Stephen shares the excitement as official European Curling Championships photographer
A University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) student has braved icy conditions to show off his photography skills at the 2018 European Curling Championships.
Photography student Stephen Fisher was chosen as one of the official photographers at the Le Gruyère AOP European Curling Championships 2018 in Estonia, where he spent a week on the ice to capture the action.
The 21-year-old, who also works part-time as a motorsport photographer, was given the job after submitting ten images from his portfolio.
He said: “I have found that sports media is quite a close-knit community so entering a competition that will get you through the front door of any sports media is worth it. Also, simply, it was a chance to travel and meet new people.
"There were six sheets of ice to play on in the arena and until the semi-finals, every sheet was in use at the same time so there was constant action to photograph."
“The Championships spanned over a week and with the working day being roughly 12 hours’ long, it was tiring. However, I am used to this in motorsport photography so this didn't phase me. I am also new to curling so I was learning the game at the same time as photographing it. There were six sheets of ice to play on in the arena and until the semi-finals, every sheet was in use at the same time so there was constant action to photograph.”
Stephen described the whole experience as “amazing.”
He added: “With a part time job in motorsport photography already, I am set to pursue a career as a sports photographer. Photographing curling has just made me realise that I would enjoy photographing more than just motorsport. The people I worked with were incredibly welcoming and they felt like long lost friends. In fact, the whole community of the World Curling Federation is a lot of fun to work with.”
