Horses have always been a big love of mine. So naturally, when I went to pick up a camera, my equine friends were the first ones to stand in front of it. But my photos lacked something, I could not quite put my finger on. Convinced that it was just my technical skills that needed to develop, I continued my photographic journey in the following years. But I still couldn’t quite shake the feeling, that something was missing, and the fact that I couldn’t figure out what dragged my motivation down in the mud and frustrated me enormously.
Up until last year, I photographed merely what was in front of me. I used my eyes to see with, which resulted in nice photos, but I didn’t use my heart to feel with. Hence the lack of feeling and emotion in my photos, which I felt – and longed for - in others work.
I decided that I would get to the very core of my photography. The very reason as to why I picked up a camera and looked through that lens. So I went back to my childhood memories of horses. I remember the posters I had plastered all over my wall and ceiling (Yes, you read that right. My mom spend hours taping posters to my ceiling, so I could lay in bed and look at them.) of horses cantering in a field, rearing on a beach or simply standing between blooming trees, looking right back at me.
Those memories lit a spark in me. A spark which I should come to chase in the following year, collecting over thirty thousand photographs along the way. A spark which led me all the way to northern Norway from Denmark, to seek out and create those vivid representations of the magnificent creature.
Because deep down I’m still the little girl, skipping along in the field with a cornflower in my hand while humming some familiar folk tune. Having herds of horses peacefully grazing in my field of view, still brings me a sense of peace and joy, that I can’t recall anywhere else. A feeling of home. This is where I belong. And I want to share these feelings with you. I want you to take a peek into my world and see the horse through my eyes.
More info: katjajensenphotography.com
