Siobhan English, a glister beyond the amateur
Athgarvan-based photographer and writer Siobhan English is one of these. From childhood she had a big love of dogs and horses, and rode ponies from an early age. Later she gained a professional qualification in photography and eventually put the two together.
Anyone interested in seriously good photography has had the opportunity in recent weeks to see her work in The Good Food Gallery in Kilcullen. A significant number have been impressed enough to buy.
In 2010, after 14 years working with the Irish Field's sister publication Irish Horse World, Siobhan took a leap of faith. She quit to follow freelance interests in both her photography and journalism. It was a big jump, because the IF was where she first got her break—after accepting some of her early hunting photographs in the mid-90s they offered her a job. When she left she was editor of Irish Horse World.
Anyone who freelances in journalism knows it isn't easy. And, indeed, is getting ever more difficult. But Siobhan has found the new flexibility in her working life very liberating.
"I've just returned from a week in Spain, riding across the remote Gredos Mountains on horseback," she says. "In June I'll be undertaking a major trip to America for the Oklahoma and Kansas Tourist Board, with visits to several top ranches to check out the horse riding facilities."
Along the way she'll also take the opportunity to capture the region's stunning scenery in her cameras (for the technical, she always uses Canon gear, currently 1D Mk II and 5D Mk II). In addition, side trips to the Red Earth Native American Festival in Oklahoma and a spin down the legendary Route 66 will add to material for her growing portfolio of travel writing.
While with Irish Horse World, Siobhan travelled extensively to major international equestrian events, including Olympics competitions as well as European and World championships. She established her credentials with other major publications and being freelance now enables her to contribute to many of these—among them The Field Magazine, Chronicle of the Horse, Horse International and Horse Sport International.
But it isn't easy to make a living in specialist photography and journalism. So she supplements her income by doing PR work for a number of high-profile Irish equestrian clients, among them the Irish Pony Society and the annual Mullingar International Horse Show.
"It does help to have a good understanding of the animals, especially horses," she says. "There is a certain way to have them standing, and they need to be alert. There's nothing worse than seeing a lovely horse standing badly, with his ears pinned backwards."
As it has become for so many artists, the internet is now a major showcase for Siobhan's work. In the last 14 months her website catalogue has yielded a million views. But the same internet is a double-edged sword for professionals, when everyone with a smartphone can upload dozens of images at a time. "Facebook has really done the industry a lot of damage," she says. "Too often these days, people prefer to steal a bad image than pay for a decent one."
That's a difficulty which many professionals—writers, videographers and photographers—have to find a way around. But there's an underlying element which no opportunistic smartphone snap uploaded to Facebook can provide. "Over the years, what I do has given me much enjoyment. There's just such great satisfaction in producing good images."
Right. And it takes a professional to give the time to travel and to make good articles and images that offer that special glister beyond the amateur. Do take a look at Siobhan's work in The Good Food Gallery while it's still there. Well worth that short detour to see a real artist's work.
The coffee's good too.
