Happy Holidays!

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart. Wishing you happiness."
~ Helen Keller


Season's Greetings from all of us at ImagEquine and Thornapple Farm.
I have created a slide show of some of my favorite winter images for you to enjoy.

Circle C Ranch, Oklahoma

I am often asked what is my favorite subject to photograph in the horse world. This is a tough question because I love photographing anything horsey, but to be able to spend time in a beautiful setting with great light and horses just being horses is near the top of my list!

This week's photo was taken during a recent trip to the Circle C Ranch in Oklahoma to meet up with some fellow photographers to plan a photo workshop there for 2011.
You can see more photos from this shoot here. I am looking forward to returning to Oklahoma next year!
Here are the details on the workshop we have planned.

Jackie and Pinup

This week I am sharing a photo of Jackie Marston and her 24 year old Morgan mare, Pinup. These two were such game and fun models for us, and they work so well together as a team they were a joy to photograph.
Can't you just feel Pinup's attitude and personality in this photo?
Go here to enjoy more photos from this shoot.

Green Creek Hunt

Over the next few weeks I will be sharing some new galleries of photos I took of my recent trip to the Carolinas and Oklahoma. Today I am sharing a photo I took during our Fall Workshop. This is of the Green Creek Hunt that came just for our group to photograph. What a treat! These were some of the best behaved hounds I have ever seen, they seemed to take their job of posing for us very seriously!
Enjoy all the photos from this shoot at this gallery.

Heart of the Catskills Shelter Calendar

Our awesome area shelter is selling calendars as a fundraiser. Many of the photos in the calendar are mine, I was very proud to be able to participate in this project.
They did a great job putting it together and if anyone is looking for a good gift for the animal lover on their list and helps a great cause, this is one of the greatest shelters on earth, no exaggeration! Go here to order yours! We were honored to have our own boy Patches the Beagle featured in it. Patches was in the shelter for a year and a half before my daughter found him and brought him home and he is now a big loving part of our family.

ImagEquine Fall Galleries

I have been busy this fall and would like to share some exciting new galleries with you. Please email me at carien@imagequine.com for usage and licensing information.

Team Penning, Horse Pulls, Draft Horse Show and much more can be found at the Delaware County Fair Galleries.

Miniature Donkies: cuteness beyond words!
New England Fall Festival Dressage Favorites

Fall sessions:
Barb and her Percherons
Delilah and Flyboy

Fall Trail Ride at Cat Hollow Farm
Vermont Carriage Drive and Museum in October
Courtenay's senior session
Katie's senior session
Brookfield Fall Pleasure Trail Ride
And finally some recent photos taken right in my own backyard: Light and Thornapple Fall

2011 Colorado Cowboys and Horses Calendar

The 2011 Colorado Cowboys and Horses Calendar are available for ordering!

Enjoy 13 months of 77 all new and exciting photographs featuring the horses and cowboys of Sombrero Ranch and the 2010 Great American Horse Drive in Northwest Colorado.

Go here to see some preview pages and order your copy! View all the photos in the calendar at this slide show.

Remember these calendars make a great gift to be enjoyed all year long.

NOTE: Also available now a collectors edition of the last five years of calendars!

Quantity, dealer and fundraiser inquiries welcome. Drop me an email!

Fall Favorites

It has been a glorious fall here in the northeast but with a few frosty morning behind us we know that colder weather is just around the corner!
I have created a slide show of some of my favorite fall images here. Enjoy!

Senior Sessions

Fall is my favorite time of year and I always try to get out to make the most of the beautiful colors and light before winter sets in. I have been lucky enough to do some really fun senior sessions with some young ladies and their horses. Most recently I met up with Courtenay Chambers at the Plun Tree Inn in South Kortright for her session. The light was beautiful and we had a lot of fun exploring the buildings and surroundings. View more photos from
this shoot here. Please Note: I will be traveling to Vermont the week of October 3rd and will also be in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and North Carolina the end of October. Email me to set up a session at reduced rates!

