Horses get a taste of the world of supermodels
First there's the hours with the hair stylist and the endless grooming.
Then there's the pressure of being in front of all those studio lights following the directions of the photographer.
Models may take it all in their stride, but it seems some horses are also capable of stepping - or should that be trotting - up to the world of high fashion.
A ton of imagination and a lot of hard work by advertising photographer Julian Wolkenstein has delivered a series of three remarkable images - horses with hair styles like you've never seen them.
Horse owners may pride themselves on their ability to plait or shape a mane, but Wolkenstein has taken the art to an altogether new level. There's the spectacular dreadlocks, the striking platinum-blonde locks, the flowing auburn style with its spectacular fringe (bangs).
The project was born from a desire to have a little creative fun, says Australia-based Wolkenstein.
The 36-year-old photographer says he was living in London at the time and, like many in the advertising industry, was working hard.
"After working hard in advertising for a while you just need to have some fun. Do something because it makes you smile. No other reason."
He and advertising creative director Micah Walker thought it would be great to do something away from the prescriptive needs of clients.
"He was saying it would be really fun to show some horses with big hair," Wolkenstein recalls.
Wolkenstein then turned his attention to how to execute the idea.
"I basically had to cast the horses, which was pretty difficult," he says. "I knew what I wanted to do and I knew it would take a certain type of horse."
Wolkenstein selected three suitable horses of different colours with good temperaments and all with good manes.
A field near stables about an hour from London was selected for the photo-shoot and a test-run was organised.
One of the horses was suitably styled and was brought out into the field, where Wolkenstein had set up his studio lighting.
The horse was uncomfortable with the powerful lighting and Wolkenstein realised then be would be best to work with horses already used to the glare of lights and the environment that surrounds film, television and photographic sets.
He approached a firm called Film & TV Horses, outside of London, which specialises in providing horses for such roles.
He visited, viewed about 20 horses, and selected three he considered suitable.
He approached hair stylist Acacio da Silva, who he had worked with before on assignments, and asked him to style the horses' hair.
"He scratched his head and went, 'OK'."
The team came together to shoot the first horse on a cold February day.
Wolkenstein was soon to learn the truth behind the old adage: never work with children or animals.
"We initially thought, 'how hard can this be?' - a couple of hours on each one. Well, we figured out pretty quickly on a test day that it was a major undertaking.
"Apart for casting horses and preparation work - a lead-in of a few months - each horse took a full day. The hair extensions on each horse took about 4-5 hours each. Then there was the camera time - another few hours."
They also quickly learned just how many hair extensions would be needed for each horse.
"In fact, Acacio scoured London for hair extensions," says Wolkenstein of the first shoot. "Horse's heads are really big, and so they need masses of hair to do hair extensions."
Harmony, who was actually a last-minute stand-in, Misty and Florence were the equine models used for the challenging assignment.
Wolkenstein's decision to use camera-savvy horses began to pay dividends.
"The other thing about these horses ... they had people who had film experience to kind of help get them into position."
The lighting may have been powerful, but the animals still needed to be stood on a precise spot.
"It was amazing the different temperaments of the horses and how much personality they had," he says.
Misty, he recalled, had a habit of shaking her head and ruffling her hair, meaning her styling required constant maintenance.
The horses were shot several weeks apart, the team learning a little more each time.
"It was great fun," says Wolkenstein. "It was very much, 'make it up as we go'," he adds.
He did his best to ensure those involved, including the horses, enjoyed the experience. "I think everybody had a great time."
"They [the pictures] were never supposed to be anything too serious ... it was a bit of relief for me and the people I worked with.
Wolkenstein says he has been pleased by the reaction to the three resulting images.
"They just seem to make people smile. They make people happy without threatening them too much.
"It's not really making definite statements about society, but there is some depth to them over how people use animals to personify themselves."
Wolkenstein said it has been suggested it may have been cruel to the horses. "I don't think we made the horses miserable. We were very careful and worked with professional horse people who knew what the tolerance of the horses would be.
"I don't feel the horses had a bad time. They had a good time ... they loved the grooming. But the lights and camera - well, they were less taken with that."
Wolkenstein is now based in New South Wales but still travels to Britain three or four times a year for work.
He says he has received calls from all over the world about the project and, as an advertising photographer, it has been interesting to be on the other side of the "publicity machine".