“It’s all about ears,” explains Nick Ridley. “Spaniels are born with big ears and then they sort of grow into them. That’s what make them so great to photograph, especially in action shots if the ears go vertical!”

As Britain’s top dog photographer, Ridley estimates he takes between 25,000 and 30,000 shots of dogs a year. “Of course I don’t use all those,” he jokes. “I’d have no time left to do anything.”

“Anything” includes writing his fourth book (this one on his beloved Cocker spaniels), photographing dogs at agility and working events, doing shoots for tv and print media, being gundog editor for Sporting Shooter magazine and attending Crufts where he is a fixture on the Purina stand and where he estimates he takes 2800 pictures every year. As well as all that he does private commissions and also works his own dogs, Cockers three-year-old Sweep and seven-month-old Harry, not forgetting Collie/Lurcher cross Tilly who is seven.

It’s a frantically busy life but Ridley loves all of it with a passion that comes across as he talks. He is delighted his family is involved. His wife works in the business (“I just take the photos really, she does everything else,” he says) and when home from uni his daughters help out too. “Of course it’s not all roses, look at me now, working on Saturday when I could be out enjoying the lovely weather. But I’ve got a book deadline so it’s the price you have to pay.”

Ridley was an RSPCA inspector for 12 years and took photos as a hobby. Winning a national photography competition made him realise he had a real talent. He sold the prize – a video camera – and with the proceeds bought some studio lights. He started taking photos of friends’ pets and through word of mouth his business slowly expanded. He was still working with the RSPCA and  had to photograph animals for prosecution cases as part of his job. He also went to dog events every weekend, taking photos and building up his reputation. It is no coincidence that his forte is action shots.

Everything changed when he bought a Canon Digital SLR and decided to leave the RSPCA and work full time on his photography business, specialising in dogs. It was a risk after years of secure employment, but he felt the time was right. Subsequent events proved that his instincts had been spot on. He was invited on to the Purina dogfood stand to take dog portraits at Crufts and also wrote his first book How to Photograph Pets. Two more books followed How to Photograph Dogs and then Labradors at Work, Rest and Play.

Now Ridley is at the very top of his field. He is in the fortunate position of not having to look for work as people approach him. Yet it is revealing that when he has to think of a favourite moment he recalls the moment an old lady approached him at a dog show and hesitantly asked if he could take a picture of her dog pouncing on a molehill. “It was amazing,” he says. “It was a border collie and she just shot up in the air as if she had jet pads and then whacked her head on the molehill.” The picture is on his website www.nickridley.com as one of his photos of the week.

“I really enjoy that part of the job, “ he says. “When someone is nervous or shy and you can help them. Maybe they’ve never had a good photo of their dog and it’s important to them.” He laughs and says he doesn’t want to sound cheesy. “But it’s a very nice way to make a living.”.

 Fiona Tankard