Lynne Glazer Imagery

Giving Permission For Use Forever, Even Without Winning!

noreply@blogger.com (Horseshooter) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:36:00 +0000

I'm seeing it all the time, from equine magazines to commercial horse product manufacturers: prizes offered for entering their photo contest. The latest is from Troxel, the helmet people. Offering about $250 in prizes of a helmet/vest/carry bag for the first place, helmets for 2-5th. Everyone who enters has given the rights to have their photo used in perpetuity for any use Troxel deems useful, without any further compensation, credit, etc. Troxel thought it worthwhile enough to fill out a contact form on my website, inviting me to submit, just so you don't think I'm particularly picking on them. Dover Saddlery is another who recently did one of these contest aka image grabs.

Companies use these user-provided photos for their image libraries. They don't want to pay professional photographers for their stock images, why should they when they can get "just as good" images for free? Whether web-res or print-resolution, this is just wrong. Sometimes it's just the legal department going "over the top", and when questioned, sometimes companies will revise their Terms and Conditions. Don't enter without reading the T&Cs, or you'll deserve what you get.

Troxel puts the burden of proof on the entrant for clearing copyright. If anyone enters that contest with an image they've purchased from me in print OR digital form of them wearing a helmet, they're in violation--images provided for personal use are not released for 3rd party use!

The recent Easy Care contest winner asked for me for permission in advance. Upon winning, she got 4 EBs as a prize. Go ahead, say it--I got "exposure" because I had a visible watermark. LOL. That was useful when I was starting out. I was happy to provide that one as I loved the shot, but Easy Care had to agree first about no collateral use. Pros need to keep the lights on, buy fuel, eat, so we're careful about how often we'll permit this. But I digress.

There's a site which tracks good vs evil rights-grabbing photo contests, and offers the Bill of Rights. An easy read at Pro Imaging.

Expert in licensing and copyright and a very successful commercial/editorial photographer, Jeff Sedlik also teaches at Art Center College of Design. I got his permission to repost from the Advertising Photographers of America e-list his checklist for photo contests:
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David, here is a list that I created for the evaluation of contests received at the Art Center College of Design. Students are prime targets for contest operators seeking libraries of free images for use in marketing and promotion of products and services. It is more common that overzealous legal advisors draft terms that are far more expansive than needed.

Contests are to be rejected if one or more of the following is required under the contest terms:

1. Transfer or assignment of copyright ownership to contest operator or sponsors.
2. Exclusivity of any nature, including any limitation on the continued use of the photography by the entrant. (In the event that a photograph wins a grand prize or other substantial award, some degree of very limited exclusivity is acceptable).
3. The right to use any photograph that does not win an award.
4. The right to use any winning photograph to promote any brand, product or service, other than indirect promotional value received as the result of displays expressly purposed to announce the winning photographs
5. The right to reproduce the photograph in or on publications or products offered for sale, other than publications expressly purposed to announce the winning photographs.
6. The right to use of the photograph without a photo credit
7. The right to sublicense or assign any rights to third parties, except as necessary to facilitate permitted uses.
8. That the entrant hold the contest operator or sponsors “harmless” from liability associated with the use of the photographs, except as related to falsified or incorrect claims or information provided by the entrant.
9. That the entrant grant any perpetual or unlimited rights
10. That the entrant allow the contest owner to store or duplicate the photograph, other than as necessary to facilitate permitted uses.
11. Alteration of the contest rules by the contest operator after the first submission is received.
12. The granting of additional rights to sponsors in exchange for awards to winning entrants.
13. That entrants agree in advance to approve additional unspecified terms if their image is selected.

The Contest May Require of the Entrant:
1. Use of any winning photograph by the contest owner or sponsor, only for the direct promotion of the contest, with photo credit, up to 5 years
2. Use of any winning photograph in a display of winning photographs, with photo credit, up to 5 years
3. Transfer of ownership in the digital file or print submitted, only for the purposes of permanent destruction. Does not include copyright.
4. Entrant must submit model releases if photograph is selected as winner.
5. Submission of reproduction quality files by winning entrants.