End of Summer Light

During Labor Day Weekend we had a challenge shoot at EPNet to capture the End of Summer Light. Sunday morning I woke early and saw the fog coming off our pond and knew I had to go shoot it!

Despite getting soaked by the dew I was able to get some good photos of my little herd. This photo is of my Arab mare, Quill. See some more of the photos I created for this shoot here.

NEDA Fall Festival

Next week I will be teaming up with Carole MacDonald and Matt Baldelli to photograph the NEDA Fall Festival in Saugerties, New York. This is one of the largest dressage shows in the country and always a pleasure to photograph.

If you will be riding please make sure to send us your info (bridle #, ride time and day, ring #) ahead of time so we can make sure to catch your ride.

Enjoy these gallery of NEDA favorites from 2008 and 2009

See you there and have a great ride!

Fair Time!

I spent last week photographing at the Delaware County Fair here in my home town of Walton, NY. This fair boasts one of the largest agricultural exhibits and there is always a full day of horse activity going on. From draft horses to team penning to gymkhana and traditional horse show classes it's a real treat for me to have all this available to me in my back yard!
All the photos from the various days' events may be seen at this link. Enjoy!

Cross State Trail Ride

One of the joys of summer is being able to get out on a perfect day and photograph horses and riders enjoying some beautiful trails and the fellowship of other trail riders. Over the years I have found trail riders some of the best horse men and women and always appreciative when they see me on the trail with my camera.

This photo was taken at the recent Cross State Trail Ride in Brookfield, New York. This is an annual event that draws close to 100 riders from all over the Northeast. Photos from this ride may be seen here. If you recognize anybody please feel free to pass along the link as I was not able to make contact with everyone that rode.

I have always enjoyed shooting at the Brookfield trail system and plan to return in October for the Fall Pleasure Ride. It is hard to believe that Fall is just around the corner!

Finger Lakes Fjord Horse Show

I recently photographed the Finger Lakes Fjord Horse Show in Weedsport, New York. These little horses are always a pleasure to photograph, they have so much personality and are incredibly versatile and the owners love showing them off. The costume class was particularly fun and well attended this year.
Check out some of my favorite images from this event here, and if you were an exhibitor and still need access to the complete galleries drop me an email and I will send you the info.
Enjoy!

Quietude Stud Morgans

So many people commented on my photos of the Morgan stallion Quietude Jubilee Kingdom taken at the Quietude Stud in Hillsboro, West Virginia that I am sharing another photo from this shoot as well as the link to all the photos taken while I was there. Quietude has a large herd of Lambert bred Morgans that are a pure joy to photograph!

Saddlebreds

This photo of mother and daughter Jenny and Judy McGowan and two of their favorite horses was taken at Sunrise Saddlebreds in Lexington, Kentucky.
See the photos from this shoot here.

I am available to take photos at the location of your choice to help you preserve memories of your favorite equine friends. I will be in the Utica-Rochester area this coming Saturday, Sunday and Monday, and in Eastern New York state in the next few weeks, send me an email at carien@imagequine.com to make arrangements for a discounted farm call while I am in your area!

Clark Farms

I visited Clark Farms in Pennsylvania recently to see this years foal crop. As always the mares and foals look wonderful and I was blessed with great light and good weather.

I wish all horses could live like this herd does, the stallion, mares and foals all enjoying a natural herd life in knee deep grass. Not only that but these are some of the most beautiful Quarter Horses I have ever seen not to mention their excellent dispositions.

See the photos from my visit here.

Beautiful Friesians!

I don't think there is anything we photographers enjoy more than being in a field surrounded by beautiful, galloping horses!
This was what our group was treated to during the recent EPNet workshop in Lexington, Kentucky: a group of six Friesians putting on a show for us!

Thank you to Fryslan Valley Friesian Farm for the opportunity despite the heat. More photos from this shoot may be seen here.

Keeneland Race Track, Kentucky

Over the last two weeks I travelled over 3,000 miles and took almost 7,000 images, so I will have lots of new work to share with you over the next weeks. I spent several mornings at the Keeneland Race track in Lexington, Kentucky. Here a young Thoroughbred is enjoying a bath and getting some relief from the intense heat and humidity. More photos from Keeneland may be seen at this link.

