Hi! I’m Melinda Wilde.
I’m a freelance photographer specialising in chess and event photography. My background in portrait photography took an unexpected turn when my daughter started playing chess. Our weekends quickly filled with junior tournaments, tapping clocks, score sheets, and plenty of very serious thinking faces. I began bringing my camera along, and what started as a way to document those weekends gradually grew into something much bigger.
I soon realised that documentary-style chess photography has a lot in common with portrait photography. In many ways, it is even more rewarding. It also gave me a unique way to connect with this brilliant game, from behind the camera rather than across the board.
Since then, my camera has taken me from junior club nights to national events, where I’ve had the privilege of photographing some of the strongest players in the world. But, I still love the same thing I noticed at the beginning: the story around the board.
I hope you enjoy the stories I’ve captured here.
