Q & A with Brandy Johnson — A Rising Star in Equine Photography

Q&A

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ou see their soul through their eyes, the fire in their nostrils, and the beat they dance to in their tails,” so says Brandy Johnson, a young equine photographer based in Ocala, Florida. We asked Brandy to share with us her thoughts on her craft, and the role the Arabian has played in her life and work.

AHW: When did you first become interested in photography?

In what ways did your childhood experiences lead you to make a career out of photography?

Brandy: Horses have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. We used to adopt wild mustangs when I was young and my first “big girl” horse was a beautiful bay mustang mare named Venture. My parents thought I was crazy. I would gallop her all over bareback, no helmet and in shorts. Our first experience with Arabians was a pure Polish racehorse gelding named Sahir Tar Legacy (EW Galan x Tarlane). He was tall, lanky, and steel grey.

He ended up doing lots of endurance rides with us and has recently come back to the farm to completely retire. My first love affair was with a white stallion that we found in a run-down farm. The lady who cared for him said the owners abandoned him so we leased him. His name was Kaiyoum Might (x SS Knee Hi), son of the legendary Kaiyoum. He became my best friend throughout my teenage years and well into my twenties. Kaiyoum was the first horse we had who possessed legendary bloodlines, so I started doing research on his lineage, which led to the obsession with looking

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Above: The 2003 stallion Shaddofax (Justafire DGL x R Colette by Padrons Psyche), owned by Chestnuthill Arabians, Reddick, Florida.

Q&A

with

“Y

ou see their soul through their eyes, the fire in their nostrils, and the beat they dance to in their tails,” so says Brandy Johnson, a young equine photographer based in Ocala, Florida. We asked Brandy to share with us her thoughts on her craft, and the role the Arabian has played in her life and work.

AHW: When did you first become interested in photography?

In what ways did your childhood experiences lead you to make a career out of photography?

Brandy: Horses have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. We used to adopt wild mustangs when I was young and my first “big girl” horse was a beautiful bay mustang mare named Venture. My parents thought I was crazy. I would gallop her all over bareback, no helmet and in shorts. Our first experience with Arabians was a pure Polish racehorse gelding named Sahir Tar Legacy (EW Galan x Tarlane). He was tall, lanky, and steel grey.

He ended up doing lots of endurance rides with us and has recently come back to the farm to completely retire. My first love affair was with a white stallion that we found in a run-down farm. The lady who cared for him said the owners abandoned him so we leased him. His name was Kaiyoum Might (x SS Knee Hi), son of the legendary Kaiyoum. He became my best friend throughout my teenage years and well into my twenties. Kaiyoum was the first horse we had who possessed legendary bloodlines, so I started doing research on his lineage, which led to the obsession with looking

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Above: The 2003 stallion Shaddofax (Justafire DGL x R Colette by Padrons Psyche), owned by Chestnuthill Arabians, Reddick, Florida.

BrandyJoHnson# A Rising Star in Equine Photography

up Arabians online and in the magazines. He was a very striking stallion and he looked his best at about age 21. He quickly became my favorite subject to photograph when I got started.

He teased so easily and always gave those “looks” that we all crave when shooting stallions. When we moved to a bigger farm in Brooksville, Florida, we quickly realized that to be in the game we needed a website and good photos of our horses. I was already a professional graphic designer, why couldn’t I take pictures of our horses too? My father did some shooting in his younger years and he guided me. We both got some education on the new technology. He invested in me; believed in me. I don’t think I let him down. I had finally found something I was actually really good at and it felt good! I spent a lot of years wondering what I was going to do with my life. My father ran a successful printing and direct mail business so it was second nature to learn the business, but he always found me in the graphic design department pestering the girls to teach me.

They saw potential and an eye for art. I always said I was half my mom and half my dad. My mom is the artistic type always looking for new adventures and my dad is the logical type, good with business, good at selling and smart with people. I’m pretty sure I got the best of them both.

AHW: How would you describe your photo style? What makes a “Brandy” photo distinctive? Are there certain aspects of the Arabian horse that you strive to capture in your photography?

Brandy: I love the fire and beauty in Arabians. If I could have the sound they make blowing through their nostrils as a ringtone, I would get it! They give me chills … there’s nothing more majestic than an Arabian. I strive to shoot their beauty yet with conformational correctness in mind. I think you have to have a few factors to make that “It” photo … eyes, nostrils, and tail. You see their soul through their eyes, the fire in their nostrils, and the beat they dance to in their tail.

