I could feel their vicious stings through my long sleeved top. Mosquitoes!
Although we had been forewarned about the mozzie situation, their numbers (there must've been thousands of them), ferociousness and determination were a little unnerving.
My partner Richard and I travelled to The Camargue (in the South of France) to take photos of the region's famed white horses, a semi wild equine breed. For centuries, these gracious animals have been characteristic of the Camarguaise culture. They perform, among other things, an important role in the herding and controlling of cattle.
Once on location, there was a nice Mediterranean sea breeze which took care of the mozzie problem.
As the sun began to rise over the marshes, we could see the horses and their Gardians come into view, slowly making their way towards us. A stunning sight and one that actually really moved me.
Take care of all your memories
Take care of all your memories, for you cannot relive them -Bob Dylan
It may have been the early hour, the soft hazy quality of the light or just the anticipation of it all, but the sight was breathtaking to me.
The closest I can get to describing it is that it summed up the unique bond and companionship between these beautiful equine creatures and humankind.
Later, in between wading in the shallow waters, resting and grazing the horses actively sought us out for cuddles and scratches behind their ears (surely, the universal favourite scratch across the animal kingdom).
It is so special when an animal bestows their trust upon us like that. It’s humbling, joyous and just magical.
I have been home for a few months now and am in the process of sorting through literally thousands of photos from our time in the Camargue. My goal is to distill this number down to a dozen or so frames that tell part of the story of Camargue’s white horses.
What I strive for in my photography is for the images to evoke positive feelings in the viewer. Joy for example or hope, awe, beauty, love...
All the feels
Gut feel is my guiding principle in the culling process. If an image gives me positive vibes it makes the cut. At this stage, I try not to be too persuaded by whether the image is technically great (I will come to that later in the selection process).
It can be difficult to convey what gives an image that emotive quality. Sometimes it is “the moment” or it can be light, a shadow or something less definable.
I have been chipping away at this work for weeks now and I am at a stage where I will begin sharing some stills. I would very much like to hear your reactions to the works and I'm particularly interested in understanding how it "lands" with you.
How does an image make you feel (or does it not make you feel anything at all)?
As with many creative pursuits we can become at times a little too close to it. Having fresh eyes on a work and hearing how you experience it is important to me.
I plan to share one or two images per month, give a little background on the shot as well as my reason for shortlisting it. If you are interested in seeing these images, please scroll down to the footer and leave your email address (top left of footer) and I will let you know when I have posted.
These are going to be short little updates that will only take you minute to read (I promise - but you can unsubscribe any time). I hope they'll generate mini joy moments in your day.
About the photos in this post
The feature image is titled "Trust" and you can find it in my web shop here.
The image in the post gives an impression of the horses and their Gardians traversing the marshes of the Rhone Delta region.