Category Archives: Horses

Velvet Willow 1995 – 2013

It has been one week since Willow died, and I have cried rivers. I miss her so much… I will continue to write our story on the Velvet Willow blog. Thank you to everyone for all of the emails, prayers, and love during this sorrowful time…

Willow updates

Willow has been injured… she suffered a broken leg and is up in Lexington having surgery to save her life. I will continue to post updates to the Velvet Willow blog.

Her little horsey toy (pretty barn light)

When the light is right, the location doesn’t matter… Here, she’s sitting in the barn garage. Looked good in color, but I couldn’t stop myself from converting it b/c in my mind the B/W hid the not so pretty background.

I had wanted to photograph her on my horse wearing this fur vest, but she didn’t want to. So while we groomed the horses, she sat in the back near the barn garage and played with her little horse toy… I couldn’t help but snap this while she wasn’t looking. Edited with Colorplay Actions: Clean Base + Dramarama & a little Definition Palette:)

I see me in your eyes..

Do you get excited when you realize you’ve captured your reflection in your subject’s eyes? (I do!) And it’s much easier w/ large horse eyes and good barn light! ?

Editing here is the new Colorplay actions… here I used the Recipe Maker (so easy and fun)… this was a combo of: Clean Base + Peace 100%, Ocean Air 35%, Alabaster 25% and Berry Wine at 80%

Reunited {my husband and my horse}

Reunited. ? It’s been 10 days since my husband fell while riding my sweet horse Paloma. While in the hospital with 5 broken ribs, he called me (in tears) worried about her… worried that she was upset and worried about him. Yesterday, the vet came to see Paloma, and Michael slowly walked out to the barn and into the stall next to her. She went right to him. He smiled at her and called her swe
etheart, and then she closed her eyes as if she was so relieved he was there and alright. They are so sweet together… I’m glad I had my camera and caught this moment…

As for the processing… super quick… Clean Base (with B/W turned on) from the Colorplay Actions set. No tweaks… then placed Light/Sunflare Overlay #17 on “Overlay” blending mode at 40%. The barn window as blown out (midday) so the soft light stream softened the image with just enough hazy light from the window. Sometimes a little goes a long way. Video tutorial on them here: http://www.florabellacollection.com/video-tutorial-light-and-sunflare-overlays.html And Thanks to everyone who has been concerned about m husband and Paloma… as you can see, both are recovering nicely.

My husband’s first horse accident & my daughter’s sweet heart

My husband took a bad fall off of my horse Paloma… as he lay on the ground not moving, Paloma stood by him for a long while before she finally ran back to get help. After a 911 call, an ambulance ride, and hospital stay, my husband is home in much pain with 5 broken ribs. Upon telling my daughter Sophie Lu about his broken ribs, she replied, “Oh, Mama… it’s a good thing he had those ribs. Otherwise, when he fell off Paloma he might have broken his heart. I’m so glad Daddy didn’t break his heart.” I am so so blessed… not only that my husband is alive, but also that I have the sweetest daughter and horse in the world. ?

Flower adorned horses….

Because flowers aren’t just for eating. Our barn is almost done… just needs to be white washed… I’m so excited! Edited with Florabella Classic Color + Hazy Teal 15%, Soft Pink Haze at 30%, and Peach Haze at 15%

Horse + Kitty = Love

Horse + Kitty = Love. Imagine my excitement when my trainer Martha sent me this photo she took w/ her phone of Paloma & her barn cat Oliver!! Just when I was about to fly home because I missed her so much. She is just the most loving horse… glad to see she is making friends while I’m away. ? (quickly edited w/ Classic Color + 1968 + Noise Removal from Classic Worfklow and then the new Color Matte Actions).:)

Admirers


After posting the close-up of her braids, I wanted to share how elegant she really looks in them. (Those geldings in the background were going crazy over her!) I have 10 versions of this shot…. each with a different tail swish (I could watch her swish her tail for hours) ? Edited this with Blush from the Luxe II actions… it evened out all that green w/ a blush haze…:)

Horizon…

The horizon in her deep, dark, sweet eyes. ? {Actions used: Clean Color, Whiten Whites & All-in-One Eyes from the new Retouch set}

Braids…

My first time braiding Paloma’s mane. Kinda messy, but pretty to me. ? Edited with Clean Color + Whiten Whites + Sharpening brush from the Retouch & Makeover set:)

Sophie (the horse)


Sophie is Paloma’s new pasture mate. Full sun & I didn’t have time to move her or that tree, but I was happy to get this shot of her the first time she saw her new friend. Paloma’s at a new farm closer to home for a bit… it’s absolutely breathtaking! (quick, clean edit w/ Classic Color here).:)


My new favorite photo of Paloma… Edited with Florabella Classic Workflow Actions or Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. Actions used were Classic Color and 1968.


Edited with Florabella Retouch & Makeover set only. Photoshop Actions used here were Clean Color, Yellow Out Brush, Whiten Whites, and Sharpen Brush.

Introducing Charlie… Paloma’s new playmate. ? Charlie is my husband’s horse… he’s a sweet, 15 year old Missouri Fox Trotter. Edited w/ Clean Color from the Retouch Set + Lens Blur Baby, Vintage Dusk, and White Haze from the Hazy Skies set.:)

Paloma


My pretty girl, super clean after her bath. Of course, just as we drove away from the farm, she rolled in the mud…:)Edited w/ the Classic Workflow set: Classic Color + Sable + Blue Ginger (and a bit of Vintage Wash on the grass).

