Sustainability meets Elegance

An equestrian product that combines pure elegance with functionality and sustainability? It almost sounds too good to be true. 

One reason I was especially excited to be working with Belani Loden, was because they stand for natural materials, a high quality clean design and handmade products. A functional product where sustainability meets unique high end design.

I have been representing one of Belani Loden’s sponsored riders, Lisa Voss of Equiliber Portugal, for several years now, so since we already shared a similar vision by working with only the finest horsemen and women, it only became natural to finally work together.

“It was so much fun for all of us. Whereby fun doesn’t describe it accurately – it was a wonderful day, full of joy and creativity – everyone did what they love to do best! It felt like we had done it before – it was so harmonious and consistent. Just beautiful. We are incredibly thankful for that.”

~ Monika of Belani Loden

Our location was an equestrian center nestled into the mountains of Northern Tyrol, Austria, bordering Germany’s Allgäu. The Reitzentrum Schluxen, home of classical dressage rider Kathi Muxel, offered a desirable location for an equestrian clothing shoot because of it’s quaint austrian qualities being combined with a modern professional equestrian center. An absolute dream for me as a photographer. I felt welcomed and inspired in this stunning place where I could feel the roots of tyrolean tradition, but also photograph in a beautiful modern light filled riding arena. 

I learned that each piece is unique and conveys their passion and joy of creating these products. More than the clean and elegant design, I find the aspect of sustainability and functionality convincing. Having lived in the Rockies for many winters, I am a huge fan of wool and its characteristics. Wool materials such as loden have exceptional functional features. Wool is a natural high-tech fiber. It regulates heat, can absorb a high proportion of water without feeling wet and will keep you warm even when it’s soaked. Although soaking is not that easy to achieve because wool has a water-repellent effect even when it’s processed.

windproof, water-repellent and cozy and warm

The outdoor blankets are made of particularly dense loden. They are almost windproof, let water-repellent and keep you extremely warm in the winter. The material has breathable function and thus prevents heat build-up in the sun. Belani Loden produces outdoor blankets, which can be used on carriage rides in all seasons. A little rain shower is no reason to spoil the joy of the ride, because this wool can absorb up to 30% moisture without feeling wet or losing its warming effect. If you are just looking to make your home more comfy and cozy this fall, there are indoor blankets available and the matching cushions round off the arrangement perfectly.

Pure wool has many advantages over blended fabrics. No static charge, low odor absorption and easy to freshen up by ventilating. And if ventilation is no longer sufficient, the blankets can be cleaned in the washing machine using the wool program. Winters can be rough and cold with high humidity in Austria. Our model for this shoot, Kathi Muxel, a classical dressage rider in Austria, wears the riding skirt all winter to keep her warm during daily barn chores but also when she rides the horses of her Academia de Equilibrio Classico.

Once again, it became clear to me how seemingly effortless a shoot can be when all the parts work together so perfectly almost like in a symbiotic relationship to one another. 

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Fotoalbum für eure schönsten Momente

Fotobuch Professional Line 30 x 30 | Fotopapier matt | Leder Titanium Cover

For my english speaking audience: This post is in German because I am reviewing a new product which will only be available for my clients in Germany. For all US clients, your print products and albums will remain the same awesome quality as always serviced through the same print lab as in past years.


Mit meinem Umzug nach Deutschland hat sich nicht nur meine Postleitzahl geändert sondern auch viele kleine Aspekte in meinem Business. Nachdem ich mit Millers Professional Imaging jahrelang in den USA gearbeitet habe, war es nun an der Zeit ein zuverlässiges und qualitatives Print Lab in Deutschland zu finden. Zwar gibt es im europäischen Raum zahlreiche Albumanbieter die mir auch sehr gut gefallen, aber mir ist es auch von Bedeutung Resourcen in meiner Umgebung zu nutzen um den ökologischen Fußabdruck so gering wie möglich zu halten. Um so besser ist es, dass Saal Digital ihre Produkte hier in Bayern herstellt.

Bei der Auswahl des Albums habe ich mich für das 30x30cm Format entschieden um den Bildern genügend Raum zu geben. Mir gefällt das quadratische Format sehr, weil hier das Design auf individuellen Seiten aber auch im Spread über zwei Seiten optisch überzeugt.
Das matte Fotopapier hat eine seidenmatte Oberfläche welche leicht glänzt und eine feine und gleichmäßige Struktur hat. Mit den Farben der Bilder bin ich ebenfalls zufrieden. Es gibt zwar die Möglichkeit extra dicke Seiten (XT) zu bestellen, jedoch gefällt mir die Stärke des Papiers so wie es ist, und erlaubt ausserdem für eine höhere Seitenanzahl. Für diese Bilderreihe hatte ich 62 Seiten, eine gute Menge die nicht zu dick oder zu dünn wirkt. Wie ihr auf den Bildern sehen könnt, kommen die Alben mit einem flachen Seitendesign. Dies war mir sehr wichtig damit auch Bilder über zwei Seiten komplett zu sehen sind, und nicht ein Teil in der Buchmitte verschwindet. Also auch hier bin ich mit der Qualität von Saal Digital’s Alben zufrieden. Eine Kleinigkeit die man hier beachten sollte, ist dass es keine Erste und Letzte Seite zwischen Cover und Fotopapier gibt. Also es gibt quasi kein Vorsatz- oder Schmutztitelblatt. Dass heisst man sollte sein Design auf der Innenseite vom Frontcover und Backcover einfach frei lassen, gegebenenfalls sogar eine extra leere Seite hinzufügen.