AHW: Who is your favorite Arabian horse to shoot?

Brandy: I don’t have a particular favorite horse but I have favorite handlers! The handler is a very important part of a photo shoot. They have to listen to you but listen to the horse as well. If they don’t know how to harmonize with the horse, your chance of getting your shot just dropped.

AHW: Do you think having a “connection” with the horses you photograph is important? If so, give us an example of how this has translated during a photo shoot, and in the final result.

Brandy: If time permits, I always go around the barn to the horses we are shooting, or visit with them while they are getting ready, to get a feel for them. I was always taught to connect with a horse before you ask it for anything. Half the 36 b FLORIDA b world

Above: The 2005 stallion KM Bugatti (Versace x Sanegors Lady D by *Simeon Sanegor), owned by Kristi Waters, Tarpon Springs, Florida.

Facing page, top: The 1997 mare Ali Kateefa (Ali Zaar x *Higran

by Seef), owned by Martha Suarez, Plantation, Florida.

Facing page, bottom: The multi-champion gelding Foolish Games (Major Jamaal x Bella Valentine), owned by Texie Lowery, Cherryhills Village, Colorado.

Beth Phillips, New Vision Farm, Brooksville, Florida “Believe it or not, the staff in the delivery room were listening to the song ‘Freeze Frame’ by the J. Giles band, when Brandy was born,” says her mother, Beth Phillips. “Was that a foreshadowing?

Perhaps so!

“Growing up in Tampa, Florida, Brandy and I were close. While her father, John, was building his direct mail company, I worked for Merry Minstrel Singing Telegrams, and wrote radio commercials.

Brandy was part of the ‘team,’ and it was through these years she learned the importance of showing up on time, giving it your best, and most importantly, how to talk to people in a positive and cheerful way.”

“My parents are what I call ‘big personalities,’ says Brandy. “They have this ability to influence people in positive ways. I remember when I was a little kid, my dad used to pack the car every Saturday night with food, drinks, and Mom’s costume changes, and we drove her to all her

shows. I used to sit in the back seat and count her tips, and I remember saying, ‘Mom! Those people gave you thirty dollars for a tip!’ My Mom would look back and say, ‘It’s fun to make people feel good about themselves, and it’s fun to make them laugh.’” “It’s no surprise, then, that Brandy has applied those life lessons to her equine photography business.

“The focus of our New Vision Farm is to breed family-friendly horses,” adds Beth. “We specialize in putting good foundations on horses: they tie, clip, load, and trailer …we even drive them to Home Depot just for the experience.

“Brandy has helped us elevate the quality of our horses; showing us other avenues, stallions to use … she did all the basic training, and with her abilities in promotion, we’ve been able to market many horses to great new homes.

“We not only do show horses but we ride distance races, too. Our stallion SP Nevermore has gone from being a show horse to an endurance horse. Brandy and I rode side by side for many years.

“Her transition to photography came when

Brandy was pregnant … and she was so torn because she really wanted to keep showing! That’s when her father and I convinced her to flip things around to the other side of the camera. I can still remember her crawling under fence boards, eight months pregnant, to get that shot! Whatever Brandy sets her mind to, she does.”

time I’m the one getting them ready! I love to be involved in the whole aspect of a photo shoot. I do a lot of clipping and grooming for some of my breeding farm clients who don’t have trainers or experience in getting that “showring look.”

AHW: Share some of the tricks you use if things aren’t going smoothly on a photo shoot.

Brandy: Just breathe … take a five minute break. If you get all worked up it’s not going to help the situation. Most of the aggravation is not the horse but the person handling the horse. I try to explain what I’m envisioning before we go out in the field.

Once I get them on the same page and their mood is cheerful they start having fun!

AHW: Discuss some recurring challenges you deal with when photographing horses. Is it more difficult to shoot a horse that’s standing still or in motion? How have you overcome these challenges?

Brandy: I love a great head shot, lots of hair and expression. Liberty is always a challenge because you cannot control the situation. The hardest challenge is to make a not-sopretty horse beautiful. The owners and trainers always have these expectations of having a beautiful face and when their plainheaded horse looks plain-headed … well? My other bugaboo is hiding what the horse is. If it’s a Half-Arabian and it naturally has a long back, why hide that fact? What happens when you send a photo over to a prospective buyer and it looks shortbacked and they fly across country to see this horse and find it has a long back?

AHW: In general, do you tend to plan your shoots or react to what’s happening at a certain moment in time? Which of the two approaches works best with horses?

