Sneak Peek: Nicole & Phoenix

Winter tends to be my slow season for horse portraits, what with Washington weather being what it is and horse's tendency to turn into hairy yaks. That doesn't mean it can't be done, no m'am! Of course creative scheduling may be necessary to avoid getting wet and it helps if your horse has a short winter coat or is kept clipped. Adorable hunt clips are required preferred adorable.



This Sunday, after having to reschedule due to rain last Sunday (which of course was followed by an AMAZINGLY beautiful Monday :-P), I went down to Olympia to photograph the lovely Phoenix.



Phoenix was a bit of a ham! I totally expect a horse that's been stalled prior to the session to do a couple "hooray! I'm free!" laps around the pasture, but Phoenix had been hanging out in this pasture all day. He flew around the pasture at top speed, tossing his head and kicking up his heels. He was absolutely showing off.





Phoenix and his mom Nicole



Phoenix has a buddy named Eddie who is not quite as old as dirt, but definitely older than mud. Eddie's job is to be Phoenix's best bud, get loved on, and eat carrots. Eddie is very good at his job. At the end of the session we brought Eddie out to get a few shots of the boys together.



Phoenix was actually only part of the session, we also spent some time with Nicole's (human) boys and their three pugs. There was no way I was going to be able to pick only a couple favorites to keep this post from being impossibly long, so you're just going to have to wait until next time to see them!

Thank you Nicole for having me out! More sneak peek photos (and the full gallery) coming soon!

Sneak Peek: Nicole & Phoenix

Sneak Peek: Cody & Harley

I've wanted to do a shoot at the river meadow at Lords Hill Park ever since I saw it from 522. I even went there to do a little location scouting this summer and brought Sammy dog along to see if it earned her paw stamp of approval (which it did ;-) ). So when I got a call asking to do a session with two adorable mutts, I jumped at the chance to go to the river meadow! Something I hadn't considered, however, was that it's winter. In Washington. And the creek that was barely a tiny trickle in summer was now a full on roaring creek that had turned the dips in the meadow into moats. Needless to say it was a little wet.

This, however, wasn't an issue for Cody....

And his partner in crime, Harley.

They went crazy exploring the tall grass and creeks! It turned it into a wild game of chase, into the grasses, into the creek, back into the grasses, around and around with Harley leading the way and Cody close on his tail. It was a hoot! I'm so glad they had fun, I know I sure did!

Speaking of their game of chase, if you ever want a challenge, try photographing two dogs running full speed through 4ft tall grass. I got a lot of pictures of grass and a black or tan tail! But every now and then they would hold still and the grass made for some really cool backgrounds!

For no other reason than he's adorable, Cody's dog lips:

I think this is Cody "talking" to me because I won't throw the tennis ball lol!

Cody & Harley's gallery will be up soon. I want to thank their mom Connie for giving me the opportunity to meet these two sweet boys!

Sneak Peek: Cody & Harley

Kristin and Tuff- Sneak Peek!

Last weekend I went out to Black Raven Stables for a portrait session with Kristin and her handsome (and slightly onry ;) ) Quarter Horse gelding, Tuff. I'm still working on getting her proofs perfected, but I couldn't resist sharing a couple!

Kristin and Tuff- Sneak Peek!