Gareth Harford - Photographer
About Gareth Harford
Gareth is an international sports photographer creating dynamic images that portray passion and personality for commercial and editorial clients.
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He is based near Leeds in the north of England and his work takes him all over the world covering events in a creative manner.
His main body of work is in the global motorsport sector shooting for high-profile clients in MotoGP and Formula One.
Since 2002, after receiving a BA honours degree in photography, he began working for leading agencies such as Double Red, Gold and Goose and LAT/Sutton images.
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His main clients expect a brief to be followed, so images are available for sponsors and used for press material, while Gareth can still showcase his skills and deliver eye-catching images that capture the location, speed and glamour of the racing scene.
Gareth's passion for photography began in 1997 when he worked as an assistant for a commercial photographer.
Gareth creates the image in camera with post processing used only to enhance the image. This comes from learning photography and honing his skills with film and transparency and spending many treasured hours in the darkroom printing images. There is also the demand for images to be sent instantly for social media, so using the correct camera techniques allows him to send images straight from the camera to his clients during the event.
Aside from his work in MotoGP and Formula One, he works for a number of automotive magazines and websites.
The prestigious Triumph brand use his photography skills to cover their world launch events where he can use his lighting skills and integrate his fast work ethic creating a sharp and imaginative shots in a short space of time.
Racing photography is a rewarding career but the high-speed nature of the action means there is only one chance to get the shot and cater for the clients.
Gareth thrives in the high-pressure environment and prides himself on delivering pictures within a short window of opportunity, with a MotoGP race lasting only 40 minutes and Formula One around 90 minutes.
A prime example of this was when Gareth was photographing the Etihad flypast at the Abu Dhabi F1 race from a helicopter.
Hovering at 3500 ft with an Airbus A380, A Boing 787 Dreamliner and the Al Fursan air display team flying over the Yas Marina circuit and under him was one of those situations...!

