Nighttime Snowflakes

Christmas Eve and snowflakes for western Kentucky. Couldn't resist grabbing my camera and heading out in the quiet of the early evening surrounded by huge falling snowflakes.

This time, I used my flash, set at -3. Of course, the horses always surround me to see what I'm doing. So in the darkness, I focused on Midnight. I love the way the flash reflects each snowflake.

Clouds during last week's lunar eclipse and no horse and Geminid meteors in the same frame from the week before. So, a fun shot like this was a great early Christmas present for a night equine shooter!

Enjoy and happy holidays!

Pepe

Finally, a clear night in December! And high 30s F! Couldn't stay inside. On this shot, I got my brother-in-law's buckskin quarter horse. I figured he would appear well in a low light shot with his light coat. I had to feed him in front of our barn to get him to stand still for the photo. I whirled a flashlight around on the ground next to my tripod: perfect light and no harsh shadows behind Pepe. The stars behind the barn did not show as well in the shot, but I love the little cluster of stars that can be seen in the top right. Any astronomy buffs know the name of that star system?

Looking forward to tomorrow night and praying for clear skies. The Geminids Meteor showers. Wish me luck.

Inside our Barn

Here's Midnight, our black Tennesse Walker, inside his stall, looking out his window at the stars. He does this often and I wanted to capture the moment with a starry sky. I had to use a flashlight, diffused, at an angle to light the horse, as it was very dark in our barn. Luckily, Midnight stood very still and received many treats!

Becky's White Horse

This was a difficult shot and took several tries. This is my neighbor's white horse, Joker, that lives up the highway about 2 miles. Joker shows up well during a full moon, but the extra moonlight washes out the stars.

On my 4th trip, I shot this photo on a moonless clear night. I had to use a flashlight, diffused, shining at an angle to light the horse.  And a happy accident, my tail lights on "hazard" lit the trees behind Joker, giving a reddish glow. But still, I wanted more stars. So I used the stamp tool in Photoshop to brighten the existing stars.

Joker must have read my mind, decided a better angle for me, and stood perfectly still (probably dozing, bored with me and my camera across the fence line). This was not how I envisioned this shot, but I couldn't be happier with the results!

Backyard photo

This photo was taken over Thanksgiving weekend. Junior and Princess, my back yard view. Just sat my camera on the fencepost and exposed. All natural, no enhancement or Photoshop tricks on stars. I wanted to get the constellation Orion in this shot, but didn't have the focal width. Still, I love the shadows coming from a utility light near the house and lighting both horses. It's also a rare gift when the horses stand still for 1 second exposures. Thank you Junior and Princess!

Big Dipper before Sunrise

This shot took about 3 days. 1 day scouting, 1 day practice shot, 1 day shoot with horse and edit.
At 6am on a late October morning, I fed Junior on the hill under the Big Dipper. I ran back to photo with 1 sec exposures. Junior raised his head and rested between bites, making this siloutte work.

I then used Photoshop to enhance the constellation, which was the only one in the sky that morning, and give the image a painting look. A noise reduction program softened the image, giving it a dreamy impressionistic look.

I've been excited about combining stars with horses ever since this morning! Patience, and the time it took to get this shot, paid off.