The Adventure of Photography
Allow me the pleasure of introducing Mr. Mario. Mario is an Azteca – a blend of Andalusian and American Quarter Horse. The Azteca is muscular, elegant, and has a nice temperament. But what really drew me to Mario was his eyes. I spotted him among a number of other amazing horses at Flying Cloud Farm outside of Petaluma. His head structure and eye shape and position make him appear to be looking straight forward with both eyes, as opposed to having eyes on either side. A double dose of eye contact from a soulful horse is a powerful experience.
Knowing what I wanted to capture most about Mario, lens choice was very important. At 120-200mm, the effect of the eyes is enhanced due to lens compression. A 50mm lens makes the head more round and it is much harder to get both eyes in the frame.
As usual, I worked to find clean backgrounds through careful positioning and often a very shallow depth of field (made easier by the longer focal lengths). Beautiful scenery is easy at Flying Cloud, helping me create images that have no distractions from Mario’s face.
While there I also had the privilege of working with a Lusitano stallion – those photos will be ready soon.
Thanks to top trainer Allison Mathy at Flying Cloud for making this possible, Patti Schofler at Dark Horse Media Biz for the original introduction, and fellow photographer Annie Oliver for her help with the shoot. I cherish these opportunities.
