Celebrating our creative MS community

‘I first held a camera probably around age 5. Then never touched one again until I was 30!’

Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2004, it eventually became difficult for Ashley to manage the physical demands of his job as a sports photographer.

‘People think photography is an easy job, but it’s really not. Having MS added extra challenges, especially on long, hot days. I would usually have to account for the day after a rest day and to ‘clean up’ or fix anything before the next job. If anything it made me more determined. I had to learn to work more purposefully and not "waste energy".'

Ash has entered one of his images into the 2023 MS Virtual Art Showopens in new tab competition.

‘In my line of work, we often get little recognition – our imagery can be used without any credits — and it would mean everything to me to be recognised in this way.

‘[If my application is successful] this would be my first time winning anything for my photography – we never got a bonus prize for taking "great photos", however plenty of people asked for free photos!’

When asked what the highlight of his career has been, Ash spoke of working with his father.

‘[My father’s] been working in photography since he was 14 and taught me how to take photos. We used to work as a team when I was older and dominate every event we did.

‘We were some of the first photographers in Australia to adopt the internet, sending JPG files and various other technological feats early on (high-res scanning, to name a few) was what helped us solidify ourselves in the industry as the leading players early on.

‘I used to help my father from back home, while he was often overseas photographing events (Olympic Games, World Cup Soccer, to name a few). This was slow and challenging and often I was up until the early hours of the morning with my mother trying frustratingly to get files from India to Australia via a long-distance phone call and dial up modem! However, we would always deliver the photos to the newspapers by the morning whatever it took!’

Ash’s father sold his business to what is now Getty Images, a well-known stock image library, in 1996.

‘It was really interesting to see the evolution of sports photography unfold before your eyes. We worked hard on this business as a family, so this was a huge highlight.’

Ashley has had work published worldwide during his 10-year career; contributing more than 22,000 images to Getty and working more than 450 sporting events. Ashley’s images appeared regularly in major newspapers and on the cover of Inside Sport.

‘I met many celebrities from the NRL, however my most noteworthy athlete I met was Usain Bolt!’

‘I had a great career with Getty, but due to my health, I was unable to realistically continue with the increasing demands in workload. My wind down from work was about a two-year process.

‘I still take photos in my spare time – I am finding my new favourite camera is my phone.’

The MS Virtual Art Show encourages people living with MS, carers and those with other neurological conditions to submit their artwork, including paintings, illustrations, sculptures, craft, digital artwork and photography.

Submissions close Sunday 14 May. Head to the MS Virtual Art Show pageopens in new tab for more information