Thursday, June 25, 2009

Andalusians with mountain backdrops



I thoroughly enjoyed myself recently on a Farm Call near Sisters Oregon.  I photographed 6 Andalusians and a Kiger mustang while they  cavorted, leaped and bucked and tossed their manes  (and showed good manners under saddle as well).   The scenic sagebrush and juniper trees provided the setting while Mt Hood looming large provided an unparalleled backdrop.  The hardest part was editing all of the images I took to try to get them down to a manageable level for choices of favorites to be made.  

ODS Breeders Showcase


Get those youngsters out there and let us see them!  

With a late start in promotion, I learned only recently that the annual ODS Breeders Showcase I & II is a go this year.   Mt Hood Eq Ctr in Boring is the place for this show to be held  August 15-16 2009.  
 This show is for the breeders and owners of young sport horses.  Its also for any of you that may be shopping or just wanting to see what a variety of bloodlines are producing these days.  I will be the official photographer for this event and will be offering Show Specials  that I only offer at the breed shows and inspections.  I will be uploading more information about photography at the show and the show specials on my gallery proof site.  
More information on entering the show  is available on the ODS website.


Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Dressage Shows


Central Oregon Dressage Classic proof galleries are up. It was interesting weather over in Bend necessitating pumping out 4000 gallons of rain water from the outdoor arena, extra maintenance and finally moving it several feet over. No sooner would it dry out and the late afternoon storms would arrive again, putting it back in the same condition as the morning. Kind of a twisted Camelot weather pattern.
Meanwhile the indoor arena went on as if no thunderstorms and flash floods had ever happened. I wasn't sure about the dark indoor arena for photographing in, even with my super low light equipment, I was getting nervous, but once the sun came up, it came in softly filtered through light panels in the walls of the arena on all sides and made a giant soft box of light. Not bad to photograph in after all. I am working on the images while trying to catch up with all my other work that piles up whenever I leave town.

Sign Ups for photographic services are open for Dressage at Devonwood. I am already receiving requests via my new online sign up. Thank you! I even have a couple that have come in for the ODS Championships.
This is proving to be very handy this year for all concerned. Not only does it help me and my staff to be prepared (alleviating much stress during the show!) but it helps riders and owners to focus on their horses and their rides during the show instead of running to the photographers booth at the last minute to sign up.
As always, you can still sign up by mail, or at the show at my photo booth.
My sign up policies are available at the link above.

Dressage at Devonwood is one of the largest dressage shows in the Pacific NW attracting riders from several states and Canada and this year is no exception. Mary Cornelius Photography is proud to once again be the official photographers for this event. Sharon Fibelkorn from LA will once again be helping me to photograph this show.
Annnd.... I have it from a very good source (Terri herself) that Terri Miller will be onsite with her paints and brushes making some no doubt wonderful paintings of the festive show grounds and horses. I have watched her paint at Flintridge and Palm Beach and the paintings are charming. We have warned her that we may even shanghai her for a few needed awards photos. You never know!
This is Dressage at Devonwood's 10th Anniversary. We expect a festive event!

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Back from the Wilds


I am back (albeit reluctantly) from SE Oregon and the wild horse herds. I absolutely love the Steens area and have made sure to revisit the area periodically ever since I "discovered" it when in my twenties.
The aromatic spring sagebrush this trip was intense. Especially when you drive over it. oops... okay, we did A LOT of that but how else are you to get to the wild herds I ask. High desert wild flowers of several varieties everywhere. Just beautiful
The skies were amazing as thunderheads and electrical storms were often all around us on the broad landscape. I took as much advantage of photographing the skies and the landscape as I did the horses. I learned that wild horses are .....where you find them. Sometimes right beside a BLM gravel road, other times way off in the distant horizon or just visible as tiny dots on a rim top. Learning to spot them in a landscape of sagebrush, boulders and juniper trees became a learned art. What doesn't look like it belongs? Was that something that just moved? A swishing tail under that tree? Was it a cow or a horse or an antelope... or a rock or a tree stump or some palomino or light dun colored patch of sand?
A high clearance 4 wheel drive and binocular vision serves us well. Having forgotten binoculars, my 300 mm lens with 1.4 extender helped greatly on questionable identification.
I leave having gained an addiction for the hunt and gathering of images of horses being able to live their true natures.

