A day’s shooting leaves plenty to remember. The dogs waiting for their next instruction, the company between drives and the sight of a shooting party moving across the skyline. Often, these quieter moments stay with us long after the day has ended.
They sit at the heart of this collection of shooting greeting cards by Charles Sainsbury-Plaice. Featuring 10 different black and white photographs, the collection celebrates the people, working dogs and details that give British country sporting life its character.
Three decades of countryside photography
Charles Sainsbury-Plaice has spent more than three decades photographing country life. His photographs have appeared in publications including The Field, Country Life, Fieldsports, Horse & Hound, Tatler and The Sunday Telegraph.
Magazine assignments have taken him to many parts of the world, including Argentina, South Africa, Kenya, Canada, Iceland, Transylvania and the United States. Alongside those international travels, the British countryside has remained a central subject throughout his career.
His work encompasses shooting, polo, horse racing, farming and rural communities, as well as ancient trees and woodland. His photographic career has also included work with the Duchy of Cornwall and His Majesty The King during his time as Prince of Wales and Monarch.
Charles provided the photography for Shooting: A Season of Discovery by the Duchess of Rutland. His experience of photographing sporting life for books and magazines provides the background to this greeting card collection, bringing his observations of days in the field into a format for personal correspondence.
The character of a shooting day in black and white
Black and white photography draws attention to light, texture and shape. Engraving becomes a study in craftsmanship, a gloved hand contrasts with polished barrels, and people and dogs form distinctive silhouettes beneath an open sky.
The Next Drive, one of the ten photographic designs. Shop the 10-card shooting multipack.
The collection moves between these close details and wider views of the shooting day.
Frederick Beesley focuses on the engraved action of a sporting gun, while Twelve Bore Cartridges finds pattern in familiar shooting equipment. Hot Barrels captures a close detail that will be immediately recognisable to those who spend time in the field.
In The Shooting Party, The Next Drive and The Loaders, figures stand against the sky. The photographs leave room for the viewer to recognise something of their own experience: the anticipation before a drive, the walk across open ground or the companionship of a day spent outdoors.
Working dogs and moments from the field
For many people, watching the dogs work is among the greatest pleasures of a shooting day. Their concentration, patience and relationship with their handlers are an essential part of the experience.
Grouse Moor Gundogs and The Picker Up reflect that partnership. These are attentive, familiar moments that will resonate with anyone who has waited beside a working dog for its next task.
The Picker Up, capturing the partnership between handler and gundog. Shop the 10-card shooting multipack.
French Partridges and Duck and Snipe bring the camera closer to the details of game and sporting dress. Together, the 10 photographs offer a varied portrait of game shooting, balancing the wider landscape with observations of the people and equipment within it.
From sporting books to The Queen’s Green Canopy
Charles’s interest in the countryside extends beyond sporting life into ancient trees, woodland and the environment.
In 2022, he was one of two photographers commissioned to photograph 70 ancient trees and 70 ancient woodlands for The Queen’s Green Canopy, celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. His photographs feature in The Queen’s Green Canopy book, which includes a foreword by His Majesty King Charles III.
The Queen’s Green Canopy celebrates Britain’s ancient trees and woodlands. Shop the signed book.
His work has also been exhibited at Sotheby’s in London and at the Natural History Museum.
Whether photographing a veteran tree, a working gundog or a shooting party on a hillside, Charles pays attention to the details that give a subject its individuality. That approach connects his wider countryside photography with the images in this collection.
A thoughtful thank you after a shoot day
A handwritten card offers a personal way to thank a host after a memorable day’s shooting. Choosing a photograph that recalls the occasion adds another connection, whether it brings to mind the dogs, the company or the journey to the next drive.
Photographic shooting cards with fleck brown envelopes, ready for a personal message. Shop the 10-card shooting multipack.
These shooting greeting cards are equally suited to invitations and correspondence with friends who share an appreciation of country sports. With 10 different designs to hand, there is a choice of photograph for each recipient.
The 10-card shooting multipack also makes a thoughtful gift for a gamekeeper, gun, beater, picker up or anyone who enjoys sporting photography.
About the shooting greeting card collection
The multipack contains one card of each of the following designs:
- Frederick Beesley
- Grouse Moor Gundogs
- The Shooting Party
- The Picker Up
- The Next Drive
- Twelve Bore Cartridges
- Hot Barrels
- French Partridges
- The Loaders
- Duck and Snipe
Each large A5 greeting card measures approximately 14.8 × 21 cm when folded and comes with a fleck brown envelope. The cards are printed in the UK on carbon captured paper.
Explore the Shooting Greeting Card Multipack by Charles Sainsbury-Plaice at Countryside Greetings, ready for your next shoot day thank you, invitation or personal letter.