I have been
admiring Isa, a stunning jet-black Friesian mare long before I met Ola. Isa is
the epitome of her breed: her draught-horse past is clearly visible – she is
large, muscular and when in motion – absolutely breath-taking. You wouldn’t
however want to be on her path when she
is galloping towards you. Actually, I bet you wouldn’t even want her to trot at
you. She is an impressive beast. I was therefore thoroughly surprised when
after a few phone calls about the details of the shoot I finally met her owner.
A petite blond, so small she looked like she could easily be blown away on a
windy afternoon arrived with a car-full of outfits. Both for her and her
beloved pet. Physique notwithstanding, there is nothing small about Ola. She is
a doctor with multiple surgeries to tend to and patients all over the region.
She is always on the go and applies herself fully to everything she tries. And
from what it seems she likes to try things and was really excited about their
very first photoshoot.
I had the
pleasure to help out with preparing both of the models. Ola brought most of her
wardrobe and quickly chose three different outfits for three different sets of
photographs we were aiming to get. Then we prepared our four-legged model – a
shower and multiple doses of multiple hair products later both of the ladies
were ready for their shoot.
What was
meant to be an hour turned into a whole afternoon and if it wasn’t for the sun
deciding to set on us we would have gone on. Ola was a keen and cooperative
model and very soon her and Charlie had no need for my interpreting skills and
managed fine on her own. Isa, the horse, was a bit nervous to start with, which actually
suited us well. A nervous horse is a tense horse and a tense horse is taller
and much more eye-catching than a lazy one. We got the shots showing the
contrast between the owner and her pet early on and then focused on the
relationship between the two. Ola had no problem controlling her horse bareback
and in stilettos. She was a cheeky cowboy in her western shoes and never lost any of her elegance in the cocktail dress. Isa
although a bit more stubborn than her human, also made a good model. Horses can
be very temperamental – they don’t like being on their own in places they know
as a group, they don’t like their owners walking away and they definitely don’t
like reflectors. Isa however after initial introduction with Charlie, me and
the reflector seemed to be cool with us. She even withstood calmly the
ever-present flies, so annoying and potentially painful for horses in the
summer.
Ola wanted
a full set of photos – some portraits and some riding. Friesians are
exceptional animals (though I may be a bit biased) – their gait is really high
and therefore has great potential to deliver spectacular shots and not less of
a spectacle for the people watching. Ola dressed Isa up in pink and changed
into her casual riding gear. They took it to the dressage ring and were
cantering in no time. Charlie, as it turns out, knows no fear and was happy to
have Isa ride straight at him until he got the right shots. Isa also seems
unmoved by her human’s desire to ride into a person. And you could see how much
fun they were all having. Ola – completely relaxed in the saddle, Charlie with
his monopod in the middle of the ring and Isa – gathering speed with every
circle she did. We then took Isa’s saddle and bridle off and caught the last
few rays of sunshine of Isa trotting and cantering around. Ola by that point
had to chase her a bit, as Isa was well past her feeding time and hold a bit of
a grudge against us all. You should have seen how happy she was ten minutes
later when we let her back into her box to the fresh hay and some carrots.
I have to
say it was one of my favourite of Charlie’s shoots. I sincerely hoped one of
the livery’s Friesian horses would want some photos taken. What I didn’t hope
for was meeting such a great person with so much passion for her horses (she
has more) and life in general. Being surrounded by people who like to enjoy
themselves is surely the best way to spend an afternoon. And if you add an
amazing animal and some sunshine to it then asking for more would just be
greedy.
Thank you
Ola for ideas, attitude and company. I look forward to our next ride. Thank you
Charlie for the willingness to come to Poland. Though I am sure you know it is
worth it.
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