Miles Myerscough-Harris lives what many would consider a dream life as a sports photographer, but with a unique twist that sets him apart from his digital-wielding colleagues. The English photographer roams sporting competitions armed with century-old film cameras, including a 1897 bellows Kodak and a hundred-year-old Rolleiflex, creating images that transport modern sports back to a bygone era.
From the behind-the-scenes action of Manchester United's preseason in the United States to the Top 14 semifinals in Lyon and SailGP stages in Portsmouth, Myerscough-Harris has been there with his vintage equipment. He's even captured tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas posing for sponsors, all through the lens of his antique cameras. This photographer, who has held a camera since age three and was always ready to capture family moments, now stands out dramatically on the sidelines of sports venues.
"Agency photographers and website photographers have to constantly feed their clients and social media," Myerscough-Harris explains. "Me, I think every time I press the button to compose an image. Working with film forces me to take time, to step back – it stimulates my mind." This deliberate approach is both necessity and blessing, as each roll of film contains a maximum of thirty-six shots.
This passion for slowed-down time alone wouldn't have been enough to dedicate an article to the creator of Expired Film Club. Film photography converts are now numerous, including among generations born after Taylor Swift's first cry. But the thirty-something with the flamboyant beard has amassed over 2.4 million followers across TikTok, Instagram, and X thanks to his clever staging artistry.
Using glasses equipped with a mini-camera, he films himself on the field manipulating his ancestral tools. Brief sequences show him extracting the camera from its leather case, placing the film with jeweler-like care, then closing the housing before framing the action. "I love this tactile aspect," he says. "Physical involvement is essential throughout the entire process, including rewinding after each shot. I feel like I'm putting a bit of myself into each photo."
The results create a hybrid temporal space that blurs the line between present and past. His photograph captured during the last London Marathon – an event colorized by advertisements and runners' attire – propels us back to the 19th century under Queen Victoria's reign. It's all about grain, tints, and aperture settings. The same temporal displacement occurs in his black and white shots of the 2025 women's grass tournament at Queen's, where you'd expect to see Suzanne Lenglen smashing serves.
For Myerscough-Harris, analog photography practice has therapeutic virtues. He launched his company in 2021 during the pandemic after finding himself with nothing as an employee in the music industry. To manage his stress, he decided to combine his two passions: sports and photography. He began buying "weird and wonderful old cameras" and expired film to "conduct experiments."
Within two to three years, his hobby became a full-time profession. He recently returned from a week in the United States photographing baseball and drag racing. Soon, he'll be in the Saudi desert. His clients include clubs, brands, and competition organizers seeking visual texture that stands out from standard digital fare – what he calls a "cinematic perspective."
To sharpen his eye, he immerses himself in Instagram, that paradise for image enthusiasts, and frequents galleries. "I'm equally inspired by what the internet offers me and by photographers from the early 20th century," he notes. He cites Ansel Adams (1902-1984), renowned for his black and white images of the American West, and Vivian Maier (1926-2009), the nanny who walked New York streets capturing snapshots of urban life.
As a big music fan, Myerscough-Harris also enjoys buying vinyl records – "nothing beats appreciating Fleetwood Mac and Elvis" on vinyl. He speaks of "a physical experience very similar to film photography, definitely not organized by the 1s and 0s of an algorithm." He embraces this taste for the old while simultaneously benefiting from photography's latest advances, scanning his negatives to convert them to digital images for social media, then using software to adjust contrast, definition, brightness, and other elements.
Hunting for vintage photographic gems has become almost an obsession for the Englishman, who takes advantage of every trip to explore specialized shops and antique dealers. He's already spent £1,700 on a single camera. In Indianapolis, he recently found a 1912 camera body, making him as happy as a child eager to discover its mysteries. "Posting photos taken with a camera over a hundred years old on TikTok is hilarious!" he concludes.
