About Tom

I’ve been a runner for almost as long as I can remember – certainly since primary school. I was a half-decent Senior sprinter, during the 1970’s and early 1980’s, winning Club and County titles, and taking part in Southern League. A back injury put paid to that, but allowed me the time to develop a deep love of many of the mountainous areas of Europe, especially the Dolomites of Northern Italy. I was lucky to have the opportunity to work there on many occasions, leading groups for a well-known holiday company.

My promise to run a full marathon when I was 40 didn’t happen. Mind you, I put in some good half marathon times! It wasn’t until May 2000 that I finally plucked up the courage to go back on to the track, and see if I could still run fast.

By 2004 I’d realised that I was competitive in my Masters age group at a national level. March 2006 found me, wide eyed and innocent, at the World Masters Indoor Championships. I was delighted to be part of the silver medal-winning GB 4x200 metres relay squad. I was a finalist in the European Masters M50 100 metres in Poland later in the year, and a gold medallist with the relay team in the European Masters Indoors in Helsinki in March 2007 and at the World Masters in Riccione in September 2007. I look forward to many more years competing as a Master.

Where cameras came into it all is a bit less clear. Somewhere along the line, I started to get the occasional mountain photograph published, and applied myself diligently to trying to capture on film what the mountains meant to me. The digital camera revolution changed many things. I found that bringing “the athletes eye” to track and field photography worked quite well, and for the last few years, I have become ever more keen to use my photographs to try to see Masters athletics get the recognition it deserves.

By way of incriminating evidence, I offer this picture of me (black vest,  big hair), racing in Southern League at Croydon Arena in July 1976.

 

Thanks to my long-time friend Steve Cluney for the picture

Picture by Jeremy Hemming

Photography by Tom Phillips

Moving Mountains

About this web site, and a bit about me

 

E-mail: tomp2@tiscali.co.uk

 

This web site has no pretensions to be anything other than a functional opportunity for people who know me and know my work to be able to see and obtain copies of my photographs.

 

The galleries on this site contain low resolution copies of the photographs. I supply full resolution versions or printed copies to order. I’m happy to supply to anyone, so please don’t rip off the low res pictures or use them without permission!