Sundog Shorts: Daisy

What is special about Daisy?
"[She's] the sister I never had. She's always happy, loving, and fun to be with."

When you come out to the farm, you often refer to Daisy as "your" dog. Why is that?
"I think of her as my dog because I lover her more than any dog on the planet, and whenever I am at the barn she is right by my side."

What's one of your favorite things about coming out to the farm?
"I get to run wild and free!"


(c) 2015 All Rights Reserved. All photos are property of Heidi Marcinik.   

2014 Year of the Horse Project

According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2014 is the Year of the Horse that extends from January 31, 2014 to February 18, 2015.

In celebration of horses and their spirit, I decided I would do something horse related every month for 2014—my personal "2014 Year of the Horse" photography project. The guidelines I've set are that it has to involve horses in some way, and, if possible, photography.

This is exciting because I really don't know what opportunities will come about from month to month. The times I've set out a specific plan, it fell through, so I learned to let the spirit of the horse guide the adventure, and let it take on a life of its own.

Some of ideas I have are to actually work on a horse farm, take a trail ride, photograph mustangs that are truly wild and not housed on permanent pasture lands, and participate in a horse photography workshop.

Will any of these or other horse-related opportunities take place? Check back monthly for updates to find out!

January 2014—Year of the Horse:

I was having a bad day so I grabbed a friend and traveled out to see the mustangs in hopes of brightening up my spirits. It worked! However, I neglected to check my camera gear and realized, once there, that I had forgotten to load my camera card. Thankfully I had my iPhone to document the day.

This trip encouraged the idea of the Year of the Horse project.

In one week's time, I had two unrelated friends discuss Monty Robert's book The Man Who Listens to Horses—a sure clue that that was my next horse-related activity for this month. What immediately grabbed my attention is that Monty, as a young kid, started to learn the language of the horse by observing the wild mustangs that resided near him. His life with horses and the changes he made in horse training unfolded from that moment on. Amazing story—very inspiring. I highly recommend the read.

February 2014—Year of the Horse:

Horses in winter has to be one of the most beautiful seasons in which to photograph them. So, I braved the elements and drove out to the mustangs again capturing some stunning photos of the horses in the snow.
 

March 2014—Year of the Horse:

Horses have made regular meaningful and personal appearances in my dreams for a long time. A friend of mine was creating a "Big Dream Book" asking people to submit their "big dreams" for the book—dreams that have made an impact on one's awake life. The dreams I submitted were all horse dreams that were very significant to me at the time. Here is one of them:

"Riding A Horse"

I'm observing myself riding a horse in an outdoor arena. This horse is dark in color with a blond mane. I notice there is a smile on my face as I ride the horse around the arena's grooved track.

I (the observer) think to myself, "I love when awake life catches up to dreams," and contemplate that as a Facebook status.

Secondly, I had a wonderful, unplanned visit with the mustangs with good friend and horse owner, Tammy Erickson, who has been an inspiration to me over the years. We brought along her Cairn Terrier, Sweet Tea. Despite the cold, rainy, blustery day, we had an enjoyable prairie photograph session and visit with the mustangs.

Tammy Erickson and her Cairn Terrier, Sweet Tea, in the Flint Hills of Kansas with a herd of mustangs off in the distance.

April 2014—Year of the Horse:

It was time to order a very large wall canvas of one of my mustang photos as a daily reminder of my project, of the Year of the Horse, and to honor the American spirit of the mustangs that we luckily can still appreciate today. The photo chosen is one of a herd of 200+ mustangs that I helped round up one day along with a number of ranchers. It was a little tricky to get photos and play roundup simultaneously, but I succeeded!

May 2014—Year of the Horse:

I knew The Kentucky Derby was coming up in May given my Facebook friends' posts about it. On that day, however, I was feeling under the weather and forgot all about it. Feeling fatigued, I fell asleep on the couch only to be awakened some time later by a friend's text alerting me to the start of the race! Despite my slumber, I managed to find the channel before the race began and watched history in the making as California Chrome took home the prize!

I have to add that this friend has never watched The Kentucky Derby, so to get a text from her was out of the ordinary. Spirit of the horse playing out here? I think so, and, obviously, not just for me.

It's only the first week of May when writing this, so I hope more opportunities come my way this month.

Mother's Day Mustangs

May 11, 2014: An unexpected jaunt into the Flint Hills afforded me a glimpse of an elusive mustang herd. Camera in hand, ready to fire, I crawled over the hill army style in hopes of photographing them before taking notice of me and running away. They are a perceptive bunch. It didn't take long at all before I was noticed and immediately lined up and headed for greener pastures.

Here are a couple of the photos edited in a tilt shift look—just for fun.

 

June 2014—Year of the Horse:

July 2014—Year of the Horse:

August 2014—Year of the Horse:

September 2014—Year of the Horse:

October 2014—Year of the Horse:

November 2014—Year of the Horse:

December 2014—Year of the Horse:

January 2015—Year of the Horse:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Website: www.sundogpetphotography.com

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(c) 2014 All Rights Reserved. All photos are property of Heidi Marcinik.  

On With The Show!

Authored by the client, Julie Lane.

