Working with horses was a first for both me and model Anri. Plus, we both have childhood scars inflicted by horses – where we found ourselves flying off them rather than riding on them. Still, we both love horses and believe them to be magnificent, mysterious animals. These qualities are what I wanted to capture in the images, along with the mood and atmosphere of the moment. As it happened, I also learnt some valuable lessons in this equine photo shoot. Most important of these being: in an equine photo shoot, the horse’s ears always need to be pricked forwards for aesthetic value. Also, photographing animals tests your tolerance because they defy choreography. Horses may be photogenic, but they remain quite stressful to photograph well.
My sincere thanks to Anya Groenewald, owner of Trinity Equestria, a private livery yard in Paarl, who made her facilities and horses available to us for this shoot. For more information on Trinity Equestria find them on Facebook.