The Contest Rules Must Require of Contest Operator:
1. Photo credit on all reproductions.
2. Return OR destruction of all entries
3. Advance express permission and license from entrant for any uses other than permitted uses.
4. Notification of all entrants who request notification of winning entries.
5. Compliance with federal, state and local laws.
6. Preservation of embedded metadata in all electronic reproductions.

Pilots 'n Paws 'n Vets, Hurrah!

noreply@blogger.com (Horseshooter) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:48:00 +0000

Many of my readers know Susan Garlinghouse, DVM. She owns All Creatures Animal Hospital in Montclair, which is up against the San Gabriel mountains below Mt. Baldy. Before that she was in private equine practice, and she continues to be heavily involved in endurance riding, serves on AERC's veterinary committee, as a ride vet and as a competitor.

But Dr. Susan has also racked up massive karma points rescuing animals and placing them with caring owners. My beloved Taran and Tino kitties were feral rescues from the scuba shop she frequents, along with their mothers and suspected fathers.

Her latest rescues were of a mom and litter of 5, the mother was found tied to an orange grove's tree, skin and bones surrounded by her bouncing and apparently healthy puppies. I'm a little hazy on the details of how Dr. Susan heard about them clear up in Oregon, but they were transported by Pilots 'n Paws, an organization of private pilots that helps match rescuers with rescuees.

The pups look to be border collie/retriever crosses though I'm not sure what mom is. All 5 puppies were quickly placed, and Mom was treated for heartworms, which would have killed her. It's obvious how totally adorable the puppies were, fluff balls of total love. And here's a photo of sweetie pie Mom who also got a great home. 3 cheers to all involved! And hopefully, there will be a kick in the butt from karma to the unfeeling excuse of a human being who dumped her with her litter.

noreply@blogger.com (Horseshooter) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 03:01:00 +0000

August was a bit of a whirlwind, traveling up north to shoot the Tevis, mother of all endurance rides both in toughness for horse and rider as well as a challenge to cover journalistically in photos. I suggested my friend and first-time Tevis competitor Julie Herrera write her story for Endurance News to accompany my photos, here she is with her war mare Shereen (CV Sweet Dal.) Look for the cover story in the October issue.

After Tevis my friend/equine bodyworker extraordinaire Gesa Brinks and I went to Katee Owens' lovely forested home in Mariposa for some R&R and to work on her horses. One had a ten year undiagnosed problem which had Katee spending thousands on vets and practitioners all to no avail. One session fixed her horse.

I spent much of the rest of the month prepping photo orders from Tevis; sales were wonderful, and anticipating the selections from Arabian Horse World magazine. There were two Oldenburg inspections, here's a headshot from one of them, full galleries here and here.

It was a race to get everything done before the long-planned trip to New England, first for a couple of days with Phase II Sporthorses/Patti Bailey, then across the street to Yarrow and Shawn Farnsworth's. Here's the yearling colt Jammer (Just A Memory II) out of Yarrow's mare II Rem-minisse from the stallion she showed to CTR wins all over the northeast and some endurance too, Just II Cool. Yarrow has his full brother, Nitro Cooled Steele, now a 2 year old, who is ponied everywhere and came us on the camping trip.

I borrowed the famed gelding Steele The Show for a few days of horse camping that Yarrow had arranged for a small group of riders --with family members hauling in the heavier gear like tents and food. The campsite was on a 20,000 acre tree farm and wildlife preserve. We rode in on snowmobile trails, and 22 year old Show couldn't wait to show what he could do. I've had Remington Steele*++ get for 18 years now, and he was superbly trained, has done it all from winning the Cal-breds (halter) at 3, successful show horse and two-time Tevis finisher along with one of the other toughest 100s, Swanton Pacific. When he'd get irked at a slow in the pace he'd set his own head and collected his own trot, I could throw away the reins to show it wasn't me! So funny.

