Photographic Epiphany

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of photographing Rosie Julian-Simoes riding her new Young Riders mount, Proteus, at Silverwood Farm in Camp Lake, WI. I had an epiphany as I reviewed the shots I took afterward. Sure, I was able to get the "money shot" below....but....I dunno. Something is lacking. Can I take those kinds of photos, striving to snap that perfect moment where horse and rider are harmonized? Sure, I can, thanks to the constant tutelage and advice of my mentor, Violet, from Fire and Earth Photography. But I realized....I don't really want to.

I give her so much credit for building her business from the ground up on the foundation of capturing these kinds of moments for riders at shows. She taught me about timing, ISO, aperture, and so much more - don't get the fence in the front, no butt shots, timing, timing, timing. But I just don't think I'm cut out for this kind of photography.
This realization came after reviewing the shots I got and realizing that without even trying, I kept capturing more....abstract shots. Not your common horse-show type shots. I really loved these, and the crazy thing is - I don't even remember taking them. I remember watching my timing, aiming for the shoulder like Violet taught me...and somehow, ended up with shots like the ones below.

I really can take the hint. Even my subconscious creative streak just doesn't want to fit within the box for this type of photography. I prefer to have more freedom to let my eye wander and just reach out and "see" other types of photos.
Does this mean you'll never see me at a horse show, camera in hand? Of course not. I will always be willing to help Violet at a show if she needs a hand, or am more than happy to take pictures at a show for friends when Violet is not there. Just keep in mind if you ask me to take photos at a show of your ride, you are going to end up with some photos that just may be a little bit...different.

Logo me, Baby!

F I N A L L Y got the logo done - what do you think? (click on the logo to make it bigger)

The Sweet Spot

So it's been awhile since I have had the opportunity to just get out and shoot with no real topic/subject in mind. I decided to force myself to use my 50mm fixed focus lens - yep, no zoom. Not only that, but it's manual focus only - talk about a lens to put "hair on your chest" when it comes to photography. I have to use my feet to zoom and my eye and creative influence to focus. I don't often get the opportunity to use this lens, despite the fact that it is my best low-light lens as it goes all the way down to a F1.4 - it's just hard to use it because most of the time when I'm in those low-light situations, there is also action - and because it's manual focus, it's pretty useless for low light action.
I sure don't give this little lens enough credit, everyone.
It really is a great lens - it was getting dark even as I got to the forest preserve, but with a little tweaking I was able to keep shooting for the entire hour as the sun set. Many photographers have a favorite lens, and know exactly where the "sweet spot" is. The sweet spot is the aperture range where the lens works best and produces the sharpest images. I have to tell you - this lens has several sweet spots, I swear - I almost can't screw up shots w/this lens as long as I have focused properly.
Here are a few from my work with this lens!