This is me with my horse, Ollie, and my dog, Charley. I thought of this photo when Maureen posted her Yellowstone image. Ollie and I have done several cattle drives, dodging overhanging pine branches while collecting cattle in forests and pushing them through rivers running high enough to soak my legs. At times we had so many miles to push the cattle that we had to eat our lunch in the saddle!
Very lovely image, Nancy! All three subjects are beautiful, I love the autumn leaves framing the image, and the painterly look is perfect. It would have been nice if Charley had been just a step or two to the right so that his nose wasn't intersecting with the stirrup. It must be exciting to be on a cattle drive, though I'm sure it's lots of hard work too.
Nancy, love the candid shot of you and your two trusty companions and beautiful surrounding habitat. Just the right touch with the simplify treatment, really like the combinations of color, texture and the changing leaves. Olie is beautiful, and Charley looks raring to go, with his little pack and tongue hanging out. The cattle drives sound like a great adventure, and the image makes you want to hop on a horse and ride along. Thanks for sharing!
This is a great image, Nancy. I just love the feel of it. The composition is very good, and Simplify was a perfect choice. I'd probably have tried to open some of the shadows a bit and subdued some of the highlights and, perhaps, masked Ollie's eye back in, but I really like it the way it is.
Dennis, your suggestions are right on. I'll go back and see what I can do. Christopher, Charley dog did come too close for this image but it is just too hard to tell a dog exactly how to pose . Judy, funny for a kid growing up in NY suburbs, but I always wanted to be a cowgirl and was so excited to participate in the cattle drives! Thanks everyone for letting me share my furry friends and some of the fun we've had together.
This image makes me want to move back to Texas and ride horses again (though I was never very good at it)! Wonderful feel to this photo. I love the connection between the rider (you), the horse and the dog that this photo shows us. You make it look easy and fun.