I had the chance to spend this past weekend down in Salmon, Idaho, photographing the Salmon Select Horse and Mule Sale for one of my favorite Western publications, The Big Sky Journal.
Assignments like this one are my favorite—my two careers merge into one, which makes for a good day at work. After growing up on an equine boarding and training in northwest Montana, it’s always a strange homecoming to return to the horse world, even just for a few days.
Get a little mud on the boots, dust on the lens and horse scent on the jacket and all is good with the world.
Just like this California ranch assignment last fall for the UK’s Sidetracked Magazine, it’s easy to fall back into old habits, and I’m still convinced down-home cowboys and cowgirls are some of the best people on the planet. Think I made more random new friends in one day at the sale than I have in ten months here in Missoula.
The images will be appearing in a later 2019 issue of The Big Sky Journal, so stay tuned. Thanks again to everyone who didn’t mind the “girl with the camera” running around; to all the lovely folks who made small talk and to the BSJ team for the assignment!
Here’s a tip: want to boost your photography skills? Look for the details. Wait for the right moment, then capture an image with tight framing, focused on the minute little bits of the scene. Tell a story with those details. I think you’ll find the challenge well worth the trouble.
Last September, I had a chance to go back to my roots while on assignment with Visit California and the U.K.’s 