This weekend, I decided to try my hand at photographing horses!
Who remembers black velvet paintings? You know the ones… with a solid black background and the subject seems to be emerging from the black?
My goal was to try a new photography technique (I learned on YouTube) and attempt to create a “black velvet painting” inside the camera without using a backdrop.
While I personally don’t own a horse, I was raised around my grandpa’s cows and took a horse riding class at Iowa State when I was in college, so I decided to pop down to the Black Hawk Creek Saddle Club at the Cattle Congress Grounds yesterday!
My First Attempt…
Meet Tanyr and Waylon. She is 12 and he is 8 years old. She told me that she’s been riding since she was in the womb… but she has only had Waylon for 3 weeks and they are already doing their first show together! Tanyr and Waylon live in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
My Second Try…
Meet Azalea and her mare, Scarlett. Azalea is also 12 years old and lives on a farm near Dubuque, Iowa. And I think I nailed this new technique already… Both Azalea and Scarlett look like they are emerging from the darkness! What do you think?
These would look FANTASTIC printed on metal! Here’s what these portraits could look like hanging on the wall of your living room in your home or office!
Practicing In The Arena
I usually work with studio lights so I also wanted to practice natural light photography by taking photos inside the arena and getting my camera settings right.
These are photos of Bri Blush (aged 12) as she prepares her horse, Cinder, for judging at the Black Hawk Creek Saddle Club Show held in the Pullin-Simonsen Arena at the National Cattle Congress on Saturday, June 26th, 2021.
