Horsin' Around: Equine Session

Thistle Crown Farm in Gainesville, Georgia is owned by Laura and Jeff Cegalis.  We worked with Laura and Jeff to develop images and a video for their website, along with some personal images of Laura with her horses, Scooby and Capone.

Thistle Crown Farm is a beautiful place and is a tribute to Laura and Jeff's hard work.

The pastures are absolutely lush as Jeff has been working with an agricultural specialist to enrich the soil and also has installed an irrigation system.

 

We explored various locations on the farm to find one with the perfect  light for an intimate portrait of Laura and Scooby.

I always try to visualize a portrait when I am setting it up, looking at the lighting, background, and any challenges I may need to overcome.  When photographing horses, this is especially critical as it takes some effort to move a 1200 lb. animal into place, and is difficult to have them "take a step or two to the right."  In many of my outdoor portraits, I use a flash to fill in shadows and create catch lights in the eyes.  With horses I first ask the owner if their horse is comfortable with flash, and then fire a few flashes to acclimate them prior to shooting.

We caught Laura putting Copone through his paces at the TCF jumping arena.

For posterity, Laura and Copone gratiously posed with yours truly after the jumping session.

Upon visiting Thistle Crown Farm, it is readily apparent that Laura and Jeff are passionate about their farm and providing the best possible environment for horses.

It has been great fun and the above shot seems to confirm that the horses enjoyed themselves.

Click here to see the You Tube video we made: TCF You Tube
Click here to visit the website for Thistle Crown Farm

Enjoy the day,

George