AERC & UMECRA are all about understanding your horse and enjoying the outdoors

Recently I have had several requests for photographs from endurance rides to promote the sport. Photographing endurance rides is pretty fun when the weather is not super hot and humid. What makes it fun is seeing riders enjoying their competitive partners out of beautiful trails in the national forests and state forests of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana (that’s where I do most of my endurance ride photography).

This year I have photographed far fewer endurance rides. Our youngest son is preparing to go to Xavier University as a freshman and our older son is preparing to spend fall semester (Miami University of Ohio) studying in Africa. Usually, I consider photographing rides that my wife Patty chooses to participate in during the spring, summer and fall. However with everything that has been going on, we have missed several that she had hoped to ride. Even so, I wanted to tell you about endurance riding if you are not familiar with it.

On this web site, if you go to PROOFING GALLERIES then click on Trail Events / Endurance & Competitive Trail it will take you to various galleries of endurance and competitive trail rides that I have photographed over the past several years. What you will see is people having a great time out in nature and with their trusted competitive partner (their horse of course). Now if you are out west the experience of endurance riding is completely different because the terrain is completely different. Each region of the country has something different to offer. In Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky we have many rides in national and state forests and many times that means that as a photographer I am looking for clearings and scenic spots to captures images of the riders as they pass by. Sometimes it is close to impossible to shoot at 6am and 7am when many of the rides have their starts so I work with the ride manager to figure out places where I can get to where there will be enough light and all the riders will be passing by. As soon as I have most of the riders photographed I move on to another spot further along the trail to get another chance at each rider. As a photographer there are new challenges with every ride.

This ride started in heavy fog and mist. The early morning sun quickly burned away the fog and the rest of the photographs of this ride turned out great.

This year at Kentucky Horse Park (KHP) in Lexington Kentucky, The World Equestian Games (WEG) will include endurance ride competition.

http://www.kyhorsepark.com/events-competition-info/2010-world-equestrian-games/

There will be endurance riders from all over the globe participating in the challenge of horse and rider of endurance riding.

Unlike the photos that I have taken, the World Equestrian Games Endurance competition may have spectators all throughout the 50 miles of trails around and through the Kentucky horse Park. The grounds are beautiful, but present a challenge in that many times the horses can see other riders in wide open fields (very different than the narrow trails through deep forests). In any case it will be great fun to watch for those who have the opportunity to watch.

Here are two web sites where you can learn more about endurance riding and check schedules for rides in your area:

aerc.org is the American Endurance Ride Conference

umecra.com is the Upper Midwest Endurance and Competitive Rides Association

One thing that Patty an I enjoy about endurance riding is that it is really about you and your horse. It’s not about how much money you have, how flashy your clothing is, who your trainer is and how much you spent on your horse. It’s about getting out there, riding your horse regularly for training, and competing with others looking to have a great time on the trail.

Peter DeMott

peter@photosbypdemott.com

http://www.photosbypdemott.com

Senior portraits with horse and dog and even donkey

Friday night I had a great senior portrait session with Ceili (Kay-lee). She wanted some pictures with her horse and some pictures with her dog. As Ceili went to retrieve her horse, we discovered another rather entertaining pasture ornament. It was Cledus the mammoth jack donkey. I had my wife Patty as my assistant for the session. This is a picture of the mammoth jack donkey with my wife Patty. Ceili’s farm is sort of between Middletown Ohio and Oxford Ohio, but for equine portraits (including senior portraits with horses and other equestrian sport photography opportunities, I will travel up to several hours for a session including mid to northern Kentucky, mid to South East Indiana, and mid to South West Ohio)

Since I specialize in photographing horses, I have a little trick in my iphone. I have MP3 files of horses whinnying that I sometimes play to get horses’ ears up or to get their attention. When I played it for the donkey it got his attention, you could see the interest building, several big breaths of air and WOW that donkey can bray. We had to move away and cover our ears it was so loud. He was looking about trying to find where on earth those other horses were and he certainly knew how to make it known where he was.