It was a perfect day for a photo session. The trees were at their height of autumn loveliness, clothed in red, yellow, and orange. The air was the perfect balance of crispness and warmness. It was Kechi park, nestled in the suburban community of Kechi, a beautiful park with a fishing lake, bridge, playground, and woods, butted up next to a housing development.

Enter clients Julie, Mason, and Jennifer. Mason, the pet, was a three year old 125 pound lab/great dane mix, with a love of water and an enthusiasm for woods. Mason believes that every dog should live up to his breed—in his case, as a retriever, he had an obligation to chase rabbits on land, and ducks on the water. Every time. Without fail.

 

Mason was bathed and coifed, with a brand new red collar and lead. Twelve year old Jennifer was bathed and coifed, with an outfit to match the dog. Julie was uncoifed, and about to become more so.  There were fisherpeople and kids present on the scene, to make distracting noises. And of course, there were ducks. And as we will find out later, at least one rabbit.

Julie and Jenny held on to Mason's brand new collar and attempted to corral his enthusiasm for the ducks. Mason was supposed to be exercised for the photography session, and Julie and Jennifer attempted to oblige. Mason dragged the two girls around the lake, just once, until their arms about dropped off. Then the girls entered a more secluded wooded area to get a rest.

Enter Heidi, talented and organized pet photographer, and her wagonload of photo gear. Heidi's assistant was traveling, so she was by herself on a day that should have been easy. Three or four shots were taken near the wooded area. Then, the whole entourage attempted to move to a spot where the light and backdrop were different. Jenny loosely held the lead. Heidi held her camera. And Julie trailed behind.

Enter the rabbit.  Mason broke free and raced into the woods. Heidi attempted to grab him as he raced past her, and got a minor hand injury for her efforts. Heidi stayed behind with the equipment and Julie's personal belongings, and Julie and Jenny tore into the woods after Mason.

 

Jenny and Julie traced the contours of the river bed, leaping over brush and fallen tree trunks, dodging brush, poison oak, and possible snakes, slipping and sliding down the muddy creek bed. At one point, both of Julie's shoes stuck in the bed, and started to sink, while her body, barefoot, propelled forward. She got one shoe back on, and had to dig the other out of the muck, after briefly considering abandoning the shoe to its murky grave. A slimy, algae-laden substance filled the shoe. She tipped it upside down to empty it, then put it back on and scrambled up the bank and into the adjacent meadow.

Reenter the rabbit, followed by Mason. There was a failed attempt to tackle Mason. The rabbit, Mason, and Julie went back into the woods. Losing the rabbit and Mason, Julie attempted to locate Jennifer, who had followed the trail past the woods end into a farm pasture. After touching base, Julie turned back and traveled towards the park via the meadow.

Heidi was worried about the safety of the dog, Jenny, and Julie. Would the photo session be a bust?

Enter Mason.  Julie caught him. Breathing sighs of relief and swelling with pride, Julie soon received yet another lesson in humility.

Exit Mason.  He was out of his collar, and the race was back on, into the adjoining housing development. Many of the houses didn't have fences. Julie followed Mason into the development and searched seventeen back yards and more than a few open garages. Eluding suspicion for breaking and entering, she followed the sounds of barking dogs, entering further and further into the subdivision.

Enter Jennifer in Julie's vicinity.  Julie handed off the collar and they split up.

Enter Jennifer with Mason on his lead.  He was panting and exhausted, passively letting Jenny walk him back to the park. Jennifer was the heroine.

Heidi had packed up the equipment and gone looking for everyone else in her vehicle. Julie called her and she came back to the park after being reassured that Mason and Jennifer were safely back. Everybody regrouped after the 45 minute dog chase. Julie briefly entertained the idea of running the dog, and herself, through the adjacent car wash.

The photo session was back on track. A few more shots were attempted on the bridge. Mason steadfastly refused to cooperate. Heidi reminded Julie and Jennifer not to let go of the lead, and to keep it wrapped around their wrists. We decided to move to a different spot.

Reenter the ducks.  Julie was holding the lead, but was no match for Mason's ancient duck-hunting sensibility. Mason soon dove into the lake after them.

 

As Mason swam back to shore for a towel dry, Julie considered taking up drinking. And not beer. Something with far more alcohol content. Heidi adapted to the unfolding drama with a cool head and a calm presence. A pet photographer that can handle this could likely handle anything! And Jennifer was lit up with happiness to be reunited with her dog. Her attitude made the rest of the day possible.

By now, the sun had started to set, and the light softened. Mason was still somewhat uncooperative, but tired from his pursuit of rabbits and ducks, so he could be managed. Then Heidi made magic happen, in the fading light. The resulting shots surpass all the hopes and dreams we shared.

 

A look back after the curtain closed.  Despite the exhaustion, it could all be fixed with a hot bath and a prevailing sense of the humor of life.  All was well that ended well.

Julie exhibiting the after effects from chasing Mason through the wooded, muddy area

Website: www.sundogpetphotography.com

Visit me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/sundogpetphotography
Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/sundogpetphotog

(c) 2013 All Rights Reserved. All photos are property of Heidi Marcinik.