Oasby horse trails. (October)

This is a nice local event for me which I have covered a few times now. I spent the whole 2-day event covering the show jumping arena, which I love to photograph as it lets me get creative with angles and ways to shoot images of both the horses and riders.

With one camera in hand and another set up on remote triggers I was able to cover multiple jumps and get lots of different images of the riders as they raced around the arena. I really like using a remote camera as you can get into places you cannot physically go or wouldn’t want to, this can produce some really dramatic photos as the horses fly over the jumps.

These are always long days and you have to be fit as you don’t stop moving around, but I really enjoy photographing these types of events.

For more picture head over to our Facebook page…

https://www.facebook.com/reflectivephotograph/

Osberton International Horse Trials

Back in October 2019 I had the pleasure of photographing a fantastic BEDE equestrian event at Osberton. This is a national event with riders coming from all over the UK, with lots of famous faces joining in. I was booked to capture the dressage arenas for two days. The riders and horses were majestic in their performances and looked truly elegant in the arenas.

I also photographed the carriages out on the XC Course, which was new for me, but I couldn’t wait to get involved. I found an area on course where I could capture the carriages as they navigated around which enabled me to photograph them multiple times. These made for some spectacular photos as they came rocketing through the water splash and was thrilling both to watch and also to photograph.

After the carriages I had a little time to get out on the XC Course and found a great jump with Osberton House in the background which gave the photos location. This proved to be an exciting spot to see out a memorable event.

To see more great images from this event head over to our Facebook page…

https://www.facebook.com/reflectivephotograph/

Shelford Manor – Equestrian

A full three days of eventing this was my second event here this year and it proved to be a scorcher...

This weekend gave us the hottest day of the year. I was covering the show jumping for two of the days, which gave me the opportunity to get the remote camera out enabling me to cover more jumps and get some dynamic angles of the horses as they jumped the fences. With the way the course was laid out it also gave me the opportunity to move about quite a bit enabling me to get low down for jumps then almost head on giving some great images.

On the third day I was covering the cross-country which had a section with two fences one as the riders entered a forest area and the other as they exited. With the sun beating down I used my home-made umbrella stand, which usually is for when it’s raining, but this really helped keep the sun off me for the day.

Next stop for my equestrian events will be Osberton (can’t wait!)

To see more images from this event head our to our Facebook page…

https://www.facebook.com/reflectivephotograph/

Equestrian – Belton House International Horse Trials

This is one of the largest horse trials in the country. On the first day, I was given the opportunity to cover two dressage arenas that would have events running throughout the day. The weather was fantastic, and I was able to capture Belton House within many of the images which gave them a great backdrop. It is truly amazing how both rider and horse are in sync with each other and the style and poise of these international competitors is fantastic.

On Day two, I was asked to cover a section of the cross-country course which had a series of three jumps.  Looking at the way these were set out I was able to get a nice low spot, so I didn’t move much, ensuring I wasn’t noticed by the horses at all. With the competitors being of such a high standard the images proved to be majestic - seeing the horses bodies stretched out and front legs tucked tightly in as they completed each jump.

Day three, I was covering the cross-country again but on a different part of the course. This time it was a double jump with the second jump down into water – these shots are always spectacular as the horses splash through the water. I was able to get the competitors almost head on as they jumped and was also able to capture them from the side as they went over a second jump featuring a large stump.

This second jump started me thinking of how I could try and get better angles without being noticed and also without disturbing the horses. A remote rig would be ideal but I haven’t seen anything which would do what I need it to do. So, only one thing for it!  Time to get creative.  Watch this space as I will be posting images from The Rig when I have designed and built it.

To see more images from the day head over to our FaceBook page.

https://www.facebook.com/reflectivephotograph/

Equestrian Event - Shelford Manor

This year I was approached by Athalens, who specialise in horse events across the globe, to see if I would be interested in working with them to capture some key events in the eventing calendar.  I had not done formal horse photography before but was excited by the way the company work and its ethos so was keen to give it a go.

I had a fantastic 3 days photographing an equestrian event at Shelford Manor. This event offered the opportunity to capture some amazing photos of both the horses and riders as they complete the different disciplines.

I was keen to look into different ways to capture the horses as they go around each course rather than just the standard front shot near an obstacle or a jump.   I am always willing to get stuck in and horse events are not different, during the day I was spotted by various volunteers lying on the floor to get level with the ground to give a more dynamic look.

This event also gave me the chance to trial my new remote camera rig. This produced fantastic photos and I have now built an equestrian focused camera rig specially designed to be able to get up close to the animals whilst being at a safe distance and not interfering with the action. I can’t wait to get more out of the rig and find more new ways to photograph this charismatic sport.A big shout out to Athalens for reaching out to me and looking forward to working together in the near future.