Ceili was ready with Stormy Jazz and we found a good place where the corn and a barn provided some open shade and a good clean background. Ceili has a great smile.

We took various poses, but at one point I put my camera down to my side and Ceili took a breath and relaxed more. She also reached over and gave her horse a big hug. Fast reflexes and up the camera went and click, click, I got the shot. It seems that in almost every on-location session, there are several spontaneous moments. Keeping your eyes open and being ready for whatever comes your way can lead to some great portraits. Of course you have to know how to set up the poses too. When I do my portrait sessions, I am comfortable with my equipment, my assistant knows what I want from the lighting, so that allows me to focus on my subject (not just camera focus) and be looking for that natural smile and spontaneous moment.

Jean, Ceili’s mom also wanted some relaxed portraits without the horse.

Last we moved to the front yard and took some portraits of Ceili with Nemo. The family has several beautiful german shepherds.

Even though it was very hot, Ceili was able to make a couple changes of clothes and didn’t get too hot. Around here, it has been raining often even with the heat so everything has stayed green. If you want portraits with your horse, please don’t wait and call after everything dries up and turns brown. We may be lucky this summer and have green and pretty all season long. That will also make good for a very colorful fall. Please visit my web site if you want to have your portrait made with your horse at your farm or stable. http://www.photosbypdemott.com . You can also send me an email at peter@photosbypdemott.com or call me at 937-478-6222. For senior (highschool portraits) and for anyone else who loves their horse and wants some great images to remember them by, I come to your farm or stable and will travel some distance if needed (you’ll need to pay a bit more after 25 miles). Hope to hear from you soon.

Bev Pettit Photography, fine art equine photography from Skull Valley Arizona

Bev Pettit is a very talented fine art equine photographer located in Skull Valley Arizona. I met her online as she is one of my students taking a course in advertising and marketing for equine photographers sponsored by the Equine Photographers Network.

Once she switches over to a stand alone WordPress web site, I think that she will begin to get noticed. Right now her web site is a flash web site and for the most part she is invisible to google search engines. This is a common problem with photographers because web site developers promote beautiful looking flash web sites to photographers, but even with all the “bells and whistles” for SEO (search engine optimization) most of these site do very little for the photographers except make a good impression for the very few that ever see their site. While a wordpress website (not a wordpress.com blog) will generate organic search results for the owner, the only way to get people to these flash web sites is to promote them in other media.

But, Bev is pretty savy and she will soon work this out and become better know for her fine images.

Here is her web site address : http://www.bevpettit.com/

One of the pictures you might see there is this:

But, I would be interested to see if we can build her connections a bit by driving some FANS to her business Facebook page which she recently opened. She is sharing images on a regular basis there and you will enjoy what you see so why not “LIKE” her page on facebook and get to know Bev

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bev-Pettit-Photography/113312035372281?ref=ts

See you at Bev’s Page and tell me what you think.

The Rolex Three Day Event at Kentucky Horse Park

Almost every year Patty and I make a trek down the the Kentucky Horse Park to watch the cross country jumping part of the Rolex. The weather forcasts for the day (Saturday 4/24/2010) were not good. However, we decided to go anyway and hope for the best. As it turned out, we drove through rain, but by the time we got there the pavement was dry and it was already starting to warm up.

I use the event to hone my skills and become a better photographer. We typically watch each jump for one or two riders then move on to the next jump taking in almost the entire course.

