Formerly My 2p, established in 1999.
I have had to wait a long time to publish my images from the Quorn Ball in March. I agreed to an embargo with a national magazine but hadn’t realised it would not be in their next issue, but the one after. The event moved to a new venue this year, which seemed to work very well. The ball was …
Belton Horse Trials are traditionally one of the warm-up events for horses heading to Badminton Horse Trials in May. There are international sections at CCI4*-S – The Grantham Cup attracts over 100 entries – and CCI3*-S level, as well as national classes from advanced down to novice. In previous years I have been employed by the event photographer at the …
There are different styles of equestrian photography for different purposes. Put simply, (equestrian) editorial photography is about the person on or with the horse, while event photography is all about the horse itself. This simplifies what is a wide gamut of photography styles for different people with different needs. However, it is true to say that an editorial style is …
In the first blog in this workflow series I described how I use Photo Mechanic to ingest images from my camera cards, adding appropriate metadata at the same time to ensure that when the images go online they will be easily found by search engines. So now the images are safely imported onto my hard disk and it is time …
For some time now it is been frustrating me that, as a photographer, when I want to add multiple images to a blog post using the new WordPress Gutenberg interface I have to do each image one at a time. In fact, it annoys me so much, that I started to post multiple images as galleries instead. WordPress galleries though, …
I traditionally start my eventing season at Oasby Horse Trials, near Ancaster in Lincolnshire, where the four-day competition runs sections from BE90 level up to Intermediate. The intermediate competition includes open sections which have become a recognised warm up for horses planning to compete at Badminton in May, followed usually by a three (now four) star at Burnham Market or …
The Melton Hunt Club Ride is an unusual event. There is a prescribed starting gate and a matching set of flags at the finish. In between there are markers, some of which must be left to the left, some to the right. Besides these restrictions it is up to the riders to choose their route to finish as quickly as …
For the first time in in recent years the Belvoir Hunt Ball was held in Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire, in February, having previously been held in mid-Summer, in a marquee at the kennels, on the Estate. The Grade 1 listed castle is the ancestral home to the Dukes of Rutland and sits in of 15,000 acres. It is currently the home …
UPDATE – The ride has been POSTPONED due to the ground conditions and we will try again on Sunday 17th February. UPDATE – The gate onto Pasture Lane (next to fence 19) will be open. This year The Melton Hunt Club Ride is sponsored by Chestnut Horse Feeds and RoR to whom the organisers are very grateful. Download the course …
Hippo is a family company based in Lincolnshire which manufactures hot water horse showers for equestrian establishments of all sizes. Each one is lovingly hand-built by a fully qualified gas engineer using top quality components – no cheap ebay boilers here. They have no pilot light so they do not experience the same wind problems suffered by cheaper makes. Hippo …
I was recently approached by Samantha Finnemore, a Rutland-based veterinary physiotherapist, looking to revamp her web site and add new content. She was keen to commission me to produce both video and still photography of her at work, with horses and dogs. Sammy was keen to use a realistic working environment for the shoot, and we were very grateful to …
The beautiful village of Barnwell, near Oundle in Northamptonshire, is host to a small, friendly syndicate shoot which I visited in early December 2018. One of the syndicate members is also one of my commercial clients and wanted some images of some of his products in use. The brief was to create some lifestyle images of shooting clothing and accessories …
What is HTTPS? HTTPS is a URL (web address) system similar to the standard HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) scheme. However, HTTPS signals the browser to use an added encryption layer of SSL to protect the traffic. SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer. It is the standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. This …
As many readers will be aware, the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust periodically run raffle draws, the prize being unique or very unusual shooting days for a full set of guns. I was recently approached by the Trust and asked to document such a day, a partridge shoot for eight guest guns across three well-known and respected Leicestershire and Lincolnshire …
Gareth Owen is an Osteopath who grew up in the Rutland town of Oakham and recently returned there to set up his business in a new studio off Church Street.
Nico is one of the UK’s top equestrian photographers. He has worked with top riders from show jumping, eventing and showing as well as working on the official photography teams at events such as Royal Windsor Horse Show, Dublin Horse Show, The Horse of the Year Show and many others. What are the best settings for taking photos of horses? …
During the Summer months I do a lot of freelance event photography for some of the best known names in the business. As Summer Season follows Summer Season it can become quite predictable that you will be doing this event, then that event, at a particular time of year. It’s nice, therefore, to take on an event which is new …
In 2017 Oakham, Rutland based engineers and surveyors Smithers Purslow asked me if I would help them out by photographing their charity golf day, to be held at The Leicestershire Golf Club. I had previously done some photographic work for them which was more corporate: documenting surveying and engineering projects they had been involved with at venues like Rockingham Castle …
In his second year as course designer Eric Winter has taken the traditional line and reversed the direction of the Badminton Course. Starting as ever in the main arena over the familiar flower bed, the ASX Starter (1) riders head left to a choice of inviting Rolex Feeder roll top spreads (2), one of very few portable fences on this …
UPDATED – 11th April 2018 Before I begin, please don’t tell me that I should be using C1 or something else. I have tried everything and for my purposes – and I know this is true for lots of photographers like me – Lightroom is the nearest thing to “the best tool”. That doesn’t mean it is perfect. It has …
