A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of spending a day at one of the top racing stables in Newmarket, going behind the scenes, watching the daily activities of the trainers and stable folk who look after the young filly’s and colts who’s value is up to £2 million pounds… The feature will be appearing soon in Suffolk magazine.
“Like no other town in the country or perhaps even the world, the home of racing is a special and rather peculiar place. A place where cars give way to horse and rider, where pavements do not have cycle lanes, instead room for the hundreds of horses that trot out daily. It’s a place that has over three thousand racehorses, some of the finest training grounds and trainers in the world and an estimate that one in three local jobs is related to the industry. Indeed, Novum Forum as it was in known in the 13th Century is a fine place.
Somewhat bleary eyed, sipping the last of my espresso, I come to the large gates at Pegasus Stables, where the unassuming entrance sits opposite the world renowned Godolphin stables.
Providing me passage into the world of horse racing and training, the small entrance leads to a quintessentially racing courtyard, that is a hive of early morning activity.
The dark blue morning sky is illuminated by Victorian style lamps hanging from the delicate yet spectacular 19th Century building that now houses dozens of fine horses. “Morning” comes a shout as someone walks past with some bridals. The horses are a beautiful silhouette in their stables, as the light shines through the door. Standing in the shadows, watching as the morning activities are underway, there is an underlying feeling you’re somewhere special. The imposing nature of the of buildings and the elegant architecture add to the feeling of splendour……..”
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About Julian Claxton
My passion for photography is supported by experiences gained on exciting travel adventures and through working for fantastic photographers.
In 2006, I made the exciting step of realising my dream of becoming a freelance photographer. Since this pivotal moment, I have held numerous exhibitions, been featured nationally & internationally in print and won numerous awards, including being a finalist in the National Geographic Photographic competition in 2013 with one of my documentary images from the Sudan.
From an early age I began to enjoy taking pictures of my daily life, basking in the thrill of sending the film to the printers and eagerly awaiting the pocket sized prints.
My first foray into the world developing and printing strangely began at school when I was asked to produce a descriptive photo for the school newspaper. A front page shot later and I was destined to start the long arduous journey of becoming a photographer.
In between exciting travel adventures and working for fantastic photographers, I graduated from college and at a crossroads in my journey to becoming a pro photographer, I embarked on a career working as a medical photographer. Learning new skills and dabbling in video production as well as progressing design skills, I yearned for the challenge and freedom of becoming a freelance.
I have been fortunate enough to work on some amazing assignments which have included shooting a documentary assignment with an air ambulance, gaining full access to a British Pro cycling team during an international UCI tour, cycling to Rwanda and creating a photographic documentary of my journey. The experiences continue to grow, meeting wonderful people to photograph and telling the story of their journey. The list of events and striking moments that have played out through my viewfinder continue to grow and provide me with ever increasing snapshots of life to capture.
One of the highlights of my career thus far has been staying in rural Uganda, teaching photography to the kids from the region, in a project I set up in late 2014, entitled ‘Give a child a camera’.
The basis of the project is to supply 35mm cameras and film to the rural schools in this region of East Africa, teaching the children how to shoot photographs. After a week of taking photos of their life, an exhibition is held at the school and the children leave with their very own album, camera and film.
One of the images I shot at Eden school in rural Uganda, during morning chapel won the 2015 Travel Media Tourism and Photography award. A great honour and one that I wouldn’t have picked up had it not been for the wonderful children of East Africa.
For further information please visit www.julianclaxtonphotography.com
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