Rolling into Autumn

Horse show season is over for me.  I am left with the aftermath of the orders from the shows and the brief but intense frenzy of farm and stable photo sessions before the weather turns all to mud.
 
The horse in my Blog header is Polly, a 31 year old Morgan mare owned by Linda Fink.   As the grass turns golden and the leaves start to change into the look of Autumn, the flies become more desperate and annoying.  I caught Polly objecting to a fly on her side and just had to appreciate the curving, flowing lines that she had made with her body from nose to tail.   Polly was not that into me.  Not like some of the elders that I have photographed, where I could practically swear were talking to me and knew why I was there.  No, she gave me a look of exasperation at my intrusion.  She was much more concerned about being separated from her love,  Mr Smith, a Morgan gelding. Her world is her horse family it would seem and I must be the cause of this disruption. 

 A few weeks ago I photographed 24 horses at a variety of stables up in Washington state. Almost half of those horses were elders.  The concentrated time with the elders and reviewing the images had more impact on me than previously when I had been photographing them one at a time with longer periods of time between .  There is no escaping the fact that it is an emotional project. I continue to be led by this project and, as  anything that one starts to invest their time and attention in, I see my vision growing and changing.  As I gather the images, what to do with them is also starting to take shape.  Stay tuned on that.

  Some people think that a pasture of yellow grass is ugly and bemoan the fact that I might not be photographing their horses in a field of green.  But for me, I love the yellow grass and it photographs so well and contrasts beautifully with the various colors of horses' coats.  It provides a warm glow that takes very little light to bring out, a perfect setting for horse imagery.

I head back up to Washington state next week for more farm visits for photo sessions.  The big question now is how much longer will the weather hold in this rain valley.   Here's hoping for some fall color and that yummy golden light that makes a photographer so HAPPY.