www.Leslie Raffelson.com

Robert & Chandra

2011-06-10T12:57:00.001-07:00

Thanks Chandra and Robert!

Trent Raffelson

2010-11-26T14:10:00.001-08:00

My wonderful nephew traveled from California for Thanksgiving and wanted me to do his senior portraits. I feel honored! I did his older brother Garrett’s pictures back in 2009. I told Trent that I had done pictures in the cold before, but nothing like it was that day. It was BRUTAL! Thankfully we did them close to the house and went out, snapped a few pictures and went back in to get warm again. Every time I started to see his nose and ears go red, we would head back in for a bit. We had a great time though and got some nice pictures. Thanks Trent. I can’t believe you are going to graduate. I remember when you were just a little bundle of boy. Now you are all grown up.

Can you tell how cold out it was? Trent was FREEZING in this shot. Brrrrr!

Lacie

2010-10-21T20:37:00.001-07:00

Lacie contacted me and wanted pictures with her horse. I love senior pictures with horses. They are my favorite sessions. Stetson I have to say was a PERFECT horse model. He knew exactly when to have his ears up which is a wonderment in horse models. We scheduled an early morning shoot by the river in Sterling. While the weather was definitely fall with a chill, it was a nice day. Lacie braved the cold in her short sleeve shirts and we had to tell the wind to quiet down a few times.

Thanks Lacie and Stetson!

Spencer

2010-10-20T20:45:00.001-07:00

Thanks Spencer for a super senior session! You did a great job with all of your family giving you such a hard time about smiling. I still wish I could have captured your grandma doing cartwheels trying to get you to smile! Congratulations on your accomplishments and good luck your senior year.

Thanks for choosing me to do your senior pictures!

Jake

2010-10-13T20:57:00.001-07:00

I love fall pictures with setting sun at a decent time! Tonight, Jake met me for his session in Sidney. The weather was perfect for a nice evening session. Back in 2007, I had the pleasure of doing his sister Ashley's senior pictures.

Thanks Jake for sharing a bit of your time and allowing me to do your senior pictures. It was nice meeting you!

PHS Bulldogs first home game of the season

2010-09-05T12:04:00.001-07:00

Friday night Volleyball and Football has returned to Peetz. Ahhhh and what perfect weather we had. It was a nice day and a nicer evening out. The gym was hot, but not overly sweltering and the football field was just right for a light sweatshirt or jacket.

It was nice to get back to photograph a game. Hard to do with a 1 1/2 year old underfoot. I hope to be able to do some more this season, so keep checking back!

See all the game photos here.
(www.leslieraffelson.com and click on galleries and sports)

Past season game pictures will be deleted by the end of September, so please make any orders now if you would like them.

Rebecca Littlefield

2010-08-14T20:13:00.001-07:00

Rebecca called and said she wanted pictures in Rocky Mountain National Park! I was overjoyed to get the chance to photograph Rebecca and to spend some time in the park since I had never been there before. We had a GREAT time and I took way too many pictures…Becca…double that figure I told you before. IT’S A LOT! We had so many great locations and good lighting. We just had to convince Mother Nature to turn off the wind every now and then. Thanks Rebecca and Brenda for the great day yesterday!

Nicole – 2nd round

2010-06-09T19:08:00.001-07:00

In addition to doing some shots around Peetz, I really wanted to do some with Nicole in her prom dress around the alleys of Sidney. She was willing to wake up early and deal with a little bit of drizzle. I think it was worth it. Here are a few of the shots with her Prom Dress.

Nicole

2010-06-08T21:10:00.001-07:00

After 2 days of trying to get to pictures in the morning, and the weather not cooperating, we decided to do an evening shoot and I am SO glad that we did. Nicole is an easy subject to photograph and a natural beauty! Thanks for letting me do your senior pictures.

As you can see I had a hard time just choosing 2 or 3 to show you for a preview. I love this last one!

Senior Extras

2010-05-27T16:09:00.001-07:00

I realize that I haven’t shared some of the extra things that I can create in a while. So here are a couple of items.

This is a copy of a canvas print. It has a wrap around one inch edging which is where the words appear, so they are actually on the sides of the canvas print. This come out beautiful and the words were chosen by her parents. I forgot to take a picture of the actual canvas before I gave it to her parents so that I could share that.

This is a couple of the senior invitations for this year. They are 4x6 postcards printed on a pearl paper.

They can be reception invitations or replace your standard school ordered invitations. On Jacob’s we put the class motto, song, flower and colors and used both the front and back for pictures.

These come standard with envelopes or you can place labels and return mailing information on the backside. 2011 Seniors be planning now for how many invitations you will be sending.

Briar Ray

2010-05-26T20:20:00.001-07:00

What a handsome little fellow. Briar was such a good little boy during our mini session today. He definitely makes me miss how little my own daughter was. Congrats Megan and Jay!

Tyler

2010-03-20T16:19:00.001-07:00

Another frozen tundra day out today. Tyler braved the cold with me and we took a few shots. We will do some again when the weather warms up and the green starts to peek through.

Kegan

2009-12-28T09:39:00.001-08:00

Brrrrrrr… It was probably one of the coldest senior shoots I have done! It was a whopping 26 degrees, but Kegan braved it and hopefully avoided any frostbite or permanent damage.

