Great Golf Photography - Paul Severn

I’ve worked as a professional golf photographer for over 20 years, starting my journey with the worlds leading sports photo agency in London where I focused predominantly on golf. After 5 years I left to start up on my own as a freelance photographer; keen to start building my own library of images to cover every aspect of the golfing world. Originally aspiring to play on tour, my love of the game has helped me to create images that golfers around the world can relate to. I enjoy the variety of commissions the sport brings, from major tournaments, to features on the worlds most famous golfers for the leading industry publications. For the last few years I have been focusing on pulling together a collection of images that will be showcased in a limited edition, luxury book in due course.

Le to Mauritius 

This shoot was going to be a gamble from the word go! Due to bad weather, often typical with island shoots, I only had an hours window to photograph this course, from the air, before I was due to catch my flight home. I had chartered a helicopter (not cheap in Mauritius!) which had unfortunately landed on the other side of the golf course to where we had arranged to meet. When we finally met I had only about 10 mins for them to take the doors off - critical for me to get maximum visibility, and to get harnessed in before the cloud was due to cover the island and put it into shade. You can just see the clouds shadows starting to appear on the sea, which luckily gave this image really nice depth. 

Trump Ferry Point New York City 

The highlight of my last trip to New York City I was standing on the roof of the World Trade Centre, this turned out to be just 6 months before 9/11. The skyline of Manhattan changed dramatically that day and I have watched it heal over time,  with the freedom tower now offering stature in close proximity to where the former twin towers once stood. I eventually returned last month and after an emotional visit to the WTC pools and 9/11 museum underground, I headed to the Bronx where I had been invited to shoot Trump Ferry Point. Through my lens I was in awe of the new skyline of Manhattan that stretched in front of me. Truly my favourite city on earth.

Sedona Arizona 

When I research courses to shoot it is predominantly driven by my appreciation for amazing scenery, and how golf courses are built in the foreground of these amazing back drops for golfers to enjoy. They are by no means the most famous courses in the world but it has become a bit of a personal mission to help expose these courses, which I consider hidden treasures. Having recently shot the famous Boulders in Phoenix for Troon Golf, I headed to Sedona golf resort, just below the Grand Canyon another course I had researched online before my trip. No research could have prepared me for the truly stunning expanses of jaw dropping scenery awaiting me in Sedona. To achieve this image patience was paramount, having to wait considerable time for both the mountain range backdrop (1 mile away) and the course to be in full sunshine, this was critical as the rock does not look anywhere near this red and dramatic in shade, which is what really makes this picture so special.www.severnimages.com