Brandy: I plan to the best of my ability and knowledge of the horse. I ask questions about the horse’s attitude and what sparks the horse up. I usually tend to let the horse show me itself and plan around that during the shoot.

AHW: What photographers (equine or not) have you admired over the years? What have you learned from them and in what ways does their influence show up in your work?

Brandy: I respect and admire a lot of my peers in our industry. I have noticed the ever-growing numbers of us as well!

Stuart Vesty always comes to mind when people ask me this question. I love the art and beauty yet the technical correctness of his photos.

AHW: Please share with us your favorite photos of Arabians taken by you, and tell us why they are special to you.

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Above: The 2008 mare Mystery E (Enzo x Illusion PF by Fame VF), owned by Rohara Arabians, Orange Lake, Florida.

Facing page, top left: The 2007 stallion Sharif Emir PG (Ansata Nile Emir x Kuy Shaihnya by AK Shaikh), owned by Martha Suarez, Plantation, Florida.

Facing page, top right: The 1996 stallion *El Nabila B (Kubinec x 218 Elf Layla Walayla B by Assad), owned by Psynergy Equine, California.

Facing page, bottom: The 2002 stallion WMJ Crown Royal (All Psyched Upp x Imdals Tiffany by Imperial Imdal), owned by Choyer Lumpp, Mount Juliet, Tennessee, with his 2009 daughter WMJ Persuasion (x Azalasia by Monogramm), owned by Whitmojo Arabians.

Fantazia Arabians, David and Jane Stachler, Citra, Florida “We moved Fantazia Arabians from Ohio to Florida in 2004 and soon after had an open house after completion of our new full-service training facility,” says Jane Stachler. “Brandy Johnson attended our open house and took many beautiful photos of the day. We were honored to have Myron Krause (the former Arabian Horse Association president) as our guest speaker. Brandy then came to us as one of our amateur halter handlers and had a very successful amateur career winning at multiple shows, including a Scottsdale Top Ten, with her purebred gelding Khan. Brandy has been

a pleasure to work with both professionally and as a client, and we appreciate her attention to our marketing needs.”

David Mikosz, trainer, Fox View Arabians, Ocala, Florida “Shortly after getting started at Fox View in Ocala, our farm manager Karen Miner informed me that Brandy Johnson was coming in a couple of days to shoot horses. My first thought as a skeptical

old show horse guy, was a sarcastic, ‘Great, a fledgling halter photographer is coming to shoot our performance horses.’ My second thought was ‘Oh well, she IS coming so let’s make as much fun as we can out of it anyway.’ We had some new help who had not worked a photo shoot and this would be an opportunity to give them a little training.

“Brandy arrived on a beautiful Ocala summer morning. She was very unpretentious and quietly got her stuff set up in the paddock we chose to

Brandy: They are all special to me! They are who I am, but when an owner makes it something special, like a canvas for their living room, that’s so gratifying.

AHW: What subjects other than the Arabian horses are you passionate about photographing?

Brandy: Just horses.

AHW: What are your general views on the integrity of a photo after it’s been taken? What are your views on photo editing programs like Photoshop? Where do you draw the line between enhancing a photo and altering or reconstructing it?

Brandy: I was taught to shoot like you couldn’t edit it. I try to follow that rule as much as possible. Color correcting and background distractions are commonplace now — even rotating I think is acceptable. As long as it doesn’t change the structure of the horse I don’t see a problem processing photos in Photoshop.

It’s technology — a new era for photographers.

AHW: What’s the funniest or most memorable experience you’ve had on a photo shoot?

Brandy: The first time I shot Odyssey SC in Scottsdale would make the top of my list! He is such a bold, powerful stallion and we were teasing him to this mare who wanted nothing to do with him, lol. Jerry Schall was handling him.

Odyssey was being a complete gentleman yet Jerry was being over the top and thought for sure he was gonna eat him! He kept screaming “Whoa dammit!” And even though the horse stood like a statue, Jerry continued this until we were done. I could barely shoot because I was laughing so hard.

AHW: Are there any locations/subjects you haven’t photographed that you’d like to tackle in the future? If so, what are they and why do they make your most wanted list?

Brandy: My favorite photos are horses in their natural habitat. Arabians in the desert and mustangs in the wild. I want to travel to the Middle East … and that just might happen this year, so we shall see! photo: Billi henshaw

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work in. All the horses were quite cooperative.

