Sunday, November 4, 2012

One Blustery Day....

I always have a story to tell when coming in from my time with the Tranquility Ranch horses.  I usually regal my family with the details when we all sit down together for supper and recount our days to one another. 
My buddy at Tranquility asked me to take the time to write out this particular story for you...just for fun. 

The images are not necessarily topnotch as I was practicing with a new lens and a new shooting technique.  I think you will be able to forgive the poor quality in favor of fun and a story!!


Saturday November 3rd was another warm day in the great state of Texas.  The horses had spent most of the day struggling through the heat, rolling in the dirt to cool off...as is their custom.

But, right around 3 p.m. dark clouds began to roll in and the horses began to stir.  A cool breeze blew through and grew to a firm wind, dropping the temperature quickly. 

And....here begins our story! 

Penelope, a delightful 7 month old filly spied a curious new item in the pasture.  The wind whipped it up a bit and it caught her attention yet again.


She crossed over to it curiously and took a deep sniff of the new item in her world. 
But, sometimes a sniff just doesn't suffice when exploring a new item in your view...sometimes you just gotta taste it!  Well, horses sure seem to have this trait...and maybe one year olds!!! 

Penny nudged with her muzzle and then decided she just needed to grab this bag within her teeth. 
Well, as soon as she did, it crackled, and the wind caught it....and it scared her immediately so that she took off at a full run with this flying flopping dangerousness within her mouth. 

She was so taken aback by it and in such a ruckus that her dam began running about trying to figure out how to help her baby.  This led Sugar Baby (the brown horse pictured) to run about....just out of plain fear of the moment.  This caused every other horse in the pasture to freak out in response.  So above the sound of the brisk wind was the crashing sound of horses running to escape the danger of the moment. 

What was this strange item, where had it come from and what was going to happen next?? 

Penny finally let the bag go and it flew to settle on the ground though tossed wildly about as the wind caught and held it and she ran to return to the side of her mom for protection. 

All the horses gathered around to study this flopping monstrosity and inspect it for additional danger.

Leila, our dam pushed aside her baby and came in close to eye it carefully, deciding how to best handle the situation. 





Not to be outdone by the curiosity of others Penny went in again for another round with the dangerous object.

Which, as you can imagine started the whole scenario over again.  It was a repeat performance for the entire crew.





I think it is going to take Sugar Baby sometime to recover from this one!!! 

On the other hand...Fifi was her normal, boring, not much phases me, lumpy donkey self!!!  Just scroll back up and notice her, taking it all in...in the back ground of a few shots!

Fun times!!! 
Jennifer

A girl, her horse, and her filly!

I am just gonna go ahead and tell you that this was my very favorite session to date.  I know, I know maybe that isn't really very fair to all of my other clients who have been snapped by my lens in the past, but rest assured it wasn't about this particular client. 

Now don't get me wrong...Mac was spectacular!!!

Her awesome Mom stood in as my lovely assistant and the three of us worked together to pull this session together.


And it wasn't really about the location either, even though as you can see...it was gorgeous. 


The weather was perfection, sunny but crisp...but that wasn't it either.

What made this so fantastically wonderful was that it proved to me that this, is where my passion lies.


Why is it different you wonder? 
Why this and not families or newborns or gorgeous pregnant bellies? 


I find that for my style of shooting, I can gently coax a horse and owner into position, or set them loose to ride with abandon and then just step back and leave them alone to snap away as the magic happens. 


Eyes sparkle, smiles warm and emotion flows freely as a person turns toward this gentle beast who is their friend and confidant and treasure.

Why wouldn't I love to capture that? Why wouldn't I feel ultimate joy in freezing those moments of truth for my clients?? 

I have always maintained that I want to be the photographer who tells a story; who proves with pictures relationships in motion. Ya know, there is just a certain palpable bond which is created when a person loves a horse. 


Is it too much to say that I had a good full out happiness meltdown on my way home from this session.  Before I even saw the images, I knew that what I had to give to Mac would be a treasure because I saw it unfold through my camera.  I knew presenting these images to her and her family as a testament to her love for her ponies was going to fill my joy bucket right up to the top....and it did.


That is me. That is the kind of photographer I am.  This is the niche where I feel most passionate and artistic and settled into my craft.


Now, don't worry I am not gonna give up shooting images of families and their special love, 


or Seniors at their pivotal life change time,

 or horses individually. 

I am just taking this opportunity to tell ya, that a horse and its rider are my passion.

Bridle Session Pricing fits under the category of "The CAKE" ($350.00) or
"Bowl of  Icing" ($475.00) on my Pricing Page.  
For a limited time however, a Bridle Session will come with a discount of $100.00!
Yup, I must be crazy but I said it....$100.00 savings!!!!
Nothing else about the package changes... it still comes with an hour of shooting time, 12-15 images, a watermarked cd, and a $125.00 print credit.  How about that deal!!! 

If you have a horse that you love, now is the time to schedule a session and take advantage of this special pricing!  I am currently scheduling for the end of 2012 and the beginning of 2013!!  Your session doesn't have to take place soon, just scheduled, to lock in this discount!