Making a calendar- Grassland

So, my wonderful husband came up with a really great idea... "Why don't you make a calendar of all the local riders and sell it in the store?"  Golly!  Why didn't I think of that!?

So, I have been traveling out on a sweet adventure- and a truly rewarding one at that!

God has blessed me with so many wonderful horsey friends that love having their picture taken!  After all, who doesn't want to show off their pony?

I began gathering names... and phone numbers... and locations... and then I started scheduling... fun stuff!

The very first barn to contact me was Grassland Ranch in Athens, AL, and they also became my very first Calendar Photo Session.

Being out at Grassland was such a treat for me because, being an English rider, the Western world can be exhilarating!  I was fortunate enough to have a model, a barrel racer, and a rodeo queen all together on the same day, which made for some beautiful pictures!  I also had some riders who preferred the more laid-back approach to their riding, which was fine by me.  The mix of riders was beautiful, the weather was absolutely perfect, the horses were all amazingly cooperative, and it couldn't have gone any better.

The field we did most of the photographing in made for some beautiful pictures.  From the road, it looked like it was about waist-high, however, once I began wading through, I found that in places it was almost up to my shoulder... and I'm 5'9"!  My rodeo queen's mother was also wading through and at one point all I could see was the top of her head sifting through the long grass.

One of my riders that day, Desiree, rode her plucky little pony named Sherman who happens to be a Haflinger.  I have always held a special place in my heart for Haflingers because I have always found them to have such sweet natures.  While I was photographing Desiree, I asked her if she could pick up the canter (ahem- excuse me- LOPE) and she informed me that Sherman has a bit of a bucking side.  However, he performed beautifully and they kept all four feet on the ground!

Every one of these pictures makes me smile.  They touched that creative place inside my soul, and even though I plan on sticking with my English saddles for all of eternity, my imagination went wild.  You could get a high off of all that leather!

Perhaps, someday I'll have the opportunity to go back for one reason or another.  Fingers crossed!

Andy, Christy, Mike, Amanda- the Trainers at Grassland Ranch

Please visit my website
www.AshleyGesslerSHD.com

Logo Evolution

Since the beginning, my artwork has had a name... The Sweaty Horse Collection.  Every one of my dreams has always involved the Sweaty Horse name somehow.  In fact, when I was in middle school, I decided I was going to open a tack shop with rustic, wooden floors, a miniature pony that would be kept in the "petting area" in the back, and a coffee shop at the front of the store.  And, the name of it would be The Sweaty Horse Store.

 

My very first logo wasn't much of a logo at all.  Really, it was just a name I put on the front of my artwork folder and called a "Collection."

The second version, again, was just text and was used only as a watermark or a signature in the lower corner of a purchased photo.

It was time to grow up and my logo needed to evolve as well.

I began thinking on what I wanted in a logo... it had to reflect my passion (horses), it had to include my name, and it needed to be creative enough that it could become my brand.

 

The tribal horse became an image I was quite fond of because it was simple, had the flow I was looking for, and could easily be used as an overlay by dropping the background.  These three were my favorites, so I incorporated the outline on the third, and the mane of the second into my logo.

 

Thus, my first logo sketch came to life and the Sweaty Horse logo was born!

Please visit my website
www.AshleyGesslerSHD.com

Photo Blogging Experiment

I think I'll try a slightly new experiment on here.

In the past, I have primarily focused on my creative projects for blogging inspiration, but here lately my time has been consumed with photography and all the fun adventures that go along with it!

Over the past 8 months I have graduated an online photography class, photographed several friends' horses, developed my first real logo, started up my own photography business, and had the pleasure of photographing some amazing people!

If you've been keeping up with me on Facebook then this may or may not be anything new.

Nevertheless, here is the brief history of what I've been up to this year!

My diploma from the Photography Institute

As one of my final projects through the Photography Institute, I was supposed to recreate an image from my favorite photographer.  Naturally, I chose the iconic Robert Vavra.

After graduating, I started taking part in some of the free online clinics available through CreativeLIVE.  If you're artsy and haven't known about CreativeLIVE, you have no idea what you've been missing out on!

I also began having the wonderful opportunity to photograph for some of my horsey friends which I am eternally grateful!  I am blown away that people are actually willing to buy the images that I produce and it has been a truly humbling experience.

Some of my very firsts were:

 

Happy.  Owned by Julia.

This was one of those crystal clear days in January.  Happy was my model for the Robert Vavra project I mentioned earlier.  He was incredibly energetic and performed beautifully!

 

Jessica and Derek.

You'd never know it by looking at these two, but it was frightfully cold this day!  I was bundled up in my heaviest coat to crawl around in the mud, but it was completely worth it.

Pozzi.  Owned by Karen.

Pozzi is just one of the incredible survival stories at Victory Alliance Ranch, but his really stood out to me.  As a young stud, Pozzi was "mistaken for a deer" and shot through the neck by hunters.  Vets thought he should be put down because if it was possible for him to survive, they thought he would never be able to use his neck, let alone move around.  His owner never gave up on him, and now here he is!  It would have been a tragedy if no one had given him a chance at survival.  He is the kindest, most gentle stallion I have even encountered.  He bears the scar from the bullet, but he brings hope to the wounded warriors who visit Victory Alliance Ranch.  It was truly an honor to photograph him.

 

Chaos.  Owned by Karen.  Handled by Ashley.

This lovely fellow is a Russian Budyonny.  The Budyonny was originally bred as a Russian military horse but is now primarily an all-purpose competition horse.  This photo session was at a local show and was quite entertaining to watch seeing as how Chaos spent more time on his hind legs than on all four, but Ashley did a fantastic job with him in spite of his bad behavior!

I have been so very blessed by the good Lord in my new endeavor, and I thank Him for what He has blessed me with and pray He continues to bless me so I can continue to grow and improve.

Please visit my website
www.AshleyGesslerSHD.com