After mostly keeping my camera in the closet due to COVID-19 in 2020, this year I promised myself I would have at least one photography day a month – something I went above and beyond achieving.
This was also an exciting year in my photography career when I added a Nikon D5 to my arsenal soon after bringing home the newest 70-200 lens in June. For those wondering – they’re worth every cent you have to spend on them, and more.
Below I’ve shared a few of my favorites for a variety of reasons. Some of them are because of the subject and some of them are because of the discipline. But all of them immediately came to mind as soon as I thought up writing up this blog earlier this month.
My first shoot of the year was with my personal horse as Crystal entered her 30th year. I don’t have many artsy photos of Crystal without Christmas decorations so I recruited my Dad to hold her for a few shots. I loved this photo so much that it is now hanging above my fireplace on a canvas.
February was all about watching ice and wildlife from the comfort of my home. During the winter I always put out a bit of extra food for the animals around my house and I quickly made friends with this dude (which turned into a war this summer when I planted a garden – lesson learned!). I’m not sure if it was because of the food, the heat coming from my apartment, or the fact he could watch everyone below but this guy spent a lot of time hanging out on this rail.
Is there anything better than a birthday party? The answer is no – when it comes to a horse who has defied cancer year after year. Alphabet Soup turned 30 on March 31 and I was lucky enough to be invited to the party. The most fun part of the day was when everyone started singing “Happy Birthday” and Gorgeous George joined in on the singing from his stall.
April was the first month of the year where I got to do a lot of shooting but none topped this photo. Keeneland always outdoes itself in the changing seasons and it was putting on a huge show this day (two days later it was full of snow!). The best part was watching the relationship between these two. As is often the case when a horse is jogging on the rail, this horse was hyped but their rider gave them plenty of assurances as they jogged and then turned around to prepare for their gallop.
Early this year I welcomed Bluewater Sales to the Pyrois Media family and throughout the year I popped out to get photos for social media. This photo is nothing new if you’ve seen photos of Kentucky but I personally love it because it is such a classic “horses in the Bluegrass” pose. These were a few yearlings who sold a few months later so with a bit of luck, they’ll turn into a few winners and this photo will be even cooler!
Possibly my favorite event this year was photographing the Four Schools Farm shows in this summer. I haven’t photographed many non-racing things in the past year and a half due to COVID-19 so I was rusty at the first show but I got many favorite shots at the June 20 show. Four Schools Farm’s show set-up is incredibly fun as a photographer – the actual ring is below the warm up area, giving me a chance to shoot up from under the warm up jumps and get this shot.
After foaling out mares on the farm for two years, I returned to Machmer Hall this year as a photographer. The foals I photographed in July were just old enough to think they were all that – but also young enough to be wary of strangers in the field. This Catalina Cruiser colt was a good mix of both, he obviously wanted the scratches he knew I’d provide but was also of the opinion I may possibly eat him so whenever he realized he was “too close,” he’d run away and look from a safe distance.
Polo has always been a sport that interests me but one I don’t shoot too often. In August I took advantage of Lexington Polo playing a few days a week at the Kentucky Horse Park and took the camera out a few nights. I picked the wrong lens for this shot but still liked how it turned out with this photograph showing exactly what I think of when I think of polo.
The Keeneland September Sale takes up most of my month every year but is also a great time to see the horse/human bond, in my opinion. This picture shows a bit of everything all in one – the connection between the horses and the humans around them at the sale, the pre-ring preparation (with the groom holding the rag), and the handler making sure she was set up correctly to show her best to potential buyers in the back ring.
October’s photos are more about the excitement of shooting a favorite event than an actual picture. Back in the days when I barrel raced I didn’t take many photos and am sad to admit that before this year’s Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover I’d never photographed a barrel race. When the Makeover and TIP announced a combined event that would make it so we had two nights of barrel racing plus the two Finale days, I was extremely excited. Barrel racing isn’t something we have much of in my area so I took full advantage of finally having a chance to photograph it. Here are just two of the photos I took during the four days’ worth of running.
I talked about this November photo more in depth in a blog a few weeks ago but this picture of Twirling Candy may be my favorite overall of the year. I love Autumn colors and I love horses surrounded by Autumn colors – this photo has both.
It’s not December unless I torture Crystal with a photoshoot so just like the way I started it – here is a photo of Crystal. This one takes the win for December because of how hard I worked to get it. Usually Crystal is mostly happy to participate in the Christmas shoot but this year was not in the mood. Much coaxing and running back and forth to my camera went into this one since it took two people just to keep the gnome on her head!
Pyrois Media offers photography services and mentoring to help you get the perfect photos. Feel free to email Melissa@PyroisMedia.com for more information.