I will be putting up galleries as I get the time to process the images. Soon I must pack my cameras back up and head for Bend and the Central Oregon Dressage Classic at Brasada Ranch this weekend.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Color in the Steens

As I sit in a motel in Burns with Cyndie Planck waiting for repairs to be done on her vehicle,  I decided to entertain myself by going through some of the images I was able to capture yesterday.  Here are a few of the beautiful colors we found in a herd just a few miles up the road out of Frenchglen before having to ride the tow truck back to Burns. (maybe I'll get time for that story later!)   Looking through my images, I am feeling frustrated knowing that those horses are up there and we are stuck here in Burns until the truck is able to be repaired, so we are going to take our wide angle lenses out for a walking tour of Burns in hopes of finding some old buildings of character to photograph.  So until we return... enjoy the first glimpse of that which we seek.    p.s. the sagebrush is lush and aromatic this time of year.  Awesome!

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Next Adventure - Steens Mtns


I will be out of town May 30 - June 7 to the Steens Mtns wilderness area.

The Steens area has long been one of my favorite mystical places. It really gives a good feeling of quiet and wide open spaces and once up in the elevations, panoramic views.
I try to visit there every so many years although it seems to have averaged once each decade.  I love getting out into a sparsely populated area and the Steens fits the bill in spades.   Down in the farthest reaches of SE Oregon, the Steens is only open to motorized vehicles in the summer months.  The mountain range is a fault block.  I can still remember my confusion the first time we drove there, gaining elevation, the map saying we were very close, the road dropping to a primitive dirt and boulders, but yet to see any mountain. Until we got to the top, the highest place that you can drive to in Oregon at 9700'. I got out of the truck, walked over to what was an edge of the world with a mile drop to the Alvord desert below. The suction of vertigo that over came me was tremendous. I had to stop and practically crawl to the edge to look down. Oh my! Amazing! I've read that on a clear day one can see...not forever, but almost as good, five states.  A sunrise is spectacular.  
There still remains vestiges of the old west in the Steens area and a rich history of turn of the nineteenth century ranches. It is open range, primitive and wild. There is a large wildlife refuge down at the northern end towards Burns. An old wooden round barn built by rancher Peter French is a favorite side attraction to be found seemingly in the middle of nowhere. The area is so remote that bands of wild horses thrive along with a variety of birds of prey, antelope, mountain bluebirds and I hear tell Mountain Goats, though I have not seen those personally. Nor have I seen the rattle snakes purported to be in the area and I would like to keep it that way.
Of course I will be taking my cameras and we will be doing our best to find those ponies.

The image above was taken in April 2009 on my way back from the FEI World Cup in Vegas.  A round about tour of Nevada's less traveled highways yielded this small band of wild burros spotted from the road, up near the Oregon border.  They allowed us quite close..to a point.  Once I walked to the side and behind the band, they moved away from us and gave me this image with the dust illuminated by a setting sun.  

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

You Want Me To Work for...free?

This is many peoples' lives and I can attest to the fact that it is a frequent part of not only my own life, but every single one of my fellow photographers' lives. We won't name names, but we could.... watch this video. Funny stuff.
The Client Vendor Relationship

Wine and Draft Horses



Memorial Day weekend was busy with travel and socializing. Wine tasting on Sunday at Quailhurst Estates, the home of Deborah and Marvin Hausman, several wonderful dressage horses and the beautiful vineyards with a panoramic view of the valley below. We came home with some very tasty 2006 port.
On Saturday we had driven over the mountains to Bend to help celebrate the American Cream Draft stallion Barney's 21st birthday. Barney is credited with a large part in helping to restore the once nearly extinct American Cream Draft population in the US.
I have written about this breed before in previous posts. Last year I spent a day with the herd of Creams at Cream Acres in Bend Oregon. Four new babies were foaled this year at Cream Acres and I delighted in photographing their antics. And of course Barney, freshly bathed and looking fantastic for his 21 years, was on hand to be admired by well wishers.

Flag Bearer, FEI World Cup opening ceremonies


Sometimes the moment of the stride and the light...and the mane all align all that is required is the eye to see and the finger to twitch.

