It's safe to say I have a serious soft spot when it comes to a fox red lab... so you can bet your bottom dollar I had a little party inside when Sam told me her gorgeous boy Bob. There really is just something about that that autumnal glow in a gorgeous woodland which as a photographer, truly makes my heart sing!
When I first spoke to Sam during her pre-shoot consultation it was clear that she, like many of us country folk, was apprehensive about stepping foot in front of the camera for the first time and expressed that the photoshoot was to mostly be centred around Bob with just a handful of the two of them together for memories sake. All I can say is Sam and Bob you absolutely smashed it, with a bit of convincing not only did we get lots of beautiful images of Bob but gorgeous shots of the two of them together too. A bit of sunshine and lot's of smile after an incredible photo shoot with Jake and Sam. Roo has been a massive part of Sam’s life and with their new puppy, Thatcher, growing up fast it was the perfect moment to capture their bond during a winter photoshoot.
I first met Jake, Sam and Thatcher at The Royal Bath and West Show in Shelton Mallet back in June when they visited my trade stand and entered my show competition. A few weeks later, we drew the winner and fortunately Sam was drawn so after informing Sam that she had won her very own equine portrait experience, I was so excited to catch up with them again. This week, I was delighted to be invited to West Sussex for a private commision photographing the lovely Mette Dahl and her incredible horse, Donato or Sir D for short! Mette contacted me to arrange her equine portrait experience after seeing the beautiful results from our fun filled photoshoot with her friend, Isla. Mette and Isla were teammates during their spectacular experience winning team bronze whilst representing Team GB at the European Championships in Germany back in July and became friends since. They are unbelievably inspiring and I cannot begin to explain how proud I feel to work with such incredible and hard working young people.
From the moment I met Mette and her amazing Mum, Fiona, I knew that we were in for a fun filled afternoon, the atmosphere was 10/10, the sun was shining and Donato looked a million dollars... On Sunday, I had the pleasure of catching up with lovely, returning client Cassandra and her incredibly inspiring daughter Isla. Isla had her first photoshoot with me back in March 2021 with her gorgeous ponies Bob and Buddy. We had so much fun during the photo shoot, with the ponies even enjoying a hot chocolate at the end, it was an absolute please to be invited back to photograph Isla again.
Last week I was commissioned by the lovely Issy to come and photograph her and her sister Elle at their beautiful yard in Wiltshire. Issy found me on instagram a couple of years before but had decided it was time to get in touch and have a photoshoot with their very special ponies. They had spent their childhood riding together and had fond memories together so I made it my mission to capture this.
During the pre-shoot consultation, they expressed that they were both a bit nervous about what to expect and what would be best to wear for the photoshoot, we used the time to talk about each of the ponies and their personalities to create a loose plan for the day. We then discussed the best outfit options that would give variety and colour to the images whilst capturing both of their styles. The end of the 2023 show season!
That's it the last two shows of the year complete, this year we have attended the most shows we have ever been to and it has been an absolute pleasure welcoming you all to my stand. We have had so much fun consuming lots of ice creams, the occasional pimms and socialising with lots of other trade stands along the way! As always a special thank you to my amazing support crew consisting of my Mum (Lucy), Auntie (Sandra) and friend (Chloe) who never fail to believe in my mad ideas and continue to travel up and down the countryside with me to welcome you all onto the stand. A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of being commissioned for an Equine Portrait Experience with the lovely Tara Bell and her once in a lifetime horse, Poppy. It was such a pleasure to catch up with Tara after being coached by her for many a lesson during my early days with Polden Hills Pony Club and I was also taught at primary school by her amazing Mum too. Since then Tara has got married and become an amazing Mum to 2 gorgeous children. Time really does fly by and looking back it all feels like yesterday!
Knowing Tara, I was well aware of how much her gorgeous mare means to her and I knew that creating beautiful memories with her was a priority. It's safe to say they both smashed it and the results were 3 beautiful Frames hung pride of place in their living room for all to see, forget the wedding photos we're all about the horses here! What an amazing 2nd year spent at the Bath & West show. We filled our days catching up with clients and enjoying lots of sunshine. We were also able to meet up with some of our favourite trade friends too, so a sociable event filled with lots of fun all round. After being blown away into the main ring on the final day in 2022, I am delighted to say we successfully completed the whole show without incident this year, in fact it was quite the opposite weather with roasting sunshine and the potential to catch a tan each afternoon... much better! Of course, said sunshine resulted in lots of pimms and ice creams which made for happy girls all round. Fortunately, we were able to have the same pitch as last year, directly next to the entrance to the main ring so we were able to watch all the amazing performances throughout the day too. The show was topped off by coming 2nd in the best 6m and under trade stand out of over 300 stands. Proud is an understatement. |