Biography

1995 - near Kutina, Croatia
See also - http://jimgarnettswar.blogspot.co.uk

1995 - on the front lines south of Karlovac, Croatia
See also - http://jimgarnettswar.blogspot.co.uk

I began freelancing for the evening Post Echo in Hemel Hempstead, along with many other weekly local newspapers in West Hertfordshire, part-time. My 'real' job was in the design department at British Aerospace, Hatfield, working on the Trident and BAe 146 projects.
My 'break' came at the Libyan Embassy Siege in London, where my photograph of a man threatening to attack the Libyan Embassy staff being arrested was used nationally. After buying some professional equipment, I was aware that the Toronto Sun were looking for a young, keen shift/freelance shooter. I moved to Canada.
I worked for the Toronto Sun, a morning daily tabloid with a circulation of about 300,000, from 1985 to 1992 and 1995 until 2010. Assignments ranged from the Economic Summit to the Toronto Indy/CART annual motor race.
In news, my photographs of a major fire in central Ontario were used in 'Time' magazine. I was fortunate to win five annual News Photo of the Year awards and my photograph of a huge industrial fire in Toronto made magazine covers.
In sports, high profile National Hockey League and Major League [baseball] events were assigned to staffers but I have shot at World Series and NHL level. As I was brought up in the UK, it is much easier for me to shoot football, rugby and cricket as I have a better understanding of these sports.
In celebrity, I've shot Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Peter Frampton, Neil Young and many more. During paparazzi assignments I've shot Meg Ryan, Richard Gere, Daniel Craig, Naomi Watts, Alan Rickman, Christian Slater, Woody Herrelson and dozens more.
Between 1992 and 1994, I worked contract and freelance back in the UK. My contract was for the Herald group of newspapers based in Luton. In sport, I regularly covered all Luton Town home matches. During this time, I had an exclusive photo that ran on the front pages of most daily UK newspapers when Jeffery Archer had a serious car crash on the M25 motorway near Chorleywood. Also, I did a paparazzi shoot of the filming of 'First Knight' near Ashridge and the photographs were used in the Bizarre section of The Sun.
In 1995 I moved to Zagreb and covered 'Operation Storm' as the Croats 'ethnically cleansed' the Serbs from the Krajina.
In late 1995 I returned to Canada and freelanced again for newspapers in and around Toronto. A few days after the 9/11 attack, I shot the first two 'backlash' attacks in Hamilton, Ontario where two Muslim mosques were firebombed and one burned to the ground. When Bon Jovi's aircraft ran off a runway with the band on board, I got the exclusive photo. I covered the aftermath of the 7/7 attacks in London.
I've travelled quite a bit and have lived in Hertfordshire, Toronto, Hamilton [Ontario], Burlington [Ontario] and Zagreb. I've worked in the UK, across eastern Canada, New York State, Cuba, St. Barthelemy FWI and most European countries.
From 2001 through to 2011 I was on contract to shoot news for CHCH, a television station in Hamilton, Ontario. I continued freelancing for several newspapers and other television stations including CBC, CTV and Global TV.
During late 2011 I relocated to the UK. I'm now based in Hemel Hempstead just two minutes from Junction 8 of the M1 Motorway. I'm available for shifts or assignments. My most recent assignments and pictures used - Daily Mirror, Sunday Times, Heat magazine, New magazine, mailonline, Luton and Dunstable Express, Hemel Gazette and many more.