Heart of the Nation: Ascot 4009

IN horse racing, as in life, there are sprinters and stayers.

melbourne cup

IN horse racing, as in life, there are sprinters and stayers. The former go hell for leather before fading in spectacular fashion; the latter pace themselves for the long haul. There are horses for courses. But even the finest filly can take an unexpected tumble in the finishing straight.

It was chucking-out time on Melbourne Cup day at the Eagle Farm Racecourse in Brisbane, and photographer Lachlan Gardiner had positioned himself by the main gates. He knew this would be a "hot spot", he says, as the crowd spilled out onto the street, a little frayed at the edges after hours of sunshine, excitement and liquid refreshment. Standing there with his camera slung over his shoulder, he heard a startled scream and a commotion behind him; he turned and pressed the shutter without even raising the camera, let alone looking through the viewfinder. This was the result: a shot that's imperfectly framed, but perfectly captures the moment. It's what he loves about street photography, the serendipity of it. You never know what you're going to get. Especially when you shoot from the hip.

The girls gathered up their friend, who'd tripped while trying to negotiate the kerb in her high heels, and the group wandered off, laughing good-naturedly, before Gardiner had a chance to talk to them. It was only afterwards, when looking through his photos of the day, that he noticed the interesting details: the purple badge announcing it was Becky's hen party; the way a couple of the girls had given up on their heels and were going barefoot; the one who'd had the foresight to bring thongs.

Gardiner, 24, was shooting the races for a uni project. He's not remotely interested in horses or gambling, but a crowd of humans turned out in their finest? That's endlessly fascinating. Not that everyone was as well-groomed as this lot. "There were blokes in fat-suits and maids' outfits," he recalls, bewildered. "I even photographed one guy dressed as a hot dog."