Devon-based shoot photographer Jeremy Pascoe has been a Game Fair visitor for more than 15 years but this time he is actually exhibiting, showcasing his stunning field sports images and his services, including luxury shoot books, equine portraiture and even wedding photography. We were keen to find out more…

 

TGF: Firstly, how did you start out?

Jeremy Pascoe: Growing up on a small farm in Cornwall, hunting fishing and shooting were very much part of normal family life. Getting my first shotgun, a very old side leaver 410 when I was seven (my father said if I was old enough to go to boarding school I was old enough to shoot) and hunting with the Four Burrow Hunt I, like my elder brother, took my place on our local shoot with the neighbouring farmers.
I have been very fortunate to have fly fished all over the world, from Russia to New Zealand from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. I now live on Dartmoor National Park surrounded by some great estate shoots. Marristow is our neighbour and North Molton, Pentillie, Ugbrooke and Caerhays are all easily reachable and we are surrounded by thousands of acres of the most beautiful moorland.
I am now in Devon in Spooners & West Dartmoor Hunt territory and through this have links with the Ludlow Hunt and the Lauderdale Hunt, who kindly host me on my way to and from the grouse moors. Father to two country girls who hunt, fish, shoot and ride and married to my long-suffering wife who accepts that I will arrive home during the season with a car load of wet and muddy clothing and a brace or two for the table. Both daughters shoot and I accept that fact that I am more likely to return to the line without the camera as a loader not a gun.

TGF: What made you become a field sports photographer?
JP: I studied photography at art school in the 1980s and, after moving to London, spent 20 years working in the advertising and music industry, before moving back to the West Country with my family.

Still shooting each season and spending as many days in a pigeon hide as possible my photography/design business naturally seemed to attract clients in equine and field sports. Website, branding and product development gave opportunities to venture into the field with camera rather than gun and over the last few years demand has increased to the point where I spend nearly 100 days per season in the field with camera and only a couple of special family days actually shooting.
Purely by chance, in 2019 I met Jean-Paul Gaudin in a field at a shoot in Devon. Jean-Paul is quite simply one of the best and most elegant shots I have ever recorded, he also does so from a wheelchair. We got talking between drives and my recording him in action and providing when needed some ballast on the Gator as it took him to the next drive.

One image from that day made it on the cover of Shooting Gazette and ‘The Seated Gun’ was launched. I now spend part of my season travelling the country with Jean-Paul documenting shoots from Scotland to Cornwall. Website and social media channels now hold reviews of these estates both in terms of the overall day and the birds presented and the ease (or not) of access for a gun with a mobility issue.
Outside of the game season my focus switches slightly towards the Equine side of my business and the creation of equine portraits with or without the owners/riders and this has taken me to a castle in Scotland and chest deep in the sea in Devon to capture the image.

TGF: What makes a great shoot photographer, in your opinion?
JP: An understanding of what is going on is vital, both for your own safety and the enjoyment of the team. The ability to be invisible so as to not distract from what the team is there to do and knowing when to get the image and when to step back. Most of all, like any professional photographer would probably tell you, complete familiarity with your kit is a must. If you’re spending time fiddling with your camera you’re not looking at what is going on around you and the moment can pass.

TGF: I imagine 2020 was far from ideal from a shooting photography perspective. How’s the 2021 season looking?
JP: Yes, the 2020 season was a disappointment as I lost 40-plus days due to lockdowns and so on, however I did still manage some of my best and most memorable days ever in the field. I was also far more fortunate than many involved in field sports who lost their entire income overnight.
After the disappointment and frustration of last year I have more bookings for this year than ever before as guns and teams have had a long time to think about the season ahead and many have a real determination to book well ahead and have a plan for this season. I am sure that making plans and looking at your shoot diary filling up would get most people through the non-shooting months and luckily for me many people who had previously dismissed the idea of having a dedicated photographer come along to document their day are now wanting these special and sadly endangered days recorded forever.
I think this season will be the best season we have seen in years, as being back out in the field will be a celebration of post Covid-19 life starting to get back to what we in the countryside hope will become normal again. I have overseas clients retuning for more adventures, UK teams who want a permanent record of their days in the field with friends and the opportunity to visit and document several shooting estates with The Seated Gun that have never been recorded on film before.

TGF: We’re delighted you are exhibiting at The Game Fair this year. What are you most looking forward to about the show?
JP: This is my 15th Game Fair but my first as an exhibitor, so it will be a very different experience. I think this year it will be a celebration as much as anything. After the last year, the countryside and all its associated industries coming together is going to be great. It is a chance to meet new people and catch up with the guns and teams whom I normally meet in the cold and wet of a British winter.

TGF: What can visitors to your Game Fair stand expect?
JP: In 2019 I became associated with a traditional hand-finished book binder in Essex and they have been completing my signature shoot books ever since. I was fortunate to go and visit the workshops to see the process from start to finish, select the leather hides and watch them lovingly craft my printed work into an A3+ leather, suede and brass bound book that tips the scales at over 4kg so naturally I have a selection of those from various estates in the UK.
I will also be exhibiting some of my equine portraiture which has been really fun to produce, including work for the British Side Saddle Association and may even bring along some of the wedding work that I have produced for some of my country clients!
I am also working with brands looking to position themselves and their products in the best and most authentic way to the field sports community, be it product and lifestyle images for brands like Teales Traditional Leather Goods or gun shops looking to show off their best guns to potential clients.
More and more, however, I am approached by clients looking to capture an event, skill or process that is in danger of being lost and some of my work with our own local Devon farming and hunting community is work I am proud of.

TGF: Do you have a favourite shoot / venue?
JP: Where to start? I visit some amazing places and I love the history of an Ugbrooke Park or a Belvoir, Caerhays or Ripley Castle but at the same time the relaxed atmosphere of my local shoot or a Kedleston Park is special in its own way. The Welsh shoots last year were spectacular and the likes of Llechweddygarth, Sweet Lamb or Brigands is a mixture of jaw-dropping scenery and a quiet relief that I have a camera in hand as the birds were well beyond my ability!
However, there are a few this year that I am really excited about and spending lots of time on the grouse moors will be a thrill.

TGF: Is there a particular day that stands out in your mind?
JP: It is strange but I think many of my most vivid memories from last year were due to the weather. Violent hailstorms in Devon, sideways driving rain in Yorkshire. snow and sleet in Wales and, on more than one occasion, rain, sleet, hail, snow and sunshine all in one day! But always with teams of people having a great time and making the absolute most of the opportunity to go up against the best driven birds in the country.

And not forgetting the squadron of turkeys flying off the mountain in Llechweddygarth, dipping in and out of the clouds!

Walking Gun Field Sports Photography
Stand J708
Opposite EJ Churchill & Besides Croots

Tel: 07943443243
Email: [email protected]

Images

1. Jean-Paul Gaudin, shooting in the rain at Ripley Castle.
2. A portrait of a lady for the British Side Saddle Association at Marristow House.
3. Gun dogs in the field giving me a mist disgusted look.
4. Still life of best guns produced for a client.