Monday, May 11, 2009

New Footing at Devonwood



I was at Devonwood this past weekend photographing the Heart of the Valley dressage show. 3 rings of competition which could have easily been 4 rings with the number of entries on the waiting list, but alas, the scheduled revamping of the footing in the Terrace arena was delayed by a series of events having to do with the current state of our global economy. It would seem that when you purchase big things from Europe, there is a longer wait due to all of the layoffs at the shipyards over there and when it finally arrives over here, People that would normally be loading and unloading ships have been laid off as well. Compounding the delay, once finally off the ship, before it could get through customs, they insisted on having it unpacked to X-ray it all, repacked and finally put on a train to Portland.

So the delay of the under structure of the new footing that was to arrive in March, commenced. But it will be worth the wait as the footing looks to be state of the art. Take a look at this image I shot of the arena. The base is rubber mats, made especially for good drainage. The top layer is sand.
On a side note, the footing in some of the other arenas and warm up areas has been reworked and replaced as needed. The Sylvan ring looked like it was riding pretty well.
Each year as I witness the various maintenance and improvements that go into keeping Devonwood shipshape for the shows, I just have to feel grateful that there are people like the Rattners willing to do it. We certainly are spoiled.

Sunday, May 03, 2009

Heart of the Valley Dressage Show



Heart of the Valley Dressage show at Devonwood is coming up May 9-10.
I will once again be the Official Photographer for this show. This year I have online sign up for photographic services available from my proof site. For those signing up online, I am offering a small digital file of your favorite image from your proof gallery. This image measures 2"x2" @72 dpi and is perfect for Facebook, My Space, Twitter and message forums profile pics.

Click here for Online Sign Up

Friday, April 24, 2009

Brentina's Retirement Ceremony





Not a dry eye in the house. Brentina looked great, (if not a little baffled by what they were supposed to be doing there) especially after colic surgery a couple of months ago. Debbie rode her into the arena at a walk with just a single spotlight on the pair, they made their way around the circumference of the Thomas-Mack center arena to a cheering crowd. Many, including Debbie and this photographer, with tears in their eyes. My own emotions stemmed from several things. The recent colic surgery had scared me and I was first focusing on the fact that she had survived such a scare and recovered well. Having lost 3 horses after colic surgery over the span of a 10 year period, (one to a congenital defect, 1 we had not taken delivery on yet and the third from impaction and subsequent laminitis) I had been very concerned about her.
Then there was the fact a mare of similar bloodlines that I had bred and kept for 9 years until we got out of horse ownership althogether, looked SO much like Brentina, Bounty shares the color, body build, movement, head, right down to the little star on the forehead... it was quite a shock the first time that I saw Brentina. I figured no one would believe me if I said "I had a mare JUST LIKE THAT". But of course the Bolero-Grande bloodline is rather prepotent.
Debbie's obvious love and connection with Brentina. I knew it would be hard to take that last ride and remove that saddle for the big mama's retirement cooler and wreath of red roses. And it was. The emotions on Debbie's face said it all. Bittersweet. On the way out, Brentina passaged, requiring Debbie to hold her back a bit so that she could keep up. Brentina is obviously ready for that retirement stuff she has been promised.

I will remember Brentina out in that arena performing her heart out, commanding respect and receiving all our love and admiration. We will miss you Brentina and I doubt we will forget you.
R E S P E C T just a whole lot.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Steffen Peters and Ravel Win Rolex FEI World Cup Grand Prix


Sunday, April 12, 2009

FEI World Cup Vegas


I am off to the FEI World Cup for Dressage and Jumping in Vegas. Photographer Marie Cobb is flying in from Louisiana to drive with me. We plan on making it a Foto Foray of sorts, as the drive from Central Oregon down through Nevada is a scenic one.
There I will be covering the World Cup events. Special event will be the retirement of the wonderful Brentina, Debbie McDonald's Olympic team mount. Bring lots of hankies!
Photos will be online as soon as I am able to get them up and can be found at
World Cup Photo Galleries. Looking forward to all the great action and the sights of world class equestrian sport and Vegas style entertainment and sharing the images that I bring back with you all.

