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Samantha_Dawn

The Queen.

My friend Ashley is a professional model...she models with her Stallions who are trick trained to do numerous things. I had her stand on the other side of this ...
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My friend Ashley is a professional model...she models with her Stallions who are trick trained to do numerous things. I had her stand on the other side of this pond and get this shot of her and Thor rearing up. To date; probably one of my most favorite shots. Brings in a whole atmosphere of royalty, respect, and power. The reflection only mirrors that and enhances it....that's the great thing about art. Everyone interprets it differently. I was really worried about the remainder of this shoot because the sun had JUST set behind the mountains...so I was quickly running out of light but wanted to get this shot so badly!
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Canon EOS 7D Mark II

settings

Aperture f/4 ISO 640 Shutter 1/500 Focal Length 73/1

upload_date

Oct, 2017

Views

8771

Likes

+1.1k

Awards

Contest Finalist in Water Is Life Photo Contest

Top Shot Award 22

Legendary Award

Contest Finalist in Inspiring Landscapes Photo Contest

Contest Finalist in Creative Reality Photo Contest

Contest Finalist in Covers Photo Contest Vol 43

Contest Finalist in Covers Photo Contest Vol 42

Contest Finalist in Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 27

Peer Choice Award

Peer Award

+520

Absolute Masterpiece

+156

Superb Composition

+73

Outstanding Creativity

+52

Magnificent Capture

+37

Top Choice

+37

All Star

Superior Skill

Genius

Virtuoso

Emotions

Impressed

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Same photographer See all Behind The Lens

I got home late one night and after driving through the fog all night I realized I needed to grab my horse out of the pasture and use her for a photo

SD Whistler. Blue Roan Gypsy Cob gelding.

Sometimes it's true...the early bird gets the worm.
A photo I have waited years to get, finally was captured.
A week of shoots lined up from Mi

My model friend Erica.
Gypsy Cob Stallion: SD Hercules.

1998 AQHA Grey Stallion "Rockin Little Pistol". Owned by Battson Performance Horses of Sedalia, Missouri, USA.

My friend and her Andalusian stallion galloping through a field at the foot of the Rocky Mountains in Reno, Nevada.

Guthrie Hershey, a gorgeous gypsy stallion, giving me his best bedroom eyes over his hips. What a handsome boy!

NO HORSES WERE HURT in the making of this photo.
Xander and Thor play like this on a daily basis...Thor is just a little bit more of a bully than Xan

I was really upset before I took this photo...the sun we had been waiting on for this horse for this shoot...just randomly disappeared and showed no s

My friend and professional model Ashley Morgan with her friesian stallion Xander. She trick trained her stallion herself for her shoots! We did a Wond

Gorgeous Gypsy Vanner mare at sunset in California !!

SD Hercules a gorgeous black Gypsy Cob Stallion.

My friend Meredith and her barrel gelding: Beamer.
Could not have asked for a more perfect location AND day for a shoot !!
To ride a horse is to rid

Wonder Woman and her Friesian Stallion; Xander...before they ride into battle.

This WAS a themed shoot...but both my friend and I had so much fun dur

17 year old Appaloosa stallion calling out to his mares who are down the road. He didn't particularly care for being away from them for too long

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Portrait of my ten year old daughter, with her favourite fruit by danicasherry

the end of a peaceful day in my village by LuisRodriguesPhotography

Viribus Femina for Alchemy of Alignment - Kickstarter link in bio • by Soulcraft

This mode has swag and style to spare. by illfizzo1210

Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken at Washoe Lake State Park...right outside of Reno, Nevada. Went to Nevada for a huge model/equine photoshoot! Kind of a once in a lifetime shoot that turned into a great friendship!

Time

This image was taken Sunday Oct 15th, 2017 at 6:57PM PST. I was SO nervous that this shot wasn't going to turn out as good as I saw it in my head. The sun had JUST set behind the mountains, thankfully there was still enough light where I could tell her to have her stallion rear across the pond and still capture it without losing detail from the raised ISO. Not to mention...when the sun goes down in Reno...it gets COLD! So I may or may not have been shivering too!

