Galway Downs 3 Day Event

A few weeks ago I ventured off to Galway Downs in Temecula to photograph at their 3 day event, which includes dressage, cross country courses and stadium jumping. It was an extremely hot weekend so it really tested both the horses and the riders stamina. These events really show the versatility, strength and discipline of both the horse and rider.

I can remember when I was young and showed my thoroughbred in a few of these 3 day events (in Lexington, Kentucky) and believe me it is no walk in the park! One must spend many hours in training to get fit and prepare for these grueling events.

Cross Country: I always love the water jumps. It is always fun to capture the horse and rider landing in water. These courses are tough-the jumps are solid...the horse and rider both must be amazingly fit.

Stadium jumping: This horse really jumped big on this one! The audience actually gasped!

As I walked back to the tent area, I noticed this horse and rider having a moment of solitude...

More to share soon.

Hope everyone is doing well and looking forward to the holiday season!!

~Julie

Spanish Breed Horse Show at Del Mar

Today I went to Showpark to check out the The Foundation Of Pure Spanish Breeds Horse Show. I really love the spanish breeds and enjoy photographing them. They were having the halter classes today. I wanted to capture how the mares are shown in front of the judges and document the process. Here are a few images from the morning:

I loved watching this guy set up his mare in front of the judges! He was so focused and intense! The mare ended up winning this class.

Running the mare in front of the judges!

I also spent some time playing with shutter speeds...you can get some fun images this way!

It was a fun morning....I always enjoy photographing horses!

To learn more about the Spanish Breeds check it out here:

The Foundation Of The Pure Spanish Horse.

I am shooting this weekend at Galloway Downs so stayed tuned for more equine images!

~Julie

Arabians & Wine

Wow, can't believe it has been soooo long since my last blog post! Where does the time go? Last week I went to Templeton, CA., which is in the Paso Robles area, to photograph at an Arabian Ranch. I was very excited and honored to be asked to come and photograph at Arriba Arabians! (Website is in progress) Having an o

pportunity to travel and photograph beautiful horses AND be in wine country on top of that...well, I was in heaven to say the least!

As many of you know, I love wine (honestly, someone in my family had to be Italian!) and getting the opportunity to tastes really good wines...I mean REALLY good wines was a delight! The only problem with this scenario is it then becomes difficult to drink the cheaper wines I often buy. LOL! It was a real treat to be shown around the area and visit the local wineries. The first one we went to was Rocky Creek Cellars, a small family owned and operated winery. They had some very nice red wines and we bought a few bottles there. I bought a yummy dessert wine called Black Monukka Dessert Wine. It is a dark amber color with vanilla and carmel undertones. They sun bake the wine for 2 years in ba

rrels which "carmelizes" the natural grape sugar. Can't wait to pop that one open on a special occasion!

The next winery we went to was called Zin Alley. Not sure that is the proper name so will have to look it up. Cecil knew the man who owns this winery so we had a warm welcome here. Their zinfandel wines were totally out of this world! Simply the best I had ever tasted. I learned that this winery only produces a certain amount of wine a

year (at top prices) and sells out annually. They do what is called dry farming, where they let the vine root go deep to find water. This results in smaller, hardier vines that produces (they believe) the best grapes. (There is alot of concern about water here in California so dry farming is really good. They may have to water alittle but mostly the plant finds its own water.)

One of the last wineries we went to was Sarzotti Vineyard & Winery. Over a century ago this family migrated from Tuscany, Italy to open a winery here in California. Already I liked them! LOL! They are Italian afterall and Italians know wine! I have to say this was the most fun I have ever had at a wine tasting. The Sarzotti family were so gracious and their wines were the best we had had yet. Their full menu of wines were all so incredible, from their Merlot to their Cabernets, that I had a tough time choosing what to buy. We were even treated to a Cabernet from their reserve that is not even bottled yet! Man, I can't wait to get my hands on that!

I ended up choosing the Merlot which we proceeded to open and drink right there since we were invited to stay and enjoy the BBQ and music (Pakes Grimes) that was provided. It was a beautiful day, with soft breezes blowing across the vineyard-the smell of grapes and earth, who wouldn't want to stay and enjoy it? Isn't that what life is all about? Great people, food, wine, music...

And then of course were the Arabians. Sigh...I love photographing Arabians. They have so much spirit and grace. Here are a few images from the photoshoot:

I fell in love with this black colt named aptly, CM The Black. Would love to have this colt. He has a gorgeous head and was so spunky and moved like a dream.

My signature artsy image..

This colt I think is just lovely. Nice dish head, a beautiful eye and great presence. This is BST Vargas.

At liberty. Love the tail!

This is a mare called CM Desiree. She was quite full of herself and fun to photograph.

I truly had an amazing 4 days on this trip and would like to thank The Martinez family for their graciousness and showing me around the area.

I hope to see you at Scottsdale!

Until next time...

~Julie

Innovation!

Yep, lately I have been more philosophical then artistic, chatting about inspiration, style and confidence rather than posting a ton of images. I don’t have a lot of new work to share right now but I have had the time lately to read alot and listen to podcasts and check out other artists and photographers. After spending time doing this, I feel the need to share of course!

I recently listened to an interview of Jerry Ghionis, one of my fav wedding photographers, given by video producer Ron Dawson.

