Photography

The photography that you will see on this site and in the show leaflet and promotional material is the work of two different photographers. Kit Houghton is our Show Photographer who produced much of the work that you see on the site and has worked with us for many years producing some wonderful pictures. This year we have also worked with Tim Flach, a photographer who is currently working on a book of equine photography named Equus: A Journey.

The photographs of the grey jumping and the grey mane were done for the Show by Tim who travelled up to world reknowned Show Jumper, Tim Stockdale's yard to take a fantastic series of images of Tim's horse Cassia who is 7 years old and owned by Leila Azmoudeh..

We hope you like the results. To view more of Tim Flach's work visit his site at www.timflach.com. and to view Kit Houghton's visit www.houghtonshorses.com

Below is further information about Tim's book which will be out later in the year.

Tim Flach - Equus; a journey

Commissioned by PQ Blackwell Publishing in New Zealand to produce a fine art book of equine images, Flach immersed himself in the world of the horse in order to celebrate the animal in visual form. Equestrian photography is not a new genre, but Flach's perspective on, and approach to, the subject is ground-breaking.

 Man and equus' journeys since time began are inextricably entwined and as a result the horse is most commonly depicted in association with man - to whom the animals represent and reflect a variety of emotions including status, victory and wealth. In order to celebrate the animals themselves Flach separates man from horse in his imagery, choosing to show the animals alone, or with their natural companions - other equines.

 &8220;Historically equestrian art has essentially been a mechanism used to impose status upon patrons&8221;, Flach explains. &8220;What I'm doing is distinctive because it chooses not to show man with horse. By separating the horse from man I am able to focus upon celebrating the horse itself.&8221;

 Flach's overriding aim in his work is to provoke emotion. &8220;I'm interested in how images work&8221;, he says. &8220;If an image creates an emotive response it works.&8221; Flach's pursuit of emotion is an innately philosophical one. He sees his subjects in abstract terms and focuses upon what message an image can communicate. Defamiliarisation is an important tool that Flach uses with consummate effectiveness by taking the everyday and showing it in a way that enables the viewer to readdress the subject and the emotion that it provokes. He may depict a horse against a monumental landscape, or create a closeup image of part of the animal so that it challenges our perspective and forces us to reconsider and question for ourselves why we react in a specific way to what we are seeing.

 Flach's work takes us from the controlled environment of the studio to the extremes of remote natural locations. He moves seemingly effortlessly between the genres of large format and 35mm photography dependant upon mood, objective and subject, with the result that our reaction to his images is enhanced because we are never quite sure what to expect.

 In the first year of the project Flach has crossed continents in pursuit of equines in their natural environment. He has photographed Mustangs in the deserts of Nevada, Haflinger's high in the Austrian Alps, Arabians in expansive deserts, Icelandic horses against glacial backdrops and racing Thoroughbreds in the pristine confinement of their training environments. At every turn the results are dramatic and thought-provoking. Not surprisingly Flach has attracted considerable media attention with the international magazine Equestrio Arabia and Discovery's Animal Planet channel following and documenting his progress.

 &8220;It's a journey&8221;, Flach says simply. &8220;My passion is animals and for me the horse is another animal, a genre that has opened up a new journey to me. I want to create a body of work within that genre that will speak for itself.&8221;