In 2020 we had a nationwide shut down, mass cancellation of events and scheduled sessions. But in 2021 everything was re-opening and equine events were back on. Or at least that was the plan but mother nature had her own plans and after the first three successful events, weather cancellations ensued.

For a while it felt like this season was just going to be one mass weather cancellation after another and then finally on the final day of July there was a beautiful week leading into a sunny and 70 degree day. On Harry Potter’s birthday I got to return to Shenandoah and photograph what turned out to be a large show and a lot of really fast ponies.

It was great getting out and shooting again even though I struggled so much that evening. I am still learning the new lens I purchased which while it’s same focal length as its predecessor, it is a different brand and has upgraded features. By the end of July I would have hoped to have it semi- mastered if not mastered yet all the weather cancellations meant it wasn’t getting out to shoot action shots at all.

It wasn’t just the new lens though, I was tired mentally and physically— I was yawning by 8 pm. The show was 2 hours late in starting which didn’t help my attention span- all I wanted to do was crawl in the truck for a nap. I also faced the challenge of fast changing light at the beginning of the show— due to the delay in starting we started after sunset and the golden hour, it was twilight and quickly faded to darkness. Those are incredibly tricky lighting conditions to start shooting action and it took me longer than I preferred to get settings nailed down with the arena lights, speed of competitors, and then my own handicap of being tired.

As photographers I think we have a hard time admitting we are human. Especially those of us who are professionals and have businesses. The reality is that we are human, we do burn out, we are tired sometimes, and sometimes we just have off days that results in us being unhappy with our work. In fact we, photographers, are super critical of ourselves and have very high expectations so failing to meet our own standards sucks.

The public rarely sees the work we do not believe is good enough for consumption, they do not see our struggle behind the camera to get the shots right, to get the settings where they need to be, and to keep up with the light changes and challenges as they arise. They only see final products.

I have photographed hundreds of equine events and shows. I have had on days and off days. I definitely felt off on the 31st yet I am proud of the images I captured and released to the public from the event. Yes, I had to WORK for them but in the end I was able to get beyond my tiredness, the bad timing for the start with light fluctuations, and figure out the sweet spot for some great captures.

I am looking forward to my next few photography outings— An aquarium visit, another horse show, and a full rodeo I received an invitation to as a result of the images from the 31st show.

Those wanting to see the full album from July 31st click the button below!