Evening Shoot

Last Sunday was too beautiful an evening to pass up for a photo shoot, even though I had just arrived home from a clinic.
I made quick arrangements with a girl I had been trying to get together with, and 15 minutes later I was out the door to her farm.
Healthy, shiny horses, beautiful sunny evening, and a very nice property as a backdrop are, for me, the ingredients to a great shoot, not to mention an amiable owner who puts up with my short attention span ("shiny object syndrome" my friend Judi calls it).

Penetang stroll

As I was getting restless camera syndrome (not enough time with my camera lately) so I decided to take it with me on my weekly excursion to Penetang when I drive with my daughter there for volleyball practices.

Though I did snap a few photos of the practice, my real intention was to wander around the newly discovered town (this was really the first time I've seen it in daylight with cancelled practices and daylight savings time switching over, etc.).

I strolled around the waterfront and docks, then through a park where I photographed some beautiful flowers in the evening light, red winged blackbirds claiming their spot noisily around a pond, and a nice woman and her son who obligingly let me photograph their beautiful dog, Dakota. Dakota seemed to take a liking to me as I'm sure he recognized a lover of all things furred... After a few scratches and pats and proclamations about how beautiful he was, I became the chosen one to throw his beloved red ball. I hope his owner checks in with me!

Cheers!

Happy Mother's Day!

As I look out my window on this Mother's Day I see a beautiful spring day; blue sky, young bright green leaves cover our maple trees, and the lawns are healthy and green. Unfortunately the temperature doesn't match this day as it's only around 8c...brrrr! I will take this day as a gift though, as we were supposed to have rain and possibly thunderstorms! I am thankful for our guest from California on his last day here that at least he gets one more day of sunshine for his visit.

So enjoy this day, and to my Mom in P.E.I., Happy Mother's Day! Miss you, love you, and thanks for having me ;o)

March is still Winter Apparently

I think I have photographed more horses this winter than ever before! I know we are all looking forward to spring but as a photographer you have to make the best of the seasons. So please enjoy this photo selection of "fuzzy" horses from a recent visit to Fina Vista Paso Finos. Thanks Camilla! ;o)

Merry Christmas!

I know...2 posts in one week...it must be the miracle of Christmas!


I am trying to leave my computer and go to bed, my hands are throbbing from scrubbing my cupboards all day. My contacts are dried to my eyeballs, and my trick back is causing me grief.


Hopefully my house will be ready for the big family dinner tomorrow night, and there might even be food on the table. Mother nature is going to get a swift kick to the backside if tomorrow's storm cancels my party though.

The girls will be in high spirits as school will be forgotten till January. Brandy the dog will be out of sorts that her peaceful existence has been disturbed. Kenzie the cat will act as usual, like the crowd should part as he makes his way through the party. He will be prepared to snatch food off an unguarded plate. Cleo will disappear like magic for the first hour, possibly the whole night, but may be tempted to come out of hiding so she can stretch out before the fireplace, one of her favourite things to do.

Speaking of Cleo, I decided she was as pretty as a Christmas card in this photo, and thanks to the wonders of Photoshop, that is what it became.

Merry Christmas all!
Peace, Joy, Good Health, & Prosperity in the New Year!

2009 Horse Calendar!

The year is drawing to a close and 2009 is around the corner. What better way to keep track of your life than to look at at a different beautiful horse every month on the pages of my 2009 "Horse of Ontario" calendar. To order your copy check out my calendar page. I have only printed a very limited quantity so don't wait too long or they will be gone.

My cover this year features the beautiful foal, Wicket, from Back of Beyond Equine Centre .

Many other breeds are featured such as Arabians, Thoroughbreds, Friesian, Paint, Paso Fino and more.

Thank you for all your support in 2008 and I look forward to photographing your horses in 2009!

Happy Holidays!

"30 Days Hath September..."

Yes I still have to say that rhyme in my head to know whether this is the last day of the month or not. Where, oh where did summer go?! I don't know for sure but as always it was quickly swallowed up by September, which, btw, is my favourite month.

The bugs mostly go away, the cool nights make it heavenly to sleep with the bedroom window open. The kids go back to school and sports, and a routine is set up once more. This is all well and good but the icing on the September cake for me is the changing colour of the leaves. The brilliant reds, oranges and yellows against a vibrant blue September sky never cease to leave me wonderstruck!! Seriously....picture me, standing in my driveway, staring up towards the top of one the big maple trees in my yard, on a clear bright day, with a huge smile glued to my face....yup, that's how September is for me.