Matt

2009-09-20T14:22:00.001-07:00

What a perfect end of summer day for pictures. Matt was willing to get up early on his sleepy Sunday and run around Sidney for his senior pictures .They turned out great with great light.

Matt probably thought I was a bit nuts when I wanted to use the chair we found in the alley…but hey.. when you find cool looking retro props like this, you just have to take advantage of them. I am pretty sure the owner wasn’t worried over our borrowing of the chair. Matt has a great cheering section at the games and here are some of his biggest fans equipped with their fan shirts.

Thanks Matt for being a great model! Good luck in your upcoming games.

Taylor

2009-09-07T15:23:00.001-07:00

What a fun senior session. We did a bunch of locations around Peetz and had perfect sun and weather. Again, I was worried about the fog burning off, but it obliged and was gone by the time we started. Taylor was a great model and I am sure his face was sore from smiling by the time we were done. Thanks Taylor for letting me do your senior pics. I had a great time and think they turned out awesome!

Kerr Family

2009-09-07T10:03:00.001-07:00

This morning I had a chance to take pictures for the Kerr family. I wondered about the weather as we have had thick fog the last few mornings and this was no exception. Fortunately it burned off and the pictures turned out great! Thanks Kerr family for being great and for babysitting Rylee too!

Jason

2009-08-29T10:31:00.001-07:00

I had the pleasure of photographing Jason today. The morning light is always perfect for great pictures and we were able to capture a lot of them! Jason’s brother, Ryan, was one of the first seniors that I photographed back in ..hmmm… probably 2006?? Was it that long ago? Jason.. I hope you inform your parents of your purchase before they see these :)

Coakley’s

2009-07-26T20:14:00.001-07:00

I don’t get many chances to photograph little children, so I met up with an old student of mine and was able to play around with her kids! Yeah! Loretta’s was the first wedding that I ever photographed as well.

Jacob

2009-07-26T20:01:00.001-07:00

On Friday, I got the chance to do my first 2010 senior guy! The weather was overcast and we thought we were going to get rained on. It held off until close to the end, so we wrapped up a bit early because we thought we might melt if we got wet. :) Here is a quick preview of Jacob’s pictures.

And on my way home, I had to stop on the side of the highway and take this picture. The sun rays were coming through the clouds and it was amazing.

Morgan

2009-07-07T20:55:00.001-07:00

We ended up with great weather after thinking it might rain on us. A little windy, but nice out. Not too hot or too cold. Morgan had some great outfits and a great location! I can’t wait to start editing all of our wonderful shots. Here is a quick preview.

Peetz Graduation

2009-07-02T07:44:00.000-07:00

I have finally uploaded the Peetz Graduate's photos from the morning we went and did pictures in their caps and gowns and also from graduation day. Here are the links.

Cap and Gowns Day - Each year I try and get the seniors all together before graduation to go outside and take a group photo for their hallway composite as well as some pics for their programs and slideshow. Here are the images we did the week before they all graduated. They are fun.

Peetz 2009 Graduation - I will miss these seniors. They are all going so many different directions and we have high expectations of them!

Elizabeth and Ben got Hitched!

2009-06-06T17:03:00.001-07:00

Congrats to the happy couple. They had a beautiful ceremony on Friday evening. The weather was perfect with out being too hot, too cold, and the storms held off from delivering the forecasted “possible showers”. It was a wonderful evening. Here is a quick preview of some of the captured moments from the event.

Schumacher / Walters Wedding

2009-05-18T12:48:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Steven and Megan on a beautiful and fabulous wedding. Everyone was so fun and just having a great time. Steven I think was looking for a kiss of a different kind, but his Dad had to show him some love on his big day.

The Chicken Dance is always a big hit!

First Senior for 09

2009-04-05T14:09:00.001-07:00

It felt good to be back shooting and the first senior that I got to take pictures of in 2009 was my Nephew! He flew in from California for a quick trip and we were able to get some pictures on a couple of different days in March, even with the wind. Handsome young man even if I am partial! Thanks Garrett for coming out. Wish we could have come west.

I have been on a rather long hiatus from pictures since being pregnant and now having our precious bundle of Rylee Jo with us. I have several weddings booked for this summer and senior sessions. Make sure you contact me and schedule your sessions/events early! (email:Leslieraffelson@kennesawcanyonranch.com, phone: 970-520-7151)

Tara's Senior Pictures

2008-10-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the weather works against us when we try and schedule pictures late in the fall for outside. The day we picked for Tara's pictures was perfect. No wind to contend with and the temperature was almost hot. It was a beautiful day for some beautiful pictures!

Peetz Homecoming

2008-10-06T13:37:00.000-07:00

October 4th looked like it was going to be a cold, overcast and possibly wet day out for a parade, games and fun. It burned off by the end of the parade and things were nice. Here are some shots from the day. For more pictures, check out the gallery from the days activities or the dance portraits.

And some events went to the 4-legged Dogs in town.

Henderson Family

2008-09-20T09:23:00.001-07:00

What a beautiful day last Sunday for some family pictures. The Henderson's were a fun group as you can tell by the first few pictures!

Ashley's Senior Portraits

2008-09-13T17:06:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day for Senior Portraits. With some wind to contend with, the only other challenges were Rocky's ears, other horses and a rattlesnake! Not bad for a Saturday afternoon. Good thing Adam was there to be our wrangler. We did manage to see Rocky flick his ears forward for a few photos.

