The Guardian (Nevada)

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The herd starting running across the Rd. and I ran to try and see which direction they were going once they entered into trees.  It was dark where they entered the trees and and could not tell.  I had managed to shoot off a few shots with my Nikon as the stallion circled and went into the trees.  I could see movement of one or two horses just a little way in and than only one horse remained.  I approached the trees carefully as these were wild horses and I needed to be mindful of that.  Than I saw the one, he was a big brown stallion with a long mane.  He watched me carefully and I watched him.  I watched his ears and tail to see if he felt threatened in anyway.  His ears weren't back he wasn't pawing the ground and his tail was moving a bit but not swishing.  I took a few more shots and than started talking to him gently.  He was listening as his ears were up and I moved forward slowly just a bit and captured a few more image of him.  He was what I'd call a handsome horse and I was amazed to be this close to a real wild horses or as the locals call them wildies.  He was a big boy as I said earlier as the Alberta wild horses tend to be.  He moved back a bit and slowly entered the meadow.  I backed up and saw that Cam, my son had followed me in, so together we slowly entered the meadow.  It was such a special time for me to be entering this beautiful sun light place that was mostly surrounded my spruce trees and colourful brush.  The grass looked yellowish in colour ready for the winter.  At the far end of the meadow I could see four smaller black horses.  Two of them seemed to be fighting and I was excited at the possiblity of capturing some images of that, but between them and us just a little to my left was the stallion or as I like to call him the guardian.  He was watching our every move.  I shot off a few more images of him than moved closer to the two who were fighting.  As I approached I scanned the meadow and that is when I saw the other big stallion.  He was off to my right and farther back and he was also watching us.  He was a bit bigger than the guardian but looked like he was older.  Oh the stories he could tell.  I looked back at the guardian and this time got low and shot off a few more images of him.  I was loving that low angle as I could also include more of his surroundings including some sky.  The backlighting was great and rimmed him nicely.  I than focus back on the two fighting and every time I sensed one or both would rear I'd shoot off a bunch of shots as I really wanted to capture that.  At some point I figured it was just a younger horses who was being a pain to a older mare.  Than all of a sudden the fighting stopped and they started grazing.  What I do know about horses is that when they start grazing it could go on for a least an hour.  At that point I remember thanking God for this wonderful time spent with these wildies.  I have come such a long way on my post encephalitis journey and here I was hanging out with wild horses.  Wow! I felt so grateful.

I walked over to my son and we slowly walked out of the meadow.  As we exited the meadow I turned back and said thank you and goodbye.  Some of them looked up I wave and we moved on.

As I look back at these images I'm sadden as I will probably never see this wonderful stallion again.  The Alberta government is calling a cull as the ranchers are grumbling about the wildies they don't want to share the crowns grazing land with them.  They say the horses are bad for our ecosystem.  Haha that is laughable, if anything is bad for the ecosystem it's their thousands of cattle.  The horses are part of the ecosystem and were here before the Spanish ever got here.  STOP THIS NONSENSE, STOP THE CULL ALBERTA!

Harley (I will miss you my friend)

 Without knowing it this was my last image and time spent with  Harley my special friend and therapist.    In 2019 I was diagnosed with meningoencephalitis which is a virus that causes inflammation of the brain.  The summer of 2021 was an incredibly tough year living with all the post encephalitis craziness.   Then at the end of that summer I was given the gift of being able to photograph and hang out with the Sandy Ridge Herd by the owners  The herd grew on me fast, especially Harley.  I would be dealing with all these different symptoms one of them being anxiety and I would grab my camera and head out to the horses.  They were so wonderful to be with at these times and I would totally forget about the symptoms.  Photographing the herd was such a special treat and it alloyed me to be creative which I think is so important for anyone dealing with brain trauma of any kind.  

I would show up under any weather condition, whether it was -30C or 30C, raining or snowing it made no difference as I wanted to get those special moments. If they were outside I had no excuse but to be out there with them.  Sometimes I would bring them treats of baby carrots which they absolutely loved.  When I did step out into the pasture I would whistle or call them, Harley was usually the first one who would take notice and would walk over to me.  If I didn't have carrots he would still stick around with me.  Harley was a bit of a outcast of the herd and would often have to fight some of the other horses too get a position in the herd.  He was often by himself when I got there and I was often feeling alone in my journey and so we gelled.  

