Like so many Everton fans, aspiring photographer Lewis Guy was born into a family of Evertonians.

Here, Lewis shares his portfolio of emotive match day pictures from Goodison; capturing the raw passion of supporters, their iconic stadium and the current temperament around one of English footballs most traditional and historic football clubs, which dates back to 1878.

Speaking with Lower Block, Lewis talks openly about all things Everton and his experiences around football culture; Playing footy as a kid, crying when Duncan Ferguson was sold to Newcastle United, the energy and diversity of the community around the club, the current state of affairs on and off the pitch, the fashion and style of supporters taking their influences from the terraces of years past, and his own personal battles with his mental health and confidence when picking up his camera.

Lower Block: Where did you grow up, and where do you live now?

Lewis Guy: I was born in Chester and have lived in Ellesmere Port for most of my life. My Dad and his side of the family are all scousers, which is where the Everton connection comes from. His parents, my grandparents, were both born and raised (as blues) within a few hundred meters of Goodison in the 1930s.

LB: Has it always been Everton for you?

LG: All my life – it’s always been Everton. In 30 years, I don’t remember a time where I didn’t support them. Given that my entire family are blues, I guess I never really had a choice, I’ve got my dad to thank for that! What I do remember though is being one of the only Evertonians at school. Every own clothes day, most of the kids would wear their footy kits, and I was always the one beacon of blue amongst a sea of red!

LB: Who were you Everton heroes growing up? Can you remember the first time you saw them live?

LG: I think my first proper Everton hero growing up was Duncan Ferguson. He was just such a talismanic character at the time and to an impressionable kid, his exploits seemed almost legendary. I cried when he moved to Newcastle (I was only 6 to be fair). Aside from Ferguson, the first truly big name player I remember watching was Paul Gascoigne. At the time, I remember getting excited every time I saw him play and while it never really worked out for him at Everton, I sat there as a kid hoping for something magical every time he got the ball. 

I’ve never been able to remember exactly who my first match was against, and it still bugs me. Maybe something to do with the fact I do remember we got beat. In the back of my mind, I think it was against Crystal Palace in the league cup and we got beat on penalties (12 September 2001), but I’ve never been able to confirm that – my dad who took me can’t remember either!.

LB: What does football mean to you?

LG: I don’t think my story here would be too different to millions of kids up and down the country. It was quite simply all I knew growing up. It was all we played at break time in school, my entire summer holidays were spent at the park playing footy, it was just what we did.

What really drew me to going to the match was just the general buzz and excitement of the day. When I was younger, we used to get the bus over to Liverpool, meeting my dad’s mates at The Clock on Walton Road before heading up to the ground. No matter how we were playing at the time, good or bad, the atmosphere around the ground always had this nervous energy, and as a young lad, I just soaked it up. For me, while I obviously care about what happens on the pitch, match day has always been just as much about the people in and around the ground and the culture that surrounds it.  

LB: Tell us a bit about this project, what was your inspiration for it?

LG: Taking photos at the match never really started as a ‘project’ for me to be honest. I’d never really taken my camera to the match before last season. I was inspired to do so by a few other accounts I’d seen on social, particularly the Everton site Mintisculture, they’ve been a massive source of inspiration for me when it comes to Everton culture/street photography.

After a couple of games, I realised how much I’d enjoyed capturing the little moments that you’d often miss if you just walked past. After that, I started making the effort to get to the ground early and spend the time wandering round, just shooting what was in front of me. One of my biggest obstacles was genuinely a personal one. I struggled quite severely with my mental health last year, so having to get past my own anxiety to get out and about amongst the crowds and take pictures was daunting.

As time has gone on, I’ve realised I do want to make something of the photos I’ve taken, documenting the last seasons at Goodison from the fan’s perspective, especially given the issues the club are currently facing, on and off the pitch.

LB: What kit do you use?

LG: Almost all my photos are taken with a Sony a6500. I’ve been using it for about 4 years now and I can’t fault it. My go to lens is a Tamron 17-70mm F/2.8, I’ve found that gives me enough versatility to get wider angle shots of the stadium, but also gives me the option to really focus in on a subject when I need to. Occasionally I use a Sigma 30mm F/1.4 lens which gives brilliant photos. I’ll use this more inside the ground. It’s a little more inconspicuous, helps with the abysmal lighting inside the ground and has a nice shallow depth of field when I want it. I’ve always been a believer in the best camera being the one you have on you at the time, so my phone gets a lot of use for photography.

LB: Tell us about your photographic style and how you got into it.

LG: A lot of my influences have come more from social media, YouTube and news outlets (photojournalism). Through these’ve been able to gain exposure to a variety of different styles and techniques like composition playing with lighting in unique ways, different ways of editing. I think by playing around with these different styles, I’ve been able to slowly start shaping my own style, how I see the world through my camera, and how I try to enhance that while I’m editing. I’ve always been drawn to a more raw, emotive style of photo over something that’s perhaps ‘just’ a pretty picture. Photography involving people has always fascinated me, I think there’s just so much more emotion to be gained from people, their facial expressions, their body language and their actions than you can get from still life photography. 

Something I am trying to do with my photography, is to become more purposeful in what I’m taking photos of, and why I’m taking that photo. My aim is that when people look at my photos, I want it to stop them, even for a second, and make them feel something. It doesn’t have to be anything ground-breaking, but the thought that someone, somewhere might look at one of my photos and get a sense of how I felt standing there, or how the subject is feeling at the time really excites me. It’s one of the things that drives me to try and improve. 