Ein Cover sollte für mich immer schlicht und edel sein. Ich habe mich für das Material in Lederoptik in Titanium entschieden, und war wirklich positiv überrascht, über den Look, die Qualität und wie es sich physisch anfühlt. Auch den Titanium Farbton finde ich mit seinem ehr dunkleren Charakter erstklassig. Hier gibt es nichts auszusetzen, denn auch die Verarbeitung der Ecken ist hier top. Bei dem Spezialcover hat man die Möglichkeit eine personalisierte Beschriftung hinzuzufügen. Das fand ich schwierig in der Design Software, da ich keine genaue Vorschau zur Verfügung hatte. Dass heisst ich musste quasi ‘auf gut Glück’ die richtige Position und den richtigen Farbton treffen. Bei dem doch sehr dunkeln Cover würde ich einen schwarzen oder sehr hellen Farbton für die Schrift wählen damit sich der Titel vom Hintergrund abhebt. Die gedruckte Beschriftung finde ich allerdings nur OK für ein so schönes Cover. Hier würde ich mir wünschen dass Saal Digital eine Gravur anbietet um dem Ganzen den letzten Schliff zu geben.

Allem in allem ist es auf jeden Fall ein zugempfehlender Service. Die Verarbeitung und die Drucke sind top, die Zusammenstellung in der Design Software super easy, und der Versand dauerte nur wenige Tage. Ausserdem sind sie in Sachen Customer Service sehr zugänglich und reaktionsschnell. Ich freue mich dass ich ein Print Lab direkt hier in Bayern gefunden habe, um meinen Kunden hochwertige Drucke und Produkte anbieten zu können.


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Celebrating small successes – Best Freelance Photograph

The summer is pretty much over, and not only haven’t I shared all my exiting work and travel with you yet, but also one of my biggest accomplishments in my publishing career as a photographer. On June 1st, 2019 I was awarded for the best Freelance Editorial Photograph by the American Horse Publications Equine Media Awards. The winning photograph was of the two Young Living Percherons Mona, Utah walking at sunrise at Live Oak International in Florida. A massive thank you to Alden Corrigan and The Competitive Equestrian for publishing my work and therefore making it eligible to enter the Equine Media Awards, and of course to Catie Staszak Media, Inc. and US Equestrian without whom I wouldn’t have been there photographing in the first place.
In addition I received an Honorable Mention for my photograph of Toxico, the Lusitano stallion, on the cover of Dressage Today. Thank you Lindsay Paulsen for choosing my work for the last Baroque issue of Dressage Today. I couldn’t be happier with the results of this years competition, even though I didn’t get to be there in person this year. It really means so much to me, not only because it took so much work and patience to get those images, but also because it’s the first time taking first place at something period. Thank you again to everyone involved in the process.

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Gentle Temperaments

Even today the Rocky Mountain Horse remains a rather uncommon find in the United States. Not for me though, because in California I had four of the gentle beauties all at once. Two of them you already met in my previous post about Monet and Cruz. Their temperament and appearance is so beautiful, that I wanted you to meet Rion and Thomas as well. The Rocky Mountain horses are not only known for their natural 4 beat gait, but also for their excellent and calm temperament, which made working with them so relaxed and fun, not just for me but also for the owners who could thoroughly enjoy the time with their equine partners.

Another special feature is the chocolate brown coat and flaxen mane, like 7-year old gelding Rion. He was a superstar during our session, so calm, yet beautiful and expressive.

Another one of my guests was the stunning back gelding Thomas and his owner Julia.

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From the Beach to the Woods

In May, I had the pleasure of going to Santa Cruz to photograph a variety of horses. Two of them were the Rocky Mountain Horses Cruz and Monet. Both of them are endurance horses and quite familiar with the beach and the woods, where they spend most of their time training. So the first day we took them to the ocean, between paragliders and crashing waves they felt quite comfortable. The next day we chose a more calm location, a peaceful pasture not far from their barn. The early morning light was in our favor. In tow, Belgian Shepherd ladies, Rosie and Fuji, two stunning models to photograph. Besides the horse photography, owner Karen, had inquired about a photography coaching session, which Fuji and Rosie got to model for.

