Horse photographer Edward Whitaker - Gustavo Mirabal Castro

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The art of photography captures unique moments with a great emotional load. The magic of photography is that this emotion is registered and printed to be transmitted to anyone who observes the photograph. Photography is a kind of portable repository of emotions. In the world of horses, whether racing or jumping competitions, photography has a very important place. Capturing instants that can be transmitted is a wonderful trade. That is why today we will talk about one of the most prominent horse photographers, Edward Whitaker.

Even though most people think that photography is trivial, photography is very complex. It is a mixture of technique and art. For a photographer to reach the highest levels of perfection, he must study and practice different techniques. You must also play with light, colors and textures so that the image really is excellent.

The photographer Edward Whitaker has a very unique style with the taking of images of horses. His career has been focused on horse racing where he has undoubtedly shown impressive talent. Because from his childhood Edward Whitaker showed a great interest in the world of graphic arts. This has become a world reference in the art of photography in horse racing.

Likewise, Edward Whitaker has had the privilege of participating in the most emblematic and important horse races worldwide.

In his beginnings in the world of photography, he was able to market his first photographs when he was very young. This happened precisely after a trip to the famous Badminton horse races.

Beginnings of Edward Whitaker in the world of photography

Because his father was an employee of the royal household, he was able to see closely the role of photographers in this family. This experience captured their attention and he felt identified with them. This what led him to lean towards this art. In fact, he has had many rewards for his excellent work.

“Back in ’81 a well-known photographer named Tim Graham lent me a camera and I managed to capture a sequence of Princess Anne falling on one of the obstacles with water in Badminton.” “I was paid 50 pounds sterling for those photos and there I knew how I was going to make a living.”

After this first experience he knew that he really wanted to practice the art of photography as a profession. Edward Whitaker is so passionate about what he does that he produces exceptional portfolios of horse photographs.

Edward Whitaker feels very identified with the equestrian world. Their relationship is excellent with the team that make up the equestrian competitions such as horse owners, riders and coaches. This may make you understand a little more thoroughly everything concerning the equine world.

Whitaker Edward - Collage — Whitaker Edward – Collage

Also, since these people value their work, this encourages them even more.

The beginnings of the photographer Edward Whitaker was in Fleet Street, a space where the press of the United Kingdom was concentrated

It should be noted that at the beginning there was no technology today. So Edward Whitaker worked in the dark room to learn how to reveal his own photographs

His perseverance and discipline paid off because he won a place in the photojournalism school in Sheffield. Due to this he achieved his first commitment to the Racing Post in 1987.

Edward Whitaker and horse racing photography

After that he discovered the fascinating world of equestrianism, for which his opinion is as follows:

“The world of horse racing was presented to me, and I realized how varied it was for different disciplines of photography” Edward Whitaker

The success that catapulted him as a photographer of horse racing to Edward Whitaker was the image of the equine Whitacker when he finally won his first prize in the Breeder’s Cup in 1991 at Churchill Downs.

This set a precedent in the career of horse photographer Edward Whitaker to continue to develop as an expert artist to capture the most spectacular images of this equestrian sport. There I capture the precise moment of the rider Pat Valenzuela screaming at the top of his lungs against the towers of Churchill Downs.

Whitaker Edward - Photo on the cover page — Whitaker Edward – Photo on the cover page

So it was one of his initial successes when he was 26 years old. It was also his first trip beginning in the 90s to the famous Breeder’s Cup in Churchill Downs, United States.

He still remembers the role played by the horse Arazi, one of the participants. This was before photographer Edward Whitaker achieved the feat of a special photo. He succeeded in getting Americans to completely outpace Europeans in that area.

Edward Whitaker in keywords light, composition and action

The key words of light, composition and action are present in each of the wonderful photographs of British artist Edward Whitaker. One of the main photographs of this visual artist is that of the Danehill stallion while being sprayed at Coolmore stud in Ireland.

For the year 2003 he made a picture so splendid that everyone would be surprised and remember it. The message conveyed by the photographs is of utmost importance, the colors, movements, gestures that are captured in an instant and immortalized. Nowadays the advantage is that apart from printing the photos can be saved in digital format.

As an example there is a very particular photo in which the horse is perceived enjoying the moment when it is being invaded by thousands of drops of water. This can be seen in the photograph, his reaction is perceived through the gestures that were recorded at the time of capture of the image as it is seconds to capture these perfect images.

As we can see the photographer Edward Whitaker mixes the factors that he mentions such as light, composition and action to achieve a perfect image. In this way he continues with great inspiration as a horse race photographer.

It also emphasizes equines under different environments. Undoubtedly his greatest inspiration has led him to conquer success in the world of the arts.

Awards and recognitions of the horse photographer Edward Whitaker

Edward Whitaker has won the title of photographer of the year seven times record and faces opposition from Louise Pollard, Alan Crowhurst and Fran Altoft.
The record of awards achieved by Edward Whitaker in the years 1999, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018.
He has also been selected for the photo of the year along with Pollard, Steve Davies, John Hoy and Simon Cooper.
Likewise, Edward Whitaker has been nominated for the station of the year along with Racing UK’s Lydia Hislop and the ITV Racing couple Ed Chamberlin and Jason Weaver.

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Technique and passion, the key to success

This renowned photographer of racehorses has made the transition from the revealed roll. He adopted the technology that has been advancing to giant steps in the last years. It is also a benchmark in photography specialized in horses.

In equestrian sporting events there is a significant number of photographers looking to capture the best moments in an image. However, the artist Edward Whitaker is known for his unique photographs. This is because it seems to freeze the perfect moment to take the picture.

Undoubtedly an exceptional talent is that of the British Edward Whitaker who portrays it in his majestic and famous photographs of horses. This is an example that will remain for the photographers who are being trained in those times and who have the help of technological advances.

The key is to differentiate yourself from others by taking advantage of the technique but incorporating the passion for the image … Only by incorporating art in photography can you achieve what Edward Whitaker achieves, get excited with photography