Gosh...I didn't even mention horses did I!? Ok I'll say this, I am starting to book shoots for the upcoming weeks. The official "I have to get my horse photographed with a backdrop of the beautiful fall colours" rush is on folks! Don't wait! Or the colour will be gone in the blink of an eye!

Happy Fall!

2008 Foals

The highlight of spring and early summer as a horse photographer is photographing a new crop of foals at some of the farms I visit. Capturing their fuzzy manes and tails, gangly legs, big liquid eyes, and their simple joy and spirit at being alive is just about the most fun I get to have as a photographer. Here are a few shots from the past month or so.
Two of the beautiful new foals at Fina Vista Paso Finos, both equally stunning. Viggo (he's their Golden Boy after all...just what they ordered) is a beautiful palomino colt out of the red chestnut mare, Pia (sire is a Cremello stallion which guaranteed a palomino). Paloma an equally gorgeous filly, whose colour is something I've never seen, silvery with a darker blanket along her back. Perhaps she'll be a buckskin?

My sister and I had the pleasure of meeting and working with the owners and horses of Back of Beyond Farm in Huntsville, Ontario. Their hunter pony foal, Wicket , absolutely stole my heart. As I was eyeing the trunk of my Ford Station wagon, wondering if they'd notice him gone when I left, I decided his ever watchful mommy would miss him very much, as well as his human mom, Cathy Foyston...so alas, I left empty handed... ;o)

Happy Father's Day

To all the Fathers out there, enjoy this day and I hope you get to spend some special moments with your children, even if it's just on the phone.

Happy Father's Day Dad!

RCMP Musical Ride

It was with great delight that my family (minus one non-horsey daughter, plus one horsey friend of my other daughter's, plus my sister, who like me, is always up for a day spent near horses!) attended the RCMP Musical Ride at the Oro World Fairgrounds. Sorry I have to snicker at the name....if you've ever been to the fairgrounds, you'll know that whoever chose that name ("World") was very ambitious indeed ;o) Just jesting...it's a lovely place...really!

Their was other entertainment before the RCMP came on; the OPP were there with their police dogs doing some awesome demos. The Horse Haven Drill Team (I am one of their sponsors) also put on a wonderful performance, as well as some gamers and their horses did some demonstrations.

Some of my favourite photo ops came before the RCMP came on, when they were warming up in a back field with a beautiful backdrop of green, the sun shining, and my new Canon 40D working it's magic! If you'd like to see more images from this day, visit my flickr site.

Happy Mother's Day!

To all the mothers out there, especially mine, this blog post is dedicated to you. Mom, if I could send all these flowers to your doorstep in PEI I would, but you will have to settle for my typical Mother's day wishes, accompanied by these cyberspace versions ;o) (You could do worse...right?). I miss you, and I love you!
My Mother's Day will, as usual, be spent in the horse show ring with my camera, and I thank my own kids and husband for always being so understanding...thanks!! Dinner would be welcomed though ;o)

These photos were taken in Sunnidale Park, Barrie, Ontario.

Catching Up

Spring is racing onwards and as I haven't posted in awhile I will catch you up on my photography wanderings over the past few weeks.

When the snow was still on the ground I was back at Fina Vista Paso Finos, though it was a more social visit, a pot luck with new and old friends. I must admit that the delicious food was just an appetizer, the main course for me being a walk about the farm to meet and greet with the horses and other animals. It was not a pleasant day weather wise, with mud and poop squishing up around my not quite waterproof boots...ugh! But snapping a few pictures of some of my favourite Pasos; Mercy, Finola, Mango, Pia, Querica, Zahara and Rosanna to name a few, made it all worth while.

Chomar Hill Open House

It's been a bit too long since I posted. I have been enjoying this beautiful weather so much I have been spending less time at the computer.

Although yesterday was a such a lovely day, I gave it up to be in a nice cool arena down at Chomar Hill Stable (Shanty Bay) where I had a booth set up as part of their Open House. My "a-sister-tant" and I did what we love best, spending the day around horses, and the horsey crowd, talking about horses, photography and web design. We met some very nice people, and even made a few new friends. The seminars throughout the day were interesting, even for me as a non horse owner. Equine chiropractic, saddle fitting, iridology, and a farrier demo were on the agenda.

Our booth, Leslie Town Equestrian Photography and Janet Grant Equestrian Web Design, featured side by side slide shows on 2 laptops, free bookmarks and magnets, discount coupons, free apples and mints for horse or human ;o), and more horse photos to view framed and in a portfolio.

Thanks to Anita Cholack and Rob Marling for the invite to their Open House!