We had a fine time, great grub and folks. Among other excursions, the land's owner led a hike to a floating bog which was amazing--imagine walking on a waterbed filled with plants including carnivores like pitcher plants and sundews. The main component was all sphagnum mosses, an unbelievable feeling to tread across--with special properties that scientists come to study.

Here's Yarrow cooking a sausage and fresh veggie scramble with Stephanie of Horse Tenders Inc standing by with the cheese. The leaves were just starting to turn, but an expiring frequent flyer ticket and the campout are why I chose not to wait. Next year, fall color shots, we're scheming early. Next blog entry will be the fun we had with Yarrow and the Horse Tenders crew on the beach at Cape Cod today!

noreply@blogger.com (Horseshooter) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 21:17:00 +0000

I get mail from people who like my work, urging me to enter a contest they've come across. Entering contests is something I do if the prizes or prestige seem worth it, many of them have fees, but more and more what we are seeing these days are contests that are "rights grabs". Entrants won't know this unless they read the fine print in the rules.

One that seemed harmless is Costco's current contest. The prize money is significant, at $1K for first place. I had a very commercial/wide appeal image in mind, never entered in a contest but it's been around long enough to get stolen as per the image. Anyway, then I read the contest rules:

"10. Entrant confirms and promises that entry is original and does not infringe the intellectual property rights of any third party. By participating, entrant agrees that ownership of the entry and all intellectual property rights in the entry is assigned to Costco, and will do all things necessary to give effect to that assignment.. Entrant agrees to sign any further documentation required by Costco to give effect to this clause."

The first sentence, you betcha. The second--hand over my intellectual property rights to that image (forever) whether or not it wins anything? Or even if it wins the prize, give up all rights to further market that image? In stock photography, the key is to sell and resell an image, almost like renting a car although there is no maintenance--buyers pay for the use they need: local, national, print, web, big, small, commercial, personal and priced on the spectrum of rarity through commonplace. It's more akin to songwriting royalties than rental cars, though that's a discussion for another time, or maybe never.

The Bill of Rights for Photography Contests was developed to help contest organizers offer photographer-friendly terms and conditions. Ones who have complied are promoted and ones who still have rights-grabbing terms are outed to a broad audience. The Costco contest is already listed on their "Rights Off" web page.

Another frequent tactic these days is for web or print media to offer contests where "all entries become property of XYZ corporation and may be used in any or all ways without further compensation to the photographer", thereby developing a library of stock images at no expense. The shooter will never be notified how and when their images is used, so they won't even get the jollies of being published unless they won a prize or honorable mention in the original contest. This rights-grab is particularly rampant in the horse and pet industry.

There are many internet horse mags with top clinician contributors, full paid advertising that want the clinician to supply photos. Clinicians don't have much money to buy photography either. But I digress. Before you enter any contests, hop over to pro-imaging.org and see if they're on the Rights Off list, or read the contest rules carefully yourself.

Taran, We Hardly Knew Ye

noreply@blogger.com (Horseshooter) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 23:58:00 +0000

My vet and friend Susan Garlinghouse had "hooked us up", after she'd rescued his momma and her litter. Not all of them made it. I picked him up on New Year's Day, a tiny 9 week old black ball of fluff, sick with something respiratory that took 2 months and multiple drugs to kick. Doing the math backwards reveals he was born around Halloween, how fitting for a black kitten. During his illness, he spent a lot of time inside a polarfleece vest with elastic waistband that I wore against the winter chill, up to 3 hours at a time! He would sleep and I could work, certainly the first "marsupial" kitty I'd ever encountered.

