A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses - The Third Foal Crop - The Photo Shoot Part 2

Part One of the Baby Boomer Series

The Third Foal Crop Part 1

Well, we still had lots of Arabian horses to photograph so Scandalous Rhythm and his mother, were put back into their stalls so we could get on with it. The vet wasn't going to be able to come for hours anyway so it was just as well that I had something to do to keep me from worrying about this colt.

For the rest of the mare and foal pairs, I needed pictures of the mares as well as those of their foals. Eric decided it would be easier to put show halters on the mares and hold them while turning the foals loose.

We sould photograph the horses in the yard where the background would be good. The only problem with that was I had really wanted pictures of the horses turned loose. I think they are more natural looking that way and I think the odds of getting shots that do the horse justice are much better.

Unfortunately, though I was the one paying the bill, I didn't do a good job of calling the shots. I think because Eric was my boss, I backed down instead of standing up for myself. We ended up taking the pictures in the yard as Eric wanted. I was disappointed before we took a single shot.

We started with Bey Aana and her foal, Scandalous Chase. Even though the colt was about two months old by now, he still was very insecure about anything new. He stuck to his mother like glue unsure of what to think about Mary Little jumping around with her talking pony on a stick trying to get his attention. Every time that pony would whinny, Chase would duck down like he was getting ready to flee and Aana was trying to figure out a way to exit with him.

Next, we brought out Kg Phadra Rose and her colt, Scandalous Chance. This colt was much bolder and actually left his mother's side a number of times, trotting around the yard and snorting at Mary's antics. He really wanted to check out that whinny. He just didn't get it was coming from Mary's stick horse.



The only problem was photographing that white muzzle of his. The light wants to reflect off such markings and make them appear bigger than they actually are. The result can be a head that looks longer, a muzzle twice as big as it really is. Doing this colt justice as not going to be easy.

We finished up with Lilly and her filly, Scandalous Hope. The filly was not quite a month old but she handled the shoot ok. She stuck close to her mother ducking behind her butt more often than not. It seemed like every time it looked like there was a shot, the filly wheeled around and hide again. My guess is that Jeff was just as frustrated by the whole thing as I was. Hope is such a beautiful filly but the looks she gave the camera were only fleeting.

None of the mares were sure of what to think of this whole plan. Turning them loose with their foals with strange things going on around them at least gives them the option to run. Making them stand still while their foals were turned loose made all of the mares more nervous than they would have been set free.

They adapted pretty quickly. At least none of them broke into a sweat but I could tell that I wasn't getting the kind of pictures I had wanted from either the mares or the foals.



I've always been able to see the shots as they are taken. I was pretty sure this time around I didn't have anything that did my horses justice. I know that happens a lot in photo shoots. Sometimes people spend hundreds of dollars for advertising shots and get nothing suitable.

It's difficult to capture that expressiveness that sets some horses apart. But I believe when you know your horses, as well as I do, that it's easy to set them up for great photographs. Knowing their personalities and their reactions helps to create situations that will give the looks that are so special. I really blew it by not insisting on taking the kind of photos that I really wanted.

I will always regret that decision. When the proofs came, my suspicions were confirmed. I had some photos that others would probably kill for but I had nothing that showed how special each of these horses are. And those babies are growing and changing all the time, you just can't go back and do it over. That look has long since gone and a new one has taken its place.

To be continued..........

The Injury

These pictures are in the order we took them. The top picture is Bey Aana with Scandalous Chase, The middle picture is KG Phadra Rose with Scandalous Chance. The bottom picture is Lilly (Ballyhoohoo) with Scandalous Hope.

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