I'm Rick, (Rick Sweeney) and I have been a professional photographer for over 25 years now. I started to specialize in Equine and Portrait Photography a few years ago as a way to over come a fear. Even though my experience as a photographer covers product photography, wedding photography(17 years), portrait photography and landscape photography.

So why horses and why now at this point in my life?

As a kid I always wanted a horse, I begged and pleaded with my parents for a horse or pony, but with six kids they simply couldn't afford for me to have a horse. When I was 11 years old I got the opportunity to ride a friends pony. While riding bareback, I was thrown and was injured not seriously but bad enough there was a bit of blood and I was in no hurry to get back on that pony. Subsequently I didn't ride again until much later in life and by then I was nervous, and a bit scared of horses. My fear didn't stop me from admiring them. I even rode a few trail horses, but was never quite comfortable being on horseback as I was as a kid. In 2023 I started my personal project "Horses in the Field" and that led to the decision that it was time to face this old fear of mine. I began contacting people with horses, asking if I could photograph their horses with them. Fortunately, I struck up a friendship with some good people at Falcon Farm livery in Kinver. The more I interacted with horses, the more comfortable I became. I read everything I could get my hands on about equine behaviour and asked a lot of questions of horse owners. Before I knew it, and with the help of those friends and their horses, my fear began to slip away and my love of horses returned even stronger than when I was a boy. I respect them for the sentient beings they are and love them for their distinct, sometimes quirky, and funny personalities. Now I photograph horses with their people with confidence.

I still engage in landscape work with large format film cameras and the like for personal pleasure, I love portrait work with people and animals, With animals I focus on the relationships.

I am available for assignments such as Equine Events or special projects. If I can be of service please get touch! Thank you for stopping by, I hope to work with you soon!