Another fun thing is touching base with photographer friends that I see there. I ran into Jennay, Kelly, and Danita this year. There are hundreds of photographers honing their skills all over the grounds and another thing that I do is introduce myself here and there and mention the Equine Photographer’s Network. “Have you heard of the Equine Photographer’s Network?” I say. Then I say something about what it is if they have not heard of it. Usually the response is, “That sounds great.” I give them my card and ask them to send me an email so I can send them a link the EPnet so that they can check it out for themselves. http://www.equinephotographers.org/

We saw one refusal, but we didn’t see any wrecks this year. However there were a couple of wrecks. One both horse and rider were walking. The other happened just before the end of the event and the rider was careflighted to the hospital by helicopter. I did not hear how it happened or about the horse. http://www.kentucky.com/624 http://www.kentucky.com/2010/04/25/1239175/bashed-and-bruised-townend-out.html

This year, many of the jumps were modified and there were several that had “sythetic break-a-way logs” made of styrophome. In prior years there had been some jumps that presented serious problems for horses and riders involving solid heavy logs spread out  several feet. A minor miscalculation by the horse or rider could have serious consequences whenever horses are jumping, but these past jumps proved particularly difficult and dangerous in the past. I was pleased to see less complexity in this respect. At the same time, the biggest wreck last year was on a simple jump at the beginning or the course. However, this is an intense sport anyway as are all horse sports, even recreational riding, so injuries do occur no matter how well planned the jumps can be. Just last weekend, my daughter Sarah was dismounting at an endurance ride and her horse started bucking and reacting to something. She fell and was kicked in the head cracking her helmet. No long lasting injuries because of wearing correct protective gear (head ache and stiff neck for a day). And yet there are still those who insist on riding horses without head protection (of course everyone at the Rolex is required to wear protective gear).

Here are some of the images from the day. This first photograph is where the one major accident happened on Saturday.

Chicken Chase Pioneer Endurance Ride – Recap and photos 2010

Each year the Chicken Chase Endurance ride is our rite of spring. Patty starts getting excited and tries to ride her horse on the weekends in anticipation of the first Endurance ride of the spring. Trailer gets packed up and ready, etc, etc, etc.

The weather during the ride was great. Many trees were in blossom and the grass in the pastures where we camped was lush and green.

On the first day of the ride, Friday, I was taking pictures of the riders coming into the first vet check. To find a good spot, I climbed a very steep hill for about half a mile and I was able to take pictures of about the first half of the riders when it started raining. I waited it out for a bit and thought it was over, but then there was a bit of a downpour. At that point I covered my camera with my down vest and headed back down the hill.

A link to my pictures from the ride is at the end of this post. Daniel is another photographer that was there, but he was not able to shoot at all on the biggest day which was Saturday. Friday’s ride was tuff with steep hills and longer miles (30 miles and 55 miles) This year the turn out was low however and even on Saturday there were only about 30 25 mile riders and 30 50 mile riders. Normally this ride is well over 100 riders. Hopefully some of these pictures will inspire some of you to come to this well managed ride next year.

One thing that I notice at endurance rides is that in most cases as the people ride by me, they are smiling big. Sometimes they have a look of concern or concentration on their faces because they are trying to anticipate and figure out how their horse is going to respond to me firing off my camera as they ride by. But other than that, everyone is smiling and talking about how beautiful the trails are.

This last trail picture is of my wife Patty on her horse Cocoa. In most cases the horses are at a fast trot or sometimes a canter as they pass by me on the trail. These still pictures do not show you just how fast these folks are booking as they pass by.

In the evenings before the sun went down, I walked around the camp and took various portraits. The ideal light just before sunset provided that soft quality that made for great portrait taking.

It rained some that night, but had stopped by morning and the day was very pretty. Thank goodness it did not rain hard all night long because our tent had about ten drips. Make a note, along with rain gear for my camera, I need to get tent seam sealer and retreat the seams on the rain fly of the ten. I was able to take pictures of almost every rider on Saturday, however it was too nice out. You see when the sun gets bright in the sky it becomes more difficult to find places with even light in the forest. Light becomes patchy with horses running in and out of shadowy and bright areas as they come down the trail.

At the dinner and awards on Saturday evening one rider came to me and asked if I could take some portraits of her dog. Her dog would be going into surgery next week for the removal of some cancer, but he is an oder dog and the cancer would soon have its way with the dog. I said sure and we were able to do some portraits. At first she said, I think just the dog, then I suggested that we do some with her in the portraits too.

