Early morning event photography in the streets of London
Holland & Holland is a British gunmaker and clothing retailer based in London, which offers handmade sporting rifles and shotguns. The company holds two royal warrants. Raccoon has worked with Holland & Holland to capture store interiors for their social media outlets and more recently were asked to photograph a press event with members of the household calvary arriving early morning to the store on Bruton Street, having tea and sandwiches with the store team before riding off.
Equestrian Photography in London
We put our photographer Sam on this job. Sam was the obvious choice given his close relationship with the British Armed Forces, whom he loves to catch on ceremonial duties and in quieter moments. Sam can also be frequently found traveling with polo teams around the world and his work has been printed in The Times, Tatler, GQ and Gentleman’s Journal, amongst others. We asked him about his experience on this shoot:
Dawn in London (pre-lockdown), and I'm in the heart of Mayfair. It’s quiet, except for the occasionally delivery lorry disturbing the peace. An almost imperceptible clack of horses hooves is carried on a gust of wind, and looking down Bruton Street towards Berkeley Square, the suggestion becomes a cacophony as thirty troopers and officers of the Household Cavalry round the corner, all earthy greens and browns. I lift my camera and push all the way in on my 70-200mm zoom lens, until the horses fill my lens. This is known as a Watering Order; a morning exercise for troopers not participating in the day’s Queen’s Life Guard, and today it’s taking place at the Holland & Holland shop on Bruton Street. The troopers turn left down a back street to the mews entrance of the shop, where the staff of Holland & Holland are waiting for them with bacon sandwiches and coffee. I’ve photographed the Household Cavalry on many occasions, so there are familiar smiles from some of the troopers who recognise me from my visits to Knightsbridge Barracks (always at an unsociable hour of the morning), and they’re comfortable with me moving close to the horses to secure the best photographs of them and the store branding. I’ve got a second camera with a wide angle lens which means I can easily get the breadth of the scene in the picture. The manager of the store has briefed me beforehand with some shots that they’d really like to see, so I’ve got a good idea of where to position myself to get the best results. The men enjoy the coffee, the horses enjoy the attention (and the occasionally slice of bacon), and I love capturing this special scene, peculiar only to London, and evidence that the early bird really does get the worm.
If you would like to book an event photographer for your brand event or party in London please do get in touch for a quote at info@raccoonlondon.com