Harley was slowly becoming a pasture horse though, as two bouts of lime disease and an old injury were taking their toll.  I knew this days was coming I just didn't know when.  I remember going out to visit the herd and not seeing Harley out there.  I just had that bad feeling that something had happened but I wasn't sure what.  I text the owner of the stable and inquired about Harley.  She informed me that he had been gifted to a lady in another community.  He would be allowed to just be a pasture horse, that he was in a good home.  I was happy to hear this but I will miss him a lot!  Lord please allow me to ride Harley one day in Heaven.

Running Wild! (A prayer answered)

 

It was snowing out, so I sat in the sunroom and watched it come down as I worked in my grateful journal.  I'm so grateful for the snow, as it somehow makes the world seem so peaceful.  It was so beautiful out there.  As I was considering making myself a coffee I thought of the horses.  I know they love the snow too.  I'm grateful for the horses. So I packed up and headed south to see what they were up to.  As I drove I prayed for my safety as I most always do.  This particular time I also prayed that I would get a galloping image of one of the horses, that it would be in focus and that I would not need to crop it.  It says in The Bible if you don't ask you won't get, so I asked.   

When I got to the stables I was encouraged to see the horses at the back of the pasture instead of up by the barn eating.  They were standing there in front of the oak woods resting and it looked so peaceful.  As I watched from the car I thought that would make a wonderful image, so I headed out.  I was still hoping for some action from the herd so my camera was set for that, high ISO and fast shutter speed.  I walked out to and area that was close enough to capture a shot of them in front of the snow laden woods, but far enough back that if the woke they would run and not walk to me.  I took a few shots then sat and waited.  I had a feeling that something special was going to happen this morning.  After what seemed about 30 minutes but probably was less, I was feeling a little cold and impatient.  I headed back to the car to warmed up.  

Again, I sat there and watched them.  I was feeling a little impatient, should I go?  No!  They are going to run for me today!  So I got out of car and headed back to the spot where I had been and sat there and waited.  I shot off a few more shots more so to get the right exposure.  I watched Badger and Nevaeh to see if there was any communication going on between them.  There was none and again I was getting impatient, so I headed back to the car.  I sat there debating with myself, should I stay or should I go now.  The snow was subsiding and that was good because it would make it easier to focus. Then it happened I saw movement from Badger and Nevaeh.  I jumped out of the car and got out to my spot and then they came like a starter gun had gone off.  They did not stay close together but spread out and I would not be able to get them all in to my image.  I focused in on Cash and followed him in at some point he took a left turn in front of me and I panned him as he galloped by.  It was so exciting!

Just like that they were by me and it was over.  Later as I drove home I was so happy for what I had captured and hoped it was in focus.  If not it still was so amazing, as seeing horses run is something special.  

Well after a simple edit this is what I came up with.  A galloping horse, in focus, no cropping was needed and I was safe.  This image was a year and a half in the making as these kind of opportunities do not present themselves often.  Looking at this image now I'm grateful for this wonderful capture.  Thank you Lord for being mindful of the small things in life.

My Crazy Headspace! (I'm so overwhelmed again)

Summer 2021 was so crazy.  I was trying to get back to work during Covid and all the protocol made it so tough.  My mother had passed and I was one of the executor and that was difficult.  I was living with post encephalitis symptoms one of them being anxiety and that made it overwhelming.  The evenings were difficult but with the encouragement from Julie I would head out into the country with my camera.

As I drove I would try to pray but I didn't know what to pray for.  I'm so grateful that God's Spirit intercedes for me when I can't pray.  I ended up in the Friedensfeld area on this particular outing just south of town.  I somehow needed to calm my brain. My emotions were all over the place and I felt like crying.  I'm such a mess at times, and that is the closest I can come to ever describing my bad headspace that I so often will get.  

I drove around but nothing was getting my attention.  I was so frustrated with myself.  My creativity was just not there.  As I was considering going home I came upon this cornfield that was close beside  the road as there was very little ditch.  I looked back at it and decided I should get at least one shot on this outing.  I told my brain as I often did that he had no choice he was getting out.  Getting out of the car was always the toughest part for me. I picked up my D90 with the 10-20mm Sigma lens on along with my tripod and made my way to the corn.  I looked up and saw there was clouds in the sky and there was a little colour showing as the sun was starting to get low behind me.  Now how should I approach this field of corn?  Hmm I decided I'd get right into the corn and angle my camera down just enough so that my image would not be cut totally in half.  I wanted the clouds and just a little different perspective of the corn than I normally would shoot.  I shot off a few images at a few different exposure than went back to the car.  