This week I started my online course the Basics of Equine Photography and we have been discussing bokeh. This image illustrates a great bokeh. Go take a look at this fun video to learn more about bokeh!
Have a great weekend!

NC PAHA Show

I have been photographing this Arabian Show in Hughesville, Pennsylvania for over 20 years and it is always a pleasure. Some of the people I photographed as juniors at this show in the 80's now have their own children competing!

When I made the decision to drastically reduce the amount of events that I officiate at this was one that I kept on the schedule. I enjoy the location, the people and horses and it has a friendly, supportive atmosphere that I wish could be the norm at horse shows rather than the exception! Not only that but the exhibitors go out of their way to let me know they appreciate me, something that seems to be rarer and rarer with many show photographers struggling with poachers, moms with cameras and people lifting images without paying.

Here is a link to some of my favorites from this show. Enjoy!

Spring in Virginia

I spent a beautiful spring day photographing the people and the horses they love at TuDane Farm in Warrenton Virginia this past April.
This farm is run by Jonelle and Tracy Mullen. Tracy was the person that started me on my journey with horses as a teenager with weekly riding lessons. I feel fortunate to have her give me my start with horses and also for our friendship that has lasted now for 35 years!

In this photo is Tracy's daughter Jonelle and her daughter Kelsey. Three generations of horse lovers! See all the photos from this shoot here.

This month I will be travelling in Western New York, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania. I am available to stop at your place and help you capture the images you need, and as always I am looking for photo ops!

Drop me an email and save significant travel fees if you book while I am in your area. carien@imagequine.com

Sombrero Ranch and Great American Horse Drive Photos

All the photos from the Colorado Sombrero Photo Workshop and Great American Horse Drive in May may all be seen at this link. Enjoy!

Sombrero Ranch Photos

This photo was taken on the first morning of our Sombrero Ranch Photo Workshop in Craig, Colorado recently. It was cold and the horses were steamy providing for some excellent photo ops for our group. All my photos from the workshop may be seen at this link. The Horse Drive photos will be posted early next week. Enjoy!

Sand Wash, Colorado Mustangs

This photo of two young Mustang stallions was taken recently on the Sand Wash, Colorado Herd Management Area.
I spent three days exploring the Sand Wash and Adobe Town, Wyoming ranges with fellow wild horse lovers and advocates Nancy Roberts and Pam Nickoles.
Sadly these ranges are quickly becoming empty of wild horses as the government continues to round them up. Read more about the plight of our wild horses at this link.

Spring in Pennsylvania Dutch Country

This photo was taken last week in the Amish country surrounding Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
The farmers here still work the land with teams of large mules and draft horses and many teams were out plowing the fields to prepare them for planting.

More photos from Pennsylvania Dutch Country may be seen at this link.

Chincoteague Spring Pony Round Up!

Last week I travelled down to Chincoteague, Virginia to attend the spring pony round up. This photo is of two stallions in the pens and while there is some challenging going on, the ponies seem to know the drill and keep to their own family groups. As you can see by my photos the older stallion Surfer Dude (chocolate chestnut, flaxen mane) did a lot of snaking and posturing to keep things in order!
In the northern end two foals came in with the herd and some mares are very pregnant but after a very rough winter it looks like some of the mares are not carrying foals and the green grass is needed to fatten them up!
Enjoy all my photos from this trip here, or in my facebook album!

CHINCOTEAGUE PONY FANS: I am offering 4x6 photos in the Chincoteague album at $5 each, $8 for 4x6 plus web file of the same image, minimum order of four, other sizes and quantity discounts available. email me for further info and thank you for respecting my copyright!

Suffolk Punch Foals

Well spring is finally here as we can see by the grass turning green, bulbs flowering and baby animals appearing in pastures.
I took this photo at High Meadows Suffolk Punch Farm in Bloomville, New York last week. They have two filles and two colts that were a joy for me to photograph. More photos from this shoot may be seen here.

