THE renowned, and very talented, Jane Lazenby presented one of her talks on equine photography by Zoom on Thursday last, writes Jenny Short.

She can be simply described as “a professional photographer who creates images of people and horses”, but there is so much more to her craft than that.

She has a background in Fine Arts, rooted originally in drawing and painting portraits, but through an enduring passion for horses she has developed the amazing photographic skills and knowledge. Jane gave advice upon the best gear to use that went far beyond the choice of lens to tips on carrying wet wipes and baby oil, and using an app that generates horse noises with which to get their attention.

The safety of herself and her subjects is clearly a priority for Jane, but she works in a range of venues from dressage to show jumping arenas and racecourses and uses her deep knowledge and love of all things equine to craft stunning images in which shape and form, colour, mood and story dominate. Attending festivals and fairs countrywide, Jane captures the characters that abound, as well as the deep bonds that exist between mankind and their horses.

The second part of Jane’s evening concentrated on the artistic rendering of more formal shoots with clients, working with trained horses and stunt performers at weddings, as well as with all action heroes on film sets. It also featured, what was for, her an emotional journey to the Camargue following the death of her long lived “heart horse” that did so much to heal and restore her well-being.

There was a wonderful balance of quality images, safety warnings, tips and knowledge transferred throughout the evening, which is certainly one we will all remember for a very long time.