We Shoot Horses! Challenge, post your best photographs with or without people.

Horses have long been a part of our ways of life. Only recently has horses been considered some unusual animal by most people in Western Societies. The car has essentially made the horse something of a luxury for our leisure or sports. In some places, the horse sill pulls loads, helps plough the land or work a water pump! Still, show riding, bridal paths, polo and racing are still thriving, even in the 21st century.

A lot of close bonding occurs between some riders and their horses. This is very interesting and beautiful.

However photographing horses is not easy. Let's see what is the very best you can share.

Asher

Hi,

One to start off with...

This was taken on a cold autumn morning last year. I had planned for quite a few weeks to go down to the stables and take some pictures of my fiancee with her horse Benson, and it was a question of waiting for the right weather. As you've suggested Asher - their bond is very close, and it would not be wrong to suggest it is equivalent to having another member in the family.

I wanted to try and take something that captured this and emphasised their friendship. The backlit shot to the image was planned, but as with any animal photography there is an element of luck to the actual posing - although the close bond was a help. A large print of this now hangs proudly in our house.






C&C welcome,

slightly different

On the isle of Jura, my daughter wanted me to take a picture of the horse. From where we were placed it looked a bit sinister, and this is where I finished up.



Not necessarily very original, but I actually like the print I have of this.

Any comments on composition and rendering welcome.

Thanks.

Mike


Eos 5D 70-300 DO at 300mm

While this isn't a great picture I'm showing it because it shows the relationship between Sonya, my daughter, and Tex, one of our horses. Actually I should go back and find the RAW and re-do it

Sonya started taking riding lessons at the age of 4, she was 20 in this photo. She is now just 3 levels below the Olympic level
40D
70-200mm f/2.8 IS

My wife and I just returned from visiting her parents in beautiful North Carolina. While there we were able to visit some of the Outer Banks and Cape Lookout. On the way out to the lighthouse we passed by Shackleford Banks where this picture was from. The story of these wild horses, or ponies, is much better than this photo but still, I like it. It was taken from too far away, in too much sun, with too short of a lens, while standing in a moving boat, and yet, because of their story, I really like this photo. The horses have been there for hundreds of years, some say from swimming ashore after ancient Spanish shipwrecks. There are about 100 head in the herd and it is controlled to stay that size. Every year after the new colts are born and get to a certain age, some are gathered and adopted out to horse lovers everywhere. They are expecting 20 new ones this year. It is amazing to me that they have adapted so well to such a landscape. There is not a lot there yet they flourish. My first question was where do they get fresh water but apparently for them, it's quite easy. They just dig a little down into the sand with their hooves and fresh water comes seeping up. They are really a special breed and the locals are very proud of them.

llustrative Photography that becomes iconic

James,

We hear of "snapshots" not having the same worth as planned photography. Well they can do far more! The right snap memorializes something which serves as a recollecting point for all the stories relating to that moment! Looking through people's albums, one sometimes finds such pictures which perfectly play back one's own life.

This picture of the lone horse on a coastal grass patch in Northern Carolina, is one such special "snap" that serves the happy story that goes with it. The Spanish sailors may have died, but the horses fought their way to shore! Maybe it was just a few. This is the extra richness that come with introducing the narrative which is written into the picture.

Illustrative Photography that becomes iconic: Interestingly this picture is illustrative of and records within it's structure the expressive narrative you needed to share with us. That BTW is the overriding art here. The picture becomes, in a way, iconic. It represents not the factive view recorded, but so much more. This is so fascinating to me. Look how much information the photograph has recorded into it's presence for us:

1. History of Spanish galleons in the Americas
   
2. Danger of the sea
   
3. Tragedy of the Shipwrecks
   
4. The horses flourishing in an almost desolate place with no obvious fresh water
   
5. The pride of the locals to "their" wild horses
   
6. The paradox of culling/ harvesting of the young
   
7. The photographer's dilemma of the lens in hand being too short or too long
   
8. The picture one gets is far better than one fears but not as fabulous as one deserves!

If you hadn't provided this rich context, We'd still appreciate the picture and love the horse. However, with your narrative, the picture is now personal to us to as you have successfully co-opted us to the human values invested by you in this picture. This photograph is therefore a community motif and shorthand for the story you have told. Years from now, anyone of us will be able to retell that story with one glance at the photograph.

Thanks for sharing the photograph and your story, "wow!"

Asher

Thank you Asher for your very thoughtful and thought provoking input on what I thought was just such a snapshot. When we went out that morning we had the choice of going by ferry to Cape Lookout where the lighthouse is, or to the Shackleford Banks where the wild horses live. Cape Lookout is home to one of North Carolina's most beautiful lighthouses and also some very beautiful and pristine beaches with the sound on one side and the Atlantic on the other. It also has some nice shaded rest areas and cold water for when you want to get out of the sun for a spell. The Shackleford Banks is completely just like my photo shows. There are no rest areas and no drinking water. We figured if we went there we would end up walking for miles and quite possibly never even see a pony. We chose Cape Lookout instead. Yes we are creatures of comfort I am afraid.

We went to the cape and stayed for 4 hours. It was very nice. We walked the beaches, looked for shells, talked, held hands, and did all of that great fun stuff you can do on vacation. I took a ton of photos even though the lighting was not what I would have hoped for. They were more to remind us of the great time we had there than anything else so that did not bother me at all. When our boat picked us up to take us back to Harker's Island and our car, the captain was nice enough to swing by Shackleford and let me get this shot of the lone horse that we saw. He had seen him on his way over to the Cape so he knew right where he was. It was exciting just to get a peek at this animal and I was greatful to the captain for going out of his way. It made the whole trip.

I know when I see this photo I will be able to remember exactly what happened that day and what a wonderful day we had. I am glad you and others might get just a little of that as well. This was my first visit to this area and I know for a fact we will be going back again as soon as possible. It is my kind of countryside.
James