Colin Allison, 57, from Norwich has been disabled for a number of years. With arthritis in both his knees and hands, for Colin any job was a challenge. In 2008, things took a turn for the worst when he was diagnosed with a brain tumour.

After undergoing extensive surgery, the side effects left him with a series of disabilities, including nerve pains, balance problems, and weakness on his right side.

But rather than giving up, Colin picked up his camera and began taking photos. Today, he’s photographed royalty and one of his shots earned a spot on the front cover of EQ Life.

You Have to Love Your Subject

Colin started out taking photos at his local riding school and after honing his craft, soon became the official equestrian photographer for a college in the area.

“I didn’t really know what area of photography I wanted to get into.  There was an equestrian centre just down the road from where I live, so I thought I’d pop down and see if they wanted some photos taken,” he says.

“I did a lot of research and watched videos to gain knowledge, and it just went from there. I then started to do occasional work at Easton and Otley College in Norwich, where they have a lot of equine and dog agility events. I’m now the official photographer for their equestrian centre. I don’t actually get paid – people can gift me money towards my expenses and paper, printing and postage is charged at cost.”

Living so close to the equestrian centre and college was a convenient way for Colin to get into photography. Combining his love for animals and taking photos also meant that he could enjoy the role.

“I’ve always loved horses and dogs. The more time I spend with them, the fonder I become. Good photography doesn’t exist unless you’re interested in the subject. I’ve always taken photographs because I enjoy it rather than making money out of it, so I stick to subjects that interest me.”

To begin with, Colin knew very little about the equestrian industry. It took time and dedication for him to reach the level he’s at now.

“Years of photographing events has given me knowledge of the horse industry. I can now recognise when a dressage test is really good. I’m slowly getting to know more and more about it, whereas when I started, I knew very little.”

In conjunction with Easton Campus Equestrian Centre, Colin is also developing a website with up to date events, results, news and reviews. This can be accessed via the Easton Campus Events tab on his website.

Don’t Horse Around if You Want to be Good

To become a successful equestrian photographer takes a lot of practice. To be really good, it’s worth investing some time and getting to know the sport inside out,  says Colin.

“Photography is without a doubt a challenge. You’ve got to keep doing it. You can’t go out once or twice a month and expect to be good. Because of my medical situation, I actually don’t take enough photographs. I would love to go out and take more, but I’m quite restricted because I’m disabled – partly physical and partly to do with nerve damage when doctors removed 90% of the tumour from my brain.

“Go to events as a spectator, get used to what happens and what they do.  Have a look at the style of prints spectators are buying and that will give you a good idea of what to aim for. Once you’ve got some experience from that side, you can then approach the event organisers.”

Like most forms of photography, it all comes down to anticipating the moment to get that perfect shot.

“With show horses, it’s a question of timing. You need to predict when they’re going to jump, and then take the shot which makes them look good.

“Dressage is about getting the stride patterns right – again, which comes down to timing.”

Pictured left: Colin’s image of Sophie Christiansen, Great Britain’s Para-Dressage rider, warming up at Easton College in 2010.

How to Get the Rare Shots

Knowing what photographs are going to sell at a particular event is important if you want your time there to be really worthwhile.

“In show jumping, you generally sell two types of shots.  One is where the horse is level over the jump and the other, where the horse is taking off, so its rear hooves are just leaving the ground,” says Colin.

Another favourite with his clients are photographs of horses with their ears forward.

“Getting a shot with the horse’s ears forward is a real bonus because it’s something they rarely do.

“A good tip is to ask the owner to stand behind you and attract the horse’s attention. You can also get a small plastic box and put something that rattles inside it. Throw it in the air and this should catch the horse’s attention.”

As well as equestrian events, Colin also photographs dog agility shows, which take place regularly at Easton College.

 

“Photographing show dogs is very similar to photographing horses, except they’re a hell of a lot faster.

“I was photographing the event organiser’s Border Collies once and had to ask if she could get them to slow down because I struggled to keep up with their speed. Funnily enough though, I now find fast dogs easier to photograph as they’re more predictable,” he says.

Let the Camera Do the Work

When photographing fast-moving objects, whether it’s a sporting event or simply your dog in the back garden, you don’t necessarily need your camera in manual mode.

“Don’t be afraid to use partial or auto modes like shutter priority for setting speed and aperture for setting light,” says Colin.

“When you’re doing things like equine and canine photography, the light conditions can change very quickly. The actions are very fast and you won’t have time to change the settings in manual mode.

Pictured left: Colin’s image of Zara Phillips competing at Burnham Market Horse Trials in 2011.

“You can give yourself a better chance at getting that perfect shot by letting the camera do some of the work. This is especially critical indoors.”

Colin says he often uses his camera in shutter priority mode so he can vary the speed at which the shots are taken.

“I use ISO on auto most of the time, except when the lighting gets too low, in which case I put the ISO up to its maximum level. These two quick adjustments are really handy instead of continually changing three different settings.”

Ensuring you have all the essential equipment is another crucial factor – and can be a bit of a life-saver.

“I use a black rapid strap, which goes over my shoulder and across the body. This allows me to easily pull my camera up and take photographs. If for any reason I get hit by a horse or stumble, the camera won’t fall on the ground. That strap has been so handy, and saved my bacon on a number of occasions.”

Getting the Shot Makes me Forget my Pain

Pictured above: Colin’s image of New Zealand rider Lucy Jackson competing at Burnham Market in 2011.

One of Colin’s proudest moments was when he was published on the front cover of popular equestrian magazine EQ Life.

“EQ Life Magazine was going around all photographers looking for a front cover photo from Burnham Market. They wanted a rider who was smiling, which is very rare because they’re normally concentrating so much. Luckily, Lucy was so pleased she’d got though the water so cleanly that she had this beautiful smile on her face, so my photo went on the front cover.”

For Colin, photography isn’t something he does to earn a living. He genuinely enjoys capturing wonderful moments, which he and other people can enjoy for years to come.

“In a lot of cases I will go to these events and I’ll be sitting or standing outside for long periods of time. I have to keep sitting down because I have arthritis in my knees and often get a bit giddy. I get to a point sometimes where I have to stop because I’m not feeling well. But a lot of the time I’m focusing and concentrating so hard on getting the right shot, it allows me to forget about how bad I’m feeling.

“Photography gives me a purpose, if I wasn’t doing this I’d probably just be sitting at home watching television and putting on weight.”