Nicole Clare Emanuel  grew up in the NSW Snowy Mountains town of Tumut, where her love affair with horses blossomed at an early age. As a small child she spent hours absorbed in horse books and magazines, painting, drawing and riding. She would painstakingly depict horses in detailed drawings from the time she could hold a pencil.

    Nicole spent hours studying the various breeds. Every muscle and movement was scrutinized with a critical eye from a very young age, developing an advance knowledge of the equine form.

    Visually driven, Nicole began taking photographs at age 10. Her unique talent in both illustration and photography ensured her consistent successes at art and photographic competitions. She commenced BA in Graphic Design after her Higher School Certificate. At the age of 19, she was employed as a full-time professional photographer by the Wagga Daily Advertiser in 1991. She moved on to the Border Mail in Albury two years later. This Newspaper had a reputation for producing some of Australia’s best photographers. Here she was one of 10 full time photographers, and continued her daily assignments covering News, features and sport, yet taking a particular interest in lifestyle pieces, such as the Cattlemen of the High Country. This work eventually resulted in a 14 page colour pictorial Spread in Australian Geographic Magazine. She pursued her passion for horses by photographing for major shows, rodeos, and horse studs. 

    Nicole's demanding training on country newspapers was the perfect pre-requisite for the competitive world of Australia's leading Metropolitan Daily Newspapers. She  was soon employed full- time by News Limited in Sydney, working for the Daily Telegraph through the week, and shooting horse Races for all News Limited Publications on Weekends. She traveled extensively during this period, throughout eleven countries in Africa, and five states in the USA, as well as central and Northern Australia. She won more awards, The Hurley Awards for her cattleman/brumby catchers series, and the  TAB Horseracing awards.

Nicole moved to Victoria in 2000 and instantly found work with the Australian Newspaper as a full-time casual. She moved onto the Weekly Times, embarking on long country trips, and then moved onto the Herald Sun to work as a full-time casual on the features section. She stayed for 8 months until she was offered a permanent position at Fairfax. For the next 5 years she was a permanent part-time photographer for the Age photographing Feature and News.The book High on Horses was launched in November 2003 with great success, and is approaching it’s fourth reprint. It is a culmination of over ten years of her best Equestrian photography, each beautifully lit, composed, and with a certain mood and sensitivity for the subject.

    Nicole now  runs a seasonally hectic business from home, mainly working in the horse Industry. She has many corporate Equestrian Clients including Saddleworld, Scholastic Australia’s Pony Pals Book Series, The Saddle Club’s Sticker Collection and Album, “Equestra”- Equestrian Entertainment, and Channel 31’s Horse Rush TV. She also photographs for many of Australia’s largest and most successful Horse Studs, and even photographs wedding and babies.

    She lives on an Arabian horse stud in the beautiful Macedon Ranges in Victoria  with her partner Aaron Thege and son Rhys.