Adventures of Kairos and Zephyr

If horses could grin then these two certainly are. These two characters seem to hang out and have many conversations along the fence rail. Could be they are talking about ole Scooter since he isn't around. They don't always invite him to play with them.

You remember Scooter from yesterday's post......Zephyr wouldn't pass the stick or play nicely with him. Its tough when you are not one of the popular kids on the block, or paddock any way.

Today I went down to Denver to the Horse Expo and ran into a fellow horse photographer Carol Walker. She has done an amazing job photographing the American mustang in their native habitat and has a great book of her work called "Wild Hoofbeats America's Vanishing Wild Horses". Check it out at:www.wildhoofbeats.com. She and I both donate part of the proceeds from the sale of our work to The Cloud Foundation. To learn more about this admirable cause go to: www.thecloudfoundation.org/home.html. The Cloud foundation is dedicated to the preservation of wild horses on our public lands and the protection of Cloud's herd in the Arrowhead Mountains of Montana.

I am leaving for a road trip to Arizona tomorrow and won't be back for nine days. I don't take my computer but I will be taking my friend the camera and hope to have lots of new photos to work on and share with you when I get back!

Have a super weekend and I'll be blogging later!
Susan
windhorseOne Studios
www.windhorseone.com

Adventure of Zephyr & Kairos: Boys Games

Like most young boys these colts are no different - they love to play with sticks! Meet Scooter. He is a little Peruvian Paso who tries to play with Zephyr and Kairos. Just like children, sometimes they exclude him from the fun. Today Zephyr has a stick and seems to want to try to pass it to Scooter.

Kairos is minding his own business behind Scooter which is very unusual for Kairos. He is Mr. Mastermind the busybody. Scooter is starting to approach Zephyr. You want to play with me? he seems to say.


Turning quickly Zephyr says if you want it come and get it. Ha, Ha fooled you! What a tease that Zephyr is. And little Scooter seems a bit displeased. I can't say I blame him.


This is a close up where you can see Scooter is saying Hey, play fair!

Stay tuned for more on the next adventures of Kairos and Zephyr!
Susan
windhorseOne Studios
www.windhorseone.com

Adventures Of Zephyr and Kairos

Everyday when I need a break I go out and visit my two colts Zephyr and Kairos. We go for short walks together which is giving us time to develop a strong bond and relationship. I have had people ask "Wouldn't I rather be riding?" and while the answer is yes I would love to be riding I have found it very rewarding to bring my own horses along very slowly. Riding is one of the many benefits we share with our equine friends but there are so many other rewarding activities we can do with them. I have been horseless for about seven years now and somehow these two seemed to have found me. I wasn't in the market for one horse and ended up with two!

It is amazing and fun to watch how their personalities develop. Little Zephyr on the left, (he is not so little!), always was very quite and has an amazingly sweet eye. He is more food motivated than Kairos and out runs him to come collect his good-bye treats. He has also become very animated lately and uses his mouth quite a bit to perform. I sat and watched him sticking his tongue out for quite a while and finally had to tear myself away, but not before taking a few photos. I left grinning from ear to ear and as always re-energized. Horses have a way of doing that to us don't they?!

Bye for Now,
Susan
windhorseOne Studios
www.windhorseone.com

Of Horses and Dogs

Meet Foose. I can never remember if he is a border collie or Australian sheep dog mix. Any way I am not too sure it is important. He is absolutely gorgeous! All I know is that with horses there must also be dogs. At least there have been wherever my horses have been. Dogs have come and gone in my life and right now I am sad to admit I am dogless. With a busy art show schedule it is easy when your horses are boarded but it is not as easy to board your dog. Yes it easy in the sense that you can drop them off at a kennel but I have never really had the heart for that.

But on the bright side I get to see Foose and his girl Scout. Scout has had some leg problems lately and I do not have any photos of her but she is equally as spectacular! What I love about Foose is his wonderful vigor for life. When I arrive at the farm (I am from the east where we say farm but now I am in Colorado so I guess I should say ranch!) he comes flying down helter skelter to greet me. He loves to jump up to say hello but if it is muddy he is a gentleman when I tell him down. Foose found his forever home after a former guardian decided it was too much effort to continue to feed him. I guess I can't imagine somebody coming to decide something like that.

