July in the Whirl

Coming right up is the Champagne Classic Dressage Show at Donida where I will serve as the official photographer.   I will be packing the Airstream and arriving on Friday in time to set up and take sign ups for photographic services for the show.  Accompanying me will be Marie Cobb from Louisiana who has just put in 6 weeks in California photographing for Amy McCool.  We will be set up in the vendor area.  You can't miss the big shiny thing.
When we wrap up Champagne Classic and head back home, it will then be time to chain myself to the computer for a few days to get the proofs all sorted, processed and up in their galleries and then get ready to do it again at ....  Dressage at DevonWood in Sherwood OR.

Photography at Dressage at DevonWood.
We'll be on the show grounds on Thursday afternoon to start taking sign ups for Photographic Services.   Flying in from Boise Idaho will be Tracey Bish to help me photograph the show.
Tracey helped me photograph the Chablis/Beaujolais show at Donida in June. Marie is remaining in town with me and will be on hand to take sign ups and take care of downloading all of our images onto the computer and getting them cataloged.
We will have a sign up table in or near the show office. But our main base of operations will be in my vintage silver Airstream trailer up in the vendor area.  Probably the far left side, so look for us there!
You can't miss a big silver bullet!

After Dressage at DevonWood, its back to many hours on the computer sorting and processing all of the images and getting them up in their galleries for viewing.  We hope to get this done as quickly and efficiently as possible because on Thursday Kim Vickrey flies in from Arkansas and on Saturday we are holding a photographic workshop at Narnia Farm.  

A day of rest ...Whew!   They say you shouldn't announce travel plans on the internet, someone might come and rob your house, but my house is never without humans and dogs in it, so I can also say that after our one day of rest, we pack up the Airstream again and head out to the Columbia River Gorge for a girls camping trip.  Some touring of the Maryhill Winery, Maryhill Museum of Art and some night sky photography away from the city lights!  Hopefully we don't drink so much wine that we just go to sleep instead!
Its summer, we've got to make hay while the sun shines, right?
Happy July everyone.  

Dressage at DevonWood

What is it about Dressage at  DevonWood that makes it so much fun?  Party. BIG party. Dressage.  LOTS of dressage and beautiful horses.  Riders and horses come from far and wide, locally, regionally and internationally, to compete.   Vendor row is just one big shopping adventure as the vendors have come from far and wide as well.  A world class facility set in a rolling green landscape with 4 competition arenas and 4 warm up arenas, all surrounded by Oregon evergreens and if we're lucky, on a clear day, a snow capped Mt Hood graces the background.

There is a special atmosphere, good sized crowds gather for dressage in the Pacific NW, in fact D@DW is the largest dressage competition of its type in the region.  The Rattner family and their dedicated staff each make it their personal mission to create an event that will go smoothly and that everyone will enjoy.  They put their heart into it and their personal touches are everywhere. Having been privy to a bit of the behind the scenes organization, I can assure you that it takes countless hours of work and dedication starting months in advance to put this all together. 
It could not happen without volunteers. Because I value the volunteers so much, I have donated a framed print for a drawing for one of the  winning volunteers.   I would like to see more people donate to the volunteers.  They deserve a little special attention.

As the official photographer of this event, I work long exhausting hours each day but at the same time, I enjoy every minute of it and I am invigorated by the atmosphere.  From the beginning of each day when riders are warming up, horses rim lit with the early morning light, on through the day to the setting sun through the trees in the evening, casting long shadows and warm fading light, the entire scene is full of images swirling all around me, I'm like a kid in a candy store. 

Early morning warm up at DevonWood

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 With 4 competition rings to cover,  each year I bring in a qualified guest photographer to help me photograph this show.  This year my friend Terri Miller will assist me in covering this event.   Terri should need no introduction, but if you are not familiar with her work,  I can assure you that she knows a thing or two about photographing dressage.  Also, my friend Stacie Burgess will be handling the office details, signing up horses to be photographed, answering your questions and managing the downloading of thousands of images into their proper places.   When I start to think about stressing about how big this show is, I just remind myself that I have two very capable awesome people helping me and for that I am most grateful.

   Photographic services for test rides are by sign up.
You can sign up at our table in the show office starting on Thursday prior to the show, or sign up early online by clicking on this link.  We also photograph  awards, candids and make a special effort to capture the general flavor of the event.  Sign up is not necessary for awards or candid shots.

I am completing my preparations and starting to pack the car to set up my operations in the show office.  Its just about SHOW TIME.  

Hazy Crazy Days of Summer

I always slack off on my blog updates this time of year not only because they are doomed to be incredibly boring but also because any time I take to write one means that I am slacking on that pile of work on my desk.  Traditionally July-August-September are my busiest months because I am photographing horse shows, breed inspections and photo sessions at farms and stables. 
I have several new Elder horse images that are waiting in the wings until things settle down with my schedule.  Proofs from my events can always be found on my gallery site.

With the addition of my Elder Horse Project, my dance card is sending me all over Oregon and Washington.   The response has been super.  Who would have thought that there were so many of our elder horses tucked into the nooks and crannies of our horse community.  A testament to the advancement of good veterinary care, feeding and management, not to mention the dedication to giving horses forever homes as our companions instead of being just a livestock commodity.   In addition to my elder horse photo shoots, several people tend to ask "as long as I am there"  can I also photograph other horses in the barn that do not meet the elder horse criteria..  So I have been scheduling these horses in with the elders at a nice session discount.   So yes I can do it and happy to since it saves people money and helps to keep this project afloat!
 Dressage at Devonwood produced a record number of sign ups and kept my staff and I hopping.  We had a blast and were so thankful for the moderately warm weather.  Thank you to Sharon Fibelkorn and Jenn Hogan for all your help and thank you to everyone that signed up.  Additionally, it is always so much fun to see our Canadian friends come down to add an international flavor to the show.
I just finished up a photo shoot for Practical Horseman at Oz Inc with Shelley Campf.  Finally!  It had been delayed by all the rainy weather we experienced a few months back and then by busy schedules.

I had elected to split up my responsibilities as Official Photographer for the AIM Sport Horse Classic & AHA Region IV Sport Horse Championships this year.  I photographed the dressage portion and had Cyndie Planck and Sibbea Browning photograph the rest of the show.  The proofs are in process and I  link will soon be found on my proof galleries for Cyndie and Sibbea's proof galleries of the AIM show.

This weekend is the ODS Breeders Shows and the following week is the ISR/OLD Inspection at Oakhurst Farm.  Looking forward to it!  I love photographing for the sport horse breeders in our region.  
Rolling on into September is the ODS Championship and Open show.  My last competition to photograph for the season.  As always, early sign up is available for photographic services online. 
The ODS Ch Show is one of the qualifying shows for my Love My Loyal Customer Reward.  Sign up for 3 qualifying shows and get 20% off on prints until December 31, 2010.

If you have read this far, Bless You!  Pretty boring blog update. :)  I
I probably should have just said  Workin! Talk to ya later!     I never was succinct.
I leave you with this little bit of excitement.  This horse went flying back to his stall sans rider at the AIM SH Classic at Devonwood and the horse performing his dressage test in the arena just yards away never batted an eyelash.
addendum: alright, it is fitting to note that the horse galloping past is a boarder's horse (non arab)  and the horse in the arena that just kept doing his job was an Ay-rab.  Thanks Lisa Kolke for making it okay for me to say that.

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!