Lighting

The lighting actually scared me. Similar to how I mentioned above...I was so scared my light was going to run out after the sun set behind the mountains... I knew what I wanted the image to look like in my head. There was just enough light that I only had to bump my ISO to 640...and thankfully it didn't lose the detail of the image. The sun setting behind the mountains gave it a very dreamy, eerie, and royal look...it couldn't have turned out better!

Equipment

This image was shot with a Canon 7D MKII, a 70-200 2.8MM IS.

Inspiration

My friend Ashley (model pictured) trained her stallions to rear and do tricks for shoots! I noticed in the field below the mountains in Nevada that we were shooting at had a small/medium sized pond. (By Small/Medium sized, I mean you probably could have easily swam across this little thing!) I instantly had a PERFECT idea in my head, but once again I was RUSHING because the sun was slipping behind the tops of the mountains behind her. I told her I was going to run to the other side of this "pond" and asked if she could cue her stallion to rear when I got to the other side. I positioned her and myself in a way that would allow me to capture not only her, her reflection, and the landscape in the background. I was so excited after this series of photos, I looked at my camera and just was so ecstatic about the fact I caught it and it was just how I pictured it in my head. Before I came to this shoot...I was ready to sell my gear and quit the one thing that gives me the most joy. Ashley gave me a fireball to push on with my dreams and I owe everything to her for boosting my work to the level it is at now.

Editing

Sometimes in Equine Photography a decent amount of post-processing is needed. Sometimes you remove halters, lead lines, scars, flies, backgrounds, objects you don't want in the background....etc. I knew this shot was going to be difficult with the fading light...but using "manual" setting and trusting my experience with shooting horses allowed me to make the necessary settings to make sure I would capture the image how I needed. Thankfully, there wasn't MUCH post-processing editing here. I did bring up the exposure because it was a hair darker than I liked it, I added a little bit more color pop to it.

In my camera bag

First thing I will always carry is my lens... My faithful Canon 70-200 2.8MM IS. I carry two cameras: Canon 7D MKII and a Canon 60D. I also carry a 55-250MM, 18-55MM,and a 50mm prime 1.8. Not that my 70-200 ever comes off my camera, BUT on occasion I do senior pictures with horses and it's nice to have shorter lenses at times.

Feedback

If you're looking to capture something very similar to this...it would be easier if you were able to be in an area that had mountains or large hills. You would need to find a pond/lake next to the mountains and/or hills. Personally, I would have loved to see what this image would have looked like back lit from the sun almost setting behind the mountains...so I think that should be a goal for someone if they wanted to try something similar to this !!

See more amazing photos, follow Samantha_Dawn

Samantha_Dawn

Samantha_Dawn

The Queen.

My friend Ashley is a professional model...she models with her Stallions who are trick trained to do numerous things. I had her stand on the other side of this ...
Read more

Views

Likes

Awards

Emotions

Top Ranks

Categories

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

Same photographer See all Behind The Lens

Discover more photos See all

Behind The Lens

Location

Time

Lighting

Equipment

Inspiration

Editing

In my camera bag

Feedback

See more amazing photos, follow Samantha_Dawn

Samantha_Dawn

The Queen.

My friend Ashley is a professional model...she models with her Stallions who are trick trained to do numerous things. I had her stand on the other side of this ... Read more

Views

Likes

Awards

Emotions

Top Ranks

Categories

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

Same photographer See allBehind The Lens

Discover more photos See all

Behind The Lens

Location

Time

Lighting

Equipment

Inspiration

Editing

In my camera bag

Feedback

See more amazing photos, follow Samantha_Dawn

My friend Ashley is a professional model...she models with her Stallions who are trick trained to do numerous things. I had her stand on the other side of this ...
Read more

Same photographer See all Behind The Lens