photography
Aargau photographer creates unique animal photos – and has a fascination for fast horses
Michèle Forster has the ability to make emotions and magical moments visible – in animal and nature photography this makes the difference between ordinary images and those with depth.
Wildlife and nature photographer Michèle Forster for once in front of the camera with the Menorquin stallion Gio in Menorca.
Even as a child, Michèle Forster captured natural beauty with all her senses and captured it in pictures. “Even back then, I noticed things between heaven and earth that others didn’t see,” she remembers. “I later realized that I am highly sensitive and have a photographic memory.”
In his early years, Forster, who grew up on Lake Hallwil and now lives in Klingnau, limited himself to travel and nature photography and did business training after school. But hobby photography developed into a calling. She continued her education and constantly optimized her equipment.
Fascinated from childhood and by thoroughbreds
As a freelance photographer, Forster now stands for unique animal photos – especially horses and dogs in action – and for nature and project photos that are taken around the world. The Aargau horse and greyhound races are particularly close to her heart. “Even as a child, I went to the horse races in Aarauer Schachen and was fascinated by the thoroughbreds,” she says. “As an adult, I lived in Dielsdorf near the racetrack, rode in training with various trainers and completed my amateur racing rider license in 2009. I rode almost every day in the morning work for ten years and competed in 50 flat races, winning five of them.”
She ended her racing career due to her fragile health, but her fascination with fast horses remained. Today she works as a photographer at the Aarau horse races, as well as at the greyhound races in Kleindöttingen. “I have a Galgo myself from animal welfare. Together with my passion for capturing animals in motion in pictures, my enthusiasm for greyhound racing also arose.”
Michèle Forster does private shoots in interesting locations in Aargau. She likes to use the Hallwyl moated castle as a shooting location for dogs and horses. Mysterious buildings and animals steeped in history create wonderful photos.
Orcas in Patagonia, horse racing in Buenos Aires
In addition to working at home, Forster also travels every year. She will soon be working for a longer period of time on the island of Menorca and in Argentina. On Menorca she highlights Menorquin horses, fiestas and the wonderful nature. In Argentina, in addition to nature photos, they planned to capture impressive scenes from the orca conservation project in Patagonia, and to photograph a Criollo horse festival and horse races in Buenos Aires.
How does she manage to gain insight and access worldwide? “Customers as well as the protagonists of reports appreciate my calmness while I move around their businesses, at events and around the animals,” says Forster. “I also have a quick comprehension, intuitively find the best motifs and ideal lighting conditions and work accordingly efficiently without disrupting the workflow.”
The healing effects of unicorns
Michèle Forster also implements art projects. In 2024, with her magical unicorn pictures, she was one of the 250 selected to exhibit at “photoSchweiz” – the largest exhibition of photography in this country. The mythical creature unicorn is considered a lucky charm, dream companion and portal animal and has fascinated people for centuries. “These power animals have a healing effect on me in difficult times. “So I decided to stage different horse breeds as unicorns in natural settings,” says the photographer.
“The pictures blur the boundaries between reality and myth and allow the viewer to immerse themselves in fantasies and dream worlds, but at the same time show the natural beauty of the horses.” One of her dreams is to exhibit her unicorn pictures in one of the Aargau castles, where mysticism is and history would mix perfectly.
