Dalmation by Andrew Fox
Crufts, the worlds largest dog show, at the National Exhibition Centre.
The show runs for four days inside a series of huge, interconnected hangars off the M42 near Birmingham. The dogs are paraded by their owners for the judges around squares of green carpet and are mostly illuminated by old tungsten orange “sports hall” lights. A nightmare for photographers, who also have to battle a ubiquitous green and yellow background of advertising for a dog food company.
I was having to use fast film at perilously slow shutter speeds for moving animals. And then I found this oasis of sunlight. For some reason, in this arena, there were one of two skylight panels in the roof. The sun was flooding in on to one parade ring creating shadows where the Dalmations and owners were strutting their stuff. I’d guess the sun lasted no more than half and hour, before moving on, plunging the ring back in to murk.
This photograph made the front of The Independent the next day and went on to help me win the Nikon UK Features Photographer of the Year. It also featured in a supplement celebrating the best photography of 25 years of The Independent.
Who Is Andrew Fox
Andrew began his career as a trainee on the Birmingham Post & Mail newspaper, after completing the National Council for the Training of Journalist’s photojournalism course in Sheffield in 1988.
While still a trainee, Andrew won the Midlands Press Photographer of the Year award.
The broadsheet Birmingham Post always treated its black and white photography seriously and it’s style was close to that of The Independent. In the late ’90’s Andrew decided to turn freelance and took his portfolio to The Independent. The next day, Andrew received his first commission, and for the next 18 years was one of its regular photographers. As his work became known to other picture editors, Andrew started to work for The Guardian, The Observer, The Times, The Sunday Times and The Telegraph.
His work has been shown at Visa Pour L’Image international photojournalism festival in Perpignan, France, and at the House Of Commons. Awards include the Nikon UK Feature Photographer Of The Year and three special awards in the UK Picture Editors Awards.
