Winter is for Recharging

Best Wishes for a warm and enjoyable holiday season!  I am home for awhile, eager to settle in a bit for winter and catch up with some personal projects as well as home life, aka all that "I'll do it later" deep house cleaning and re-organizing, as 2010 was my busiest year yet in photography and travels.  I truly love my work, but it is great to have some time off and chillax as they say. It recharges the creative juices and affords the opportunity to do some study and experimentation to improve my photography and image post processing skills.  That said, I am already looking forward to what 2011 will bring.  A trip to Portugal is in the works for Spring, I have most of the usual competitive events that I  photograph and have some farm calls on the schedule for spring and summer. 

My Elder Horse Project had a terrific response and really kept me busy scheduling photo shoots on top of my usual work.   I will be continuing work on the project in 2011.  It will be a 2 year project as I continue to collect the images and stories on those wonderful elder horses. 

A little update on my latest published work.  On the cover of the January 2011 Practical Horseman is my image of Navigator, the German Riding Pony, imported by Marla Eden of Narnia Farms.  I photographed "Nick" with a bit of outside overcast light on the right, and some lighting I had brought set up and also hand held on the left.  It made for a nice warm glow, lighting up his handsome pony face on an otherwise gray day.  He looks just a bit concerned about the idea of being cloned don't you think.  The image is the lead in for a very interesting article on where we are with cloning and competition.  If you don't subscribe to PH, look for it at your local tack shop.  You can't miss it with Nick's cheery face on the cover.

Next is a sneak preview of the 2011 FITS Autumn Catalog....cover!   I can't show you what is inside until the Fall line is made public, but there is some really attractive and functional riding wear that I think will be a big hit.   Shown below, on the cover is my photograph of 2 FITS sponsored horses and riders taken during their honor round.  These aren't just any horses, they are Welsh Cobs, the well known stallion North Forks Brenin Cardi, ridden by Jessica Wisdom, and Toandos Mountain Man ridden by Bernadine Diers.  They beat out the big boys for the right to wear the championship sashes at the Dressage at Devonwood July show this past year.  Go Pony Power!

Art for the Holidays

 The December 2010 issue of Flying Changes magazine is on its way to subscribers and features one of my latest artworks on the cover entitled Danza de la Luz.
I also once again am privileged to have been included in their annual Equine Artists "Inspired Gifts" article.

   This image is just one of several recent works that I have made available for purchase on mugs, cards and prints at my gallery website.  Check them out for holiday gift giving or if you just want to treat yourself.  I have revamped my gifts section and added several new image offerings with a mind to gift giving. Special requests are also available. If there is something you have been hoping to find, drop me a line, I might have it in my archives consisting of 10's of thousands of images.    Orders can be accepted until December 14th to arrive in time for Christmas.

I also have this cover image available printed on aluminum metal plate, with a float mount for hanging.  Really pretty!  Contact me directly if you would like to purchase this artwork on metal. I have one in my possession that can be sent right out.

Editorial Work  My photos of some of our Pacific Northwest horses and riders appeared in the December issue of Practical Horseman.  They illustrated the article "Time for a Change" discussing the new USEF dressage tests.  Those with sharp eyes will be able to see my photo credit on the first page for the images throughout the article.  It was nice to have such good examples to submit for this article.   If you don't subscribe, pick it up at your local tack shop.  And speaking of Practical Horseman, one of my images will grace the cover of the January 2011 edition.  See if you can recognize who it is!

Bringing Light to the Dark
  Due to the rainy gray weather, and in the spirit of bringing light into our darkest days, I have been doing some indoor portraiture lately with the aid of some basic lighting.    As a huge fan of natural light, I have long shied away from flash and studio lighting. Oh so scary!  But I am finally having some fun with creating my own light and breaking lots of basic lighting rules along the way.  These images are part of some experimental sessions.  Just seeing what can be done, especially with black horses.  I am hoping to get back to my Elder Horse Project soon, rain or shine.
On the right is Marla Eden's Audi taken at Narnia Farms.  We photographed on a gray day combining available outdoor light with a hand held light that I had brought.  The idea was to set the horse against a dark background and "pop" her out with outside light.
Below on the left is Jessica Rattner's Partouche taken recently at Devonwood on a very chilly day in the high 20's with snow on the ground so we darkened the barn and I used some new lighting that I had brought as our primary light.  This is a much warmer light, belying the fact that it was sooo chilly!
  I want to thank Stacie Burgess for being my lovely lighting assistant on these sessions.  A big help!  Best wishes to all for a happy warm and safe holiday season.    
I hope you enjoy my new holiday gift giving galleries.