No name at first--I called him "Monkey Boy" for his jumping preference and propensity for the top of objects. Despite his illness, he was full of piss and vinegar. Things got more exciting when we visited for more drugs and I met his probable half brother, also rescued by Susan from the same scuba shop on a major street. I'm a sucker for brown tabbies, and Tino had tried living in another home whose existing cat did not want to share. Tino named himself shortly after coming home with us and he and the monkey boy were instant pals. After a couple of weeks, once Taran had some substance, they began having outdoor privileges. The horses didn't mind them and they adored the Great Outdoors.

Taran named himself after 5 weeks of driving me nuts. It means "gift from above" in at least one Native American tongue. And "earth angel" he was, coming at a run when called, delighting in chasing anything that moved, especially butterflies and grasshoppers., making us all laugh. Leaping from boulder to boulder that line our interior road's frontage. Mighty hunter Tino spent a lot of effort teaching him to hunt and be wary of risks Out There, but Taran was a blithe spirit who humored me when I'd be fearful about coyotes or the loose dog packs that would come through the acreage.

My little boy was unbelievably bold, he liked to go for walks, and cautious Tino would accompany us. Here he is visiting the longhorns that live on the southwest 40.

Here he's playing "Halloween Cat" for all he's worth, about to leap on Tino.

And recently he was following the driving lines as Kat drives mustang trainee Raven through the seasonal creek. I wish I had a decent photo of him with Twix, he was her cat, and she was his horse, a twist to interspecies relationships I'd never seen despite many years with horses.

A completely staged shot with a trick-opening cardboard box made by my friend Barrie Goshko.

Friends and clients can tell of my angst as concerned the care of these cats--all about the hours of daylight and how imperative it was that they would be indoors by dark. It's so ironic that my angel was snatched in broad daylight. He'd grown to about 8 pounds, and knew how to use his claws, he had to have been taken by surprise. It's a hard thing to let a cat be a cat, rather than a hothouse flower. Tino is bereft, clingy and cautious. Taran had many human as well as animal friends. I'll meet him with much joy at the Rainbow Bridge. I know there are folks who live in rural areas like this that just won't have cats because of the coyote risk, and probably horse people in areas of the country without them can't even conceive of not having barn cats. For me, my cats and horses are family and I give my heart unreservedly--and would I get another cat to keep Tino company? Probably not one who has not also been feral and has "mad skillz".

In his memory, I signed up as a volunteer for the "Littlest Hero" program, to take photos of seriously ill children for their loved ones.

Weekend Roundup

noreply@blogger.com (Horseshooter) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 05:39:00 +0000

Man, I'm scattered these days. June was full of activity,
including going to New Mexico to help shoot the Santa Fe Grand Prix. I'm just gonna try and get back into the blogging-groove; this past weekend's shoots were sale horses and an adorable bull mastiff puppy. I'd be happy to refer you to the seller, Dabney Finch. Amazing Star, "Xena", is an endurance mare "anyone can ride", uncomplicated, and conditioned by the winningest rider in the history of the sport, Suzy Kelley. Instead of a traditional shot, I'm including one which shows Xena's incredible strength and balance. The second is her husband, Gary Glazer, and his veteran endurance horse, Tiki Coat of Arms, "Teak" to his friends. He's no relation but we've joked that we could be cousins since our ancestors came from the same region.

On Sunday my friend Laurie and I spent the late afternoon at our local wilderness park shooting 4 1/2 month old brindle bull mastiff puppy "Bubbalicious". A complete cutie and I hope he graces the catalog cover of a canine products company in the not too distant future.

Riverside Rancheros

noreply@blogger.com (Horseshooter) — Wed, 28 May 2008 21:00:00 +0000

Last Tuesday I had two shoots that couldn't be more different--the morning was for a Norco gal with four first rate mules. The evening engagement was for the Riverside Rancheros drill team, in their home arena, for a short performance presenting the national and state colors to the iconic "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood and then setup shots with the guest of honor sans horses. The dirt had been scraped from the arena, normally used for team penning, roping, gymkhana and drill team practice, and replaced by a podium, dinner table rounds and caterer's setup. It was a $1,500 plate fund-raising buffet dinner for the local Republican Party.