I am on the lookout for more babies to photograph, drop me a line if you know of any!

Enjoy spring!

Florida Dressage

This week I am sharing a photo I took on my recent trip to Florida to help my friend and fellow photographer Sharon Packer photograph the Wellington Classic Dressage Show in Wellington, Florida.

The first day we were deluged with over six inches of rain and all the outdoor classes were cancelled, leaving just one ring of classes in the covered arena. I am so grateful to Nikon for the latest and greatest DSLR's that perform so well under really low light conditions, I no longer fear having to shoot in low light!

Luckily the remaining two days of the show had wonderful weather and I was able to cover the outdoor rings and enjoy the gorgeous Florida sunshine.

Some favorite photos from this show may be seen here, and Sharon will have all the rider galleries up on her site soon!

Africa Horses and Galleries

On my trip to Africa last December I was lucky enough to meet up with fellow equine photographer Tracy Robertson thanks to the power of EPNet and facebook. This photo was taken at a farm near Capetown, South Africa that Tracy was kind enough to take me to. Two very handsome Thoroughbred geldings were happy to put on a show for us against a magnificent back drop and great light! See more photos from this shoot here. Want to see photos that have something besides horses in them? Check out all the photos in the Africa Galleries as well as some new merchandise with giraffes, zebras and cheetahs in the ImagEquine Store!

March

March is here and that brings the hope that spring will soon be here! Already the days are getting longer, the sun is getting brighter and foals are being born.

Next week I head to Florida to help my friend and fellow photographer Sharon Packer photograph the Brentina Cup Dressage Show in Wellington, Florida.
What a treat!

This week we got the bad news that dressage rider Courtney King had a riding accident and sustained serious head injuries. Please think of her as she is in a coma and it will be a long road to recovery for her.

February Photos

We have gotten a real taste of winter here recently with yesterday's storm bringing us close to two feet of snow! Spring may be just around the corner but it doesn't feel that way right now! I have been trying to go out with my camera but the truth is I don;t do a lot of shooting this time of year! Some more of my photos from this month may be seen here.

(not quite a ) Sleigh Rally

This photo was taken at the ERDHA Sleigh Rally in Johnstown, NY this past Sunday.
Several teams were present to enjoy a sunny winter afternoon. Unfortunately due to lack of snow there were no sleighs, only wagons.
Complete galleries may be seen here

Portrait Work

This photo was taken at the Clark Farms EPNet Workshop in 2008 and was recently on the cover of Holistic Horse Magazine

I have created a gallery of some of my favorite portraits here.

If you have always wanted to capture that special relationship between yourself and your favorite horse, contact me soon so we can discuss and plan a shoot custom made just for you!

Giraffes

"The giraffe, in their queer, inimitable, vegetative gracefulness, as if it were not a herd of animals but a family of rare, long-stemmed, speckled gigantic flowers slowly advancing" ~ Isak Dinesen
This photo was taken in Etosha National Park in Namibia, Africa.

I know you are expecting horse photos from me but I could not resist sharing one more photo from my Africa trip.
As much as I enjoyed all the game and birds that we saw I have to admit I was the most captivated by the giraffes. These creatures are so unusual and elegant they are truly one of nature's triumphs! We were lucky enough to see several good sized herds of giraffes close up. See more giraffes here and all the Africa galleries at this link. Drop me a note and let me know which ones you like best, I always enjoy hearing which ones people pick!

Africa!

II was lucky enough to spend most of the month of December in Africa. My sister in law and I visited my niece that is a Peace Corps Volunteer in Namibia, and we also spent time with friends and family in Capetown and Johannesburg, South Africa.

It was an amazing opportunity, a memory that I will treasure for the rest of my life and has given me a new appreciation for all that we take for granted in our daily lives.

This photo was taken in Etosha National Park in Namibia, Africa. As you can see spring has arrived in the Southern Hemisphere!

View galleries from South Africa and Namibia and Botswana.
Complete galleries will be added to my site soon.