Thursday, April 02, 2009

Swedish and KWPN Breeders Meeting at World Cup Vegas


I received this flyer from Karin Offield who asked that the invitation be passed along.
Friday Morning April 17th The Swedish and KWPN Studbooks invite you to a morning warm-up meeting in the arena at Thomas Mack. Celebrity riders and trainers. World known breeders. Presentation of the Studbooks and Flyinge, The National Stud of Sweden. Click on the image for details. See you there!

Monday, March 23, 2009

Palm Beach Dressage Derby 2009



I helped official photographer Sue Stickle with the Palm Beach Dressage Derby in Florida. Always a great venue for photography and great moments from the very talented riders and horses. After catching up with most of my work, I have been finally able to take a look at some of my images. I will be posting them in my galleries hopefully soon. While Sue is handling the sale of prints, I will be using my images for editorial and some personal projects that I have in the works. Here are a couple of shots of Arlene Page and Wild One. Isn't he beautiful.

FEI World Cup Vegas


I will once again be covering the FEI World Cup Dressage and Jumping in Las Vegas, April 2009. Look for images on my galleries site at Events 2009/World Cup

Thursday, March 19, 2009

AIM Sport Horse Classic & AHA Region IV Sport Horse Championships


I have added the Arabians in Motion Sport Horse Classic and Arabian Horse Association Region IV Sport Horse Championships to my schedule for August 2009 at Devonwood Equestrian Centre.
Amy Cody Riley will be assisting me as photographer once again for our second year covering this show as Official Photographers.

Photo samples from the 2008 show can be found in my proof galleries

Friday, March 13, 2009

Home is on the Horizon


We are on the last leg of our journey across the US and back and will be home by March 16th.   I'll be coming home to a stack of photo orders placed while I was away.  My apologies for the delay but a girl needs a vacation sometime!  Also lots of photos to process from the trip. I really want to wait and do them properly on my home computer.  I will make a photo gallery of my favorites as time allows.  
 Some other catching up to do as well as just enjoying being  home.  Its been a great trip so far, but  even though we saw some interesting places, there is still no place like home. 


Monday, February 16, 2009

Are We There Yet?

I've added a new blog for my trip entitled Are We There Yet? Link is in the links section, or... click on this.

We'll see where it goes.........

Sunday, February 08, 2009

Devonwood Blue Ribbon Show Feb




Pictured above Sheryl Rudolph's Halflinger Monty, and sunset on the Devonwood barns.

I
spent the day at Devonwood Feb 7 to photograph the Blue Ribbon Dressage show. It was nice to see the new young horses brought out to have a go around the dressage court. This is a schooling show that is always well attended and this year was no exception. Close to 12 hrs of rides on this chilly February day. I set up the photo galleries for online sign ups, so if you see your name in the gallery, I have photos of you. All you have to do is sign up online, pay the discounted shooting fee (for schooling shows) and your gallery should appear within the next 24 hrs. Click here for Galleries

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Central Oregon Dressage Classic

I have just added the Central Oregon Dressage Classic to my 2009 schedule of shows that I will be photographing. The dates are June 13-14. Photographic services will be by sign up. An online sign up form, as well as a mail in sign up form can be found on my website.

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Road Trip!


My 2009 FEI World Cup Vegas press credentials arrived yesterday reminding me that I am soon to be on the road for an extended trip. First stop will be Scottsdale Arizona where I will meet up with some of my Vision 18 Collective friends and take in the Scottsdale Arabian show for a day or two.
Then, back on the road driving through New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana and finally to Florida where I will be helping Sue Stickle photograph the Palm Beach Dressage Derby. I've never driven across the US and winter is the best time to travel the southern side of the country. I'm thinking that the width of Texas might be a good time to see if that DVD player in the back works... at least for one of us. Since we have a newer vehicle with 4k miles on it, this will be its break in trip. 2 dogs will be coming along, our 2 laid back senior citizens who love car travel and sleep. Zesty Dottie will be with the breeders attending some shows. Am I clever or what. I can't imagine Dottie spending all that time in a car without starting to bounce off the windows.