The performance itself was technically difficult to shoot, a cavernous covered arena, horses spread out at times over 40 yards, impractical for ordinary flash without ceiling mounted strobes for even lighting which weren't an option. I'd attended a practice session to get a feel for the place ahead of time, and was nervous all week about whether I could do a decent job. Fortunately, the natural light was better than it had been at the practice--we all have our specialties, and mine is natural light. I shot lots of candids of the riders preparing, rehearsing and waiting for the guest of honor to arrive, none other than Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Sorry I can't share the gallery, it's of course the customer's choice when it's a private shoot.

Photographs Don't Yearn To Be Free

noreply@blogger.com (Horseshooter) — Tue, 27 May 2008 03:25:00 +0000

Today's pro photographers find that keeping track of the "assets" in today's far-flung networld is a challenge.

Some image theft perpetrators rip (short for rip-off in last century's parlance) and represent the work as their original. Some alter it, and those are split between those who claim it as their own and those who do it in tribute. Some of the latter actually ask permission first. Some market it, without permission and some without attribution and those make me crazy especially if it's bad work.

For instance, there's Marlena D. Gee, who applied cheesy Photoshop filters and sold my stuff for years on eBay, Yahoo, Cafe Press and other art sites. But she's going to jail, we hope, for interstate fraud, which is what happens when you fraudulently open new accounts with other peoples' credit info so you can continue to hawk your stolen inventory.

Usually it's the Chinese factory artists we have to watch out for, many of those "pieces" are identifiable through their foreshortened muzzles and indistinct rider features. We have the Equine Arts Protection League to share information about art thieves, some of the artists have been burned by entering into agreement for Marlena to sell their works, only to have her violate the terms of their contract.

Another place for budding and accomplished artists is DeviantART, where my user name is stealersweep. Horses are a very popular subject; the unicorn is one of the better rips done there, and only found because the artist linked to it, in tribute, and my original received 715 hits in a month. The pencil drawing, on the other hand, took a gorgeous horse and made him ugly, but see, it has a copyright mark.

A new tool for photographers to trace their work is Tineye.com, still in beta, and by invitation, though I didn't have much of a delay between my request and acceptance. It uses algorithms to search based on image characteristics, and even has a toggle so I don't have to bother to overlay them in Photoshop to see if they match. Here's some examples, Tineye helped me find the black stallion and the rearing stallion shots.

Lost Padres of Santa Margarita

noreply@blogger.com (Horseshooter) — Mon, 26 May 2008 03:59:00 +0000

This was the first opportunity I've had to attend this ride at its current location, held for the last couple of years at the historic 14,000 acre Santa Margarita Ranch, in San Luis Obispo county. Hosted by the Nicholson family, it had started out in beautiful and historic Lockwood Valley, but the ride lost its base camp right before the 2005 event. The "Lost" from the original "Los" Padres apellation came when it temporarily moved to the location of the Eastern Mojave Scenic Ride, a January event. That particular LP was my horse's first 50 miler, a very warm affair where he endured a lot better than I did; we pulled ribbons for a section so we were at the back of the pack, heat got to me in the afternoon!

This year I didn't ride, just shot photos for the participants, in meadows, first where the backgrounds were park-like, and secondly in midday light. I have a "thing" for historic California ranchos, couldn't sign up fast enough to shoot last fall's Tejon Ranch series--the owner/operators of both of these have been such good stewards of the land, it's easy to imagine it's one hundred years ago, while waiting for riders to trot by. Old growth forests, rolling golden hills, ponds, lakes and amazing wildlife. I saw lots of deer, wild turkeys, every kind of bird--with glorious birdsong as musical score for the landscape. Thanks to John P and Patty for arranging our access to this private paradise.