LINKS to more pictures from the Chicken Chase Pioneer Endurance ride.

http://pdemott.smugmug.com/Endurance-Competitive-Trail/Chicken-Chase-AERC-Endurance/11888671_D79ku#841191287_XySp4

If you participated in this endurance ride, if you know someone who did, please send them here to look at the pictures. Also at the top of the proof page, there is a coupon code listed for 30% off for all orders placed within 30 days of the event. If you have any questions and you would like to talk with me about them, please feel free to give me a call at 937-478-6222

I also have some images posted on facebook. If you go to my business page, you should be able to “tag” pictures with who they are and the pictures will be posted to that person’s wall.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=164475&id=152303558213

Pictures from the camp area by Daniel are available at his web site here: http://www.picturesdanieltook.com/Endurance-Horse-Rides

To learn more about endurance riding as a sport go to the American Endurance Ride Conference web site here http://www.aerc.org and explore.

I also took some video clips at this ride that you can watch here (Just short little video clips to give you a taste of what endurance riding is about):

http://pdemott.smugmug.com/Endurance-Competitive-Trail/Chicken-Chase-Video-Clips/Chicken-Chase-Video-Clips/11898570_NHcX7#842144086_VZejr

Last of all, I posted an album of some of my favorite images on my facebook business page. If you go here you are welcome to tag any photos of people you know so that these pictures will go to their wall (just please leave my information on the photos) and I welcome you to become a fan of Peter DeMott Photography if you like.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=164475&id=152303558213

Kristen’s senior portrait session Animoto Video

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

I just remembered that this embedded video will not show up when this goes over to facebook. Here is the LINK to the YouTube video :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iA2__fOMahQ

In addition, this is a LOW RESOLUTION Animoto video slide show. I have decided that anything that I provide as a commercial for sale item will require me to purchase their HIGH RESOLUTION version of this programing system which gives HD quality imaging.

This post will appear on my web site: http://www.photosbypdemott.com It will also appear on my facebook personal page and my facebook fan page along with a post on twitter. I am a portrait photographer in the Dayton, Ohio area specializing in on-location portraits of seniors, families and children. I also have a specialty in equine (horse) photography and will come to your farm or stable for your session. If you like my style I encourage you to follow me in any or all the above mentioned areas. If you are a photographer, I enjoy networking with other photographers both professional and amateur.

Trails End Equestrian Center Barn Door Mini Sessions at DLSC show

These are  a couple young ladies that I hope will become the subjects of some of my senior portrait sessions with horses. These are from mini barn door sessions that I took while at the horse show at the Trails End Equestrian Center which is a couple miles down the road from my home.

It’s fun to get professional portraits of kids with horses. At these shows and stables, kids can enjoy horses in a very controlled environment that is fairly safe. Kid’s, children and horses, with great smiles, you can’t beat that.

Sometimes I shoot the local horse shows in the DLSC (Dayton Local Show Circuit). Here are the participating farms:

http://www.trailsend.biz/dlscorgs.html

and the schedule of shows

http://www.trailsend.biz/dlscshows.html

Participating Farms and Stables Listed here. Come and join the fun.

Dancing Horse Farm – Lebanon – 513-933-0343

Greenstone Stables – Germantown – 937-859-1835

The Riding Center – Xenia – 937-767-9087

Shelby Farm – Centerville – 937-886-9230

Stillwater Pony Club – Beavercreek – 937-426-9443

Trails End Equestrian Center – Dayton -937-835-5062

Wetherbrook Farm – Waynesville – 937-885-6328

Whitehouse Stables – Sidney – 937-492-3831

This post will appear on my web site: http://www.photosbypdemott.com It will also appear on my facebook personal page and my facebook fan page along with a post ontwitter. I am a portrait photographer in the Dayton, Ohio area specializing in on-location portraits of seniors, families and children. I also have a specialty in equine (horse) photography and will come to your farm or stable for your session. If you like my style I encourage you to follow me in any or all the above mentioned areas. If you are a photographer, I enjoy networking with other photographers both professional and amateur.

