Here are a few images which did not make the cut for this year's calendar:
Quincy and Stormy had a wonderful time on the Blue Lake shoot. This was the first year Stormy "got" what is entailed in being a photo-shoot subject. She eagerly followed directions instead of running off in a huff or getting her feelings hurt.
Pippen always loves photoshoots, but being somewhat ADD, he does get bored... When we're near home, he simply heads to the barn. But before he left, we did get some magical images of him in the setting overlooking Mount Hull.
... And so the challenge to "beat" the 2010 calendar images begins: Select the very best days to create the best lighting, drama, and scenery and head out with an entourage of equine and a couple of blank memory chips for the camera.
This image of Bert and Ernie [above] was taken fifteen minutes before we were surrounded by a fantastic electrical storm just below Little Whiskey Mountain. Gulp!
Stormy and Gandalf enjoyed a brisk day in the Methow.
As Fall yielded to Winter, cottonwoods lost their golden leaves, the Okanogan River chilled, its banks became crusty with ice...
Pippen and Gandalf romped in the tiny amount of snow we received in December.
2009 Western Views Calendar: Horse as Horse in Okanogan County has gone to press! This 11x17 inch wall calendar features spectacular images of horses (and mules) photographed at large in "Out West" landscapes afforded by Okanogan County. It is unlike any horse calendar you've ever seen; not only is every image awesome, each page is accompanied by a story telling a bit about the horse(s)mule(s) featured that month.
Below is the thumb-nail image as well as the "sidebar" text (or story) that tells about the featured horse for the month of March: Quincy. This horse's "journey" of being a stall-kept horse to one fully integrated into our herd was the inspiration for the title of the calendar: "Horse as Horse," a name which sums up my philosophy of animal keeping.
March Sidebar:
When I first met Quincy, he was a stall-kept five year-old with a distorted clubfoot. He had no knowledge of what “being horse” could mean. His world was small and solitary, but as he knew no other, the life into which he’d been born suited him just fine.
Coming to live with my herd caused him several years of trauma. He stressed out over staying outside, being bitten by bugs, getting tired, having to interact with other horses.
Gandalf taught him about hierarchy.
But it was Stormy who provided Quincy with the keys to the horse kingdom. As she raised her son, Bert, she raised Quincy. She birthed Ernie before Quincy’s eyes, and from Stormy and Ernie he learned to crawl, then walk, then gallop. He is horse as horse.
The 2009 Western Views: Horse as Horse in Okanogan County is $14.95 plus $2.95 for shipping and handling. Lots of ten (10) can be purchased for $99.00 plus $7.95 for shipping and handling. This can be a very economical Christmas present for horse friends and relatives.
One reviewer of the 2009 calendar provided this feedback: "You have really accomplished a masterpiece with your calendar. I think people will really appreciate the difference between your horse calendar and those horrible generic "horse calendars" that lack soul. Yours is full of emotion, and I found myself getting a little misty. How wonderful."
RSS Feed