Offered as a two day event, 50 miles per day or one could do "club miles" without being part of the official competition. This weekend was a scorcher throughout California, and riders carefully managed themselves and their horses to complete with their horse "fit to continue" as per the AERC ideal. Ride management made sure there was lots of water on trail. Photos are from the first day; I shot on the second morning, and somehow dropped the compact flash card while shooting head shots in ridecamp, with four dozen images of the 38 or so that had entered. Oh, well--that's never happened in 186,000 images as a pro. I imagine the cattle are prodding it with their noses, so much for "leave no trace"! I took head shots in camp, card was in my pocket, and I was squatting frequently to get the best angle. Thanks to Dave and Annie for putting on such a premier event and for feeding me too--multi-day rides are the best and with this fuel situation, definitely the most bang for the buck.

Showcase: CreativePAW

noreply@blogger.com (Horseshooter) — Fri, 23 May 2008 19:40:00 +0000

Attention all legitimate animal rescue organizations! Did you know that there is a network of creative professionals that will do pro-bono work to support your wonderful efforts on behalf of the animals? Well, that's the problem, there aren't enough of you who know. I'm a volunteer for them, along with scads of other creatives: web designers, public relations experts, writers, illustrators, editors, videographers and designers. We can help you publicize, market, fund-raise and educate the public. Please sign up at CreativePAW. (If you're a creative pro and want to volunteer, they'd love to have you.)

In my case, it's the photos of course. If you've visited Petfinders, you know there are zillions of pages of snapshots of adoptable animals. If your group had a promotional event, chances are your news item on your website features happy snaps too. More compelling imagery is what I offer, to "give back", within a reasonable travel distance of my humble abode.

The photos are all of rescued or adoptable animals, the coon hound I rescued and sadly wasn't able to keep though he's in a lifetime home now.

Norconian Historic Trail Ride

noreply@blogger.com (Horseshooter) — Fri, 16 May 2008 04:27:00 +0000

Last Sunday I photographed the 299 participants who signed up for the Lake Norconian historic trail ride, as part of the Norco, California Founders Day celebration. It was hosted by the Norco Horsemans Association, The US Navy and the Lake Norconian Club Foundation. I think there were 299, most of whom were mounted and the rest in 3 nice horse and/or mule-drawn surreys. Norco is "Horsetown USA", with somewhere around 30,000 residents and just as many horses, with somewhere around 90 miles of riding trails in and around town.
Animal-keeping is bedrock here. I boarded my horses here for 14 years, and put on five endurance rides from the Hidden Valley Wildlife Reserve next door.

All these years, the Lake Norconian Club has been hidden away from sight, the property had become first a navy hospital in 1941, a navy base and a rehab center which morphed into a prison. After successfully adding it to the National Historic Register, the Foundation's aim is to get funding to preserve and restore this Art Deco era jewel. The founder of Norco, Rex Clark, had the bad luck to open his 700 acre resort not long before the stock market crash. It was famous in its day for the dignitaries and celebrities it attracted, the functions that were held as well as the films that were made there. Read more about it here at the Foundation's website, lots of vintage photos too. There's a book about the resort, and it was featured on California's Gold with Huell Howser.

So none of us civilians and non-inmates had seen anything but photos and barbed wire, as the Naval Surface Warfare Center and the medium security prison blocked all views. Despite "May Gray" weather, riders converged on the Riverside Community College Norco campus, which stood on the original Norconian golf course, and rode down to the resort and through the grounds. Everyone I've heard from really enjoyed the chance to see the resort, its abundant wildlife and image how it was back in its heyday. Hopefully it will become a nexus again for the area, with commercial and recreational options. Some of my proceeds from the ride photos will go to the Foundation. [pictured] Junior riders with the lake's pavilion, marina and the hotel complex behind it. Canadian goslings, I found the Canadian geese fascinating, and they let me get really close, didn't covet a birder's long lens quite as much as usual.