Inspiration for the spring and summer horse show season in the Dayton area

How about we change gears and just get excited for the spring and summer riding season here in the Dayton area. I went through some horse show pictures from a dressage show at Weatherbrook Farm in Waynesville. This leopard spotted horse caught my attention. These were from 2008 in July.

I’ll bet you cannot wait.

This post will appear on my web site: http://www.photosbypdemott.com It will also appear on my facebook personal page and my facebook fan page along with a post ontwitter. I am a portrait photographer in the Dayton, Ohio area specializing in on-location portraits of seniors, families and children. I also have a specialty in equine (horse) photography and will come to your farm or stable for your session. If you like my style I encourage you to follow me in any or all the above mentioned areas. If you are a photographer, I enjoy networking with other photographers both professional and amateur.

The meaning of 1/1000th of one second and capturing a moment in time

Ears up and alert:

As I was listening to some other photographers being interviewed in podcast interview, I was considering a common thing that happens with my equine portrait (horse portrait) clients. During an equine portrait session at a farm or boarding stable I usually have an extra person with me that is in charge of getting the attention of the horse. Now I have to explain to the person in the portrait that they need to pay attention to me and my instructions and not worry about how the horse looks as that is my responsibility.

Ears are the RADAR animals use to protect themselves

Horses like other animals have ears that can be turned every which way like radar to find out what is happening around them. It is something that God gave them to help them to more effectively deal with predators and dangers. When you are around horses, you will see their ears twitching this way or that continuously. The movements are very quick and effortless.

Client Seeming disappointment

Now as I am taking the portraits involving horses and humans, the person in the portrait hears the shutter firing, then they look up at their horse and they see the horse with their ears in various places, but seldom do they see ears pricked forward and looking interested.  Every fraction of a second that horse moves its ears this way and that as it explores its environment and surroundings. It takes a moment or two (lets say two full seconds) for the human subject to look up at the horse. So the impression they have is that I am capturing portraits of their horse when he looks like a mule (not to insult mules), he looks disinterested or distracted.

Trying to help someone get a better portrait / timing is everything – or at least it is VERY important

I have also noticed this when I’m around a mom or a dad with a camera or a grandma with a camera it’s in my nature to try to help them get good portraits of their daughter or son or gand-kid with their horse. In one case, I even stood behind the person with a camera explaining that I would help them with “ears up” so they could get a better portrait. Every time when the ears were pricked forward, I would say,”now!” and in every case about 3 full seconds later they would depress the shutter button (or in some cases if they had a point and shoot, there was a shutter delay of several seconds). By then the horse’s ears had gone several different ways, but were no longer pricked forward and at attention. From a professional point of view, these would be failed portraits or perhaps what we might call it just a “snapshot”, not a portrait.

It’s the same with other animals. Each kind of animal or breed has a list of things that have to look just so for the image to be outstanding.

The meaning of 1/1000th of one second

Now for the meaning of 1/1000th of one second. When my subject opens their web page at the proofs page from their equine photo session it is not uncommon for me to get an email something like this, “Wow, how did you do that? These are great….oh my gosh.” You recall from above every time I clicked the shutter they would look up at their horse and they saw their horse with its ears back or cockeyed (looking mulish, not to insult mules), but what they did not realize was that I had captured 1/1000th of one second and that was 50 1/1000ths of a second ago. EVERYTHING had changed by the time they turned their eyes up toward their horse.

Choosing One 1/1000th of one second from 7 million 200 thousand others

There are ONE THOUSAND 1/1000ths of a second IN EACH SECOND and I picked  JUST ONE to create an enduring moment that could be cherished by the horse owner for years to come. Think of it just a little more. In a two hour farm call session there are 120 minutes. Each minutes has 60 seconds in it for a total of 7,200 seconds and each second has one thousand 1/1000ths of a second shutter click opportunities for a whopping total of 7 million 200 thousand shutter click opportunities in a two hour session. Not that we need to go there, but my camera has a 1/5000th of one second shutter speed option…Whew!