We will also be staying a week at a Zen center in Mary Esther Florida and I have been promised that I get to see some of the real south while there. (that doesn't mean the tourist spots) *cue banjos* Needless to say, the whole trip will be well pictorially documented!
I will have access to internet much but probably not all of the time and my Blackberry will keep me up on emails, but any photo orders will have to be completed "as I can". I'll bring along my 2008 external Hard drive so that I have access to files for any "emergencies".
I expect to be gone 3-4 weeks. So stay tuned for some road updates!

Dressage Today Cover

Here is the result of my November photoshoot with Thomas and Shana Ritter. Tony is a super nice horse to photograph, he knows his job! My image graces the cover of Dressage Today and inside images illustrating Thomas' article on balance. A great read, check it out!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Debbie McDonald Clinic in Washington


I supplied this image from my stock files of Debbie and Brentina ( Dressage at Devonwood show 2007) to Traumhof and Jeremy Steinberg for the promotion of the Debbie McDonald clinic to be held at the end of January. The riding part of the clinic is filled with a waiting list, but there may be room for more auditors. For more information visit Jeremy Steinberg's website

Monday, January 05, 2009

Looking towards 2009


and away from 2008. With the US economy settling deeper into the big hurt, one can't help but wonder what 2009 holds in store for us all. Not to mention the future of equine photographers who face more and more competition and fewer publishing venues as the print industry tightens it's collective belt.

What kind of a year will it be and how do we photographers prepare our businesses for the uncertain future? To listen to the media doom and gloom, one could expect to step outside and see a vast burned out wasteland of what used to be bustling cities and towns. But we're all still here and I believe we will weather this storm. I've decided to respond to the uncertainty by trying to remain positive. I've gotten my gear cleaned and repaired and ready for another year of work. I've started filling in my calendar with appointments and travels.
Perhaps a little belt tightening, proceeding with a slight bit more caution on business purchases, but proceeding ahead nonetheless. Happy New Year everyone, lets make it a good one.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Seasons Greetings

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Announcing a Partnership



with Noble Horse Gallery in downtown Seattle. (in Pioneer Square)
The gallery will unveil an exclusive collection of my images in March 2009.

This is an exciting opportunity and one that helps to spur my creativity even further. Noble Horse Gallery is a beautiful store and gallery with a wonderful inventory of art, tack, clothing and horse themed items and gifts. When you are in Seattle be sure to pay them a visit.

On Assignment for Dressage Today


In early November I accepted an editorial assignment for Dressage Today magazine to travel to Eugene and photograph for an upcoming article by Dr Thomas Ritter.
As luck would have it, right at that time, we had just lost our beautiful Indian Summer weather and the rains had set in. Between my travels and Dr Ritter's we finally found a dry day for the photo shoot towards the end of November.
Leaving a sunny Portland, I was enveloped around Salem (50 miles south) with a thick gray fog. This lasted all the way down to Eugene. It was cold and gray, but dry! Dryness to be well appreciated in our wet Willamette Valley. We don't have all those ferns and moss for nothing, ya know.
I brought out my best low light lenses, twirled a few dials, crossed my fingers and proceeded with the job. The images brightened up nicely in post processing. Look for them in the February issue of DT in an article on Balance by Dr.Thomas Ritter. Oh, and read the article too! The more people that learn about riding in balance, the easier my job becomes.

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

V18C Get Together in San Diego











































A trip to San Diego with my Vision 18 Collective photographer friends and it is a certainty that I will come back with a hard drive full of new images.
From the dunes of Glamis 2 hrs east of San Diego where costumed arabians and their riders performed for us as the sun set, to the dressage barn of Donna Richardson where we photographed a Lusitano stallion, Postulano at liberty who gave me many new images for future fine art works. We played with horse and human subjects under studio lights in a make shift studio in the barn aisle, including Donna on Postulado in piaffe. On our last day, we visited the San Diego zoo before we had a farewell dinner in a super nice restaurant overlookingthe water with a view of the skyline of San Diego. It was hard to pull myself away from the Great Apes at the zoo. I could sit and look into their eyes and observe their mannerisms all day.
Many thanks to Terri Miller and Axel Steiner for hosting us for that week. It was a great time!
Don't worry about all those tracks on the dunes, I am sure that the dune buggies get great gas mileage.....