cheltenham people | racing photographer
Gavin James, Cheltenham’s then Official Photographer. “I worked for him for three years before he retired; now I’m Official Photographer at Cheltenham, Huntingdon, Newbury and Royal Windsor. I’m very lucky that my job takes me to most of the big meetings during the Jump and Flat seasons.” Not surprisingly, Cheltenham Festival is the highlight of her year. “The atmosphere is second to none, and I love getting to know the horses as you learn their personalities before they race. It’s a hard week though. I will usually be up at around 5.30am to be at the course for 7am and I can walk up to nine miles a day. On average, I take 3,000 photos a
a big shock to the system.” Francesca is a huge admirer of other professional photographers, in particular Edward Whitaker, who she describes as “the master of the trade. All the photographers get on well though. I think it’s important to always take advice and never stop learning, but at the same time be yourself because only you see the world through your eyes.” Being nominated for 2018 Horserace Writers and Photographers Association Photographer of the Year is one of her career highlights so far. Her dream? To “hopefully win. Whether this is this year or not I don’t know, but it would be a huge thing if I can make it happen.”
day, of which I will keep about 300. You don’t really get to appreciate it until it’s over, but it’s a privilege to call it work.” She admits there’s no daily routine. “I’m not really a morning person, so I leave it as late as I can get away with, but I aim to find as much time to get work done as I can before racing starts. People underestimate the workload of a photographer. You have to be very dedicated as you can be working in freezing cold and wet conditions, or the complete opposite. Taking the photos is only a very small part of the job, there’s a lot of work that people don’t see. You also need to be very good at talking to people. I used to be very shy, so this was
A LENS
“This is probably the photo that I’m most proud of across the whole of last season at Cheltenham. It’s was taken on the morning of the Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup and happens to be that afternoon’s Gold Cup winners Al Boum Photo and Paul Townend! It’s quite special to be able to get so close to the horses that often go on to win big races while they are relaxed in the mornings. Al Boum Photo has such lovely eyes and certainly knew the cameras were on him that morning.”
To view more of Francesca’s
photos or to make a purchase please visit racedayphotos.co.uk
“This is a completely unposed photo of David Mullins and a horse called Annamix. When the Willie Mullins trained horses have worked in the morning they all stop for a pick of grass and this was one of those lovely moments that happened right in front of me, and turning it black and white made the photo come to life.”
“Ballycasey is a bit of a legend and he absolutely knows it! He stood as still as a statue having his photo taken before the cross country race at the December meeting. The winter light fell just right on him and, being a grey, he looks stunning.”
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