Blood, Sweat, and Beers: Portraits of the Tar Barrel Rollers of Devon by Leon Foggitt

"I grew up in a small town in Devon which has a tradition every 5th of November called Tar Barrels," says Leon Foggitt, a London-based editorial and commercial photographer. "It's very hard to explain to people, it really has to be experienced to be believed."

This is the explanation behind his latest series, Blood, Sweat, and Beers – The Tar Barrel Rollers of Devon. It's based on a local tradition that involves "heavy oak barrels coated with tar being set alight and carried often at running pace through packed narrow streets". The tradition has apparently been going for hundreds of years with no definitive understanding of how it started. Here, Leon photographs some of the local faces keeping the tradition alive.

Leon Foggitt has been commissioned by publications including Monocle, Mens Health, Geo Germany, Morgenbladet, Vrij Nederland, Another Escape, and Water Journal. His work has been featured by The Guardian, Independent and Conde Naste Traveller. Discover more at leonfoggitt.com.

All photography courtesy of Leon Foggitt

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