Merry Christmas!!

This is our photo Christmas card! There were so many great pics to choose from and believe me, it was a difficult choice. But we chose this one because it represented what we wanted and it was different and fun! Again, thanks Trace for taking the pics for us! We sincerely appreciate it! We added our blog address on the bottom of the cards to do a little advertising and get the word out there so people check up on us once in a while and see what we're up to! Its different, but becoming more and more popular these days!

Anyway, from both of us here at Wildhorse Photography & Design, we want to wish you a Merry Christmas & God's richest blessings for 2011!

Fun photos

Wowee! Its been a long time since our last post! Sorry for the delay folks! I guess there really hasn't been much new with us these last couple months. December has been filled with Christmas preparations! All the shopping, decorating and baking is done and was done in good time. Except for 1 gift which was purchased today, but at least it got done! :)

At the beginning of December we decided last minute that we wanted to do another photo Christmas card and we thought we would like to do something different than we usually do. We usually do something either at the ranch, with our horses, or somewhere in the great outdoors! This is all great but we decided to do some pictures at a place that is a huge part of our lives. Our fire hall. Bryan is a firefighter and spends a lot of time there either due to calls, drills, practices, courses, parties, get togethers, etc., etc., etc,. Me being a firefighter's wife also spends a fair amount of time there as well. Whether it be helping out, attending get together or parties, or whatever. The fire department is a huge, but great part of our lives.

Now, I could have taken these pictures myself as I am a photographer. However, I much prefer someone else taking pictures of me/us because I like to see someone else's perspective and I like other ideas too. Plus its just easier to have someone else take your pics at times! So, we hired our good friend Tracey Tyler. Her husband is also on the department. We both take photos at burns, events, and whatever else the department is involved in. She's real talented and all the photos in this post are courtesy of her! We had so much fun doing these pictures! Thanks a million Trace for doing them for us! Luv ya!!

My Boys

Below are photos of "my boys"! My horses, that is! As many of you know I grew up on a horse ranch where we raised all registered stock. My Dad started out with appaloosas and quarter horses, then we went to paints and quarter horses and now we just raise quarter horses. I feel so blessed to have grown up with this lifestyle and still have an active role on our family ranch. These pictures are of all our boys that we have. We also have 2 broodmares that are in foal for next year but I don't have any recent photos of them. The sun was bright and there were lots of shadows but I managed to get a few nice pics of them. Hope you like them!!

This photo is of Leo Drift Zip or Cisco as we call him. He is a 2 year old registered quarter horse gelding. We started him this summer and he is coming along quite nicely. But he is not for sale at this time! He is super pretty and is gonna be a fair size! He was kinda scared at first but got over it real quick! He is a pretty buckskin color. We called him Cisco because he looks like the horse from Dances With Wolves. When he's shed out he's a real bronze buckskin!

This is Smokey Spurs or Moe as we call him. He is a bay 2 year old registered quarter horse gelding. We also started him this summer. He is gonna make a nice family horse because he's really quiet. He is also not for sale at this time but may be in spring! He's always in your pocket in the pen and is real quiet in the barn and when you ride him. He has a nice personality!

This is Boons Feature Shot or Yellow as we call him. He is a registered yearling palomino quarter horse gelding. We will start him this coming up spring. He is not for sale at this time. We are thinking of keeping him and starting him on barrels when he's ready. He is already a big fella and we think he is gonna be monster size! He is such a sweetie!

This is Safaris Got Money (name pending) or Safari as we call him. He is a grey registered quarter horse weanling colt. We are gonna keep him for a while and start him as a 2 year old. He is so cute!

And the next 3 pictures are of Bugle Doc Pines or Fiddle as we call him. He is a bay registered 10 year old quarter horse gelding. He is our barrel and rope horse. We sure love this guy and are not sorry we purchased him 5 years ago from a guy in Saskatchewan. He is my best friend and always has a listening ear and always willing to accept snuggles when I'm feeling blue! I love this guy! (He is not for sale!!!)

This is Nermy Germy or Nermy as we call him. He is a 10 year registered Dun quarter horse gelding. He is well broke to ride and is nice to be around. This horse is for sale. He requires a more experienced rider. A green rider would not be suitable for him. He was roped off of and was used for working but I have just been riding him all over. He is fun to ride and feels like you're riding a real big horse. He has lots of power and is fun to ride. Contact me for more info!

