"Joy" was captured at the end of a 5K event where, after every kilometre, runners are covered in a different coloured powder. Yellow. Purple. Blue. By the finish, everyone is transformed into a walking splash of colour before gathering around the DJ stage to celebrate.

Back on a perfect summer's day in Birmingham in 2015, I knew that celebration was the photograph I wanted. The music was pumping, the atmosphere was electric, and everyone was smiling, dancing and still riding the adrenaline of completing the run.

As the DJ counted down...

3...2...1...

Thousands of handfuls of coloured powder were thrown into the air at exactly the same moment.

For just a split second, everything stopped.

There was no breeze. The colours simply hung in the air, creating a moment of absolute joy that disappeared almost as quickly as it arrived.

I remember knowing immediately that I'd captured something special. The photograph was recognised in several photography competitions and online communities over the following years, including winning a ViewBug Party Time competition, but its biggest journey was still to come.

In 2022 I entered a competition run by the British Photography Society and the UK Government celebrating images that represented Joy. I submitted this photograph, then honestly forgot all about it.

A few months later I received an email telling me it had won the Joy category - the reward was something I could never have imagined.

The artwork was installed across all five terminals at Heathrow Airport, including large billboard displays, where it remained on public display from 2022 until 2025, welcoming travellers arriving in the UK from all over the world.

To this day, it remains the achievement I am most proud of in my photography career.

It also shaped how I see this image today.

JOY isn't simply a photograph for a wall. It's an artwork created to transform large public spaces, bringing colour, optimism and conversation wherever people gather.