You can check out the interview here: http://fstopbeyond.tv/?p=674

The main things I picked up that I want to share is this:

According to Jerry there are 3 ways you can go with your photography:

1. Imitate
2. Emulate
3. Innovate

Of course the most effective of the three is to Innovate. Be an innovator and do your own thing! I happen to agree with Jerry....Many people can imitate or emulate others but the true test of your skill and vision is to innovate! It goes back to my discussion on inspiration. Be inspired to create...look at fashion, music, films, whatever inspires you. Jerry mentioned he saw a movie called Melina and he was inspired to create an image with all these guys lighting a gals cigarette. You can see this image (and its creation) at www.theicesociety.com

Click on the first video and it is the first part of the video to play...and watch both videos. You will be inspired by Jerry-I guarantee it!!

The other thing that stuck with me that Jerry said was, Define who you are...”If you want to be like the greats, be yourself! Be Innovative.” I said the same thing in a recent post about being yourself and creating your own style. Shoot from the heart and your own vision.

The other great guote by Jerry that I absolutely love is:

“You don’t have to be the best. You just have to be better than last week.”

Great words of wisdom and a quote I will never forget!

I leave you with a photo from a wedding that I took -a beach session after the wedding. I love this image...I made it black & White and added a texture.

I will share more links and words of wisdom next time. Hope you enjoyed this segment.

~Jules

Confidence & Style As An Artist

Confidence. How do we get it and where does it come from? Confidence in your photography or art is important but for many of us it is elusive. The little devil on your shoulder laughs at you and tells you that you are no good, that your work stinks and that no one will like it. And even when you feel you might have an image or a painting that you like ...Wham! He pokes you with his sharp tail to remind you that hey you are no good, “what are ya thinkin’” all the while laughing at you in your ear! And so it goes....

Confidence is very powerful and once you have that “aha” moment, that moment when it all comes together and you love what you are creating, you can knock that little devil right off your shoulder and declare that yes, my work is unique and wonderful!! The devil will try to crawl back up but you have to be strong and just knock him aside and move on. Confidence is an essential element to drive your business forward!!

It has taken me years to achieve this, years full of self doubt I might add, to get to a point where I am confident in my work and what I have to offer. I am not sure I can pinpoint the exact moment when I felt this way, but it was amazing when it happened! I was shooting from the heart and seeing things in a whole new “light”....and my images became more consistent. I also made the effort to stop comparing my work to others. You must step out and be unique.

Another aspect to all of this is “style”. What is your style? My style has evolved but I think I have always been an “in your face” type photographer. I love getting close to the subject and I love details. What words do I use to describe my work? Well, other people have told me my images are elegant, sophisticated, modern and classic. These words totally describe what I feel my images project, the feelings they evoke.

So stop comparing yourself to others, take chances and be true to yourself...trust me the confidence and style will emerge.

I leave you with a few images I took at the Blenheim Grand Prix last Friday. The images are of the VIP tables set by and desserts made by Bistro 311.

Keep shooting...

~Jules

Labor Day: Commitment, Hard Work, Drive and Sharing

Today, Labor Day, had me pondering while sitting poolside.......all last week, I was reading various photography blogs, equestrian magazines (like Horse Showbiz-West Coast) and I also attended an equine clinic called Emerging Athletes Program being held at Blenheim EquisportsFacility. Ironically, all of these businesses had the same theme throughout...a message as it were. It seems that this message or theme transcends a variety of businesses whether its photography, magazines or the equine industry. The main words I read or heard throughout were:

Commitment

Drive

Hard Work

Sharing

Being committed to your work and your industry in these challenging economic times is even more important than ever before, but commitment has always been important to growing and surviving in business. I think we should all ask ourselves:

1) Are you committed to your business and industry?

2) Do you have the drive and motivation to make it work?

3) Are you willing to do what it takes to make it happen?

4) Are you willing to share and give of yourself to others in your industry?

I need to ask myself these questions as well and be honest in my answers...sometimes it is difficult and I want to quit but I push on. I am passionate about my photography and I truly believe I have something unique to offer. But I also realize that it is going to take lots of commitment, drive, and hard work to get where I want to be. For now I am OK with that. If I ever loose the passion for what I do then maybe it would be time to reflect and ask myself these questions again. And maybe it means that I continue to just create my work for myself but I hope I can share my gift and passion with others for a long time.

Shoot from your heart and jump high over obstacles that come into your path...great things are on the other side!!

Julie

Horse Racing in Del Mar

I have had so many thoughts now on blog posts and what to write about. I am currently working on a post about confidence so stay tuned!

Right now I thought I would let you know I have posted images from the race track on my website. www.julieblairphotography.com

Go to galleries-upper left side-and click on Del Mar Races. Hope you enjoy them. I had a blast at the races. I shoot in the paddock area alot capturing the scenes before the race. It was so hot that they were hosing the horses off before they saddled them! I have never seen that happen before but it was blazing hot that day.

I have a few I love so much I will be entering a few in some photo contest. One is a very prestigious photo contest called the Color Awards and the other is Art Horse Magazine's annual photo contest. I feel its time to put myself out there and be judged by peers and people in the industry.

Here are a few images...hope you will check the rest out on my website.

Hope everyone has had a great summer.

~jules