Horse Show

Our Intercollegiate Horse Show Association Team had a Hunt Seat show this weekend at Sewanee, University of the South.  Its a beautiful campus in southern Middle Tennessee and our riders did wonderfully!  Being at a horse show is a unique experience.  No other sport requires you to dress up in shiny leather boots, tight khaki pants, collared shirt and jacket, do your hair in a precise manner so that not a single strand is loose, and then make you sit at a barn in the hot sun before you have to ride a horse.  This atmosphere of perfection in the outdoors has produced a society of pearl wearing, dog toting (on a leash- not in a purse), dirt loving people who see no issue with getting all dressed up just to spend the day sweating off their make-up.  And it can be a pretty exclusive environment for those without a connection to horses, so consider this a peak into the horse show society.

Creating A Fairy Tale

 For one of my classes we were asked to do a creative project involving some of the children's literature we've read.  Well, of course I chose the fairy tales.  My lovely friends at Sweet Briar College agreed to be my models and off we went on an adventure to create a fairy tale.  One of the girls has this beautiful horse and I just had to include him, so we went out to the barn, dressed her up, and attempted to take a picture of Sleeping Beauty falling asleep on a horse.  Nitro, the red Arabian, was as feisty as ever but surprisingly calm about my friend riding him in a long skirt.  She rode him around a bit to get all his jitters out and the sight was so beautiful I couldn't stop myself from photographing it.  Watching her ride around in this little clearing in the middle of the woods felt like I had stepped right into the fairy tale I was trying to create.

 I chose three fairy tales: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. 

The Most Beautiful Place on Earth

Sweet Briar College is one of my favorite places.  I was lucky enough to get to visit last weekend and I can't wait until I get to go back.  For those of you who aren't familiar with the institution, it is an all-women's college in the heart of Virginia.  It was founded in 1901 on the land of a plantation and everything they've done since then has embraced their history.  

Remembering Venice

My heart has been in Venice the past couple of days. 

Fall Fairs!

It's September and time for the Tennessee Valley Fair!  I don't know if I'll make it this year but its put me in the carnival mood.  I've been thinking lately about past fairs and I came across these pictures from Brighton Pier in England (and one from Boston) from my semester abroad. What is it about a festival that is so magical?

 

Welcome!

Hello!  A wise photographer once told me that to be a good photographer you have to look at life as if you were looking through the lens of a camera.  This new adventure in blogging is part of my quest to follow this advice.  Along the way I hope to find beauty, truth and inspiration, in the world around me and from other artists and contributors to this wonderland that we call the internet.  And I send this brand new blog out into this wonderland full of hopes and prayers!

~Enjoy!~