Horses

This is one of my top three favorite photographs I have ever made. It seems to create a powerful emotional response when people view it for the first time. I think people relate the human struggle to the lone horse trudging through the deep snow in a blizzard. The legal name of the horse was Ultra Vanity Fair. A few years after making this image, she passed away. I am glad the she will live on forever in this piece of art.

365 Week

After having the flu for several days, photographing this beautiful horse was definitely a bright spot in my day. I worked hard at making the horse comfortable with me so I could pose him just the way I needed for my photograph. The key to this composition is how the red sumac behind the horse looks like a musical score and his ears and head relate to the background.

I have been trying every which way to make a portrait of this beautiful horse utilizing some nearby sumac as the backdrop. I concentrate on seeing the relationship between the horse and the sumac while also trying to capture a moment when the horse looks best. My telephoto zoom lens helps me simplify and fine-tune the composition.

Is this one horse or two? I usually make certain to avoid mergers when I am making a photographic image, but this one is irresistible. While scouting for pictures in Hamlin Township, I spot a horse with incredibly beautiful eyes. As I am preparing to make this shot, a second horse ambles into the frame. I am laughing as I trip the shutter.

I have always wanted to photograph this black horse on US31 near Norwalk, Michigan and today the scene was finally perfect. I have always wanted to photograph this black horse on US31 near Norwalk, Michigan and today the scene was finally perfect.

A faithful horse pulls a buggy load of Amish children through a heavy snowfall to get them to their school in Riverton Township, south of Scottville. The Amish have built sheds at the school to protect the horses while they wait for students to get out of classes.

It is cold but perfectly still this morning as horses catch the rising sun in their pasture at the West Shore Equestrian Center near Sugar Grove, Michigan.

When I pulled my truck off the side of the road and came up to this horse, I felt like the horse was asking me to set it free. I made my images and then quickly left so I did not disturb the quiet little farm.

Conrad and Hawley Road December

Horses, horse ranches, and equestrian clubs appear left and right as Brad and I travel one of the country lanes through the rolling hills of Metamora horse country. This is definitely some of the most beautiful Michigan countryside we have seen. During a lunch break in Metamora, we are told there are more horses in Metamora Township than there are people.

Guests can arrange to bring their horses with them when they stay at Bedrock Stables in Metamora. Manager Kyle Kedzierski leads a horse out of the stable at the country bed and breakfast in the heart of Metamora horse country.

I pass by this horse every week on my way to and from West Shore Community College. During the winter, Julie Schroeder's Arabian Aadaraan (aka Casey) tends to stay in the barn or close to the barn at the corner of Fisher and Peterson Roads. Today, I am glad to find the 29-year-old Arabian chestnut gelding basking in the sunshine close to the road. F3.2 at 1/800, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 80 mm

A newborn foal rests in the sunshine and partially in the shadow of its mother in a pasture on the Schultz farm on Iris Road south of Ludington. I take great pleasure in seeing the Schultz family's horses almost daily as I pass by to and from home. F8.0 at 1/400, ISO 200, 80-200 mm lens at 130 mm