But even without Rocky's cooperation, he was in the photos! I really love this shot of Ashley laying across her horse.

Fehringer's Family Photos

2008-08-02T14:59:00.001-07:00

Ben & Liz

2008-07-17T19:24:00.001-07:00

Well Ben and Liz are finally engaged. Yup.. He bought her a rock! Good Job Ben! We finally got together to get some summer engagement pictures done for them. Hopefully we can take a few each season until they finally tie the knot.

Cassy

2008-07-17T09:59:00.000-07:00

Matts Senior Sports

2008-07-16T18:47:00.000-07:00

After a little glitch with batteries and a trip to Sidney, we got Matt's sports pictures done.

And the surprise new Peetz Bulldog football player...anyone wanna guess who?

Matt Senior Photos

2008-07-10T14:44:00.000-07:00

At first, this was what Matt thought about his picture being taken. He likened the experience to something akin to worse than a doctors visit :( but I think I changed his mind.

What a prankster... we had a good time visiting a lot of different places. Even making him climb that tree!

And we had a few good laughs about directions and what Matt will do with his future. This is symbolic of Matt always taking a direction against the grain.

Sean & Kelsi

2008-06-30T19:09:00.001-07:00

Congratulations Sean and Kelsi!! Here is a preview of some of the lasting memories of their special day. This first picture is special. It is the moment that Sean turned around and saw his bride walking down the isle before the ceremony.

There were some crazy moments and some great laughs.

And touching special moments that I hope Sean and Kelsi can enjoy for years.

And the newlyweds first dance.
Photos by Leslie Raffelson and Elizabeth Fehringer

Orlando Airboat Ride

2008-06-11T15:44:00.000-07:00

On our recent vacation to Orlando, Florida, we were treated to an airboat ride. It was the one event that I wanted to make sure we did while we were down in that area of the country. We had a fantastic ride and enjoyed seeing a variety of plants and wildlife that is very different than what we normally see on the plains of Colorado.

We were able to see 3 different sized alligators. This last one was around 13 feet long. He was BIG!

The birds were facinating with all the different types and colors.

This was an Osprey that was perched up on the top of a dead tree. He was pretty amazing.

Then we were graced with the presence of 3 river otters that were playing in one of the side rivers that ran into the lake we were on.

And Just for Fun!

2008-05-30T07:22:00.000-07:00

I have a 5 year old Paint named Sir Wicked Joker. His name fits him as he is a jokester most of the time and will do anything to get your attention. Joker is a pretty quiet horse and one of his tricks is that he will lay down on command. One day I asked Rick, my husband, to document him doing this. I figured I would get a few pictures of the process of me asking him to lay down and him laying down. Well... Rick was giving some undivided attention to his horse and missed the action, so here is Joker laying down and then me trying to bribe him to get back up. I think he was feeling lazy that day or something.

Wow.. Its been a while...

2008-05-30T07:16:00.000-07:00

It seems like April and May of this year just flew by. I don't know where the time went. As I look back over the pictures I have taken for those 2 months, I have racked up about 3,000 images. Seems like a lot, but not as high as normal for a 2 month period. I need to catch up and post some of the images that I have taken, but for now, here are a couple of pictures of the sunset last night (Thanks to Libby for the heads up on a great sunset!).

And maybe Enxco and Flordia Light and Power are trying to tell us something with the windtowers being at the end of the rainbow?? Hmmmm.. I wonder...

Russel and Afton

2008-03-30T08:10:00.000-07:00

Russel and Afton were married the March 22nd at Lookout Mountain in Denver. I had the honor of capturing a few memories for them at a reception in Sterling for friends and family. Here is a quick preview.

Sunset Surprise

2008-03-28T17:50:00.000-07:00

I try to catch sunrises and sunsets, but somedays are hard. This day I was working and caught a glimpse of the sun's pink glow on the towers east of our house. The clouds were low and I knew that it would only be a short time before the light was gone. After scrounging for the charging batteries, digging in the camera bag for the extra cards, loading everything up, reformating the card to get rid of the pictures that were on there and changing all the camera settings, here are the images I captured in about a span of 6 minutes. They are the towers north, south, east and west of our house.

Kelli

2008-03-28T17:41:00.000-07:00

The fun part about getting new photography toys is that unsuspecting friends never know what I will spring on them. Kelli stopped by for a visit and I made her model for me. Thanks Kelli for being such a good sport!

Sean & Kelsi

2008-03-28T16:36:00.001-07:00

Sean and Kelsi are engaged to be married on June 28th. I am so excited to be a part of their marriage plans. We started out at the church and then moved outside in the cold and snow for a few shots at the park.

Baseball Season is Here!

2008-03-28T16:17:00.000-07:00

Finally, baseball season is here. That means spring is on the way and good weather will be upon us shortly! These pictures were taken by Elizabeth Fehringer. She took over the camera for a couple of games and took some awesome pictures. Check them out in the event galleries. Even though these are hosted under my website, she will recieve payment for any photos purchased there. One made it into the South Platte Sentinel newspaper! Congrats Libby!

State Tournament

2008-03-17T18:50:00.000-07:00

While neither Peetz Bulldogs or Caliche Buffs were able to overcome the High Plains Patriots, all of their fans are proud of the games that they played against such tough competition. High Plains ended up the state champions with Caliche coming in 2nd and Peetz in 3rd over Flagler.

