Last Tuesday I had two shoots that couldn't be more different--the morning was for a Norco gal with four first rate mules. The evening engagement was for the Riverside Rancheros drill team, in their home arena, for a short performance presenting the national and state colors to the iconic "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood and then setup shots with the guest of honor sans horses. The dirt had been scraped from the arena, normally used for team penning, roping, gymkhana and drill team practice, and replaced by a podium, dinner table rounds and caterer's setup. It was a $1,500 plate fund-raising buffet dinner for the local Republican Party.
The performance itself was technically difficult to shoot, a cavernous covered arena, horses spread out at times over 40 yards, impractical for ordinary flash without ceiling mounted strobes for even lighting which weren't an option. I'd attended a practice session to get a feel for the place ahead of time, and was nervous all week about whether I could do a decent job. Fortunately, the natural light was better than it had been at the practice--we all have our specialties, and mine is natural light. I shot lots of candids of the riders preparing, rehearsing and waiting for the guest of honor to arrive, none other than Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Sorry I can't share the gallery, it's of course the customer's choice when it's a private shoot.
3 comments:
oh dang, and I haven't gotten my fill of govenator images today!
;)
sounds like a fun day!
Hi, I used to hang out at the Rancheros about 30 years ago when I was a kid. Never forgot the great times, the people nor the horses.
The purpose of this email is also to tell you about NAIS. In case you have not heard, NAIS is a business plan for corporate ag, but while they get one lot number per groups of animals, you and your horse will also be made part of it by having to register your premises, microchip and file reports everywhere you ride that horse. NAIS (national animal identification system) requires horse/livestock owners to register their premises, microchip and file reports so the government knows where those animals are at all times. Reasons: bird flu, mad cow, bioterrorist attack, keeping food supply healthy. But NAIS tracking ends at slaughter, which is when many food health issues occur. REAL reason: to improve the marketability of multi-billion-dollar corporate agriculture products on global scale.
While we must tag, track all births, deaths and off property movement within a 24 hour deadline, big ag gets only one lot number per groups of animals, nor do they report all movements. Signing up for NAIS also clouds title to property. NAIS is currently voluntary but plans are to make it mandatory in all states. Recent polls show over 90% DO NOT WANT NAIS yet the USDA continues to implement it for the good of corporate ag while putting hardship on the buy local programs.
the USDA will be holding a listening session in
Riverside and I highly recommend you and all the horse people attend.
See the following sites for more info about NAIS and why it will not be a good thing. Nonais.org http://www.farmandranchfreedom.org/ http://libertyark.net/ http://arkansasanimalproducers.8k.com/
A good post on "Riverside Rancheros".If you are looking for non profit fund raising tap into an established, successful, and proven Fundraising Program that works @ http://debtfreeliving.supportnonprofits.com
Thanks,
Karim
Fund raising that really works
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