Horses in motion - photos

From photos taken while over at our friend Sarah and Todd's place in Bayfield the other night.

You've seen two of their horses - Jypsi and Indy - in earlier posts on our Arch Canyon trip from April.

These are totally different:  no riders, just horses running, unfettered, as they evolved over millions of years ago to do.  Seeing the four of them unrestrained and released from their corral to run around on the property was a reminder of what magnificent and beautiful creatures they are.  They did have some "encouragement" from Todd chasing them, but it was clear they enjoyed the time as much as we did.

It's hard enough to photograph a butterfly fluttering around a flower, but to photograph large animals moving fast was a unique challenge.  I was happy to get as many "keepers" as I did , let alone a couple of print-worthy photos.

I've always liked those photos depicting movement, which is accomplished through both a slower shutter speed and tracking the subject with the camera to blur the background.   Other post-processing has been done to all (cropping, filters, etc.).

Here are a handful of the "keepers" - out of about 80 taken:

Indy

The herd:  Brush, Mindy, Indy and Jypsi

Mindy

Brush

Jypsi

Skies and Horses along Florida Mesa

No paintings as of late...guests in town, lots of hiking, with intentions to paint becoming missed opportunities.

So, I thought I'd share some photos taken on Sunday afternoon during an afternoon photo shoot along the Florida mesa.  The city of Durango itself is situated in a river valley of sorts, and is surrounded by mountains, mesas and hogback ridges on all sides.  The views are great, but if I need a fix of open skies and clouds, I head south just a few miles along Hwy 550 to the mesa, which is a few hundred feet above town in elevation.

Sunday afternoon was marked by classic monsoon-type clouds filling the sky, and a view to the east and southeast indicated that large towering cumulonimbus clouds were probably present.  Add to this the farm and ranch land of the mesa and the San Juans off to the north, and you've got some really stellar views.

Where one of the county roads splits from Hwy 550, there is a ranch of Hereford cattle.  Typically, it's filled with cows and their calves.  On this visit, however, I noticed not one, but two, bulls in the field as well.  This robust individual was off by himself, gradually making his way towards the herd and casting indifferent glances in our direction.  At one point, he let out a series of deep bellows and snorts that were probably meant to be intimidating, though I found them nothing but amusing.  

Heading further east along the road, it eventually turned to dirt and then I saw this field with horses, and we pulled off again.  Even though I don't paint or sculpt them anymore, I always delight in seeing the multitude of horses in our area, including all the "regulars" along Hwy 550 north of town.  The mare with her foal was a bonus during this stop.  

And, as is frequently the case, many horses are friendly and and curious cannot resist coming up to the fence for a visit and an ear scratch.

Even the little bay foal was adventurous enough to come over while his dam continued to graze nearby.

The gray horse eventually made her way over to the fence as well, and in this photo, her ear appears to be directing the position of the clouds.  

Shooting skies and horses along the beautiful landscape of southwestern CO - what better way to spend part of a Sunday afternoon?

Summer comes to Durango

Some photos from our Purgatory Flats hike on Saturday:

A view of Engineer from the trailhead parking lot, still sporting lots of snow (and haze from the AZ forest fire making the afternoon light even worse)

Arnica sunflower - the leaves of this plant have medicinal use for bruises and skin irritations

The trail approaching a stand of bright green aspen

A Dusky Dreamwing skipper takes a quick stop 

Blue-eyed Grass 

Fairy Trumpet (I believe) preparing to bloom

"Summer Dreams" - black percheron in a field north of Durango along Hwy 550 

We stopped to take photos of some donkeys in the adjacent field, and this gentle fellow came over for some attention as well