Congrats to Peetz and Caliche in the first Round at State

2008-03-14T10:48:00.001-07:00

It was exciting to see Caliche fans cheering for Peetz in the 10:30 game agains Campo and Peetz fans sticking around to cheer on Caliche at the 1:30 game agains Ouray! It would be great to see them match up again for another great game. Both teams played well and I hope to see them both advance on to the next round.

Caliche Game

Mike Miles

2008-02-25T19:26:00.000-08:00

Too bad I didn't capture Mike's dance right after this shot.. would have been one of those priceless moments.. huh Mike?

JP Carwin

2008-02-24T11:28:00.000-08:00

Mike Wood

2008-02-23T10:19:00.001-08:00

Levi's Sports Pictures

2008-02-02T11:29:00.000-08:00

We finished up Levi's sports portraits today. We had previously done senior photos, but needed to include some with his sports jersey's, letterman's coat and equipment. After an incredible football seasons the last 4 years, I hope that these pictures will help him remember his high school sports career 20 and even 50 years from now. The 2008 seniors will have plenty to discuss at their reunions that's for sure. They have made all of Peetz fans very proud of their hard work. View Levi's sports composite and Levi's Senior photos here.

"Lost and Found" Collection

2008-01-20T18:24:00.000-08:00

Several years ago, I started developing a collection of photos from around the area that are all related. There are so many things that we leave behind and they become part of our everyday landscape. We tend to not notice the broken down and forgotten things littering so many corners of our world. Through the "Lost and Found" collection I hope to stir up questions about time, place and reason. Why was it left? Whose hands touched it last? What did it look like in it's glory days?

2006 is going to be forgotten!

2008-01-19T13:56:00.000-08:00

I am cleaning house. Something I obviously don't do very often as I still have a lot of images from 2006 on my website. If there are photos from 2006 that you would like to order, please let me know soon. After January 31, the photos are going in the archives and there will be an additional fee to dig them back out for reprints. The digital dungeons are going to become full.

So.. just for the thrill of digging up old photos, I thought I would post a couple of photos that I will be deleting from my website. These are from 2006 events. Enjoy.

August 2006 the Feeders & Friends had a benefit Feedlot Rodeo to help an injured bareback rider. I believe they raised around $26,000 that day. This was the beginning of the wild cow milking and it makes me wonder what the Oklahoma land rush looked like. There were 4 teams in the arena that roped and milked 4 cows at the same time. What an exciting event. Everyone survived - cowboys included.

Logan County Team Roping: Each county fair brings out the local cowboys in the county to compete for top honors. I believe this horse was also my 'model' for the picture featured in the book I illustrated called Corporate Cowboy.

Rollin H Arena between Brush and Akron has this wonderful family rodeo every Saturday night during the summer. They run 2 arenas and have events for the littlest cowboys and cowgirls up to those brave enough to get on the big bulls. This one little cowgirl learninger her barrel pattern on her stick horse. They have a wonderful event with a great family atmosphere.

More Unblogged Images of 2007

2008-01-16T15:45:00.000-08:00

I thought I would share some more of my unblogged images from 2007.

Stallion Flyer

2008-01-12T13:08:00.000-08:00

I recently designed an advertising flyer for an up and coming AQHA stallion that is registered as "We Call Him Boyd" but the owners call him "Gator"!

Sorensen Family

2008-01-06T16:05:00.000-08:00

More Favs from the 2007 Archive

2008-01-04T18:54:00.000-08:00

A scattering of some more favorites from the 2007 archive. Favorites are so hard to choose, but I find that from many photo sessions I remember a photo that stands out.

Favorites of 2007

2008-01-02T18:03:00.001-08:00

These are some of my favorites of my 2007 Lost and Found collection.

Black & White Equine Images from 2007

2008-01-02T07:42:00.000-08:00

Here are a few of my favorites from 2007. I love going out and spending time with a herd of horses. I am usually the center point of their interest for about 15 minutes and then they settle back into doing what they do without me around. That is when the best shots seem to happen.

"Teething Ring"

Canvas Prints

2007-12-28T16:39:00.000-08:00

I have started printing Fine Art prints on Gallery Wrapped Canvas frames. The images have the look and feel of paintings and are edge wrapped around a wooden frame. There is no need to frame the image and that saves you hundreds of dollars! I can turn any of image into canvas prints of many different sizes from 6"x6" to 60"x100"! That's Big! If you have a large wall space to fill, give me a call.

"Quality Time"

"Quality Time" is available in limited edition prints. 2/500 is available now in 16"x24" format. This print was choosen to by The Assure System as a promotional item at the North American Veterinary Conference in Orlando Florida in December. If you have issues with colic in your horse, check out this system of colic prevention.

"Griffith House"

The "Griffith House" is a special print. During 2007, Florida Light and Power placed over 200 wind turbines along the top of the canyons of Kennesaw Valley. This photo was taken one evening during the late 1990's and the land is now owned by Chimney Canyon Grazing Association. It is available as a 24x36" Gallery Wrapped print.

Sports Composites

2007-12-27T15:37:00.000-08:00

Composites of photos from throughout the sports seasons are great keepsakes. Here are a few I have designed for Christmas presents and senior portraits.

