Three kilometres of dust
Sometimes a portrait is dust, sand, and sprinting alongside a horse track with a camera. This was one of those.
Not all portrait sessions happen in a studio.
This one happened on a sandy horse trail lined with palm trees and old fencing, somewhere on the outskirts of Dubai. Two riders, two horses, golden afternoon light filtering through the canopy. And me — on foot, with a long lens, running.
The brief was simple: photograph them riding. The reality was less simple. Horses don't wait for you to find your angle. They don't slow down when the light hits just right. And they definitely don't care that you've been sprinting for two kilometres and your lungs are on fire.
So you learn to shoot while moving. You learn to anticipate where the light will fall three seconds from now. You learn that the best frame is almost always the one right after you thought you missed it.
Three kilometres of trail, a mouthful of dust, and calves that burned for two days after. The photos were worth every step.
