Equine Supermodels

This really tickeled my funny bone -- Michelle




Sometimes things don't have to have a point - they just have to make you smile. Jockeying for position to be best-in-show, it was up to award winning advertising photographer Julian Wolkenstein to keep the supermodels of the equine world in check.



As you do: Stylist Acacio da Silva and photographer Julian Wolkenstein made Harmony the horse look like a tourist in the Caribbean

'The idea for these images came from a discussion with a friend who said, 'Hey wouldn't it be fun to shoot horses with big hair?',' says Sydney-born Julian, 36. 'It is important to do personal projects just for fun, not to sell anything, but just to remind you why you make images, but mostly, and simply, to make you smile.' Putting the project into motion, Julian teamed up with prominent hair-stylist Acacio da Silva to whip the horses into shape.




Just for fun: Misty the horse actually appears to be giving the camera a flirtatious grin as she enjoys her new flowing curls

'Each horse took around four hours to groom, with hair extensions being added by Acacio, and then when they were presented in front of the camera's and lights they would shake their heads, give a neigh and then ruffle up their hair,' said Julian - with a somewhat forced grin. 'To get them just right, with their hair all set and standing to attention was a bit of a battle. 'But the horses loved the grooming. The lights and camera, well, they were less taken with that.' At first, Julian thought the shoot would be a quick affair. 'We initially thought how hard can this be? A couple of hours on each one,' he said.

Only in Australia: Florence the horse looks demure with her fringe and ginger mane

'Well, we figured out pretty quickly on a test day that it was a major undertaking. 'Apart from casting horses and preparation work which took a few months, each horse took a full day to shoot.'

Even for a seasoned pro, such as Julian, there were hitches to his horse hair project. 'I tend to be drawn to projects where just in trying to describe and trying to explain the concept to all the crew and the people who supplied the horses was fascinating ,' says Julian. 'Most of the time you could see the cogwheels of the mind trying to work it out, trying to visualise it in their own minds, then, a bit of a smile, a chuckle and then the inevitable question - why?' Of course, sometimes - as these pictures show - it's better to live life by asking, why not?