If there is one thing I have to say about Foose, it is that besides being an amazing companion, he takes his herding responsibilities quite seriously! And while he is very much the serious fella about this, sometime the horses think he is a pest and will chase him! He is quite the tenacious guy though and often his patience wins out. I have to admit that I love photographing dogs as much as I love photographing horses. Really, the two are inseparable!

As always, thanks for reading!
Susan
windhorseOne Studios
www.windhorseone.com

Boys will be Boys

These are my two young colts horsing around in the field a few weeks before I brought them to the mountains. Recently I was notified by Equine Wellness magazine that this picture was awarded 6th place and will be published in their March/April issue! Woo hoo, what an honor! The contest called for photos of people's horses. I know I am partial but I have to admit that they are way too cute. :)

They look like brothers but they are not related. The standing colt is called Kairos and the lad on top is Zephyr. They are both named after Greek gods. Zephyr is the god of the gentle west winds and Kairos is the god of time (Cronos is also a god of time and that is where chronological comes from). Kairos is symbolic for instances with small windows of time where there is an opening and one must act with gusto or lose the opportunity.

This was actually a pivotal point in these boys lives. Normally Kairos would be pestering Zephyr, who is so sweet and gentle. But Zephyr has decided he has had enough! And if you knew the two then you couldn't really blame him. They absolutely adore one another and are inseparable!

Bye for now!
Susan
windhorseOne Studios
www.windhorseone.com

Black Messenger

Once again it is late in the evening when I find the time to work on one of my photographs. It was just last year when I was exhibiting my work at the Art at the Classic at the Draft Horse Classic in Grass Valley, Ca. that I fell in love with the Friesian horse. As exhibitors, we were given a free ticket to an evening show. My breath was taken away when a team of six Friesians entered the ring. That was all it took and I was immediately hooked. Somehow I was immediately transported back in time to the medieval ages. It was an amazing site to see all six horses moving in sync!

We were busy at the show but I did manage to sneak out for about an hour and go back to the barns to take some photographs. I have read somewhere that the black horse is a metaphor for a messenger of esoteric knowledge. You have to wonder what this fine animal is thinking. There is such wisdom in its eye. The Friesian breed certainly is the horse of kings (and of course queens!).

Susan
windhorseOne Studios
www.windhorseone.com

The Fratsters

If horses could speak what do you think these two would be saying? This photograph is quite comical and during the process of photographing I did not even see it through the lens as it was happening! One of the things that is so special about photographing horses is that they are so animated and full of expression that you can never be sure about what you will have recorded until you get home!

One colt is nine months and the other is ten months. They are not even related, and really look nothing alike, but yet they almost look the same in this image. They were born on the same farm and they while their personalities are at the opposite ends of the spectrum they are connected in a really special way.

I have been busy collecting imagery of these two special boys and hope to put together a children's book or two. For some strange reason I am finding it more challenging to achieve the results I want and I am not sure if it is because I know these two intimately and perhaps have higher expectations from myself. Something to think about :)

Best,
Susan
windhorseOne Studios
www.windhorseone.com

windhorseOne Studios Photo Adventures

Welcome to the blogging journal of the Denver metro area equine fine art photographer Susan Williams and windhorseOne Studios. I decided recently to start journaling about my horse photography and adventures! I have been very busy getting work ready for last weekends show in Denver at the Phipps mansion. I also recently finished my new horse only web site: http://www.windhorseone.com/.

Today I took a bit of a break and drove down to Kiowa to see our two new colts. They will be coming home to the mountains after Thanksgiving. They are so much fun to photograph and it is amazing just to watch them! One is so sweet and gentle and the other is bold and a bit of a terror! Can you tell who is who?

Thank you to Deb and Dave Hart, of Hart Friesians, for selling us these amazing and beautiful boys. It is my wish and dream to document them as they grow up and create a children's book.