I've been a little bit slow at getting these monthly round ups together; most of the summer I have compiled a selection of my favourite monthly shots and uploaded the to Facebook with a short caption to summarise each month. Whilst I've got my feet up, enjoying some Jaffa Cakes, warming up from a very cold shoot this morning, I made an extra effort for October, to round up the highlights!
My first shoot of the month, was over in Marlborough with three lovely ladies: Penny, Emma and Ruth. The morning was filled with much laughter as the ponies were all very cheeky. First up was the very sweet Oscar, who, despite being the youngest, was the best behaved of the day! Penny, who had organised the yard shoot day was up next, with her pony, Splash. I'm pretty sure he's one of the oldest ponies I've had the pleasure of photographing, but he also wins the "naughtiest" pony award! He even had a little diva tantrum and sat down and rolled during our shoot! My final shoot of the day was with Ruth and her coloured cob, Wellington, or Welly to his friends. Having seen how Splash behaved on the shoot, Ruth thought it was safest to photograph Welly in the school, as just like Splash, his belly ruled his head! Just to prove us all wrong, of course, he was the perfect model! READ MORE
I then headed over to Gloucestershire, to just outside Stow-on-the-Wold, to catch up with Laura, who I met through working with Haygain. I was there to meet and photograph her two handsome boys: Lego and Bobby, at home on their farm. The scenery was just gorgeous and made for the perfect setting, despite the showers the weather was throwing at us!
There was a short break between shoots to allow me to catch up on some much needed editing time - I'm loving how busy I am at this time of year, even with the summer firmly behind us! Autumn is my favourite time of year to be photographing, with the most amazing changing landscape as the leaves transform the world in to a gorgeous golden-carpeted scene.
It was a pleasure to meet Ruby and her Thoroughbred gelding Rex at Cullinghood Equestrian Centre, just up the road in Pangbourne. It was a gorgeous Autumn morning, Ruby looked lovely in her tweed jacket, as did Rex who shone in the early morning sun. Despite some "antics" on the lunge, he was such a pleasure to photograph! READ MORE
During October I also made the trip over to the Horse Trust once again to finish up the 2018 calendar which should be with them any day now! The striking cavalry horse, Gustavos was also a willing subject to have a santa hat on, to add another design to their Christmas card collection this year. On my way home, I made the slight de-tour via Ford, to Aston Mullins Stud to photograph two more of the yearlings. These guys were headed to Europe in the next few weeks ahead of the sales. One of the yearlings proved to be a bit of a madam and tested our patience a little, getting her to stand up correctly for the shots! Whilst we gave the filly a little time to settle and calm down before trying again, Tigger one of their event horses stood perfectly beneath the umber trees, allowing us to capture an image that perfectly fitted the "autumn" theme for the latest addition of the Animal Therapy Media magazine.
A jam packed weekend followed with several mini shoots. By popular demand, I offered several weekday slots for those wanting a short session for black background photographs! It was a pleasure to meet so many gorgeous horse, who all looked absolutely amazing, and very striking against the black background.
Kari invited me over to Buckinghamshire to catch up with herself and her two horses: Ron and Isla. Kari was keen to get some new content and images for her blog as well as for me to capture the ever-growing relationship she has with her two horses. I first met Kari over a year ago, and with a very similar, like minded creative, we always have so much fun!
Half term was upon us - my first shoot o the week was over in Surrey with Amy and her mare, Flora - a beautiful Dutch bred dressage mare. She was absolutely stunning, showing off her wonderful LME Bridlework bridle. Amy had commissioned me to photograph her range of hand made felt portraits. Each one, based upon a photograph of your pet, with embellishments and details finished by hand. These unique, one off items will make a lovely Christmas present for the horse owner in your life!
I also got to have an afternoon catching up with Jessie, and for the first time, seeing Casper under saddle! He moves so gorgeously and Jessie rides him so well - I am so excited to see their partnership develop! Claire from HiForm popped by , Jessie's latest sponsor. We spent a fun few hours in the sunshine creating a range of different images for Claire to use across social media to promote these excellent supplements. Tanya and Jessie have already commented on the difference they have noticed in their horses way of going and their overall health and are excited to be working with the Australian based company.
My morning spent with Lottie and her pony Danny was very enjoyable - with a very loving bond to capture. The talented 10 year old pony, show jumps with Lottie and her sister Lucy. The shoot was at the friendliest little yard, just up the road from Jessie's - and was a birthday present from her parents, ahead of her 16th birthday next week.
The last weekend of October saw my Dad and I head up to Lincolnshire, to photograph Jenny and her gelding, Buddy. I also had the chance to catch up with Anna, who I met and photographed her incredibly handsome boy, Chico, whilst at Burghley. Jenny had very kindly told the other liveries that I was coming, so we had several black background sessions booked in too. Despite some issues with the traffic, we eventually arrived and I jumped straight to work. My Dad also managed to capture some behind the scenes shots which I can't wait to share with you all over the winter months.
Alice, who won a business shoot earlier on in the summer creates the most gorgeous hats, perfect for any wedding or a trip to the races! All hand made by her, we were joined by two of her friends to get some photographs of her current collection, all of which are available to hire for that special occasion. Alice is also able to design and custom make the perfect accessory to complete your outfit too! It was so nice to do something slightly different, without a horse in sight!
I also opened up again the ever-popular mini sessions! With plenty to look forward to for November, I also had the amazing honour (and finally being able to share the news!) that one of my images taken at Olympia, of Valegro, during his retirement was published as the front cover to the retirement DVD, titled: Farewell Valegro. And of course, it always makes me so excited and proud, that Charlotte considers this photograph to be one of her favourites of Valegro.
"It was one of the greatest nights for me and one of the most poignant at the same time; the retirement ceremony of Valegro, last year at Olympia Horse Show, is now on DVD "Valegro's Farewell - a tribute to a wonder horse." With a cover photo from Rose Lewis of Daydream Equine Art, (a favourite picture of mine), this is a fitting tribute to a horse who in my opinion, is the perfect horse. The DVD features extensive coverage from Olympia 2016 as well as behind the scenes footage from the yard, major competitions and interviews. Not sure I can watch it again but certainly is a lovely keepsake about the horse who changed it all."