Dyck Family

This was a really fun afternoon photo shoot! It was a bit windy and cool, but all in all a nice day. We had lots of fun and this family was open to some different location suggestions so, it was a neat opportunity to shoot in a couple different places that I have been eyeing for a while! The little guy cooperated rather well for a 2 year old and we managed to get some shots of him smiling and looking at the camera at the same time. This is a beautiful and fun family! Thank you so much for letting me capture some memories for you. Here is a sneak peek at some of your pictures! God bless!

Live burns

Firefighting, is not for the average person I would have to say. I myself am not a firefighter but I am married to one and have had the privilege of attending several live practice burns and a few actual incidents. Below are some photos of live practice burns that I have photographed and just loved it! It is so much fun tagging along with the guys. They always treat me real good and I am always getting pulled in a lot of directions with one guy saying "hey come over here, there is some awesome looking flames", or another guy saying "this looks cool, come and a get a shot"! Also, sometimes the guys like to see how close we can get to the fire with the camera without getting to hot. I have got some shots in some serious heat, but I don't stick around there long because my camera would melt! Below are some shots from 2 separate burns that were done a few years ago. The first set was taken in late fall and the next set was taken in late winter. Both were really perfect days for the burn! I hope you enjoy them!

This photo here is my handsome hubby. We were trying to pose him for the "Backdraft" shot, but it was really hot there by that door and it didn't quite work like we thought, but it was fun anyway! He had to be sprayed down afterward, but he was ok with that.

This photo here is one of my all time faves! I have sold a few prints of this photo and this is often the photo that most are drawn too. It again is of my husband and one of the captains! I actually have this photo in my home in a 16x20 framed with one of our custom built barnboard frames. It looks amazing!

Teamwork.

Thanksgiving

Giving thanks is sometimes easier said than done, but lately we all have so much to be thankful for, including myself. I have not had the easiest summer with a hospital stay, not quite feeling 100% and recovering, but I am back on the mend now. I did a lot of praying and drawing nearer to God this summer and even still at this time, and I am so very thankful for the many prayers that He has answered. I am also so thankful for his provision in so many areas of our lives! God is SO GOOD and He is an amazing God! I am amazed each and every day by the prayers that He has answered and things that He has shown me during this time. I am also thankful for the family and friends that I have. They have all prayed for Bryan and I, and I pray each night that God will bless each and every one of them.

Below are some pictures I took at our Thanksgiving day that we had on Thanksgiving Sunday. The colors of fall have stayed vibrant for such a long time. I just love fall colors. They are my favorite range of colors! I also got some pictures of my Grandma. She is such a beautiful lady inside and out. She always thinks that she looks awful in pictures, but she doesn't!! I also got some nice shots of my Aunt and Uncle as well! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and I pray God will bless each and every one of you! I hope you enjoy the photos!

PS, I still have openings for fall photo shoots. Just drop me a line for more info!

Love at work

This is a totally unrelated post to most of the topics I normally post. Once again, I got to witness firsthand, our amazing fire department at work. There was a motor vehicle accident close to the ranch, and my Dad, sister and I went out for a little horseback ride. As we were riding a little ways away, we saw some tandem grain trucks parked on the road. We thought it was just farmers stopping to chat about the crops. But not 10 minutes later we heard sirens so we decided to turn around and head towards where we saw those trucks parked. Well, it wasn't farmers visiting. There was a car smashed up in the ditch and the front bumper on one tandem was all dented up. But on our way close the accident, I saw our Chief's truck and then there came the rest of our boys out to the scene. The ambulance arrived and then the fire boys began to extricate the victim, which was a young fella that is a neighbour to the ranch. I saw the father of the boy come down the road and he was so shocked to see that it was his son. But one of our amazing firemen took him aside and lovingly talked him through what was happening. I also saw our boys talking to the young fella in the car and were reassuring him. Then I saw our Chief bend down to talk to the driver of the tandem and I know the conversation will have been caring and compassionate as that is how our Chief is. As our Chief got up, he gently touched his shoulder reassuringly and went to continue to lead our men through the scene. We, and our town are blessed to have the leadership we have on our department and I just want to commend our guys and our Chief that were out there today that they did an amazing job! May God continue to bless this department and its members!! Below is a photo of one of our firetrucks!!

Zacharias Family

This turned out to be a beautiful day to take some family pictures of a wonderful family. We were a little concerned as the night before was dreadfully cold and windy. However, this day turned out to be just right. We had a lot of fun taking these photos, but with a family as beautiful as this one, it was easy! Hope you guys like your photos! Thanks for letting me take them!