See More Malibu

noreply@blogger.com (Horseshooter) — Wed, 14 May 2008 03:23:00 +0000

Don Huston kindly provided this track of the ride, click on hybrid to see the real trail! Don also said "Thank you for a very well organized ride with good food and lots of
water (thank you Larry Bowers). The GPS data shows a total distance
of 49 miles, total elevation up of 10400ft and of course 10400ft
down. I think this ride lived up to its reputation of being the
toughest in SoCal and I loved it. A real endurance test. That giant
climb we tailed after lunch was 2380ft in 4.8 miles (or 9.4%) with
only one little quarter mile level spot, the rest was a steady grind
all the way up to Buzzards Roost which made it even tougher than the
infamous Bulldog which was only 1600ft in 3.4 miles (or 8.9%)."

I had a good time shooting riders in the Paramount Ranch western set, home to TV shows like Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and HBO's Carnavale--on Friday we played Wild Bunch and Ride Em Like You Stole Them. This year the 55s didn't go through the town on the actual ride, so everyone had a chance to get shots from there this way. The rest of the shots are here.

Grand Old Men Too

noreply@blogger.com (Horseshooter) — Mon, 05 May 2008 07:39:00 +0000

So sorry to open e-mail today and learn of the loss of *Shandor, Shagya Arabian stallion, owned and loved by Adele Furby and her husband Charlie. I was privileged to meet him last fall at his home in Montana, and was very impressed at his demeanor, correctness and offspring. He was 25 in this photo.

At the Malibu endurance ride this weekend the memorial plaque for Hugh Hewitt DVM was unveiled. It will be placed on private land adjoining the trail through the Santa Monica Mountains that has been used for endurance rides for 34 years. There was an open mike and many of us stepped up to share our memories of Hughie, a horse veterinarian with a heart of gold. The plaque was funded by private donations from Hughie's friends and admirers. I took the photo on the plaque in 2003.

Happy Birthday, Dear Twix

noreply@blogger.com (Horseshooter) — Fri, 02 May 2008 04:31:00 +0000

Twix is quite possibly the most photographed horse ever, thanks to digital film and rechargeable batteries. She was born here, nearly into my arms, thanks to her mother, Ember, alerting me of the baby's imminent birth by clanging on her gate with a hoof. Our eyes met as she was halfway out of her mother, she nickered at me and that was that. She'd imprinted ME, instead of the reverse. She might have been for sale, Ember's first baby, but after that, no way.

Ember (Rem-member Me) is by the world-famous Arabian stallion Remington Steele*++ out of a pretty "domestic blend" mare. Twix's daddy is the fabulous Lipizzan stallion Pluto Carrma III--it's his image that graces my website's banner. You can see a ridiculous amount of photo postcards and then there's her full brother Hawkeye's gallery. To subscribe to the photo postcards, which are very occasional now, drop me an e-mail.

Twix took after her Lipizzan side, behaviorally and in appearance. Her brother is more of a 50-50 blend.

[pictured] Twix gives us a birthday grin. And a Cristy Cumberworth shot of us last winter, just playing. And Twix on her birth day, those bullseyes of grey around her eyes indicated she was going to grey out fast.

Grand Old Men

noreply@blogger.com (Horseshooter) — Thu, 01 May 2008 22:06:00 +0000

Today we say goodbye at 33 to the grand Arabian stallion, WN Winter Park, of Cerridwyn Arabians, one of the last *Naborr sons standing. He was both the US and Canadian National Driving Champion and Ruth has been using him in her sporthorse program. I had the privilege of photographing him in 2006. I recently heard that BonnFyre Farm's fabulous *Naborr son AZH Naborr was lost last June at 33. Both of these guys were potent into their old age.

[pictured] AZH Naborr also near dusk, photographed in late 2003, with the ole point and shoot. Winter Park at dusk, where his cataract was rather obvious.

And true to the peripatetic nature of my thoughts, here's a great place to learn about death, my friend and fellow photographer, Candace Craw-Goldman's In Respose blog.