A day at the stables with Julia
A couple of months ago, I decided it was a good idea to assign myself a challenge, just because. I got my models. I got my location. I had my moodboard. I even managed to come into contact with somebody who was willing to let us use their horse. Peanuts. Right?
Wrong.
I arrive with my two models- who were probably as excited as I was to begin our shoot- to find an empty stable, despite calling in twice the previous weekend to confirm our dates and times. I was gutted. For some reason, I was also embarrassed. Only in hindsight do I realise that this was beyond my control, and that I should not feel the guilt that others didn’t feel for failing to uphold their end of an agreement. I didn’t even tell many people about it, but I found myself venting to a friend not long later.
“Come on, you can still do it! I know somebody who owns a few horses!”, he said. Deflated after my first attempt, I didn’t take up his offer. I was terrified of having to do it all over again. Of disappointing not only myself but whoever is kind enough to model for me.
“Think about it”, he said. “Then text me when you snap out of it”.
A couple of days later, the gorgeous model you see in these photos, Julia, contacted me in response to a call I put up for faces, and Claudia and I began working on a few pictures for her make-up portfolio. This perfect timing presented an opportunity I couldn’t pass up, so I snapped out of it.
And, it happened. It was a mad few hours, trying to get the excited horses to stand in the right light, to avoid horse poo and hungry mosquitos, to keep hair and make up and clothing in place despite all the moving around. But it happened, and I’m pretty pleased with my results. This might not seem like such a big deal to many, but to me, it was pretty much a reminder of how important it is to try, and try again. ‘Failures’ (I hate that word!) are undoubtedly draining on the ego, but we’d be doing ourselves a mighty injustice by being defeated by them.
