Lockdown sees photographer go from high seas to horses

But 2020 saw her locked down with her family in Midhurst

She said: “I’m passionate about my work which is usually fast paced, involves travel and provokes an adrenalin rush. Suddenly I found myself stationary for a while; I was able to capture seasonal change and to transfer my artistic eye to all things equine, a subject area which I adore and yet hadn’t had a lot of the time to study through a lens.

“I also realised that I could, and should, bring the beauty of horses, sailing boats and the power of nature to houses and offices in the local area to invigorate and enlighten them through the power of photography.”

Kos has created an exhibition in the centre of Midhurst as a launch pad for her website, which is a virtual experience to let people in West Sussex experience her images in their own home.

In the past she has photographed the America’s Cup, travelled the world with a Formula One team and sailed with Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon.

She said: “Simon Le Bon is a very talented man, best known for his musical career, but he’s also an accomplished sailor. I was hired as his photographer to capture iconic images of him on his racing yacht, a very different environment to taking images of him on the stage.

“He was about to embark on a round the world race, it was important for me to get him to go up the mast. His agents were very concerned about the dangers of taking this portrait and although it was very windy we got the iconic shot they wanted and he loved it, we’ve remained great friends.”

Kos has been photographing boats and the sea since her teens.

She said: “I have been working professionally since I was 16 years old, although I was passionate about photography from the age of six. My grandmother gave me a camera as a birthday present when I was ten and I set to work straight away. I was constantly taking ‘unusual’ pictures; everyone else would admire the view on holiday whilst I captured images of the shadows of industrial pipes and linear patterns of Cyprus trees.

“I was constantly experimenting and then I learned to climb with a camera – that was the moment that made me – my images from the top of a yacht’s mast suddenly set me apart from other photographers.”

Her most recent exhibition is focussed on horses, something she has embraced during lockdown.

She said: “I spent more time enjoying and understanding their company, studying their personalities and movement.

“Patience is without a doubt most important when working with animals, when you invest time they give back, posing for amazing pictures.

“I am never looking for a ‘normal photo’, comparable to my marine work, I studied them in all weathers and varying times of day as light conditions have a great impact on my work.

“I will never stop striving to achieve new work and it has to be something that you love, something that you will enjoy on your wall year-round.”

To view Kos’s work, visit www.kosevans.com

She has recently launched virtual reality software on her website so people can experience and sample her large prints in their own house using a mobile or tablet.