If you didn't attend the 2013 Big Change Round-up last weekend at Jolley Stables in Colchester, you missed a great time!  This event was for charity and is the project of Fletcher Allen Health Center and local radio station WOKO to benefit the Vermont Children's Hospital. It was organized with the help of Erin Longworth of Erin Longworth Performance Horses in Milton.  We had plenty of competitors from kids who were trying gymkhana for the first time to riders who are experienced on the local gymkhana circuit.  One of them is Ashely Rae Smith who asked me to attend and try to get some great images from the day.  I agreed and then offered to donate a 2 hour portrait session that came with a free 11x14 print.  There were lots of great prizes given away that had been donated by several local businesses.  It was the first competition of the season for most and although at first you could see there was a little rust on the horses from the long winter, it soon was gone and they looked like they were back in the game.  From the smiles on the faces I saw, I think this was a success and will be held again next year! 

For those that are not aware, gymkhana is a series of games that involves pole bending, barrel racing and jumping.  The action is usually challenging enough to capture, but this event being held inside made it even more so.  The darkness of the arena and the windows at the top of the walls made the exposures pretty challenging.  I was faced with either lighting the area with secondary sources (not easy and the horses might be affected by flash) or high ISO's.  I chose the ISO's and   my Nikon's were up to it.  A little noise reduction in Lightroom and we made some great images. 

(Left) This pony gave his opinion of gymkhana... must be an open show horse!

(Right) Ivy obviously having a good time, but then, when doesn't she? 

Thanks to everyone who have already bought pics from this! See you next year. More info on the Big Change Round-up can be found here.   Make sure to leave me a comment if you like what you see or have something else you want to see, or whatever. 

OK, so maybe not everyone will think this view of a police cruiser is beautiful, especially in your rearview mirror.  But. this week I did a shoot that was something new for me.  I have never thought I would be into automotive photography, but after watching an online class, I decided to try it.  I wanted to try a subject that would be really cool, and yet be accessible.  Not knowing anyone who owns a Ferrari or Lamborghini or other exotic cars, I decided to use a subject that only I would have access to.  Since my ‘other’ job allows me access to police cruisers, I thought I could do a shoot with one of our newest.  Further, the shoot would be used to promote the Police Department and to update our display boards for the upcoming show season.  

The 2013 Ford Police Interceptor is a really great vehicle.  While it’s only a 6 cylinder, Ford has really gotten the most out of it and it can accelerate with the Dodge Charger.  It only loses out to the HEMI on the top speed category.  Even better, it’s all wheel drive and in this part of the country, we need it, believe me.  The black and white paint scheme would make for some challenging, but attractive images and we wanted to capture shots that would be dramatic.  This car is equipped with an automated license plate reader.  You can just see the cameras on the trunk in the pic of the rear of the car.  The technology that's inside today's police vehicles is really incredible.  From in car video cameras to laptop computers (the next generation will be tablets) and better radio equipment; Officers have to be familiar with many different pieces of equipment. 

I say we in that I had my friend Jason assisting.  We used only one light, a small hot-shoe flash, for this whole shoot.  It was placed inside a 10x36 strip softbox with Pocket Wizard Plus III’s.  We also shot tethered into Lightroom the whole time and this allowed us to see the details of the shots as we took them.  Most of the shots were done with a Nikon D700 and 24-70 zoom but Jason even used his D3100 and an 18-55 kit lens for the side view, which goes to show that you do not need an expensive camera to do great work.  We went around the car trying to get details and overviews of the car that could be used to show the technology of the car and yet capture the style also. 

Thanks for reading.  If anyone has any questions or comments, be sure to leave one at the bottom. 

Are you boarding at a barn?  Maybe a barn manager who wants to offer something different?  How about friends who all own and love horses?  This year I am offering a group rate for barn owners or groups of friends that want to have pictures with their horses.  Here's the deal:

• Gather at least three people. (Possibly more depending on travel)
• Choose a contact.  This can be the barn owner, or anyone who wants to be the person who signs others up.  This person may get their session discounted or even free depending on how many people sign up.  I can supply you with materials to promote the sessions but you sign up the people.  
• We will choose a day to shoot, then each person will choose a session time. If you don't all keep your horses at the same place, that's OK, we can decide on a location that works for everyone. 
• On the day, I go to your barn or where ever the group chooses and we make great images!

The session fee will be $100 each (a 33% savings off my normal rate) with a non-refundable deposit of $50 at the time we book.  The fee is on a per horse/per person basis.  What's this get you?  At least an hour of shooting time, a DVD with all of the images suitable for the web (Facebook, etc), your own gallery on my website where you can view the images for 6 months and can order prints and all kinds of other great stuff with your horse on it!  Plus a great time taking pics with your horse, your friends and their horses!

Email me if you are interested in setting up a group or for more info.