The Transformational Impact of Nova Scotia’s Wild Horses on a Photographer’s Life: A 25-year Project

When photographer Roberto Dutesco woke up on Sable Island, Nova Scotia, he found himself surrounded by stocky, shaggy-haired wild horses. He had travelled a long way just to capture these creatures in their untouched environment.

It was a foggy day, and he had dozed off in a field where the grass stood waist-high. The horses were very close, almost as if looking at him. But on this occasion, he didn’t reach for his camera. He had no other desire than to be present.

Dutesco was on a small crescent-shaped island southeast of Halifax that only admits visitors with permits. The small sanctuary, known as the “Atlantic graveyard” due to its inhospitable conditions, is home to a unique population of undomesticated horses.

“I think the magic of every moment is just being there with them, in their world, within their environment,” he told The Epoch Times. “There’s togetherness, and there’s a connection between our souls.”

Dutesco first visited Sable Island in the early 1990s, and says he has returned nine more times. What began as a prolific career in art and fashion photography in Montreal, took an unexpected turn when he discovered the pristine charm of those wild horses.

His mission, he says, is to share their beauty with the world.

Discovering the Sanctuary

Dutesco’s interest in wild horses began after seeing an old, grainy film depicting the creatures in their desolate environment. They were running free, foraging for herbs, and crossing sand dunes. His fascination with a land that was foreign to him made him want to see the horses with his own eyes.

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But it took him two years to get permission to visit Sable Island. “I had to go through a series of Q&As and whys and beyond because there were no visitors on Sable Island and no overnight stays,” he said.

Just before he was due to meet with the island’s superintendent to get the final word on his visitation request, he loaded up his cameras and flew to Halifax. He thought that if the official saw he was close to Sable Island, he would be more likely to say yes. He was right.

“Because of that single move, he did agree to let me into Sable Island,” Dutesco said. But the permit came with a warning—there was “a gigantic storm” coming over the Atlantic provinces that could last days and prevent him from being picked up from the island, if he could even land there.

“It made me pause for ten seconds,” he said. But Dutesco’s wish to see the horses was stronger than his fear. He decided to take the risk.

Distant Memories of Home

On his own, and sporadically catching a sight of the island’s hairy inhabitants, Dutesco felt at home. He says the sense of freedom he experienced there, with “no rules, no people, no phone, no internet, no not knowing, no words, no science, no nothing,” reminded him of his childhood days in Romania.

He grew up at his grandparents’ place, surrounded by a lush forest, a river, and vast hills. He was a wild child, he says, in love with nature and the way it nurtures life. The nonchalant nature of the horses on Sable Island awakened distant memories in him.

“I found that I was being led into their world, and once you become part of their world, something else happens,” he said.

For Dutesco, the photographic work he would later do on the island became a way to share a broad concept of beauty through an animal he believes most people can easily identify with.

“You look at the old cave drawings and you see horses, you see interaction with horses, and you see people on top of a horse in the cave rocks,” he said. “Our relationship to the horse is ancient.”

Technical Mastery

But taking stunning photos was not an easy feat. Dutesco says that part of his success was waiting for the perfect moment. He envisioned a lot of his photos beforehand, and many of them materialized before his eyes.

“I thought about how great it would be for a band of horses to run on the horizon line, and there they were,” he said. “There’s very much a unity that happens between the subject and the viewer.

When it comes to technical expertise, Mr. Dutesco says excellence is the result of constant practise. He’s a believer in the 10,000-hour rule—the popular idea that any complex skill can be mastered with at least 10,000 hours of practice.

Dustesco got his start in the arts at the National School of Arts in Bucharest, and later refined them at the Dawson Institute of Photography in Montreal. He got the chance to work as an apprentice to Barry Harris, who was a well-known photographer at the time. After almost four years of intensive training, he opened his first photography studio in the French metropolis.

The rule of practising a craft until you master it, he says, applies to everyone from photographers to shoemakers to bakers.

The Power of Beauty

For Dutesco, every photo has energy, a type of magic that transcends time. He says each picture is a snapshot of history, a way to capture the essence of a moment that will forever be available to the curious viewer.

Love and beauty are what Dutesco seeks to inspire through his work. He says the most important moments in our lives are when we love, when we are in love, and when we get touched by love.