Sometimes You Just Have to Laugh

You know how sometimes you just have to laugh? There we were, minding our own business, driving back towards the house having achieved a small triumph over Italian bureaucracy. We rounded a bend on the unmade up road (white tops they call them in Italy). There in front of us were two chestnut horses pulling a beautiful old wooden carriage.

Sometimes You Just Have to Laugh

No ordinary car journey

For most people on an ordinary car journey seeing the horses and carriage would have been a lovely treat to watch, driving slowly behind them.

Add a photographer/artist however, and this was no ordinary car journey. Luckily, Barnet Boy was driving and knew what to expect. He has acted as my ‘assistant’ on shoots before as you can see in this image of him patiently waiting for me to do my thing on another occasion.

Back to the story! There I was frantically scrabbling for my camera. Simultaneously I was putting the windows down on both sides of the car. Oh and shouting instructions on which line to take in the road. I think they call that multi-tasking? Screams of ‘slow down as he goes round the next bend’, ‘speed up a bit I need to see the hooves’ were all responded to with great patience from my driver.

Though it has to be said that when we had finished Barnet Boy needed to lay down in a darkened room.

Picture the scene

Picture the scene if you can. We were bumping along the unmade up road, totally unpredictable and bone shaking. The horses were pulling the carriage at a fair speed. the carriage was bumping around as it hit the stones and ruts in the road. There I was, hanging out of my window waving my camera in the air and pointing it in the rough direction of the carriage.

I must have been a sight to behold with my tongue sticking out with effort. Not to mention the constant ducking and diving trying to get a shot.

Barnet Boy, manfully stifling a desire to laugh, even made helpful suggestions. Such as if he slowed down at certain points I might be able to take a photograph as the horses and carriage emerged from the next bend.

In the end the carriage pulled in so we could go past. I even tried to take a shot backwards to catch the horses from the front view (which didn’t work, wonderful out of focus shot of the hedgerow). At this point we were giggling because sometimes you just have to laugh!

I got the shot

Out of about 20 photographs  that I took, two were good enough  for me to play with. Phew!

This first one ‘Trot on Boys’ was taken as the horses began to trot around a bend, Barnet Boy put his foot down and I just managed to take the shot before the horses disappeared. I was so happy to capture the gloss on the horses coats reflecting in the sunshine. Almost a soon as I hit the shutter I knew that if there wasn’t too much movement it would make a good image.

The second image I am really pleased with.

I only managed to get ‘A Morning Drive’ because the driver slowed the horses to a walk to give them a rest. My heart was in my mouth waiting to catch it just right so you could see the horses hooves. I think it really captures something of times past and an elegant way of travelling.

You really couldn’t make this story up. Sometimes you just have to laugh!!!

Before you go

My name is Dorothy Berry-Lound an artist and writer. You can find out more about my art and writing at https://dorothyberryloundart.com.

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Thank you for reading!