turning around on Brick Lane in the early hours. The man with the white beak seemed to be following me around which was a bit of a concern but turned out to be quite handy as it took me three goes to get him in focus. 010203040506070809101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445

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Slow-Shutter Terminus /  by Simon Mooney

The train down to London on Saturday had those rare sliding windows in the doors. I noticed this as we approached King's Cross and took a few slow-shutter pictures out into the night. We passed industrial buildings, homes, offices, trees, trains, the Arsenal stadium and the last few East Coast Main Line stations. SM1_5478SM1_5461SM1_5458SM1_5489SM1_5476SM1_5473SM1_5481SM1_5485SM1_5515SM1_5492SM1_5531SM1_5521SM1_5519SM1_5557SM1_5567SM1_5583SM1_5601SM1_5584SM1_5610

Waiting for dawn /  by Simon Mooney

I went to Brighton on Wednesday to take pictures for some new Lifeboats ads. I arrived at London Bridge station much earlier than I needed to for my 07:12 train so wandered round outside for a bit taking these pictures. The first one sadly at 05:17 and the last, through the train window, at 07:41 as the sun came up over cars parked at Gatwick Airport. SM1_2060SM1_2065SM1_2067SM1_2073SM1_2076SM1_2079SM1_2081SM1_2083SM1_2088SM1_2100SM1_2101SM1_2105

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RNLI Lifeboats

Lady Glitter /  by Simon Mooney

The pavements are suddenly busy now I'm back in London. Bicycles weave in and out and dogs run in packs as well as on their own. Most of these pictures were shot over the last couple of weeks on Kingsland Road between the City and Stoke Newington. There's a few from Clissold Park and some on the south bank of the Thames. What felt like one very long walk from Spitalfields to Soho is also featured.

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Caution Wet Floor /  by Simon Mooney

Pictures from my travels towards the end of 2015, through London, West Yorkshire and the United Arab Emirates. The bleeding man eventually sat up and was flown away in a helicopter ambulance (I have no idea how he was injured). The prostrate boy in the bagel shop looked like he was messing about but you never know.

15120102_010515120102_026415120102_029816010101_034616010101_038116010101_036916010101_040416010101_038616010101_0410SM2_6398SM2_6375SM2_6379SM2_6394SM2_6387 16010101_0337SM2_641816010101_0313SM2_646115120102_096915120102_087215120102_0991SM3_868215120102_075815101001_014115101001_003615101001_014715101001_055915120102_003115101001_619315101001_6337FromRaw15101001_6368SM1_4963www.mooneyphoto.com

Warming-Up in the Desert /  by Simon Mooney

15120601_0406 On Friday I photographed a friend's wedding in Dubai on the shores of the Persian Gulf. The day after, the celebrations were to continue in an executive box at the Emirates Rugby Sevens tournament just outside the city and they kindly invited me along.

Being neither much of a rugby fan, or particularly sociable when it comes to corporate hospitality, I applied for a photographers pass before leaving the UK and packed my 600mm as well as my suncream with the intention of watching the action through the lens pitchside.

The wedding day was a long one and my phone pedometer reckoned I'd walked 13 miles. Much of this was desperately trying to find angles where the two video cameramen weren't in shot. I eventually got to bed at 3am on the Saturday morning and my alarm went off almost immediately four and half hours later.

The photo pass for the rugby now seemed like a very bad idea but I was committed so off I went.

As soon as I got into the stadium and dropped my bags behind the goals I was hemmed in by the Canadian team which had just come out for the warm-up. The players were enormous, intense and impressive in the light and heat and a different proposition to the footballers I'm used to seeing at such close quarters. Over the next few hours, I mostly had my back to the match action and concentrated instead on the details of the other teams' preparations for the short, sharp 14 minute games coming thick and fast.

I also snapped the occasional cross-dressing or twin-hatted fan as they caught my eye.

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The Richmond Cup /  by Simon Mooney

15090601_2205 We're updating the grassroots pictures in our advertising portfolio and, as part of the project, I spent a recent Sunday at the launch of The Richmond Cup in south west London.

My priority was to get strong match action but I also kept an eye on what was happening off the pitch. The light was good and the football was competitive and entertaining.

www.richmondparkfc.com

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The People's Pool /  by Simon Mooney

15060401_490 Back in June I was asked to photograph a site visit to east London's Haggerston Baths. An architect friend wanted pictures for a proposal to Hackney Council on the future of the building.