 

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TROVE CBD – Commercial Film

Now this was a fun project! Some of you may know the handsome PRE gelding Armas from last May, when I first had him and his owner in front of my camera. Since then Deborah and her son had launched a CBD oil company, Trove, that offers only the finest CBD products for horses, dogs, cats and humans.
I am so happy they trusted me with their promo video, which we filmed in March 2019 in Evergreen, CO. The film is going to launch at the Adequan West Coast Dressage Festival in California, as part of Trove‘s sponsorship.

 

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Catalog shoot with Kerrits Equestrian Apparel in Oregon

When I finally get to merge my desire to photograph fashion and horses. On this day in May of 2018, I meet the creative team of Kerrits and our lovely models at the beautiful setting of the Sherwood Equestrian Center in Oregon to photograph their new 2019 line. We meet at 6:30AM to catch the soft sunlight and shoot for at least 12 hours. It’s incredible to see how much goes into a shoot like this. There is hanging racks filled with outfits, boots, chaps, make-up and hair. Yet, it’s so much fun, because I get to focus on the photography side, while the team worries about the clothing and the details on the horses. One of the compelling facts about Kerrits is that they use real equestrians for their catalog shoots. Real people with real horse experience. It’s helpful for me and the team, because the girls are naturally comfortable around horses and know what they are doing. That allows me to capture candid moments while showing the detail of the apparel. It’s also neat because you get instant feedback from the riders about Kerrits’ clothing, which ones are their favorites and why.

 

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Bravo! Vail meets Dressage

The Dressage Gala featuring Anita Williams Dressage, local musicians, caterers, sommeliers, and myself, was one of the many items auctioned at the annual Gala benefiting the Bravo! Vail Music Festival. Bravo! Vail enriches people’s life through the power of music by producing performances, fostering music education and by promoting a lifelong appreciation for the arts.

So on September 15th, 2018, music lovers, equine professionals and local vendors gathered in the beautiful setting of Anita Williams Dressage, a charming dressage facility nestled into the mountains of Eagle, Colorado.

Anita Williams is a Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medalist with the United States Dressage Federation and has been competing at National and International levels of dressage for over 30 years, winning many National USDF Horse of the Year Awards, and Regional Championships from 1st level through the FEI levels. Together with her mount Stortebecker, she performed Grand Prix level dressage movements while violinists accompanied their dance. After the demonstration and a surprise performance by two Norwegian Fjord horses, everyone enjoyed a five star dinner in the luxurious equestrian lounge above the stables. Enjoy this small selection of impressions of this neat event.

Music by HookSounds.com

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What We Can Learn From Horses – The Perfect Fit Saddlery

This summer I had the opportunity to work with McKinley Harvey, of The Perfect Fit Saddlery, to produce a series of promotional images for her saddle fitting business. We shot in the beautiful setting of Faith Farms in Castle Rock during a group session day with three additional ladies. McKinley founded The Perfect Fit Saddlery in 2017, when she saw a growing demand for high quality products and fitting services in Colorado. It was then, when the 24-year old Colorado native took out two loans, and a leap of faith, and hasn’t looked back since then.

McKinley’s dressage background, riding since she was eight and competing all her life, coupled with her entrepreneurial education, allowed her to enter the field and start a successful business.  When working with McKinley and her fun quirky but professional personality, there is no doubt that horses are the most important part of her life.

At The Perfect Fit Saddlery, McKinley represents Equipe, handmade saddles from Italy that respect the rider’s comfort and the anatomy of the horse. She describes them as the best in the market for horse and riders. In addition The Perfect Fit offers boot fitting and custom boot services of DeNiroBootCo, a company that has been known for quality, attention to details, innovation and style since 1981.

 

 

Of course there is a special someone who makes her eyes light up. Part of her shoot was also her soulmate Q, a 6-year old Hanoverian, who she has a deep relationship with and whom she is developing at the moment. Q was imported from Germany after a referral from a friend and McKinley found her soul horse without even meeting him prior. She explains that just like with developing horses, it’s important to be devoted and to not cut corners, if you want to work in the equine industry and be successful. Her advice to any young entrepreneurs is to find a mentor who can take you under their wing to give you insight of what it takes.

 

 

One of the amazing benefits of her job is that she got to visit the factory in Italy, where Equipe and DeNiro products are handcrafted. Check out her experience on her Facebook page.
If you are interested in Saddle fittings for Selleria Equipe, personal fittings and design consultations for DeNiroBootCo or would like to find out more about The Perfect Fit Saddlery, you can contact McKinley through various channels:

FB: The Perfect Fit Saddlery
IG: @theperfectfitsaddlery
Web: Theperfectfitsaddlery.com

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