Wanderings and Details

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.