Afternoon smiles
Wanting an opportunity to photograph some horses in action, I called a friend of mine Yasmin to see if she and her beautiful mare Belle would come and model for me. Not only did Yasmin bring her four legged friend, she roped her other friend Clare in (two legs) and Felix, Clare’s chestnut gelding.
This is Yasmin and Belle.
I’m the first to admit, my equine knowledge is not extensive. My wife had horses for a number of years, so I’ve heard plenty of horsey speak but quite honestly, most of it still sounds like a foreign language I don’t know…much to the amusement of Yasmin on this particular sunny afternoon! Motorbikes I know, horses I do not and I’ve tended to think of horse riding as being a similar rush to motorbikes…except this ‘motorbike’ has a brain and mind of it’s own… so I’ll gladly stick to the petrol variety!
What horses do have plenty of though, which motorbikes do not, are muscles and so wanting to capture these beautiful, strong and elegant animals in all their glory, I found myself standing in front of two of them, approaching me at speed.
We met in some stunning countryside just outside Hitchin in Purwell and after assessing the best spots for capturing some cantering action, I got on with taking advantage of the glorious afternoon light, photographing one and then both horses together.
As previously mentioned, my equine knowledge is limited to say the least and needless to say, my attempts at directing two competent riders left much to be desired. Thankfully, Yasmin and Clare had a great sense of humour and I think particularly enjoyed me asking “Do you reckon you could pose Frankie Dettori style? You know, arse up and head down?”
Clare and Felix with a striding canter side on shot. I love the way the colours and shades change over their muscles.
I used a Sony A9ii camera with a 70-200 lens. It has a great aperture range, so I was able to keep the ISO sensitivity levels low whist I set my shutter speed fast enough to capture the images in focus. I closed the aperture to about f8 to get both the horse’s head and the rider in focus.
I generally leave the camera in manual mode for my personal choice and look at initially setting the ISO with the amount of light there is. I then look at changing the shutter speed and aperture as the light and conditions change, depending on the type of image I am trying to capture.
In terms of the elements I wanted to capture in the images, I kept a mental tick list in mind. Striding legs, taut muscles, plenty of movement in the manes and tails, all combining to show the power and grace of Belle and Felix in action.
They say you should step outside your comfort zone whenever an opportunity presents itself. I’m not sure that “they” meant put yourself in front of two half tonne servings of speeding horse when they said that but I can tell you I am not that confident around horses, at the best of times. I’m not sure if it’s their size or smell, or previous encounters that made my mind up at an early age but I do have a huge appreciation of them and love to watch them…..just usually from a greater distance than the one presenting itself today! That said, after spending an afternoon chatting to Yasmin and enjoying the calming surroundings, I found myself patting, walking alongside, and holding the reigns of these lovely, gentle animals.
As well as getting this great opportunity to take some images, I also came away feeling positive about a phobia I have had for years by putting myself into the situation, thanks to my passion for photography…close-up lion photography next week!
Yasmin leading the way as both horses getting used to canter alongside each other.
Clare and Felix as they canter up the hill towards me. I asked Clare to keep charging past as I wanted to capture the action. Its looks like Felix has me on his radar and wanted to pose for the camera on the way by. It’s all about him, don’t you know!
Smiles for miles!
All in all, a great afternoon and huge thanks to Yasmin and Clare, Belle and Felix for letting me share what is clearly their happy place and to be honest, what’s not to love? Two good friends on a warm evening, enjoying a shared love of horses.
Clare with a lovely smile and a raspberry from Felix, I think this was his, ‘’that’s your last pic mate!’’ how rude!
I’d love to get out with them again soon, hopefully at a beach location , where I can combine stunning sand, sea and sunset whilst they gallop by.