If you are interested in a composite, please let me know. You will need to specify 4-5 images for the design. The composites can be printed in a variety of sizes starting at 8"x10". (Prices for composites start at $100.00)

Christmas Cards

2007-12-27T15:34:00.000-08:00

I am a bit behind on showing some of the projects I have been working on. Here are examples of 2 of the Christmas cards I designed for clients. The photos were taken at recent events at the Be Line Equestrian Center in Fort Collins.

Daniel's Sports Pics

2007-12-02T11:07:00.000-08:00

Kirk's Senior Pics

2007-11-25T20:25:00.000-08:00

Ashley's Senior Portraits

2007-10-17T20:02:00.001-07:00

What a fun session. October is always challenging with winter knocking on our doors, but we had a wonderful session. Here is a preview of some of the photos.

And.. unfortunately, we couldn't get onto the football field, but Ashley tried her best!

Rudy & Pam

2007-10-08T19:54:00.000-07:00

Saturday, October 6th was blessed with a gentle breeze..ok.. more like a mild hurricane force gale, but all went off without a hitch for Rudy and Pam's big day. What a beautiful setting, perfect company and many blessings from family and friends to help Rudy & Pam start their life together.

Rudy and Pam's ceremony took place at the Swinging Bridge west of Champion Nebraska.

The flower girl and ring bearer along with the wedding party all rode in on their horses. The sun was beautiful shining through the trees.

Chip & Tami

2007-10-08T19:45:00.000-07:00

I haven't had a chance to post any wedding pictures from Chip & Tami's wedding yet. They had a small family ceremony and a reception for all their friends and family to celebrate their union. What a happy time. Congratulations and best wishes!

Taylor

2007-10-05T05:16:00.000-07:00

Last night, we had excellent weather, beautiful light and no wind for Taylor's senior photos. We also got some shots of his family, grandparents, sister and horses in!

Levi

2007-10-03T19:58:00.000-07:00

Sean's Senior Pics

2007-10-01T20:14:00.000-07:00

After rescheduling for the 3rd time, we finally got some portraits done. The weather cleared off and the sun came out for the last hour of the day for some nice lighting. Here is a quick preview!

Katelynn

2007-09-16T19:27:00.000-07:00

Monday and Tuesday night, I had the privilege of photographing Katelynn for her senior portraits. We traveled around the countryside and found some great spots. The weather was perfect and the lighting matched her beauty. Here are a few from both sessions.

Kyle & Coty

2007-08-19T19:16:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day for a wonderfully special wedding. Kyle and Coty's wedding was held at the Mc C Ranch outside of Masonville, Colorado. The weather held off long enough for the bride to walk down the isle, then all the guests ran for cover in the alternate setting inside. After a few close lightening strikes and a deluge of rain sneaking around the dance floor, the vows were said and Mr. & Mrs. Johnson were introduced. Here is a sneak peak at a few of the moments that were captured on Saturday Aug, 18th. Many blessings to the bride and groom!

Special moment between mother and daughter.

Some fun with the bride and bridesmaids.

Even with having to run for cover, the wedding continued with lots of smiles and laughs.

And beautiful Ashlynn playing peek-a-boo.

Cheyenne Frontier Days

2007-07-30T15:53:00.000-07:00

Every year, we make our annual pilgramage to Cheyenne for the "Daddy of em All". Cheyenne's Rodeo is the largest outdoor rodeo as well as one where a lot of cowboys and cowgirls can cash in on the purse of over $2 million. Amazing rodeo if you have never seen it before. Non-Stop action for more than 2 1/2 hours. I love to go and shoot for my own practice and timing. Here are som exciting pictures from this year. Cheyenne had more than 3" of rain the night before, so the arena and the track were more like a nice lake than something you would like to work in.

I believe the bulls won this round of bull riding. The count was Bulls 30 and Cowboys 2.

There was some very "Rough" stock at this performance.

This was one brave cowboy. Cheyenne's arena is very very long. This bulldoger hung on past the camera pit which is 1/2 way down the arena and then dove off onto his steer and threw him. Very, very brave. That is going full tilt on a very fast horse and making the conscious choice to JUMP OFF.. Kind of like jumping out of a very good airplane.. nuts. He had no chance of winning money, but man, the crowd was amazed. He had a nice laundry bill to show for it though.

Cheyenne no longer has the Indian Relay Races, but do a Match Race instead. These are quarter horses doing the 1/4 mile sprints from a walk up start. They have to be facing the opposite direction when the gun goes off. First one to the finish line advances. The prize is bragging rights, a cash purse and a horse trailer.
The final event at Cheyenne every day is the Wild Horse Race. This is one wild event to watch. There is always too much going on to watch everything. I chose this team because I captured this cowboy getting struck on the head last year and recieving a nice laceration. I can't believe he was back doing it again! He is the "Mugger" and the one that has to try and keep the horse distracted and front end on the ground. Tough job on a young horse that has not been handled let alone SEEN many humans before. After the event, there are many stories to swap and laundry to do on this day.

The lucky ones get to ride around the track and hopefully have a nice 'gentle' horse on the finish line. With any luck, the crowd won't scare the horse back around the track for another lap and the dismount won't be too painful.

More Sneak Peak

2007-07-24T20:57:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Gardiner's for allowing us to use their place for a great backdrop!

Sneak Peak

2007-07-24T07:18:00.003-07:00

Here is a sneak peak at Luke's pictures.

