Lorraine contacted Nick saying that she wanted a photoshoot of her sister Janine, and to give her an album for Christmas. Nick talks about the shoot, and how he approaches photographing dogs and horses.

One of Janine's horses, Kenya, had been with the family for a number of years, and Lorraine thought it would be nice to capture them together, whilst Kenya was still a fit and active horse. Of course, the other family animals, Brody the highland pony, and Jack and Louie, their two dogs, would also star in the shoot.

The main difference between photographing horses and dogs is that you need to be far more measured and calm around horses. They pick up and respond very quickly to body language, tone of voice and mood. With dogs, you can be far more exuberant and allow them to be a bit more boisterous.

A lot of photographers use elaborate setups with backdrops and lighting to stage and pose their portraiture work, even with animals. We take a different approach and work far more organically, keeping everything as relaxed, unstaged and natural as possible.

Too much about modern society is disposable, made to be used once or twice and thrown away. My wife and I love old things, things that have a history, that have been loved, that have had a life, and that have been made with skill and love.

We once had the privilege of looking through a very old, battered, leather family photograph album that had started out life in the late 1800s. You could tell from the patina of the album that it had had lots of loving use over the hundred or so years of its existence. It had been taken out, passed around, shared and looked at, not just stuck in the back of a drawer or cupboard. That album made me realize that we take photographs not just for now, but for the future.

I want my photograph albums to be around in a hundred years’ time, and to show as much use and love as that album had. That is why I choose Queensberry, the only modern day album maker whose albums I believe will stand the test of time.

I print, because I want to archive moments, similar to Janine’s, that otherwise would be forgotten.

Nick Unwin. 

Lorraine ordered a 10x7 Classic Flushmount album in Contemporary Leather Iron.

Be sure to check out more of Nick's work here. 

Alexandria x