I have a little secret- I love winter. Not for the frequent subzero windchill or frozen, impassable sidewalks, but for the stillness, the quiet, the dark. In a city, all that may amount to a rather overbearing feeling of loneliness and rush- everyone an anonymous bundle of wool and down trudging from one building to another, fighting the cold rather than giving into it.
But in the woods, you truly experience winter. Time stands still. Every rustle of leaves or crack of a branch is so clearly audible against a backdrop of soundlessness. Even the snow seems to hum. And every tiny bird or squirrel or other critter that dares to make an appearance is at once your friend, having shared an experience that no one else will ever understand.
I shot these photos with Morgan at the Four Winds Icelandic Horse Farm in Hanover, Massachusetts. It was the winter solstice. The darkest day of the year. The owner, Lori, was kind enough to not only let us come and take photos, but to help us out with the shoot, grooming Krystal (our male model) and helping us find the perfect location on the edge of the farm.
It had just started to snow when we arrived, and the whole shoot was just one magical, wintery moment, with the photos coming out looking oddly organic for a shoot with a girl in a white wig and feathered eyelashes walking an Icelandic horse through a New England wood. But, such is magic.
I only wish we could have stayed in our little dream world for longer. It was such a simple place to be.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep. And miles to go before I sleep.
And miles to go before I sleep.
***** Kayt
Credits:
- Date: Saturday, December 20, 2014
- Location: Four Winds Icelandic Horse Farm, Hanover, MA
- Horse handler: Lori B. Leo
- Photography: Kayt Silvers
- Model: Morgan Berard
- Assistant: Danny Silvers