#7 OF MY TOP 10 FAVORITE IMAGES SO FAR IN 2019

Here is #7 of my Top 10 favorite images so far in 2019.

Getting to be around these Arabian beauties for the majority of my time in Dubai, one of the priorities on my list to capture was of a foal just being him/herself and having fun. Not only that but I wanted just the foal and nothing else in the photo, and to achieve that at a show can be a little tricky with so many other subjects and distractions in your environment and with the foals sticking so close to their mothers.

Photographing foals are undoubtedly more difficult to photograph than adult horses and it's not just because they're obviously a lot smaller of a subject but also they move and shift around so quickly, that images are 100% determined by one's skill level in tracking moving subjects and in this case, a very fast moving subject.

#8 OF MY TOP 10 FAVORITE IMAGES SO FAR IN 2019

Here is #8 of my Top 10 favorite images so far in 2019.

Landscape pictures are all about taking you back to the exact location each time you view them and this capture does just that. It's not often that you find yourself at the top of the tallest building in the world and that's why I really wanted to save this memory through pictures.

It was raining on the day that I was inside the Burj Khalifa, so the windows were dirty which can often make for not so great pictures. There are certain things that need to be taken into consideration when shooting through glass because you have to deal with reflections and how clean that glass is will greatly affect the overall transparency of your images. And being inside a tower with hundreds of other visitors at the top, I had to wait for the right moment before I took each picture.

#9 OF MY TOP 10 FAVORITE IMAGES SO FAR IN 2019

Here is #9 of my Top 10 favorite images so far in 2019.

I've fallen in love with this image simply for the fact that the jockey (Pat Cosgrave) who was leading this race is transitioning from the shade to direct sunlight while in a full gallop. I was able to catch him in the best moment just as he was perfectly parallel to my lens.

Photography is all about lighting and the more one understands the characteristics of it, the better ability they will have in knowing how to use it to their advantage. I've said it before that I much prefer working with natural light as opposed to artificial light. They each have it's pros and cons but over the years working primarily with artificial light, the one benefit that I missed the most was being able to work in unpredictable environments.

#10 OF MY TOP 10 FAVORITE IMAGES SO FAR IN 2019

Starting with #10 for my Top 10 favorite images so far in 2019 and boy was it ever difficult to choose my #10. I could have easily flipped a coin but this edged out three other images because of the wow factor in this image.

This is a perfect example of a candid portrait that I just had to capture regardless of what was behind the subjects because in this particular case, the subject's make this image.

And that is one thing that individual's who are learning photography will grasp over time, is knowing when to make that split second decision on when the background becomes a non-factor. And this all goes back to reading your environment and envisioning your captures several seconds, even minutes ahead of what's actually happening in real-time.

Would I have loved to change up the direction? Absolutely. But I was fully aware of the lack of time and space that I had to get this and I sacrificed the perfection for just getting the subjects period.

I was originally about 100 feet from these ladies with my back turned to them as I was focused on the parade ring. I turned around, immediately noticed them, saw the opportunity, quickly rushed up to them and thankfully had just enough time to capture this before they turned around because they were on go.

HONORABLE MENTION #2 - MY TOP 10 FAVORITE IMAGES SO FAR IN 2019

Here is honorable mention #2 for my Top 10 favorite images so far in 2019.

The number one thing that I always tell people is that if you want excellent pictures taken of you, you have to be happy, there is no way around it - because emotions (positive or not) will always show in one way or another in your images. So if you want great quality pictures taken of you but you aren't having the best day? Find another time for it, as it's much less work to wait than it is to re-take photos.

Isn't this what working and associating ourselves with horses is all about? The joy that these beautiful creatures bring us in our lives. The pleasure and wonderful feeling of accomplishment that make us all proud to show our hard work and dedication in what we do with equines.

If you haven't already noticed, I love capturing individuals and entrepreneurs in the Equestrian World doing their craft and for me to illustrate their raw passion for what they do through my images. It brings out the best in these individuals and most importantly it makes them happy.

HONORABLE MENTION #1 - MY TOP 10 FAVORITE IMAGES SO FAR IN 2019

I cannot believe that 2019 is just about half over and because we are just about coming up to the half way mark, over the next 12 days I will be showing my top 10 favorite images so far of 2019 (as well as two honorable mentions) and I will explain why each one has become one of my top favorites.

Let's start with the first of my two honorable mentions that just about made my top 10.

Taking strong candid portraits of people can be a challenge because that moment is not always offered to you. But doing it in a packed environment with that many people and in such tight spaces, where all it takes is half a second later and you miss your shot or someone bumps into you or a person steps into your shot, makes the challenge that much greater. In this situation, it was more difficult working with my environment than it was to actually get my image.

Many of these moments, the fraction of time that you have to nail it is as minuscule as they come and that's what makes a picture like this that much more rewarding.

DUBAI ARABIAN HORSE STUD

Well here is the final component from my Dubai trip to share, I would have loved to get it completed much sooner but unfortunately health got in the way. Thank you to Dubai Arabian Horse Stud for inviting me, I really enjoyed my time there and especially doing the barn video. This event was just a few hours in duration, it went by extremely fast. Despite being in the desert, roughly 50km outside of Dubai I was still able to get perfect cell reception to do a Facebook Live demonstrating part of the event - now that’s impressive.

These Arabians are truly one of a kind and gotta love those foals. It was a happy place for the horses to be. This was an experience that I will never forget, especially being inside that barn, much like Dubai in it’s entirety, it was magical.

Click HERE to view all of the images.