Wildlife

2007-07-15T15:47:00.000-07:00

I haven't had a chance to get out and take many pictures this last week, so it was a joy to stop and take some time to travel around this weekend. My objective was to capture a few shots of Wagner's mares and colts along with stopping by Cervi's bucking horses again. The weather threatened me a couple of times with looming clouds, but somehow managed to miss our area. During my travels, wildlife wandered across my path...or rather, I wandered across theirs.

Coyote. Pronounced many different ways and loved and hated in as many. Their name means "barking dog", but I believe it would be better suited to be called yipping dog. Each evening just about dusk and each morning just about dawn you can hear packs of them yipping and howling to reconnect with their families. Sometimes that means that our domestic dogs also join in for a harmony of howling as well. It is interesting to note that this is one of the only animals that has been extensively hunted by man, but has managed to enlarge it's territory and hunting range. They are very intelligent hunters. I was privileged to witness a coyote and a badger cooperatively hunting prairie dogs. I even managed to capture some pictures on multiple occasions about 6 years ago. (for more info - Badger & Coyote Cooperative Hunting)

They say that when you see deer or antelope with twins it is Mother Nature's prediction that we will have an easy winter. There are many mother antelope around this year with twins. I wonder if the prediction will hold true.

And here is a sneak peek at an image from Wagner's colts. They were curious and playful, then needed a nap.

Harvest Time

2007-07-07T18:03:00.000-07:00

It is harvest time of year again. Between the semi trucks, combines and pickups driving around for harvest along with the crews putting up the windtowers, our dusty, lonely county roads have turned into mini highways. Who would have thought we would see so much traffic on our little 'trail road'.
If you have never had a chance to hear the wind rustle through a field of wheat, you are missing out on a wonderful sound. You don't have to be a farmer to appreciate how nature can grow such a crop. It takes the right timing of rain, soil temperatures, winter freeze and hot summer days to bring it all to a harvest.
My husband has been out on the combine and helping with harvest this last week. I think his two favorite times of year are branding season and harvesting. I even climbed on for a round this year. It is nice to see the harvest bringing in a yeild after so many years of low prices, drought and disease. I hope that the blessings continue to all the farmers and ranchers this year.

Seniors 2008 and Bird Dogs

2007-07-01T18:28:00.000-07:00

Time has flown. I was post processing Daniel's senior pictures and getting them ready for him to preview and I noticed I had written 2007 on some of them! 2008 Seniors. Wow. Daniel was a great model and has some handsome portraits to choose from.

Seniors - I only have 2 spots left, so call me soon to book your senior pictures!

I also had the privilege of photographing some bird dogs for the Panhandle Hunting Retrievers Club in Bridgeport Nebraska. What a fun day. The young started dogs were great to watch and were so excited to retrieve birds for their owners.

Buckskin Herd & Tornado Lesson

2007-06-11T19:47:00.000-07:00

I finally got a chance to photograph a herd of 20 mares, their foals and their overseeing stallion. He wasn't too happy that I was around when I started photographing them. After I changed locations and moved downwind, he seemed to settle down and allow me to walk around a bit more without being so wary.

The one photo that I missed today was a picture of a small tornado that touched down just east of Peetz at about 2:45pm. It was one of those moments where I kicked myself for leaving my camera bag at home. It was a small twister that touched down in a tilled field and did not damage. This was the first tornado I had ever seen and I missed my photo op... So. The tip for the day.. Always, Always have your camera with you and ready, out of it's case and on a setting where you can take any picture. I will sure adhere to my own advice for a while.

Life Unplugged

2007-06-10T19:50:00.000-07:00

I feel like I have been unplugged. Over June 1-3rd, I spent the weekend at Rollin H Arena between Brush and Akron shooting the Eastern Plains Barrel Bash and the Saturday Rodeos that are held there. Over the 3 days, I shot over 1,400 pictures and captured some fabulous moments. My mother (and slave for the weekend) caught me in a couple as well.

Each day of the Barrel Bash, I choose a photo that I liked the most for the Photo of the Day contest. The winner receives a free 8x10 print. This is Friday's winning photo at the open jackpot race. The sun was setting and the lighting was gorgeous.

Saturday's photo of the day was tough. This photo stood out when I was going through the images because of the perfect form they both had going into the second barrel. The horse is relaxed and the rider is soft in her hands and they are in perfect position. She is setting her horse well and has him well prepared. Good job Kathy!

Sunday's picture was harder to choose. I went through all the images and this one was the one that stood out in my mind. I remember taking it and thinking that it was such a sweet and gentle moment between horse and boy.

So, my story of being unplugged. Rarely do I ever spend DAYS away from the Internet. Over the few days at the Barrel Bash, I was without Internet. It was rather nice to just be focusing on photographing and not worrying about my email. I returned from the event at about 6:00pm on Sunday, plugged in for about 20 minutes and then fell into bed after a long weekend. At 3:30 am the next morning, I was up and headed to Cortez, Colorado with a group of FFA (Future Farmers of America) students for their state convention.

I was rather excited about the trip because I knew I would get some time to just wander the territory and take some photos. I was not disappointed. The image above is looking southwest from Mancos, Colorado toward the Sleeping Ute Mountain. I was blessed to have some horses at our lodge for models. Our lodge was the Sundance Bear Lodge and was tucked back in the mountains with great views, but NO Internet, NO cell phone service and NO phone! It was a rather strange feeling to be so isolated, but a good experience. I had a chance to just veg.

