About the Photographer
My Passion for Horses
My Passion for Photography
Hi there :)
My name is Bridget Ford and I am the founder of Bridget Ford Photography. I'm a 20 year old South African woman, born in Port Elizabeth, I grew up in the small town of Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape. My family moved to Port Elizabeth in 2013, whilst I finished my Matric year in Grahamstown at Diocesan School for Girls(DSG) in 2014.
The year 2015 I spent a Gap Year covering Equine Competitions in the Eastern Cape and building my business up by changing the name from BF Photography to Ford Photography.
The first half of the Year 2016 saw me pursue horses as my full time job with photography more as a hobby. The second half of 2016 I spent growing my business even more and I made the decision to turn my hobby into my full time passion and job.
I started Horse riding at the age of 7 when my parents bought me 3 months worth of riding lessons at the Grahamstown Riding Club. They love to joke around and say that, that was when their bankruptcy started :P Needless to say they have supported me throughout my riding career as well as into my Photographic career.
They also spoiled me with my first adorable pony at the age of 10, and have since made all efforts to ensure I have an equine partner up until recently. I've owned and ridden some of the most amazing horses in my 13 year Horse riding career. My First Pony Champion, Second Pony Silvern, My top self trained horse Texas Jack, Special Go Foxy and my recent boy Salinger. I've also been privileged enough to ride, compete and achieve great things on horses I've leased - Welman, Royal Freluche and Rambleholm Free Spirit.
Horses have been my escape and sanctuary from all things tough and unpleasant that I've encountered in my life and I wouldn't be half the person I am today without my love and passion for the sport.
My Passion for Photography undoubtedly stemmed from my participation in the horse riding community, namely the competition side of it. Since I started competing, acquiring photographs of my competition memories from shows was hugely important. By the time I was 12/13 years old I had a keen interest for snapping away with my tiny point and shoot Samsung camera at shows.
When I was 16 my Parents gifted me an amazingly good starting camera in the Canon 1300d that came with an 18-55mm and a 75-300mm lens. This equipment was joined by the 50mm lens that I purchased for myself in early 2016. 2016 was the year that I really took my photography from a hobby to a business with a logo, business cards and building my reputation mainly in the horse competition field.
Now in 2017 I am currently studying a Higher Certificate in Photography at Vega College in Cape Town. I have also made the tough decision to sell my beloved horse to be able to upgrade my photographic equipment.
This was an extremely tough decision but worthwhile with the results I've already seen with my new camera and lens, Canon 7d Mark ll and the 70-200mm.
