Photography or Art.....
Photography or art?
When I first picked up a camera I was frustrated that my shots rarely matched the image in my head.
Over the years, editing tools have advanced dramatically, giving photographers more freedom to shape their work.
Does that make it any less photography? I don’t think so.
You still need to capture the core elements in-camera — light, composition, and the ability to see what others might miss. For example, changing a background can completely alter a photo’s mood, yet the subject remains photography and the skill involved is still required.
For a long time I felt like a fraud when I manipulated images to realise my vision, but I’ve come to accept that there’s an art to finishing a picture after it leaves the camera.
What matters is how the process begins and how it ends; everything in between is simply my personal creative journey to bring that vision to life.
A New Beginning..
A slight change of direction…
For many years my photography has focused on horses and dogs, and that will always be a huge part of what I love to create.
Lately, though, I’ve felt the pull to learn something new. Over the coming months I’ll be spending more time exploring portraiture, creative lighting, and developing my technical skills as I work towards a photography qualification.This image is one of my first steps on that journey.
I’m excited to experiment, make mistakes, learn, and hopefully grow as both a photographer and an artist. While animals will always be close to my heart, I’m looking forward to seeing where this new chapter takes me.
Thank you to everyone who continues to support my work.
Becky & Savannah ~Tweseldown BE90
Tweseldown BE90
Full Gallery - Here
If you know the horse world at all, you will also know that it's a life full of ups and downs, Thankfully we mostly have ups but Its safe to say today was one of those down days.
I knew I would not make it in time to see Becky and Savannahs dressage test as it was on rather early and unfortunately myself and my own ponies are not really early risers. However I had planned to make it for the show jumping. The dressage had gone relatively well considering some areas where rather boggy.
The weather was pretty grim at home but the forecast was ok for Tweseldown so I grabbed the camera and I little body warmer and set off. On route it rained.. then rained some more and yes you guessed it....MORE RAIN!
I also missed a turning so arrived just as Becky had finished her show jumping! Becky and Savannah had taken 8 penalties at this point.
So after I managed to find them all it was off to the Cross Country...
I was quite surprised that considering the rain the ground was not too bad. The jumps looked nice too.
A bit of a warm up before they were off. 1st jump clear and off they galloped out of sight.
I knew I was only going to be able to catch the first and last jump so I went over to the last to wait for them but unfortunately I hear on the tannoy that they parted company :-(
Thankfully both were unharmed and Becky later said that the jump was a large skinny brush and Savannah had quite simply said "No way Mum!" She is still in the very early days of her career and is still young so of course she will sometimes question things and its the moments that are questioned that we all learn from.
So onwards and upwards to the next event.
xXx
Becky & Savannah ~ Goring Heath Horse Trials BE90
Goring Heath Horse Trials BE90
Full Gallery HERE
Today Becky and Savannah attended their second BE90 at Goring Heath Horse Trials and they had a fantastic day!
The sun was shining for a start and I arrived just in time to catch them heading to the dressage arena.
Savannah looked like she was raring to go and excited for the jumping and Cross country but Becky did a super job in keeping her steady and focused.
They finished the test with a very respectable 29.3!
A well deserved pat for Savannah!
We had a short break to prepare for the show jumping, Becky had walked the course and was only really concerned about one of the lines but the rest seemed pretty straight forward.
The first fence was more like a working hunter jump but Savannah was straight over it, and I think you can see from their faces they were already loving it.
So far so good, even the one that Becky was worried about went without a hitch. Savannah managed to work it well.
Last Fence and a clear round for them, Fantastic!!
Who would believe that this is only their second BE event and Savannah has only be backed for around a year!
Onto the Cross Country!
This is their favourite part and I was excited to see them underway, Savannah was looking completely ready and not at all phased by her surroundings.
And they were off! I had hoped that I would have time to walk over to the other side for some shots of more fences but quickly realised that at the speed they were going I had no chance!
They finished with another clear round and within the time allowed!
Overall placing on the day was 8th which I know they are absolutely thrilled with.
Well done to you both you were fantastic and I'm very proud of you.
Considering Savannahs story and that Becky only backed her a year ago this is an inspirational outcome, Im really looking forward to following your journey.
XXX
Introducing Emily & Bertie
I finally made it to Cornwall to meet my final sponsored Rider!
Emily is 17 and from Cornwall and Bertie (Best Bet Bertie) is a 11 year old New Forest x British Show Pony Gelding.
They have been working together since November 2018 and favourite discipline is Cross Country as Bertie loves jumping and to have a good gallop which I found out whilst trying to keep up with the focus on the beach.
They have done very well so far coming home with plenty of ribbons and bagging a 5th in their first ever Hunter Trial.
Over the coming months they plan to try some one day events and continue with the Hunter Trials and Show Jumping and I look forward to seeing them in action.
Because Emily is the furthest away from me we decided to do this beach shoot. I knew it was going to be tricky because of time pressures with the light fading and having to shoot into direct sunlight but it was even harder than expected.
Because of shooting into direct light I had planned to use artificial light so I didn't just end up with a silhouette or blown out sky.
Bertie, bless him had other ideas. The lights were far too scary and as he already had the sea and surroundings to deal with we gave up on that idea.
I never like to push ponies beyond what they are comfortable with so in the end it was a case of rethinking, trial and error and hoping for the best!
Im looking forward to seeing them both again soon :-)
You can see more of Emily and Berties Pictures here - p600846765