Sonja, an artist and friend from Cortez, toured me through the Aspen Guard Station and the National Forest in Mancos. There we came across the horses of the Aspen's she has been telling me about.

Sonja was patient as I stopped and took in the sights and clicked the shutter to my hearts content. The forest was amazing. These trees have been twisted by heavy snows. I am always intrigued by nature's unique forms.

And last, but not least, I have to include a photo from my file that I was looking through over the weekend. This is from my Lost and Found collection.

While I am plugged back in for the moment, I will again be unplugged as the summer moves along and I continue on my wanderings. I am heading to Copper Mountain next week where I will be teaching a workshop at the Technology in Education Conference about creating artwork using Photoshop. Should be loads of fun and well attended. This is my second year teaching this workshop and I look forward to hearing new and interesting ideas from the participants. Actually... I may be plugged in there since it is a technology conference. We will see.

Wanderings and Details

2007-05-27T19:50:00.000-07:00

This last week I have done some wandering around the country. I first wandered close to home and at the neighbors I stopped and photo'd his hyper little pup. She was having fun chasing rabbits and trying to sneak up on me and catch my camera instead of me sneaking up on her and catching her. She paused long enough in her rompings to pose for a few photos.

Along the trail, I also caught up with a thristy and tired horse. This picture reminds me of a hippo yawning with those large teeth they have.

Closer to home, I paused to study my own horses and watch them groom each other. They spent a good 10 minutes attending to the details of itches and scratches before moving on and checking out the green grass.

Last Wednesday I accompanied the 2007 graduating class of Peetz on their trip to South Dakota. (I am sure my nephew was thrilled to have me along! ;-) They planned a trip to Palmer Gulch Campground hoping to be able to do a bunch of activities. We learned once we got there, everything was opening the day after we left! So, in good fashion, they still had fun. I was grateful for some wonderful photo opportunities.

This was the Needles highway drive outside of Mt. Rushmore. I highly recommend this trip for everyone in the area. Just don't go if you get car sick. The road is slightly less than straight. It was beautiful and I was glad to have a driver that would slam on the brakes when ever I yelled "Stop!" and saw a beautiful photo opportunity.

We were able to see a lot of wildlife each day we were there. Around Mt. Rushmore, we saw several mountain goats.

On the Needles drive, there were several stops to 'shoot' some deer - legally of course as shown below.

There were also buffalo in the Wind Caves National Park as well as turkeys. (Although those seniors made for good turkeys as well)

The campground had a wonderful string of trail horses that were getting in condition for the heavy trail riding season to begin. They were all lined up in their standing stalls and resting over the noon hour.

Seniors - be on the lookout for a Senior Class Trip photo book out soon. It will contain the best of the best photos from your trip. Congratulations on your graduation. Make us all proud of you.

Bucking String

2007-05-22T20:00:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I was able to spend a few hours in the midst of a herd of 60 horses. What an amazing experience. These horses were bucking stock used in rodeos. They were curious, skittish, inquisitive and wild. Some would come up and sniff me and others were cautious and stayed at the back of the pack. I loved seeing all of their interactions and caught a few pecking order fights, positioning and just plain bullying. I hope to be able to go back and spend some time again soon. I hope that you enjoy the pictures.

Stop and Smell the flowers

2007-05-18T05:06:00.000-07:00

I decided to go to the park and try out my 70-200 lens on some flowers. I am now feeling the bug to play with a macro style lens that would allow me to get up close to these beautiful flowers.

Not all the flowers were out an in bloom, but the buds were interesting and beautiful to study. Make sure you take the time to stop and stare for a moment at something you see every day. This robin was gathering worms around the flowerbeds and taking them back to its nest to feed its young.

Vision of Unity Horsemanship Clinic with Rich Scott

2007-05-10T19:15:00.000-07:00

Sunday, May 6th I spent the day at Be Line Equestrian Center in Ft. Collins at Rich Scott's clinic. There was about 20 people there ready and willing to learn. Rich started the day with some ground work and demonstrated different practices and exercises. Rich was patient and worked individually with every student.

After some ground work, students participated in some obstacle work around the arena. They worked their horses over a log, past a tarp on the fence and then through or over some barrels. Changes were made with each horse and handler.

I was thrilled at the pictures I was able to capture and hope that they will help the clinic participants to see their errors and fixes. Seeing pictures of ourselves riding only can improve our skills. I like studying them and seeing body position, ques I am giving and the horses body language.

There were horses that were fearful, skittish and wary along with horses that overcame their fears and were willing, curious and sought the right answers.

I believe that this wonderful paint was in his upper teens and this young lady was 11. Amazing pair that worked well together all day long!

Sometimes we humans forget that horses are very in tune with our body language. This buckskin had trouble with passing through the barrels. By Pat standing up and asking, it was too much pressure and confined feeling. Simply kneeling down allowed the horses energy and Pat's energy to lower and the horse to find a way through the obstacle without rushing. It was a very powerful moment that Rich shared with us. I sure hope everyone was able to pick up on many more of those moments throughout the day.

Pat Hall sharing an "atta boy" moment after the barrel work.

To view more of the photos from the clinic, view the Events Gallery.