The baths were closed by the local authority in 2000, after almost a century of public service and it has now invited 'expressions of interest' to develop the site. My friend's group is proposing a community-based alternative to the predictable commercial schemes.

We spent an hour on a guided tour of the place and I used the time to take these pictures. Years of neglect have left obvious damage which some visitors have sadly made worse.

How does such a historic public resource become redundant and fall into such a miserable state? What would the people who designed, built and enjoyed Haggerston Baths think?

Hackney Gazette - Haggerston Baths on the Market 15060401_45115060401_41215060401_042 15060401_066 15060401_072 15060401_082 15060401_130 15060401_136 15060401_10015060401_19015060401_17215060401_157 15060401_174 15060401_199 15060401_203 15060401_217 15060401_239 15060401_232 15060401_229 15060401_243 15060401_255 15060401_259 15060401_264 15060401_271 15060401_293 15060401_287 15060401_25015060401_21115060401_283 15060401_03915060401_304 15060401_27515060401_315 15060401_317 15060401_319 15060401_38715060401_331 15060401_342 15060401_356 15060401_363 15060401_375 15060401_365 15060401_397 15060401_22415060401_403 15060401_424 15060401_45615060401_47915060401_45415060401_469 At the opening ceremony in 1904, the Vice Chair of the Baths Committee, Alderman E J Wakeling, swam the length of the bath under water.

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West End Wheels /  by Simon Mooney

I was asked to look at shooting stills on the set of a television commercial with cars. On advertising jobs I'm usually in control of the production, but this would be different with me in the background with no influence and only limited opportunities. The director and crew would be running things and I'd need to get what I could and stay out of their way. A bit like working round a football pitch or in the dressing room. The creative team had a particular director in mind with a certain way of lighting things. My job would be to get dynamic driving pictures so I wanted to rehearse shooting under similar conditions to demonstrate the potential and identify any problems.

I decided that night-time at Piccadilly Circus, in London's West End, would be a good place to start. There'd be lots of expensive cars and the huge illuminated advertising screens would - to some degree - simulate the lighting on set. I'd have no control over the traffic and there's be lots of things in the way like street furniture and people. These are some of the results:

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Chingford Boys /  by Simon Mooney

05031401_0398 Back in February I got a call from The Sun newspaper: Did I have pictures of Tottenham Hotspur star Harry Kane with David Beckham from ten years ago?

I had no idea they'd met, but it seemed Harry was one of the kids from David's old school in Chingford that attended his football academy launch in March 2005. We were official photographers for the project and covered the event so I had a trawl through the archive.

The Sun wanted a traditional 'head-on' shot of the two of them to camera and, funnily enough, Harry had been one of the two kids stood either side of the England captain in the team photo for the press pack. I've never seen the point of shooting the same angle as everyone else so all my pictures of this were from the sides and even the back. I did spot Sun snapper Dickie Pelham in one of the latter so gave him a ring and suggested he might already have the shot, which he did.

Even though I didn't have the picture the paper wanted, I did have quite a few frames that would have been exclusive given the free access I had on the day. Here's a few of them:

14 March 2005, The David Beckham Academy Launch, The Chainstore, London Current Tottenham Hotspur player Harry Kane (boy with shaved head) meets David Beckham. Picture: Mooneyphoto14 March 2005, The David Beckham Academy Launch, The Chainstore, London Current Tottenham Hotspur player Harry Kane (boy with shaved head). Picture: Mooneyphoto14 March 2005, The David Beckham Academy Launch, The Chainstore, London Current Tottenham Hotspur player Harry Kane (boy with shaved head) meets David Beckham. Picture: Mooneyphoto05031401_0478 14 March 2005, The David Beckham Academy Launch, The Chainstore, London Current Tottenham Hotspur player Harry Kane (boy with shaved head) meets David Beckham. Picture: Mooneyphoto14 March 2005, The David Beckham Academy Launch, The Chainstore, London Current Tottenham Hotspur player Harry Kane (boy with shaved head) meets David Beckham. Picture: Mooneyphoto

A more recent snap of Harry by Jon Super and courtesy of PA Images:

Tottenham's Harry Kane celebrates scoring during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, England, Tuesday Feb. 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

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