Finally a photo shoot

There are no photos in this post. I'm as heartbroken as you. I have to wait, cuz I don't have them yet.

Finally, after 9 months, my professional photographer friend (M) came over and met Mag. And together we learned how much he loves her massive camera.

We tried all year but either the weather was bad, she was shooting photos of Arabians and Andalusians in Egypt or Mallorca, or Mag was only using 3 legs to move around.

The sun was supposed to shine today for 2 hours and after some doubt and worry, it did. She said "No hurry" to my husband as he went to the post office before he was to help us. Then the sun came out and she said, "Where is he? We need him NOW, the lighting!" Oh my goodness she needs her perfect light.

And when she came to help us, M was adamant she did not want to use the portion of our field I'd purposefully prepared for photos. I had made a portion large enough for a horse to run, but not the entire 5 acres where the horse just runs away and starts grazing on all that new grass. We don't have enough people for that, to keep the horse from just grazing and rolling in the mud.

We actually argued for the first time. I said there is plenty of sunshine in this portion and I know I can control the horse easily and we can get good shots. She finally said, "OK for a little bit but then we move to the big pasture!" She loves our pasture because as hilly as it is, she can get shots with perfect backgrounds, and perfect backgrounds are a top priority for her. No fences.  No buildings. Nothing but grass or trees in the distance, or sky. I get that but I'd rather have a photo with my fence if I can control the speed my horse is going.

I prefer a trot photo to a mad gallop. She wants the gallop with the sunlight ALWAYS BEHIND the horse, making a halo around his exterior, and glowing through his mane and tail. Also, that the sunlight is hitting his eye, very important, hm! I'm afraid that she will delete the photos I love because they do not meet her sharpness standards -- while they top my expectations about the movement of the horse.

She's the profi, she knows, and I understand, her name is on the photos. They won't leave her Apple computer without her approval. Her photos were in Cavallo magazine last month. Her teacher, wrote on Facebook this week, "You have a gift, M, you capture the silver strand of the horse and I'm standing right next to you and cannot."

M told me today that the photos she got of Mag are magazine cover-worthy. I saw them so far only through her camera window - I can say two things - Mag has a super pink nose, and Mag is gorgeous with the morning light in his mane. Also, he can move, please let me at those!

The horse thought it was very strange. Not really a training session, but my man and I were holding whips with plastic sacks and alternatingly asking him to move, or letting him rest and my friend could reset her camera as the light kept changing, and apparently very fancy cameras need to be told exactly what to do, there is nothing automatic about the focus.

Mag started to figure it out and started prancing for us, like his father in Aachen, winning last month, so lovely! That elevated trot with his tail kinked left over his back, using his neck effortlessly, without neck sweats. Then stopping, staring at me and giving a loud snort, then rest, then go again, and he'd canter away gaily and then back, and then he started to aim for the camera.

He would come galloping straight for her, but she said she was never worried because of the look in his eye - he was very respectful of her space, as much as he was "charging" the camera. The camera was fascinating, and was not making plastic noises to annoy him. The camera became his friend.

M was lying in the wet grass the entire time, in danger, but he would politely circle her and look at each of us crazy humans in turn, "What is this game!"

I was thrilled because he was doing his show trot in that portion of our field, and I could easily control where he went, so the lighting was optimal for M. M kept yelling at me, "Nochmal, one more time!" and which direction to send him, through the morning light beams.

She said "One more time" (in English) soooo many times, and I was dripping sweat and red faced and just kept going.  She told me to move him around either one way or the other at least 20 times. I obliged of course.

Later I realized she was afraid we'd tire him out and he would have nothing to give when we moved to the big pasture. She's a professional, I know she's seen that happen before. But Mag won't let her down......

Finally we opened up the big pasture and she went to the direct center, the hole in the bottom, where she could get shots with nothing but grass in the background. The donkey came too, but took no interest at all because NEW GRASS!

In 2012 when we did this with Baasha, he rolled in the muddiest spot immediately, and all the photos were gorgeous of a mud splotched horse. Also, he hates cameras, so you had to be sneaky to get a good shot.

In 2014 when we did this with Mara, she was doing this panicked gallop and stand, gallop full blast and stand. Head straight in the air (ugly), scared eyes, hating it. Those photos turned out awesome, they sold her in fact. You've seen them all here.

But Mag would not leave us, he wanted to play. He would arch his neck and leap into the air playfully. He decided completely on his own to run full speed, faster than I'd ever see him go, across the entire pasture. As he neared me he nickered/neighed to me, every time he passed me. (I would give a million dollars to know exactly what that nicker meant!!)  I said "Do what you want" and he went racing back across with no encouraging. These are the photos M likes best, I know, with horses going full speed. With the sun shining through their manes and tails like a Disney film.

M said later, "He's playing for the camera, he's POSING for us!"

My poor husband, J,  had little to do because Mag didn't go to J's assigned half of the pasture, he just raced around near M and me.

Then J came back and gave Mag a treat, and I hope we got some nice photos of Mag saying, "I love you man, you are nothing but goodness to me."

M went to Mag and said, "He's wet!" I said, "I am too."

Mag grazed by us and M explained some owners are afraid to chase their horses, that they think chasing the horse will make the horse not like them anymore. She said, "Look at him, he comes right to us even though we're holding the whips, sacks, reflector, and camera. He wants to be with us."

The reflector. It wasn't much use really, well, in the front yard it gave us a few "What's that there?" expressions, what I expected. Although M said he would not give us any good shots just standing in the front yard, I insisted, "Mag will. You can just take a tissue out of your pocket and he'll give you a photo-appropriate expression. He's like a foal. Everything is fascinating to him."

With J helping, we got some lovely photos. I really really hope I get to see my favorites. (She showed me them on the camera but she is so picky about sharpness I'm afraid she'll delete a lot of my favorites.)

At least I know she'll send the ones that she says are magazine cover model material *lol*.

She fell in love with Mag, I cannot count the times she said today, "He's amazing, he's gorgeous, you have the most beautiful horse in this city!"

Our city is not big, but I think so too: )

***
OK - not her photos, but mine - M arrives and starts enamoring herself to Bellis and Mag.