Growing up in Connecticut, riding and showing ponies and then horses, Barb's father always made sure that a photographer was around to capture those special horse show moments. The family albums are full of images, many of them Freudy photos from those days. Her father, himself, was an excellent amateur photographer, who always had the latest equipment so it's not surprising that Barb developed her own skills and love of photography.

Now a breeder of fine Oldenburg horses and fancy sport ponies, taking the step to specialize in equine photography was a natural for Barb Young. "There simply weren't any professional photographers in the area for my sales, advertising and stallion photos," she says. She started hiring others to present or show her horses and taking photos of them to get her own sales and advertising shots and one thing led to another.

Currently living on her horse farm on Colorado's western slope, Barb covers horse shows, registry inspections and does portraits and candids for other farms in her area as well as managing the day to day operations of her farm. With so much experience in the care, presentation & showing of her subject, Barb brings invaluable knowledge with her to each shoot she does.

Barb is primarily self taught, using her own lovely horses and ponies as models, as well as the local schooling shows and clinics. She was also married to a talented photographer from whom she learned more about the craft than she realized at the time. She says she is blessed with a God given talent that she had little to do with. " I just enjoy it and am grateful".

http://www.RainbowFarm.com/photos.html

The best way to shoot a dark bay or black horse is to make sure that the horse has showsheen or something similar to gloss the coat and use a flash or otherwise make sure that light is reflecting off the coat to show the horse's muscle tone. Make sure your background is not dark so that none of the horse will be lost against it. This photo of Wimps King Buck, a dark bay Foundation Quarter Horse demonstrates these principles - late afternoon light covers his full side and fill flash covers the front while showsheen emphasizes his muscle tone. One stop overexposure is also a good technique for print film, especially when shooting without a flash. It will help show the otherwise lost shadow details. Overexposing most negative film by one stop will not result in an overexposed photo. It will add density and improve the image. I almost always overexpose negative films by 2/3 to one stop.

Jim Arnold
http://www.jarnoldphoto.com/