Cowgirl Blog

Finding the Light!

[Your Name Here] — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 03:41:42 +0000

February 6, 2009

It’s getting exciting. While this site currently reflects my vintage work, new work is gaining recognition and in March, my photography will appear in these publications:

Cowboys & Indians – Photographing the West collector’s issue, March, finalist in Portraits for 2008 photo contest, page 176

American Cowboy – 15 Westerners to Watch, March, portrait of filmmaker James Kleinert and adopted wild horse

Ralph Lauren Magazine and website – portrait of filmmaker James Kleinert and adopted wild horse

Hope…From the Heart of Horses – book cover for new release by Kathy Pike on how horses teach us about presence, strength and awareness.

So if you catch any of this work, please let me know your thoughts. In picking up the camera after several decades “off”, and then going digital, I am really thrilled at the response. Thank you for your support in helping me “find the light”!

It’s a Hay Day

[Your Name Here] — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 13:09:38 +0000

Sometimes we amaze ourselves. I talked about the value of “just showing up” and recently I rediscovered some photos I took of two brothers who brought in their hay with a team of horses. Their names were Ken and Palm Ainsley and they had a small ranch outside of Granby in Grand County, Colorado. One day when they were haying, I just showed up. And I walked away with some incredible gifts – the knowledge of how to cut hay with a team using my own two hands on the reins, and some truly wonderful photos that remind me of golden days and of a way of life that is slipping away.

The Ainsley’s were not about to let me take from them without giving to me. “You’re not leaving until you can cut at least two straight lengths of the hayfield,” said Palm. And then they taught me how. That’s me in the photo, having the time of my life. I did straight cuts, straight from the start.

The Ainsley’s liked to pile their hay in big stacks and their ranch was always spotless. Palm wore white lips when haying, smeared with flour. It was something he’d done as a youth by grabbing a handful from the family bin while heading for the hayfield. Once he found his lips unchapped after a day in the rough, his ruddy face was brightened with white clown lips while bringing in hay ever since.

Ainsleys’ ranch was opposite the C Lazy U guest ranch where I spent a lot of time growing up. They’d come over for square dance night and always chose my good-looking mom from amongst the guest women. Mom has a great smile and looks like Katherine Hepburn so it’s no wonder. They’d ask “How’s the girl?”, she’d tell me. “The Girl” was me. I never guessed that the Ainsleys would be part of my life for so many years or that I would ever be a peripheral part of theirs, but I love the photos of them haying with their team and their hay rakes. And I especially love a photo of me cutting a row with their team taken on one day when I just “showed up”.

It’s often about just showing up.

[Your Name Here] — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 23:17:06 +0000

Sometimes people ask how I get the photos I take. Some are very up close and personal. It’s mainly access, I believe. I don't know why, but I have never been afraid to ask…”Can I see that up close?”, or “Is it ok if I take your picture” or “How in the world do you learn how to ride bulls?”

If you’re interested, and if you bother to show up and bother to try, then my experience has been…people will respond. One of my favorite films is “Almost Famous”. I’ve watched it more times than I can count, and while it’s about rock and roll, it’s also about just showing up and sticking with it. The young writer is going to write the story but can’t do it without being there. He can’t be a fan, or he’ll just write the fan story, not the real story. And that’s what much of photography and photojournalism is about.

Certainly there are choices. There are photos I did not take because they were so personal no one would understand them. And there are photos I have taken that no one else has ever seen. And photos I have taken and destroyed. Each has its moment and cause for being, and then it’s my call as a human being as to if they will be seen and by whom. I am sure we all face these decisions and dilemmas in what we do.

But the point is, if you don’t show up, you never get into these interesting life situations. You never get to see the scenes or smell the dirt or join the conversation, or at least overhear it. So that’s one thing I like about photography…by just showing up, I have gone some truly amazing places. Often I have the photos to show you, and sometimes, I won’t.

What a season!

[Your Name Here] — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 16:26:40 +0000

I have just returned from the most incredible Intuitive Horsemanship Clinic at the Home Ranch in Clark, CO. Spending a full week with ten other like-minded women, we began our days with yoga guided by Janice Baxter followed by horsemanship with Tammy Pate and incredible gourmet food (every meal!) in-between. Am I living right? You bet!

Riding, learning, stretching, working with cattle, loping across cut hay meadows, enjoying hot tubs, massage and gourmet wine-tasting dinners amidst the sunny golden days of Colorado autumn…yes, I am living right! And of course, I was there with my camera and some friends, local horsewomen Susan Gibbs (Carbondale, CO) and Kathy Pike, www.coachingwithhorses.com .   I’’ll post some of the photos this month. It looks like one of my photos may become the cover of Kathy’s new book!

Tammy and I got into a deep-down discussion like friends can about wild horses, pros and cons.   She’s been to the US Congress speaking against some of the Humane Society and legislative efforts and I’ve been there speaking with and for them, and have even worked on the film Saving the American Wild Horse (www.tawh.org). But then I spent time with Sunny Taylor and her ranching family and friends in Kaycee, WY this summer and now I better see both sides…nothing is black and white, and there are no rainbows here.

Tammy and I agree there are other better solutions than those that are out there for saving these amazing wild icons of the west…preservation without crippling the ranchers and the horse industry. It can be done. These will be tough times for wild horses as like in the Depression, ranchers and farmers who can’t support their stock will release extra horses into the wild.

I have some ideas about a preserve in Nevada, tourism and local economic benefit. There’s a lot to talk about.

Ask me how I took off in an orange pickup in 1974 and what I came back to and where I have gone since.   Ask about people I’ve met and my brothers and husband and mother and family and my life and I might just tell you.

What have you been up to?

HI. And welcome to Them Cowgirls.

[Your Name Here] — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 06:22:45 +0000

We are thrilled to have you participate with us. There is so much we are going to talk about. Our first edition in January will feature some great content from writer Carrie Click about putting up hay for her ranch, an interview with an old-time cowgirl and some great tips on how to achieve your goals and dreams for the coming year. So stay tuned...and come back often. And let us know your ideas for this site...we want to hear from you!

Cheers, Nancy