If you ever get the opportunity to go and train in Finland, do not hesitate. Go.

Several times each week, the coaches at Parkour Generations come together to train. Sometimes it is about conditioning, other times it is technique. A few weeks ago, it was exploration.

There were two very good reasons to hook up with Parkour Generations in order to photograph the ADAPT Level 2 course taking place at the end of November. Firstly, this was a unique collection of traceurs gathering for a week in one location.

Ever since Parkour started becoming widespread there has been a wide selection of videos on YouTube. Some are tutorials, some advertise teams to potential recruiters, there are ideas for conditioning progressions, others are documentaries and some are just plain stupid. However, I think it's fair to say that most are training videos or 'samplers'.

Until writing this article, composition is something that I’ve never really given a lot of thought. There are rarely any conscious decisions when I compose a shot, in the same way that there is rarely a conscious decision of when to pull the shutter. I just know (or at least I hope I do). And my assumption is that other experienced photographers are the same; I feel my way to what’s ‘right’ and in terms of composition, sometimes that’s as simple as making sure I don’t stick something slap bang in the middle of the frame.

In October last year I was approached by a magazine and asked if I could make a day trip to Paris to photograph Johnny Sticky Budden. I’ve been photographing Sticky since 2003 and have made some unforgettable trips together. Back in the day, he used to head down to my student house in Birmingham on a Friday night, crash on my floor and then we’d get up at 5am, pick up Blue Devil, and to drive to London to jam with the likes of Kerbie, Asid, Bam, Cable and M2, hitting locations like the Leap of Faith and the Shell Centre.

The housing estates at Elephant and Castle have been a favourite training location for London’s traceurs for several years. During its early stages, Parkour in the UK was often focused in city centres, both in training and in media representation. In my experience, it’s not that Parkour ever left the housing estates but perhaps got temporarily distracted by the shiny city, before realising that the best terrain is residential, not commercial.

I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed the last month!!! It's been absolutely jam-packed with good people and good energy - vibrant and rewarding to the extreme... So this will be a pretty short post, but the photos may hopefully bring a few smiles to a few faces!

Back in September last year I was invited to join the team on a trip to France to meet with the Majestic Force guys. Julie was filming, I was photographing, and after a magical day spent in the forest in Sarcelles, we headed in to central Paris to train.