Lights! Camera! Action!

Doxee's first shoes

I've been taking part, halfheartedly, in a Facebook group called Daily Horse Shots for the past couple of years.  Mostly, I look at other people's images, feeling like I'm way out of my league most days.  When the admin of the group announced she was planning an August Challenge, I wished longingly for the confidence to participate.  Sure, it was meant to be a learning experience for all skill levels, but still...I just didn't think I had it in me.  

When the deadline came I didn't give it another thought.  Went about my day, puttering around the house, a trip to the Cowboy's place, and the general daily drivel.  I checked into Facebook halfway through the afternoon and was somewhat surprised to see I was getting notifications from the private August Challenge group.  What?  How'd that happen?

I continued to read the rest of the notifications and found the one where a friend had added me to the list of participants.  

Well...why not?  If I was stumped for a photo, I could skip a day, right?  But the object of course was to grow...so I may as well play along.

Each day there is a new word that we are to shoot for.  It need not be horse related, but of course many of us are around horses day in and day out, so that is the main focus for many.

Abstract?

The first day the word was Abstract.  I'm not real comfortable with abstract.  I was afraid I'd get it wrong.  Darling assured me that it's art, and there is no wrong art.  Darling is wrong.  But I shot abstract anyway.  Or what I hoped was something similar.

Second day? Action!  I much prefer action.  I went out into the pasture and requested the help of two of my friends, Tika and Chase.  The results?  Much more fun than abstract!

Tika in action!

Of course, we all know that Tika is incredibly photogenic.  They simply don't come any prettier.  I thought I'd work a bit on cropping skills with my entry for the action challenge, showing a bit of flying mane and of course her lovely eye and smooth muscle.

The photos of Chase were less than appealing, however.  He simply is not an attractive horse to photograph.  He has got one amazing feature, however.

His mane.

It's thick and curly, with red at the base and blond highlights at the bottom.  I began messing around a bit with one of the photos, and suddenly found myself with what I thought was a rather attractive image.  Just enough of a hint of his face, some muscling on his shoulder, and that glorious mane.  Yes, I liked it.

Because I'd cropped it down, I wondered just how big it would print and still look good, so I went to the company where I order my canvas prints and uploaded Chase's photo.  I changed canvas sizes a couple of times, then on a whim, I switched it from landscape (which is above), to portrait.

Oh, my...the only thing that was in the canvas was Chase's mane.  Look at it!  So bright and splendid and artsy and...ABSTRACT!  Really?  Look, I'm an abstract photographer!

I was having so much fun with this new style that I did Tika as well.  I'm not quite as happy with how she turned out as Chase.  Isn't it funny that she is so remarkable to look at as well as photograph, and yet this particular style really suits the rather homely Chase much better?