First, I took a few candid shots as people were having fun and getting the horses used to the environment:

Next, I was able to photograph a variety of people riding up and down the beach in casual fashion.

We also set up a number of more traditional romantic scenes…

Lastly, I was able to play around with some more stylized shots, according to my vision of what would suit the subjects…

Stay tuned for photos from Day Three!

Day One of my exciting week started off with a bang.  A group of us were invited to Varian Arabians, to meet the owner Sheila Varian, have dinner & wine, tour the grounds, and photograph horses as well as cowgirls riding at sunset (more about that in a minute).

First, I got to fall in love with some new foals and their mamas, and to meet them up close…

Next, it was on to watching a couple of gorgeous gray Arabian geldings frolic in a small paddock.  They looked beautiful both coming and going…

Next, we got to see a wonderful proud young stallion, all flared nostrils, rippling muscle, long neck, and high tail — he loved having his own paparazzi, and would do wonderful showy moves like running toward us and skidding to a halt in a dramatic way, like here…

Toward sunset, at the end of what was already an incredible day, we got a real treat.  Four talented horsewomen rode for us and showed off their skills.  Two of them are actually inducted in the Cowgirl Hall of Fame, Sheila Varian herself, and Audrey O’Brien Griffin.  They rode and did tricks while we photographed them in the dust and the sunset light.

Here is the incomparable Sheila Varian herself:

Here are the three other women joining her in showing us how cowgirls really ride…

This shot is of Audrey riding by after demonstrating that she can spin her horse using no hands.  Look at that smile — that is a woman who belongs on horseback!

Then, as the sun sank, these women rode and performed in the last light, with the dust as a backdrop, creating a beautiful blur of motion and light…

There was so much to take in, and it was only Day One of my week-long horse odyssey!  The next post (Day Two) will have shots from a gorgeous beach…  But before I leave you, here are two shots that I’m really proud of.  One of my goals this week was to push my artistic expression further into the fine art realm, and to access a more creative space.  Here are my first results — the first of a lovely Arabian mare, and the second a head shot of one of the gray Arabian horses pictured above.

Kip adores fetching sticks in the water and on land.

Kip is watching his owner Erik closely

Kip swims daily, so he has turned shaking off water into an art form.

Kip gets ready to bite into a stick.

Kip fetches another stick

Kip strikes a pose.

Kip chills out after hours of play

Kip looks beautiful in the sunset light

Vesta the husky looks so pretty with the snowflakes falling all around.

Vesta looks like a wild creature in the snow

Luna and Vesta played all afternoon in the snow — happy huskies!

Luna can look so regal. Typical husky — she lies in the snow like it’s a throne!

Luna becomes as playful as a puppy in the snow.

Snow is guaranteed to put a smile on Luna’s face!

I can’t believe how striking Abbie’s eyes are as she peeks out from the underbrush like a wild creature in the woods.

Abbie strikes a pose, showing off her beautiful coloring

Abbie takes a moment to give a more serious look. I think she’s deciding whether the rocks are too tall for her to climb over.

Even when busy chewing on a stick, Abbie knows how to charm the camera. And look at that adorable fuzzy puppy fur!

Don’t you love how she uses her paws to hold the stick?

Abbie knows how to work that smile. I love her baby puppy teeth!

As someone who has struggled with my weight and my self-image, it suits me just fine to be the one *behind* the camera rather than in front of it.  Yet I don’t hesitate to encourage others, quite sincerely, to take the plunge and have photos taken of them.  I assure them, again quite sincerely, that they are beautiful, interesting subjects, fine *just the way they are*.  Yet I can’t seem to apply the same feeling to myself.  Meanwhile, my dogs are getting older.  My father is getting older.  My niece and nephew are getting older.  And I don’t have many, or in some cases *any* photos of us together from the last few years.  I’ve been waiting until I lost another 30 pounds (even though I already lost more than 50).  Or until <fill in the blank>.

Well, I decided that I have to stop waiting.  Stop waiting to live my life, to be happy, to enjoy my experiences and relationships and moments.

So on a recent outing to the river with my dogs on a gorgeous, mild, winter day, I handed the camera to a friend and said four very scary words: “Please take my picture.”  Because even though I was covered in dirt and dog hair, even though I had been wearing a hat all day (bad hair day!), and even though I didn’t feel even remotely thin, I felt HAPPY.  I had been spending a wonderful afternoon with my dogs and my friend, romping, laughing, soaking up the sunshine, sitting under a tree, etc.  It seemed wrong to let that day go without a photo by which to remember it.

When I got home and looked at the photos from the day, I realized that the ones of me weren’t so bad.  That although I’m not thin, and I have wrinkles and age spots, and my face is asymmetrical, and so on — my eyes were shining, my smile was real, and the photos helped me remember what a great day — what a great LIFE — I had, and how lucky I am to have my dogs and to be able to spend my time with them.  I also saw another photographer’s blog post (see here) on the very same topic, and it gave me the final push of courage I needed to post my own experience.  I hope that my post gives someone else that little bit of motivation they need to stop being so self-critical and to let go and enjoy having their photo taken.

Me and my dogs feeling happy  (Photo taken by Traci Matkoski — thank you, Traci!)

Whiskey River leaps with ease to catch a frisbee

Of course, he is also a master of standing still and striking a pose, especially when he’s waiting for you to throw a toy for him, like he is here:

Whiskey River strikes a pose while he waits for me to throw the frisbee