Brandy just fired away — no drama or fuss. I thought, ‘This kid is fun to work with but …’ Well then I saw the proofs! Wow — it was one good photo after another. Color, focus, and resolution — it was all there. We only had to pick the best of the good ones.

“She then proceeded to put together some very nice graphics that captured the personality of each horse. In less than one day e-mail blasts were sent and sales lists were being printed and posted.

My first reaction was “Does this kid have a clue how good she really is?” She is a bright intelligent

Facing page, top: The 1999 stallion Odyssey SC (Versace x Latoura Echo by Echo Magnifficoo), owned by Stranger Creek Ranch LLC, Tonganoxie, Kansas.

Facing page, bottom: The 2002 mare Magnetic Pashahn (Magnum Psyche x Pashahnata by Beythoven MC), owned by Rhonda Davis, Scottsdale, Arizona.

Left: The 2008 mare Athena RA (NYN Hisani x GGA Isabella by Da Vinci FM), owned by Lisa Kalo and Douglas Verheul, Florida.

Below: Broodmare photographed in Ocala, Florida.

person, so I guess she most likely does. You would never know it when you meet her.

“She’s a true ‘natural.’”

Cheri Prill, Tampa, Florida “Brandy has been a joy to work with!” says Cheri Prill, Brandy’s friend and co-worker. “Brandy and I share a true passion for the horse. In 2006, she and I started a horse show photography business together, and gained an annual contract for the Florida Region Paso Fino Horse Association.

Friesian, Gypsy Vanner and many other breed shows followed on our schedule. As each of us developed

and shared our skills as photographers, our strong points and weak points complemented each other. After gaining experience through shooting many horse shows, Brandy and I took the tools we had learned together and went on to pursue more of our personal projects. I am very proud of the photographer that Brandy has become. It seems like just yesterday we were working horse shows together, laughing and smiling as we would get to ride our amazing equine subjects after the shows had finished. I will always cherish those days.”

Top left: The 2008 mare Mikayla Jullyen V (*Jullyen El Jamaal x Misti Morn V by Audacious PS).

Bottom left: The 2007 mare Shimmering Silk V (*Jullyen El Jamaal x Sweet Silk V by Desperado V).

Top right and facing page: The 2009 stallion Master Jullyen V, full brother to the mare Mikayla Jullyen V. All horses above are owned by David L. May, Lone Tree Farm, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.

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David May, Lone Tree Farm, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin “My first encounter with Brandy came when I needed a farm logo.” says David May. “She did a wonderful job in unbelievably short time, delivering a family of logos that exceeded my expectations.

“A few months passed and I contacted Brandy to set up a photo shoot for my 2010 Nationals-band mares, all of which were in Madison, Wisconsin. The shoot was great and Brandy was extremely easy to work with — if she has an ego she doesn’t show it in working with others. She is a horse person herself, so she understands and respects the subtleties of it all. Brandy personifies authenticity. I was amazed by Brandy’s flexible manner and openness to suggestions, while at the same time struck by how serious and intense she is about her work. Once the camera begins to roll, it’s all about Brandy and the horse … she’s definitely focused from the first click of the camera until the horse is trotted back to the barn at the end of a photo session.

“The proof files from the mare shoot were simply amazing. The files were bountiful — those we didn’t use were as good as what we selected. A

few shots of my mare, Mikayla Jullyen V, appear to be oil painting-like, or as if you were viewing a porcelain figurine. For me, as a proud owner, they were breathtaking and I do not consider myself a ‘breathtaking’ kind of guy. We had the same results with our National contender in the yearling halter class, Master Jullyen V. “Once again we got so many money shots that we used one on the back cover of the U.S. Nationals program. It was great fun getting ready for the Nationals last year, and Brandy was a big part of the fun.

“In my day job as head of a new product development organization, I am in contact with designers and creative types all the time. The best of them show a true passion for their work. Among the best, so much creativity, effort, excitement, and

enthusiasm go into the end product you’d think it was their first creative effort. Brandy is one of these individuals.

“As we wrapped up our efforts on 2010 U.S. Nationals work that we did together, I asked Brandy to promise me a spot in her queue in the future as I now consider her the photographer of record for my horses. Fortunately for Brandy and unfortunately for me, that may be a hard promise to keep on her part. Someone referred to her as an up-and-comer as a photographer — I hate to inform the public, but Brandy has arrived, she’s just the best-kept secret around. Brandy has a very promising future and I would double down on a bet that her best work is yet to come … it would be foolish to bet against a bright future for this talented woman!”

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