Timeless Equine Photography

I received a demo disk from Graphic Authority earlier this week that has samples of their edges, frames, and other assorted templates; so I figured I would play with them a bit.  Using my standard model (My 15+ year old Brittany Spaniel), I tried a few of the edges and so far I have to admit I like the look.

 

The Illinois River crested on Sunday in Peoria, IL.  There has been quite a bit of flooding throughout the area, here a few shots showing the extent of the riverwalk flooding:

 

On Sunday, March 8, 2009 a tornado again made an appearance in the Springfield area.  Here are some images from that storm.

Trying something a little different with the images this time, instead of posting each image separately, I am trying the gallery.

 

 

In April of 1993, the residents of Valmeyer, IL had no clue what nature had in store for them.  Beginning in late spring the rains came, and came, and came, and did not stop for month after month after month.   The Mississippi River swelled and continued to swell until the levees up and down the Mississippi River Valley started breaking line guitar strings.

Some river towns like St. Genevieve and Prairie du Rocher were lucky, they escaped major damage and with the exception of some homes and farms north of Prairie du Rocher intentionally flooded by the Army Corps of Engineers, the economic loss was largely minimal.  Valmeyer was not so lucky.

The Fountain Creek Levee was breached at approximately 2 a.m. on the morning of August 3, 1993 sending a torrent of flood waters through the town of Valmeyer chasing 900 residents from their homes.  Those flood waters would reach heights of over 16 feet in Valmeyer and the city would remain under water for nearly three months. 

In an effort to save the city, the Mayor and the City Council embarked on a plan to move the town and its residents up on a bluff 400 feet above the flood waters, putting it completely out of the reach of the mighty MIssissippi.  The plan worked and most of the residents moved.  Some did not and those individuals either went elsewhere or returned to the bottom land where they remain today.

FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) prohibits anyone from building any new construction in the old Valmeyer, and has demolished and removed most of the old structures.

The following pictures are Valmeyer as it is today, quiet, a tad bit desolate, lonely, and for me it was a bit dark.

Approaching old Valmeyer

 

The owner painted a flood line on the building that shows the high watermark on 08/02/1993 when it went over 16 feet.  If you look carefully you can see that the line exceeds the roof of the white home to the right.

West of Valmeyer approaching the area where Harrisonville was (no longer there) you can see how high the water reached on this barn.

 

The black line shows how high the water reached on this home that sits on the west edge of Valmeyer.

 

This image will give you some perspective.  This is the same house as in the previous image.

 

This field is west of Valmeyer approximately four and a half miles from the edge of the Mississippi.  This area was under 18-22 feet of water for almost three months.

 

If you look closely you can see the street that once served as part of the downtown area.  All the buildings were completely destroyed.

 

Abandoned side street in Valmeyer.  The businesses that once lined this road are all but forgotten.

 

This was the west entrance to the downtown area

 

The white building on the left is what remains of the Valmeyer Fire Station.  All other adjacent buildings were destroyed.

 

All that remains of this residential street is the abandoned road and a stop sign.

 

What remains of the downtown sidewalk.  What is left of the Fire Station can be seen in the distance.

 

 

 

The remains of a residential street.  The  homes were later destroyed by FEMA.

 

In the distance is a side street that once had a total of six homes, all were completely destroyed in the flood.

 

The high voltage electrical poles on the bluff will give you a reference point for the new town.  Those poles are 1/4 mile west of the new Valmeyer.

 

This is the new fire station in the new Valmeyer.

 

 

 

 

While having breakfast this morning, I just happened to look up and Lincoln Elementary in Peoria, IL had flames literally leaping from the two of the classrooms and was burning the tree directly outside the windows.  Luckily, the fire department is directly across the schools parking lot and the response time was less than one minute for the first trucks to be on the scene.

This turned into a 3 alarm fire as we had Engine companies 3, 2 and 9 respond to the fire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had the distinct honor of covering this event as the official photographer for the Arabian Horse Association.  I can honestly say that it was one of the most enjoyable events I have ever had the priviledge of covering.  The interaction with the riders on the trail, in camp was great and I could never come close to saying enough about the management.  Between Tony Troyer and Leigh Ann Corey, you could not ask for a finer pair in running an event. 

The entire vet team was gracious and a pleasure to work with.  Then there is the tremendous efforts of all the volunteers, all of you were gracious and so helpful, I cannot thank you enough.

Ok, enough of my ramblings…..I know that nobody really wants to hear me talk, you are interested in seeing some pictures……well here they are!

 

Hmm I know those treats are there somewhere!

 

 

Waiting patiently on the vet check

 

 

This was the first photo of the event, with a perky and attentive Arabian

 

 

Another lovely pair of Arabians doing what they do best

 

 

Another set of fine Arabians

 

 

These Three where always smiling and having a great time, whether on trail or in camp

 

 

Picking up the pace

 

 

Heading to camp after the first 14 miles of the day (26 miles to go!)

 

 

 

This one was a joy to watch as he pranced his way down the trail

 

 

Rounding the bend heading for camp!

 

 

 

Another pair of ladies that were always smiling and enjoying themselves

 

 

Mmmm water!

 

 

 

Hey you over there, please lower your head, you are blocking my view!

 

 

All in all it was a great event put on by a fantastic organization with a group of outstanding people and we consider it a priviledge to have had the opportunity to photograph the ride. 

In the coming days we will be posting additional pictures from the Friday afternoon ride, Saturday’s ride and the awards presentation.

 

I have spent little to no time working with studio lighting, and I thought it would be a great exercise to actually start working with some strobes. 

So today, I was able to talk the ever lovely Dawn into acting as my model……here is one of the first shots straight out of the camera.

 

 

This was taken with an Alien Bee 400 at 1/2 power with no reflector and a photogenic umbrella.  We will have to see what the experts of Charles Mann and Ken Weinrich have to say

One of the main attractions at the Illinois State Fair, is the Butter Cow.

This one was comprised of the cow, a calf and some skunks, using over 800 lbs of Prairie Land Butter.

The artistic work was absolutely fantastic.

Here you can see the skunks and the calf.

There was a huge crowd and I literally only had a few seconds to get a couple of shots….had to keep the line moving along. 

What is interesting, is the display is enclosed in a cooler to maintain the temp so the butter does not melt :) 

While we were at the Illinois State Fair this past weekend, I came across a new sport, and one that I definitely am personally interested in!

Now, I know this is generally about Equine photography I just could not help myself on this one!

What this is, is a 40′ dock with a 40′ pool that dogs jump into to retrieve their favorite toy; well this is right up my alley with two Brittany’s.

 

Here are some pictures from the weekend:

 

 

 

Take Off!

 

Gotta get the feet into position!

Look Mom I’m flying!

This is Gabbie right before she sails 16′

Gabbie just as she touches the water

I would like to thank everyone with Dock Dogs for their incredible hospitality and patience in answering all of my questions, I will be looking forward to see all of you out there again real soon!

Stephanie Brandenburg had a very successful day at the Illinois State Fair today.  Stephanie and her steer took Champion Land of Lincoln, Shorthorn class and Reserve Grand Champion Land of Lincoln.

Here a few shots of today’s activity:

Stephanie is setting him up, by positioning the feet and keeping the head up.

 

Looking at the judge, watching him and making sure he knows she is watching him.  Maintaining eye contact with the judge is extremely important.

 

Doing the walk around for the judge,  This steer is a looker and well behaved, you just could not help but start cheering for the pair!