One piece of advice that I always try to keep in my mind is the phrase “Done is better than Perfect”. I’m not too sure where it originated, but I first heard it from a Canadian photographer, Peter McKinnon. I’ve struggled with confidence in many different areas of my life, and especially when it comes photography, I’ve missed opportunities because I’m concerned that my work might not be good enough. I try to use the phrase to remind myself that sometimes I just need to do it. To take that shot, to post that photo, to reach out for that opportunity.

LB: Do you have a favourite photograph from this series?

LG: My favourite Everton related photos at present all come from the final few home games of last season. The fan base really created something special by organising coach welcoming’s to try to give the players a boost before the game. With how compact the area is around Goodison, the air quite literally turned blue, I’d never experienced anything like it before. It created some stunning (if not challenging) conditions to shoot in and some fantastic moments amongst the chaos. One in particular photo, of a little boy on his dad’s shoulders, mouth covered because of the smoke, fist raised in sheer determination, has always stood out for me. 

LB: What makes photographing the culture around football such fascinating subject?

LG: The way in which football completely envelops people’s lives is incredibly fascinating. I’m sure it’s the same for fans across the board at many clubs, but Everton Football Club is absolutely at the core of so many people’s lives. Every weekend when we’re at home, you can pour 40,000 incredibly diverse individuals into a cauldron, a melting pot of people, from all kinds of backgrounds, with interests and stories of their own. Yet for those few hours, they are one. They sing with one voice, their minds have one thought and their hearts beat with one beat. What I find so captivating is that when you take a step back for a second, and look around, you can see it so clearly. I can see every sigh, groan, cheer, cry, every thought etched on peoples faces and its mesmerising.

LG: I think Everton has the diverse culture it does mainly due to the large history that it does, as well as the general local culture that feeds into that. Of course, culture means different things to lots of different people, be it the atmosphere around the ground, the clothing and the style, or the history of the club/ground, and I think that’s well represented at the club. One thing that jumps out almost immediately is that the terrace style is absolutely in full swing come match day, with definite nods back to the casuals’ style of the 80s but with added bucket hats, skinny jeans, 110’s (Nike Air Max 95s) and your best North Face or Montirex for a bit of a Scouse twist. The style, mixed with the blues, whites and yellows of Everton are a projection of the people and their identity. 

LG: The ground and the history within it will always be part of the fabric of our club. From the old wooden seats (they’re horrifically uncomfortable) to Archibald Leitch’s distinctive truss work adorning the Upper Bullens, St Lukes church poking into the ground at the corner of the Main Stand and the Gwladys Street, Dixie Dean’s memorial outside the Park end, there’s history in every corner. Under the lights, it’s even more special. The truth is though, It’s a cramped stadium, and in the modern game, it’s a relic. That said, while everyones mostly looking forward to the completion of Bramley-Moore, I don’t think you’ll find a single person that won’t miss Goodison, it holds a particular place in many people’s hearts. When the time eventually comes, it’ll be hard to leave I think. Personally, Goodison holds a lot of special memories of my Pop, my late grandad. It’ll be an emotional day when our final game comes. 

LG: Part of the culture of the club is how the fans will unite in times of trouble to try and produce change. It’s happened a few times down the years, for various reasons, but the two most recent examples are how the fans banded together last season and are doing so again this season, although for different reasons. Last season produced one of the most incredible displays of fan support I’ve ever witnessed, all to the give the players some kind of boost before the games, letting them know that matching our passion was the absolute bare minimum expected. I’ve not doubt in my mind that the actions of fans towards the back end of last season had a real and tangible effect on us staying up. 

LG: The scenes before, during and after the Crystal Palace game, where we came back from 2 goals down at half time, to win and ensure survival, were incredibly emotional. At half time I thought that that was that, and we would be going down. It’s doubtful I’ll ever experience anything like that again without winning major silverware. I can’t quite put into words the relief I felt that night. To make clear though, what happened that night was a result of an outpouring of relief, anger, desperation and frustration. We all knew it should never have gotten to that point, but we allowed ourselves that one night of happiness after such a mentally, physically and emotionally draining season. After that, we collectively swore never again. Things had to change. Lessons needed to be learnt. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, and yet again, we find ourselves lingering near the bottom of table.

LG: Fans are again mobilising, this time trying to bring about change at the board level after years of poor investment and incompetent leadership. Peaceful marches have been held for several weeks now, aimed squarely at those in charge. This isn’t a handful of disenfranchised outliers, but a growing number of concerned fans, from all backgrounds and age groups. If nothing else, it has brought to the forefront the issues that are happening at the club, with questions finally being asked of those at the top by national media. 

LB: What’s next for you?

LG: My plans for the immediate future are to carry on trying to capture the best of Goodison before we leave. If all goes to plan, next season will likely be our last full season at the ground. How much longer we stay really depends on how the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock is getting on. In the back of my mind, I have an idea to try and figure out if a collaboration between several Everton photographers could work, possibly a showing of our collective work over the last 2 years, highlighting the ups and downs of the last few seasons. My photos aside, there are some incredible photographers that capture all kinds of photos in and around the ground, and their work deserves to be seen and enjoyed by all. 

If you enjoyed that, you may also like Rob Bremner’s archival photographs of Mersyside Match Days 2003-05.

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