The Gifted Equine: a horse rescue's story

Social Media is not my favorite, but from time to time, it allows me to meet wonderful people. Queue in The Gifted Equine: a horse rescue started by Haley, a horse lover based in Ohio, and now joined by Savanah based in Texas.

I saw one of their posts, asking for donations to help feed some rescues and I knew I wanted to find a way to help. So I reached out to offer a way to support them and met up with them in Fort Worth to photograph some rescues and learn more about their foundation.

I met Beau and Red on Savanah’s property, where they stay in quarantine for a minimum of 14 days, before hopefully being re-homed, and they were the sweetest despite still being in not so great shape. I also learned more about the heartbreak that these girls go thru during each auction, because they cannot save all the horses and how the stress of vet bills pilling up isn't always easy to deal with either. Feeding them is not cheap either, and most horses at the auctions are skin on bones and it takes weeks to get them back to a healthy weight.

So perhaps, it seems glamorous to have a non profit and yes it is rewarding, but it is also very hard and stressful. So if you have extra cash and love horses, please support this non profit and help them help horses and save them from slaughter. "Horses bound for slaughter may include pregnant mares, foals (baby horses) and horses who are injured or blind and the holding conditions in these environments are inhumane."

To learn more about the Gifted Equine's mission and how to help them save horses, follow this link: https://www.thegiftedequine.com and feel free to share this blog post with friends and family, the horses and foundation can use all the help they can get.

You can also follow them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegiftedequine/

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Jennifer and Chris and Munch in Seattle

Hiking shoes and/or barefoot are my favorite states of being, so when I met Munch, let's just say she is my dream client. Wearing a cute beach dress, climbing trees and twirling without me even asking her to, she was basically the perfect 6 year-old. And so sweet!!

This entire family session was really fun and relaxed. I always get extra excited when the parents are chill and let the kids be, because trying to pose kids for an hour is just not fun for anyone involved, especially not the kids. But lettings the kids be and doing very little posing leads to these cute photos, a lot of candids, a lot of smiles, a lot of cuteness overload.

It also allows me to have some fun with the parents on the sidelines while the kiddos are busy playing. Yes we are parents, but we are also still a couple and it's nice to have a few shots sans kids. Wether for a cute Valentine's Day photo collage or to print on a mug.

So next time you are thinking of booking family photos, always think of "what is a good spot where kids can have fun and where the whole family can relax and just be without it feeling like a stuffy photoshoot?" or ask me: I love location scouting and I have a long list of suggestions, not just for Texas, but also California, New York, South Dakota, Florida, Tunisia and the list goes on because I have the travel bug :)

I mean, how cute are they?

And then to top the cuteness, Seattle graced us all with a beautiful sunset at the end of the shoot, so of course as any other photographer who says "One Last One" ten times before it being true, I had to continue to shoot !!

Thank you Seattle, and thank you Jenn for trusting me with your family photos and your parent's 50th wedding anniversary celebration. I had a blast and cannot wait to meet at a national park next time :)

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Michigan Maternity Fall Photoshoot

Fall is kind of my favorite season. I said kind of because I also love seeing all the flowers bloom in Spring, and the beach in Summer is so fun and I also love snow and snowboarding. But for pictures purpose Fall and Spring is probably people’s favorite, not too cold, not too hot and the gorgeous orange leaves and/or pretty flowers are a nice added bonus.

So when Megan’s due date was end of November, I was really excited about her Fall Maternity pictures. And Michigan Fall foliage didn’t disappoint.

First series is in their own backyard. How GORGEOUS??

I also love that Megan and Jason didn’t shy away from being themselves. Not every picture has to be that perfect looking into each other’s soul photos. Be silly, be serious, be you, these are your photos.

Second series was in a local park right next to their home. It was so pretty and Megan was a trooper even as the temperatures lowered a bit.

And these pictures of them on the bench were her idea and I am Obsessed! Not every photo needs to be about the baby bump. I loved captured this moment for them, a moment to take a breath, sit down and relax before the parenting adventure begins!

I am Especially Obsessed with this black and white version:

So never be afraid to suggest a pose or a location, or an idea. I am always happy to suggest all of the above, but I am very happy following some of my client’s leads and having fun together.

How did you like your last photoshoot? What are things you liked versus didn’t like?

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