After about an hour with Kristen, she was exhausted from pulling her horse’s head up out of the green grass an exceptionally green early fall. Every time she looked up her horse was distracted and each ear was going a different direction. Her dad who watched from afar was skeptical that there would be much of anything to look at from the session. Both Kristen and her mom said, “Oh well, we tried (or something of that nature).” I said, “I think you are both going to be pleasantly surprised.”

As you look through her senior portrait session with her horse, consider all the moments that are not recorded. As photographers we have many, many choices as to the exact moment we choose to record. And this is just one aspect of what is important for good animal and animal with human portraits.

To see Kristen’s session with her and her horse and her puppy just click on this link.

As an equine photographer and senior portrait photographer her in SW Ohio (Greater Dayton area including Miamisburg, Springboro, Centerville, Kettering, Oakwood, Beavercreek, Xenia, Fairborn, Troy, Tipp City, Englewoood and Vandalia) I really enjoy combining the two. Other senior portrait photographers, even if they are willing to come to your location, seldom know much about horses. Nothing can ruin a senior portrait with a beautiful young lady more than a beautiful horse that looks like a mule (again, no insult intended for mules).

Also, for those in Tennessee visit my friend JULIE POOLE’s web site. She photographs horses, but along with humans she is well known for portraits of dogs and cats and their humans. Look at how alert they look and consider how many different moments she has to choose from when taking these portraits.

This post is on my web site: http:www.photosbypdemott.com . It will also be on my facebook fan page and on my personal facebook page. It will be linked on my twitter account. You are welcome to follow or friend me in any or all of these locations.

Senior Portraits in Snow, Horse and Rider Portraits in Snow & Family and Kids in Snow

Gray and dreary outdoors here in the Dayton area. I cannot wait for Spring and the blossoms and new green foliage.

Right now in the Dayton area, there is not much snow. However the first weeks of February can be unpredictable and we could have what West Virginia is digging out of any time in the next several weeks (first three weeks of February, that is). As it is now, we have nothing but gray and it does not make for beautiful outdoor portraits.

BUT, if the snow flies again consider professional on-location outdoor portraits

If we do get a big dose of snow in the coming weeks, I just want you to know that I am available to take Senior Portraits in Snow. I’ve recently posted some snow portraits with horses along with some tips on how to get great snow pictures and portraits. Lots of white snow is NOT a time when you can just trust you camera to make the right decisions. If you want to take your own pictures in the snow, review my previous posts to get some good ideas, but it you want professional on-location snow portraits of your high school senior or your children (special family time portraits of mom and dad with the kids), don’t hesitate to give me a call when the weather man starts talking heavy snow. If you have a wooly horse that you want portraits with in the snow, I can do those too. If it works out, you will have extra special portraits, completely unique and fun to share. Call me at 937-478-6222 (Peter DeMott). IF the snow comes and IF someone takes me up on this offer, I will share some extra special and completely unique family portraits, senior portraits, or horse and rider portraits here on my blog.

If you missed my earlier posts with tips on getting good snow pictures and portraits with your digital camera, here they are:

http://www.photosbypdemott.com/2010/01/snow-snow-snow-taking-better-pictures-in-snow/

http://www.photosbypdemott.com/2010/01/taking-better-winter-snow-portraits-follow-up/

This post is on my web site and blog here: http://www.photosbypdemott.com . It will also appear on my personal facebook page where you are welcome to friend me: Peter DeMott . It will be on my Twitter account: pdemottphoto . And last it will show up on my facebook fan page: Peter DeMott Photography . You are welcome to share these posts and links with your friends in snowy areas, become a fan or friend or follow my web site by subscribing on the top right of my home page. Thanks, Peter DeMott

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