78 SIDELINES AUGUST 2012
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
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Meet the Photographers
Allen and Kim MacMillan own and operate MacMillan
Photography & Media Services. Their work has been published in
the U.S., Canada, Europe and New Zealand. Sidelines is thrilled
to report that the MacMillans will be covering the 2012 Olympic
Games for Sidelines, not only providing photos for our print edition;
but also writing a daily blog from London, keeping our readers
up to date on all the Olympic activities. The MacMillans are well
versed in Olympic sports, having covered the 1996 Olympics in
Atlanta.
What was your best Olympic moment?
Allen:
During the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games I was befriended
by two IBM employees who took me to lunch after they discovered
I was stranded without any food on the cross-country course
during endurance day. When we got to the restaurant I discovered
I didn’t have my money and they treated me to a sandwich and
Coke (it was Atlanta, it had to be a Coke). I found my money later;
I had stuck it in my sock. So, IBM guys, if you are reading this I still
have your $4. Thank you.
Kim:
Really, I love all of the Olympic moments: the competition;
the Olympic spirit; the coming together of nations; the “up close and
personal” stories of the athletes; even the John Williams Olympic
theme music. I’ve been an Olympic “junkie” since a very early age
– I get a love of sports from my father and my aunt. All sports are
interesting, but of course, the equestrian sports are very dear to me.
I do remember the iconic moment of David O’Connor carrying the
fag-bedecked riding crop during his victory lap in Sydney and was
reminded of that vivid memory recently when I saw the fag framed
and mounted on the wall of the USET headquarters at Hamilton
Farm in Gladstone, New Jersey, when I was there covering the
Olympic trials for dressage and para-dressage.
What are you looking forward to most about the London
Olympics?
Allen:
Being there. Every commercial I see on TV makes me
realize that I will be part of that. And, if our recent experiences at
the WEG and Juegos de Pan Americanos are any indicator, there
is so much more to being there than watching from afar. Add to
that my family and friends tell me that London is full of amazing
places all on its own. I expect London to be jammed, expensive,
tense, overwhelming, surreal and decked out to the nines. Oh, I
hear there may also be some sporting competitions, too.
Kim:
Though we’ve traveled to other places in Europe, we have
never been to the United Kingdom or London, so we are psyched
to go. I doubt we will meet the Queen, but we plan to see as much
of the city as our days off allow. And, the Games are shaping up
to be really competitive at the equestrian venue!
Best part of being a husband-wife team?
Allen:
We complement each other well. Kim is the energy and
the organizer. She knows what is happening, when it is going to
happen, who it is likely to be happening to and where we should be
in order to have the best chance of getting something interesting.
I like carrying around impressive cameras and large lenses and
I’m a little taller so I can stretch over the crowds to get the shots.
Kim:
Allen and I will celebrate our 31st wedding anniversary
while in London, so we know each other well. We often spend the
entire trip home from a photo gig rehashing the competition and
sharing news with each other about what we’ve photographed. We
never get tired of talking about our work and trying to fnd ways to
do it better. It’s amazing to look back at our experiences together
so far, for instance 2012 marked our 30th year of photographing
at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event.
What is your idea of a perfect day to shoot an event?
Allen:
Cool, clear, sunny, but not intense. If the horses like it
and feel good, it probably suits me as well.
Kim:
Any day where the riders and horses can do their best and
come home safely is fne by me.
Meet Our Offcial
Olympic
Photographers –
Allen and Kim MacMillan
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