Beyond The Lens is a monthly blog looking at some of Melissa’s favorite photos and what motivated her to take them. Interested in scheduling a photoshoot with Pyrois Media? Email Melissa@PyroisMedia.com for more information.
While I’m not a huge fan of winter (fall is more my style), some of my best photos have come from this colder season. It was one of those cold early mornings when I got my best winter photo ever – Conveyance being turned out at Buck Pond Farm in 2015.
After grabbing some shots of the newly stallion at the barn, we made our way out to the paddocks where the sun hadn’t yet hit. With Conveyance excited to head to his paddock and the frost still on the ground, it was a bit of a winter wonderland and a case of being in the right place at the right time.
This was definitely a perfect scenario type of photo. He was going out to one of the far paddocks so it gave me ample time to set up the shot and thankfully the then-8-year-old was so excited to go out that I didn’t have to wait for him to prick his ears.
The early morning turn out suited the photo well as it gave me enough light that I didn’t have to up my ISO too much without making it so the photo was too bright (something that can be a challenge with a gray horse).
I don’t think it would have worked nearly as well if he was any other color (solid white would have stuck out too much and a bay would have blended into the fences) nor would it have worked if he didn’t have a little pep in his step or if the sun would have been fully out – or if the frost would have been snow.
An added bonus is that I also took some good in-hand and turnout photos as well, though this one is definitely my favorite from the shoot and one of my favorite stallion photos ever.
