Non-league football clubs up and down the country are full of volunteers that keep them ticking over behind the scenes. Photographers are some of those who work alongside full-time jobs to allow semi-professional football clubs to operate without issue every day. Lincoln United’s photographer though, goes above and beyond to ensure top class coverage, no matter the result.
Lincoln United have had a historic season, being crowned champions of the UCL Premier Division North. Official club photographer Ed Mayes was at every match for the fourth season in a row and was rewarded in Skegness on April 21 as The Whites lifted the title. Lincoln had suffered relegation down to the fifth tier of non-league football in 2023, and things were looking bleak. That was in just Ed’s second season as photographer at Ashby Avenue, but he was committed to the club and is now reaping the rewards. His shots of a memorable party occasion on the East Coast will be the ones shared and remembered for months and years to come.
A talented photographer, Ed didn’t have a conventional route into capturing football. On his beginnings with a camera, he said: “My other sort of passion and role is with children on the autism spectrum, so I need to have photos for funders to say, ‘I’ve got some’ and ‘We’re doing something with your money’ sort of thing. So, I first bought a camera in I think it was 2016. I didn’t really get that much involved until 2018, and I’ve been doing football photography since about 2019.”
Ed, 43, has been covering non-league football for six years and has been lead photographer at Lincoln United since just after the Covid-19 pandemic. He told the story of how he landed the role: “I first came down here for a development game. That was just after lockdown ended so it would have been 2020. So, I’ve been doing it for around about five years now. There was another gentleman who did the photography down here, he went to do something else. So, I then took over as lead photographer here, and stayed ever since. I’ve been doing the men since 2021 and the women since slightly afterwards.”
As well as recent success, Ed has photographed numerous monumental moments for both the Lincoln United men’s and women’s teams. He recalled some of his highlights: “There was the game vs Deal Town (FA Vase quarter-final) where there was about 1400 here, that was really good. Then there was the semi-final vs Romford, where we were one kick away from me going to Wembley. Because ultimately it is very difficult to get a press pass for anything like that.” The Wembley near miss was tough to take for any member of Lincoln United and there would have been few more deserving of a day under the famous arch, than their photographer.
Ed was able to produce some brilliant shots of a treble winning season for Lincoln United women in 2024. He has fond memories of that campaign: “The women as well winning the treble last season, that was really good. Probably the best one that I’ve taken of action would be the one of Ellie Gilliat who scored tonnes of goals for the women’s team, in the final of the league cup vs Basford. She’s just gone round the keeper and as she has just gone by her, the goalkeeper is just sort of looking going ‘ohhh no, that’s going to go in.’”
He added: “I think a lot of photographers get sort of hung up on gear and the actual sort of sharpness and all that. It’s mostly about the emotion, don’t get me wrong you need a sharp photo, but that comes with experience.”
This season though may well top all previous success that Ed has covered during his time at Lincoln United. Lincoln United lead media officer Zack Leader spoke on how the Grantham born photographer has played his part in their historic season.
He said: “Without Ed from a media perspective our stuff doesn’t look anywhere near as good because you’re then probably relying on amateur taken images. It just brings everything we do to life.”
He added: “He’s a character. It certainly wouldn’t be the same without him coming to a matchday and saying hello before he moans about something, ha-ha. He’s such a lovely bloke and you’ve got to be a nice person to give up your time, skills and talent in the way that he does.”
Leader, who also experienced promotion in his first year at the club, wanted to include Ed in the celebrations: “We made sure we got some pictures of Ed with the trophies because he’s part of the journey. That’s very much our club ethos, we’re all in it together.
“He’s a godsend. We’d be hard-pressed to find a replacement if we ever needed to.”
Ed is clearly loved by those around him at Lincoln United, but he was as humble as ever when asked why he thinks that is. “I just want to get better and provide the best coverage I possibly can for this level. The day that I don’t think I’ve done really well is the day I’ll stop doing it. I don’t know how good my photos are, I have no idea. I just take them and hope that people like them.”
He will be back with The Whites for Saturday matches only next season, as they prepare for their first season back in step-four of the non-league pyramid. How they will fare is unknown, but one thing is for sure, whatever Lincoln United do, Ed will be there to capture it.