Sweet Paloma


Sweet Paloma… We are boarding her out at her farm until our barn is built… and then I get to see her every morning when I wake up. She is a sweetie girl… {Edited with Classic Color + Blue Ginger, Soft Warmth & Sweet Tea all at low opacities}

Introducing Paloma


Introducing Paloma… officially now my sweet, beautiful (and talented as you can see) new horse. Being ridden here by the amazing Miss Sydney and photographed by Mark Walter Lehner (permission to post granted). I can’t wait to photograph her too! Isn’t she amazing? And seriously… the sweetest, most gentle soul. I love her…

Sasha’s First Pony Ride


So proud of our little Sasha! Sophie & Oliver had a riding lesson today on Lulu the pony. When asked if she wanted a ride, Sasha firmly proclaimed, “No. Me wait till me four!” A couple seconds later I lifted her up and sat her on Lulu anyway. She smiled the entire 5 minute walk.

Goodbye, sweet boy…


When I posted the photo of the Friesian the other day, I know I said that Jimmy Jr. (aka Coco) had looked well on Sunday. He came right up to the fence to us that day, happily enjoyed us petting him and loved the apples we fed him. But yesterday morning, I returned his owner Allison’s call to hear her in tears. She hadn’t been able to get him up. It took an hour, but Jimmy was clearly in pain (his hind legs were so weak). Sasha and I went up to the barn and walked with Allison out to the field to field with apples and tiny blossoms that Sasha wanted to put in Jimmy’s bangs (ad she did). I knew the vet was coming this morning, but on the way to take the kids to school, we saw Jimmy in the front pasture as usual… eating grass while enjoying the sun. I wanted to stop to say hi & take his picture maybe one last time, but we were running late. 15 minutes later on the way back, he wasn’t there. My heart sank, and when Sasha sadly asked, “Where’s Toto?” the tears came. Allison just called to share that he went peacefully with his head in her lap. So goodbye sweet old boy… you will be missed by many…

I might be a horse person :)


I’m starting to really love horses… Jimmy Jr. is doing great, btw! He was out enjoying the beautiful sunshine but not in the best spot to photograph… This gentle giant though, seems to love the camera. I’m crazy about him… I think I might need a horse. Am I just plain crazy:)

Black Beauty…

Pin It

I think I love photographing horses… they are easier than kids and more fun than flowers. And I love this black beauty… {edited w/ Classic Color + Sable, Deep Azure and Blue Ginger). I think I’ll name my first horse Blue Ginger…:)

Sasha & “Toto”


Sasha loves “Toto” (Jimmy) so much… she was so excited to bring him some carrots… here she is walking toward him as he was getting up to greet us. Of course I then dropped the camera to go make sure she didn’t get too close without me… he can only really see shadows at this point. Anyway, this photo means a lot to me. I love that she loves him so much. We went to see him yesterday & again today, but he (hopefully) is up in his barn. Of course I can’t help but worry… It’s a beautiful sunny day, so we’ll look for him again this afternoon.

Oliver the Barn Cat

Meet Oliver… one of the barn cats up at Coco’s (Jimmy’s) barn. He’s such a lover… really a sweet sweet boy… so affectionate and friendly. It’s hard to get a photo of him because he’s always walking toward me (purring all the while). I love this one I was able to get though… doesn’t the light coming through the barn doors look like a cross? Such a special place…. I heard from a reader that this type of tabby with the M marking on his head is a very special type of kitty… the breed that is said to have been in the manger when baby Jesus was born. The “M” is supposed to stand for Mary…. I love that. (p.s. visited w/ Coco for a long while today!! More on that later) {processing is Classic Rich + Blue Ginger + Sable} ?

Jimmy Jr (Coco) in Trisha Yearwood’s “Trying to Love You” video

Just got off the phone with Jimmy Jr./Coco’s owner Allison. She was so touched to see all of the love and sweet comments about her sweet horse. She also shared with me that he appeared in a Trisha Yearwood music video galloping with some other horses… I cried as I watched it b/c I recognized him right away and had never seen him run before… beautiful video & song but special b/c of him. If you go here to her page, she just posted about it and you can watch him in the video. (Thanks Allison… for everything! We all love your Jimmy Jr.!)

Sweet Jimmy


Update on Coco (Jimmy Jr.): First I want to thank everyone again for the sweet words and beautiful stories on the photo & story I shared yesterday…. I cried reading all of them. When it stopped raining yesterday, we headed over to check on him, feed him carrots & to hopefully capture a shot of him “standing tall” as many suggested. When we got there, he was laying down way up on the hill. Of course I worried again, so I called his owner and got permission to hop the fence. He had been napping and was happy to see us and sat up to greet us. I got a cute picture of Sasha walking toward him w/ a carrot (I’ll post it later)… After visiting with him and feeding him carrots, we went to leave and he stood right up and started following us! It was then that I got this shot… I love that his barn was behind him, and he looks so handsome. Going to visit him again today… And already have plans for spring, we are going to make him a wreath of blossoms… precious old boy…