Space Comm Expo 2025

”Great industries are never made from single companies. There is room in space for a lot of winners.” – Jeff Bezos

A point proven at the annual Space Comm Expo held earlier this month at the ExCel Centre in London. Which is why Sir Richard Branson would give up 5 minutes of his time to attend the event… via video from his private resort 6,600km away on Necker Island in the Caribbean!  Nonetheless Professor Brian Cox was the star guest who was scheduled to appear in person to give a talk – a perfect photo opportunity.

I wanted to attend as a press photographer, to ensure I had the perks of photographing anything and anyone anywhere, and have exclusive press access. So at short notice the day before the event, I found the email of Ben Smith, Head of Media & PR, and contacted him asking for accreditation. He swiftly replied saying I can register on the website. Surprisingly there was no verification required, and I entered my details and registered as a photographer! I asked Ben for early entry to get myself sorted in time for the start of the presentations, but he said they can’t do individual arrangements, and to arrive “in good time”. Made sense.

This was my first visit to the ExCel in London, so I was surprised and impressed to see how big and developed it was. After walking what felt like a mile down the main hall, I arrived at the entrance to the event 45 mins it was due to open. I asked if I could go in but was refused and told I have to wait until the opening time of 9am. So I briefly wandered around the venue, and returned to find a rapidly forming queue with already 50+ people in it! I quickly joined at the back, and was amazed to see how over the next 30 mins hundreds of people joined the queue.

Eventually the shutters were raised, and attendees were let in. Most people rushed to the Keynote Theatre where Professor Brian Cox was due to give his talk. I followed, and as the 200 or so seats quickly filled, I found myself a sweet spot at the back to set up my camera with my 200-500mm lens on a monopod. Soon the makeshift theatre was at capacity, and behind me was a vast crowd of people gathered to get a glimpse of Brian. As he entered, the audience’s arms rose like a synchronised swimming team rising out of the pool, grasping phones in their hands to take photos and videos. For me it actually made for good photos!

With his trademark style of speaking softly and calmy with numerous hand gestures, Brian began his talk, discussing the latest developments in space exploration and research. As interested as I was in what he had to say, it was tricky to concentrate whilst capturing photos – something I’ve learnt I want to improve on. This was the first high profile event of someone give a talk for me to photograph, and I was quickly learning timing of the shutter release was crucial with the mouth constantly moving, hands gestures galore, and the shifting gaze of the speaker. Continuous shooting helped, but even after looking through the photos later, it was rare to find photos without the mouth appearing distorted!

I noticed a few other photographers hopping from one spot to another near the front – in this situation I felt I had a unique advantage by taking photos from the back. But when former Virgin Galactic president Will Whitehorn joined and sat down with Brian, I joined the others on the ground in the middle aisle near the front to get some close up snaps. Soon a very tanned Sir Richard was introduced via the screens, and attention turned to him. Strange one to photograph, essentially people watching a TV screen! Regardless, it was a key highlight of the event worth capturing.

Representatives of different Space Agencies followed – Dr Paul Bate (UK Space Agency), Dr Josef Aschbacher (European Space Agency), and several other European based space agencies. I based myself mostly near the front, trying to capture dynamic photos of the speakers, then decided to go explore the expo.

My aim was to capture the exhibitors' branding and people talking in the shots so that they can be used for promotional purposes for the companies or the expo organisers. Among the exhibits were operational robotic arms, virtual reality headsets, and various space tech components, making for good photo opportunities. There was a press area which I used to have a break and go through the photos. Another photographer joined my table and we had a nice chat about the day. In hindsight I should’ve taken his contact details and stayed in touch with him. Ben Smith was also there so I briefly introduced myself and mentioned I’ll send the photos through to him. Then some of the space agency representatives appeared and began posing for photos, so I managed to capture a formal group photo.

Although a few hours of the expo were left, I felt I had captured the key moments with a variety of shots, so I finished up around 1pm. This was an insightful experience, photographing a major convention with a few high profile speakers. As there was no expectation, nor any pressure in what I was shooting, it was enjoyable going at my own pace, finding the shots that I thought could stand out, so I’ll be looking to do more of these in the future. I reached out with my photos to Ben, several companies whose exhibits I took photos of, and a few online space media outlets, in the hope someone might purchase a photo or two…