A portrait of Irish jump jockey Katie Walsh has won a top UK photography prize. The photo, by Kent photographer Spencer Murphy, was taken at Kempton racecourse as part of an advertising campaign for Channel 4's The Original Extreme Sport Campaign.
Walsh was photographed in the colours of Seabass, the horse on which she finished third in the 2012 Grand National.
Picture commissioned by 4creative, Channel 4's in-house agency as part of their Original Extreme Sport campaign for the Grand National.
Murphy's photo was awarded the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, and will now be displayed in the National Portrait Gallery in London until 9 February.
Explaining how he took the photo, Murphy explained (from the Guardian):
“I set up at the side of the racecourse and pulled in the jockeys as they finished their races.
“I was keen to include Katie. I wanted to show both her femininity and the toughness of spirit she requires to compete against the best riders in one of the most demanding disciplines in horse racing.
“I chose to shoot the series on large format film, to give the images a depth and timelessness that I think would have been hard to achieve on a digital camera.”
