Poor, Poor Mortal Kombat Characters

Scorpion and Sub-Zero, sometime mortal enemies in the Mortal Kombat franchise, gladly agree to pose for a portrait at the MCM 'Comic Con' Expo in London

Mortal Kombat characters have difficult lives. Not only does the video game revolve around the loser being brutally killed at the end of every fight but their storylines are also pretty rubbish. Their tales are meandering sprawling trails, born from a time when games development did not attract the most edgy writing talent in town.

Evidence of Mortal Kombat fan culture from Google (image not my own). Two fans dress as (from L-R) Sub-Zero, Scorpion

I will quote the storyline from Wikipedia on my two favourite characters, Scorpion and Sub-Zero, as an example of this kind of quaint almost indecipherable fantasy history:

“In the first Mortal Kombat game Scorpion is introduced as a dead warrior who enters into the Mortal Kombat tournament to kill Sub-Zero, the man who killed him. Scorpion manages to kill his target, but later learns that Sub-Zero plans to compete in the second tournament. Enraged at the idea that his nemesis has somehow returned, Scorpion tracks him down during the tournament. He realizes that this Sub-Zero was actually his killer’s younger brother, who was sent to complete his brother’s failed mission of assassinating the tournament’s host Shang Tsung. As a result, Scorpion vows to serve as the new Sub-Zero’s guardian in atonement for killing his older brother. Scorpion does not return to the series until Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 when Shao Kahn tried to conquer the Netherealm after his invasion of Earth and enlisted the ninja in his forces. Scorpion’s allegiance to Kahn quickly dissolved when he discovered that Sub-Zero was one of Earth’s chosen warriors, with whom he then sided in their final showdown with Kahn.”

You get the picture. The poor guys. Here’s some gameplay to show what I mean about their hard lives*:

*(01.03 onwards being the money shot)

Oxbridge Varsity vs Pro Boxing (2 x 5 Picture Photo Essays)

Whether it’s the well-to-do crowd at the annual Oxford vs Cambridge Varsity match or the Friday night boxing faithful at the York Hall London’s East End, the effect on people is always the same: we are transfixed.

I shot two boxing fights: the annual Oxford vs Cambridge Varsity boxing match and a Friday night pro fight put on by a well known promoter in London. Each event had its differences and similarities. Both were absolutely fantastic events to watch; there truly is nothing like being at ringside. Here are 5 pictures dedicated to each – the first 5 are from the Oxford vs Cambridge evening, the second 5 are the pro event.

Many thanks to Spencer Fearon and the Cambridge Varsity boxing team for making this happen.

Boxing kids and cage-fighting men

As part of the relationship assignment I decided to go and photograph a teenagers’ boxing session at an MMA and boxing gym in London. Inevitably, after the kids boxing had finished I felt myself drawn towards the fight training going on inside the MMA cage. Funny that.

I have to say that I found this photo session quite difficult; fast moving action is always going to be hard to capture and in a gym like this you are restricted in where you can go (you can’t get that close up relationship picture inside the boxing ring for example). This was certainly a criticism in my tutorial that I took on board. But even if I was allowed in the ring, with a skinny ass frame like mine I’m still not stepping in – especially not to get beat up by a bunch of 15 year olds!

 

Post sparring session

Watching a sparring session

5 minutes of push ups

An MMA fighter is corrected by his coach

The coach and the student go through the drills

Another drill inside the MMA cage