Look up Vision of Unity Horsemanship Clinic with Rich Scott in Castle Rock, Colorado. It is very enlightening and will further your horsemanship skills and your bond with your horse.

McKenzie Ranch Branding

2007-05-10T18:47:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we gathered at Bob McKenzie's ranch and helped brand his calves. The crew lined up in the morning for the ritual Crew Photo.

It was an experience as the weather was soppy and wet. Calves were muddy and crew became that way before too long. As soon as the work was done and the food wagon arrived, the sun came out and was beautiful the rest of the day. No one was complaining about the rain, maybe the mud they were sitting in, but not the moisture.

Winning Photos

2007-05-09T19:44:00.000-07:00

Ok, I figured I would give everyone a quick update of what photos I have entered into contests and where they have placed. I have been pretty excited over all of my entries.

"Colorado Blizzard"

In December 2006, Equine Photographers Network hosted a contest/assignment that was to capture images of horses on the Solstice of December in their surroundings. I woke up that day bummed because we were still having a blizzard and that meant no getting out and mingling with the horses. Here is the image I captured of the horses surviving another round of brutal weather. Colorado Blizzard placed First in the Winter Solstice Competition and was as Photo of the Week in January.

In May, 2007 "Colorado Blizzard" was also entered into the Open Print Competition sponsored by Equine Photographers Network and shown in Craig Colorado. This photo placed First in the Natural Horse Category and was picked as the Best in Show by the judge, Scott Trees.

"Protection"

I entered a photo similar to this in the Arts Perspectives magazine photo contest. The image is titled "Protection" as it shows the horses standing behind a round bale feeder in a morning ground blizzard with the winds raging. There are also birds huddled close to the horses heads in the hay. This photo was a Top 3 Finalist in the portrait category and is available for sale. It is framed with a black frame and white matting 36" wide and 24" tall. My husband made the comment that it almost looks 3D when you see it in person. I traveled to Durango, Colorado for the opening of the Arts Perspective showing in April.

"Horse-Power"

In March, Equine Photographers Network hosted a Equinox photojournalistic assignment. The goal was to capture the best photo that would demonstrate the horse in its environment in black and white. It was voted as Second in the Equinox Competition and was beat out by a fantastic photo taken by Carien Schippers. I feel honored to be placed behind such an awesome photographer as her images grace many of the catalogs I recieve in my mail box.

The title of this images comes from the demonstration of how horse power is now generated through wind turbines.

More to come later!

Baseball and Fair

2007-05-04T05:01:00.000-07:00

The boys did great yesterday and showed some great talent on the baseball field. Thought I would share some images of great hits, good slides, and excellent pitching.

Gage hit it out of the park!

Daniels in the park home run! Good Job!

I also want to share that I am the Official Photographer for Logan County Fair and Rodeo 2007. I will have a trailer set up there for previewing your photos from each day and after fair, you will be able to preview them on line. Be looking for Fair Specials ($$ savings steals!) in August for your fair memories!

Branding Complete

2007-05-01T19:27:00.000-07:00

Thank God for neighbors! The branding season starts every year with a phone call scheduling the first date of a neighbors branding. Last Saturday was our day, and we had wonderful weather, good food and a nice time visiting with everyone. We hope to return the favor of everyone's help in the weeks to come.

Natalie's Senior Photos

2007-04-27T19:32:00.000-07:00

Natalie made my job of being a photographer extremely easy. We timed it perfectly between the rain storms and only got a few drops on us. We shot all the photos between 5:00 and 6:00 and the lighting was perfect. Nice and overcast with some great clouds. The horses even got in the action and hammed it up. I am delighted with the images. They show Natalie's natural beauty.

April 26, 2007

2007-04-26T13:50:00.000-07:00

It rained! We have been in a drought for so long it has been great to see rain. Unfortunately I decided to take a detour on my way to work and get mired in the mud yesterday morning on a trail road cut across. It wouldn't have been much of a problem if I had our pickup, but I had our little Grand Am and I successfully buried it for 2 days. (My husband was not amused as he had to pull the car out. My nephew Matt was my saviour and came and rescued me and got me to work on time!) After our rain, the roads dried out and things are back to normal. My horses are much happier with some nice grass coming up. It is good to see the green!

Today, I am sending out the photographs ordered from the Be Line Ranch Roping held on April 14th and 15th in Ft. Collins. We had 2 beautiful days of weather with only a little wind. Pat and Valerie Hall are holding another Ranch Roping and Trail Event competition in October. I would encourage everyone to come. I enjoyed those 2 days immensly. Check out BeQuick Horseshoeing website for more information on that event. Their trail event was tough and great fun to watch. They had some obstacles that really challenge horses to trust their riders.

I especially love several of the photos that were taken at the Be Line event. I am going to be putting together a calendar and those that ordered photos will be seeing a release form included. That form is permission for me to use your photos for this event. The picture to the right was a crowd favorite. This is Marshall Streeter's horse. What a handsome dude.

On another note, I talked with Rich & Shannon Scott (Visions of Unity Horsemanship) this morning and they will be holding a Horsemanship Clinic on May 6th at Be Line Equestrian Center. Craig Cameron called them recently to invite them to ride in his Extreme Cowboy Race in Vail, Colorado in June for the Horse Expo. Congratulations! I wish I could be there. I hope to see them on TV!