When I got home Julie asked me if I had gotten anything good?  I said I don't know yet.  Well did you have fun she asked?  I wasn't sure of that either on this particular outing.  There wasn't many images to look at on this particular outing but I zeroed in on this particular exposer.  I think I liked it and so did a quick edit.  I have come back to this image many times and it has really grown on me.  Having said that it still brings back vivid memories of my emotional and mental state at that time.

As I make my way through this journey I'm on, I realize how sensitive I am to noise and those who make the noise.  I'm finding I need to forgive those that do, as they don't realize how they are affecting people around them.  This world is all together too loud for me.  More and more I find a need to get away from all this and that is when I head into the country with my camera.  I'm so grateful that I can do this, I'm so blessed.

I'm Afraid! (This Story Remembered )

 

I woke up early, I was afraid.  I was alone for the night, as Julie and Tamera were on their annual tenting excursion at West Hawk Lake.  I decided since I couldn't sleep I'd get up and head out with my camera.  

The sun was not up yet and this would allow me to get out and capture it coming up.  I headed southwest and ended up down some narrow country road that was not in the greatest of shape, but I kept going. My thinking was that this road was probably just used by farmers to get onto to their fields.  

I passed along side a farmyard and in the back he had this huge scarecrow in his cornfield.  I stop and looked at it for awhile, then decided I'd get out and capture an image of it.  As I was setting up I felt creeped out, I was scared.  This felt like an area I wasn't supposed to be in.  I took a couple of quick shots then moved on.  A mile or so down the road I found what I was looking for, a field of round bales.

The sun would be coming up soon so I would have to hurry and get set up before it did.  I grabbed my tripod and camera and headed a little ways across the field. It was quiet with just me and the birds out there.  I was feeling a little paranoid and kept looking at the road I had come down, never the less I needed to work out this fear thing so I put my Nikon D90 with a 10-20 Sigma lens on my tripod.  I looked up and saw that there were clouds in front of the sun and there was light streaming through a separation in the clouds. I was also noticing some cool colours showing.  I focused on the front bale and put my f stop to 14 and I adjusted my shutter speed accordingly.  I shot a few shots off adjusting my shutter speed on each to get different exposures, then I moved my camera to get a different point of view. I kept doing this for about 30 minutes or so.  My creativity was used up as my brain seems to get tired so easily.  My fear had subsided some and my brain space was a little better.  I was hungry so I decided to head home for a coffee and some breakfast.  After I had eaten I checked out what I had.  I really liked this one, and since taking this image back in 2021, I have re-edited it a number of times as I have just not been happy with any of my edits.  While getting images together for a book idea I did this edit and I'm happy with this one.  I hope you like it too!

Looking Out My Back Window

Living post Encephalitis life is so tough.  One of my side effects is living with all kind of fears.  Earlier on these fears would keep me at home.  I would still find a need to be creative though, so I would grab my camera and head out into the backyard or if it was cold out would hang out in the sunroom.  I love watching the birds and squirrels from here.  When I see something I like I will try and capture the moment on my camera.  I find that Blue Jays can be a little shy and when they notice me will fly away.  So I will preset everything on my camera as much as I can, and when the opportunity arises will sneak off a shot.  This is one of those opportunities.

Rolling Across The Prairie

 2021 was such a tough years as I was trying to get back to work and was dealing with all kind of protocols etc. at work because of Covid.  It had been two years since I was diagnosed with viral meningitis and encephalitis and I was dealing with a lot of side effects one of them being anxiety. 

 It was late June and the canola was starting to show it's colour.  After a day of work I was in such a bad place and getting out with my camera was a way I would deal with it.  So after I had supper I grabbed my camera gear and just drove. On this particular outing I ended up in Carey MB because of the canola fields and started looking for a field that showed the most colour.  As I was out capturing some images I heard a distant train and I decided that is what I wanted to include in my shot.  I jumped into my car and headed to the next road, took a right and headed about half a mile south down this dirt road.   I did not have a lot of time to set up this shot so I grabbed my D90 with my 70-300mm lens on it and set up for a longer shot using my tripod.  The sun was getting low in the sky and was showing some nice colour and I really liked that, but it was forcing me to shoot a little slower, so I upped my ISO.   As the train showed up into my viewfinder I shot off some three shots or so.  After the train had passed I decided to head back home. 

Over the past few years I keep on coming back to this shot wanting to improve my edit.  Because it was a long shot on a high ISO it was a very noisy image at least in the sky.  Last summer I bought Topaz an AI (artificial intelligence) photo editing program and put it to work on this image.  This is the result and I like it.