Samantha_Dawn
FollowMy 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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Awards
Action Award
Chatter Award
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
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Outstanding Creativity
Top Choice
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Superior Skill
Genius
Virtuoso
Emotions
Impressed
Top Ranks
Categories
kathyk_abq
November 29, 2017
Beautiful! What I see is a loving relationship between this woman and her horse.
Samantha_Dawn
November 30, 2017
Thank you so much !! You are correct, you have to have a great bond and trust to be able to achieve this stunt !!
kennyhimes
November 29, 2022
Congrats on being a Finalist! Excellent capture in every way. Well deserved award!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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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 !!