Domi, Maggie, and Leroy
Have you ever received a vision that you just can’t shake? It comes in hot and fast like lightening. Whether you call it creative intuition or a message from the Divine, the feeling is that the spirit must follow this guiding light.
Over the years, I have practiced reacting quicker to these visions rather than pushing them to the side, because I believe these visions hold an energy of brilliance that is meant to be expressed, and the longer I delay on expressing them, the more their power lessens — that, or the more my connection to the vision fades.
This spring, I put out a model call for a jumper that accompanied an image I took of a jumper during the OHSET meets. It turned out, the jumper in the image was following me, and she volunteered to be my model.
Perfect.
What was even more perfect was that this jumper also had 5 of the wardrobe pieces that were on my styling vision board for this portfolio project. Down to the color. And, not only that, at the end of our prep meeting, I learned this self-taught jumper had taught her horse how to rear on cue.
Here I was checking-off ANOTHER manifestation from the vision board list.
Domi Burk, a sophomore OHSET rider from Redmond, was my model, and she couldn’t have been a more perfect fit for this portfolio project.
Our locations for the shoot were at Domi’s family dairy farm with the backdrop of Smith Rock in Tumalo, Oregon. Upon arrival to the property it feels as though one could be in Montana, Wyoming, or even Colorado. The skies are the bluest of the blue and the grasses a verdant kelly green (or prickly golden straw – both beautiful and a pinma to my socks and shoes!)
Our goals for this shoot were to capture the vibe of the farm girl baddie: soft when she wants to be, tough when it’s called for. Other than that, I wanted to experiment with an all red corduroy ensemble and a western look in place of the usual english for Domi’s jumping. The rest of the shoot was designed in the moment – sometimes the best way to go about the process of creative making.
Enjoy!
P.S. See the pic from this session that made it into PhotoVOGUE here.
Field Notes.
Saddle up.
End of the day cool down.
Notes for Photographers:
If you have a funny idea and your model is on board with it, don’t be afraid to go forth with your vision. At one point, I asked Domi to chew on a blade of grass. She looked at me funny, laughed, and acquiesced. Those images ended up being favorites for both of us!
