Kalie and Kern

Kalie's session came right in the middle of a 13 day work week and yet I couldn't have been more excited for her session at 8:30PM. It was the highlight of my day and week to work with her. It is a really great feeling to be this excited for my job and something that I am privileged to enjoy. Although I adore capturing horse shows and the environment of these events, my true passion lies in telling the story of an individual horse and rider. I was blessed to see Kalie and Kern's bond unfold in front of the camera, highlighted by beautiful sunset lighting.

Kern was a stunning Percheron Thoroughbred cross, who definitely took after the Percheron more than the TB. Kalie had accentuated her thick neck with a beautiful running braid and groomed her to perfection so that her black coat was gleaming. The pair had been together since Kern was 8 months old, and she was now 13 and this was their first time capturing their bond in images.

Kalie explained how she had trained the mare herself and how Kern had been her first horse, a rewarding experience for a young equestrian. Kern had been rather mellow and laid back and Kalie said that even when she did show her wild side, it wasn't that wild.

We were joined by an assistant for the shoot, with the barn dog following us around for the session and sometimes trying to get a little too close to the camera. It gave us all a little laugh though and created some great natural moments for me to capture on camera, even if some of them had a canine in them. She proved to be a great assistant for getting ears forward and I only had to pay her with the occasional carrot and head scratch, which is pretty cheap labor.

The pair complimented each other beautifully and were about the best models a photographer could ask for, Kalie was relaxed and comfortable in front of the camera and Kern was an expert at finding the lens and putting her ears forward. We joked about this being the debut of her model career. She certainly showed the demanding and dramatic side of being a model as well, quickly showing her distaste in my choice of peppermints and she certainly chose when we were done shooting. It was probably for the best however since I'd already captured over 600 images, which only makes my job to narrow them down even harder.

These two were a beautiful pair to work with and it was a treasure to tell their 13 year story on camera.