Fair Preparations

Before I start in on this post, I want to say thank you to Harecroft Horses for the helpful comment about Cob/Vanner ponies! Thanks a bunch! For whatever reason Google won't let me comment a reply atm. I have seen a few model Vanner ponies in photo showing (typically in CM classes), but I wasn't sure how well they were known by other judges. (And consequently, how they do in photo shows where a vanner-holic like myself is not the judge! lol) 

It's fair time, it's fair time! Which also means it is my busiest time of year. I contribute 75-100 entries in my local fair every year, so this time of year is a little nutsy! It is exactly 11 days 'til opening day, so things are getting tight for time. I've only been getting 4-6hrs of sleep (yes I know, it's not good for me. . .) and I was good and sick yesterday. Feeling better today. 

Yesterday, I sorted through my photos and picked my photography entries. These are some of my choices:

Entry for Color - Animal

Entry for Black and White (BW) - Animal

Entry for BW - Landscape

One of the photos to be included in a sample scrapbook page

Entry for BW - Other

Entry for BW - Still Life

Entry for Color - Other

Entry for Color - Landscape

Today I worked on some (more) crochet. Some of you know that one of my other major hobbies is amigurumi. I absolutely love those tiny critters! I did six amigurumi entries for the fair this year. I may share pictures later, if there's any interest. I am also "knitting" a scarf on one of those loom things (?). I got it at a thrift store to experiment with using up some extra bulky yarn, and it works wonders. It takes forever though. I will post pics of the scarf when it's done (if I remember).

I have not forgotten the giveaway; I am still working on it. I am considering letting you readers preview the prizes one at a time while I get them together - would there be any interest in that idea? Let me know in the comments.

In a last piece of news, Scurry is due to be here tomorrow! I am beyond excited. Desperately hoping for the bay!

Happy Second Birthday OMHPS

OMHPS (Online Model Horse Photo Shows) is celebrating their second year out of beta this month. In the spirit of things, they have hosted a new birthday themed photo show. I was so so so excited when I saw this! Fun shows/scene classes are my very favorite thing, I had so many ideas chasing each other around in my head. I finally settled on a small stall decorated for a party, with a few animals and a foal.

This is how it turned out:

Overall, I'm really happy with it. It took me two weeks to set everything up, as I made a bunch of the props, had to paint the barn (it still needs another coat or two XD) and had all the chaos going on. I finished it three or four days ago, just in time to get hit with a big snowstorm that prevented any hope of photos before this afternoon (there is still snow on the ground, but none blowing onto the porch and the sun is shining clear).

Here are some close-ups of the details:

The barn itself has a funny story behind it. I had gone to the salon with a family member to get our hair done. While we were there, our beautician gave us a couple tickets for a duck race in our town. We kinda - ---- wait a second. I better explain what a duck race is before I move on. In my town, we hold an annual rubber duck race in our park's pond. Two guys paddle out in a tiny canoe and dump one or two totes of rubber ducks (with numbers written in sharpie on their bellies) out in the middle of the pond. The first ducky to go over the miniature waterfall at the end of the pond wins. The person who has the ticket with the winning ducky's number gets $200. All clear? Ok. So we got these tickets and we were both just kinda chuckling to ourselves like "what are we supposed to do with these? Like we'd ever win". Just joking, I made my family member promise to buy me the Breyer Hilltop Stable if she won, and I promised to buy her something if I got lucky. The next weekend, we both attended the race. We didn't bring our tickets, because, well, what are the odds?? We watched and clapped for the winning duck and went home. About an hour later, my family member got a phone call from the rubber ducky herder who told her she had won!! It was pretty funny, she was just there and clapping for herself. I don't think she'll ever live that down. She bought me the barn of course, but I only just recently got around to painting it. It finally came into good use!

Looking back, I really wish I had included my mini rubber ducky in that shoot. Drat. Opportunity lost.

What do you think of the entry? I'm fairly happy with it. According to the show rules I can enter one more photo. . . hmmm. Who will it be???

And the Winner is. . .

The winner of the Spotted Dreams Studio Flash Fun Photo Show: Best Friends Come in all Shapes and Sizes is. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Equiden!

Equiden won with this entry:

Equiden says: The gargantuan beast looks over her newly found friend, keeping it from danger. It is in her blood, after all, to be a guardian.

It was insanely close between her and AJ, with AJ's entry "Rescued by Rover". I ultimately went with Equiden's because of the massive difference in best friend size it displayed. Fantastic job!

Equiden, I will be emailing you this afternoon with your digital certificate. :)

A HUGE thank you to everyone who entered! I appreciate it. Another huge thank you to everyone who spread the word! Great job to all the entrants, you made my job super hard!

(These are the only circumstances a judge will thank you for making their job hard LOL!)

You can definitely expect to see more flash photo shows pop up in the future. :) This was so much fun!

Oh, I wanted to mention, I did hear about the Beebe farm fundraiser, and I will be covering it in a post either tomorrow or Friday. Thank you for everyone who gave me a heads-up on it!

Flash Fun Photo Show Entries (Best Friends Come in All Shapes and Sizes)

Entries closed last night, so I guess that means it's time for me to post the photos! I will decide on the winner tomorrow, but I'll post the gallery today.

AJ entered four photos:

"Rescued by Rover"   AJ says: Mouse, a senior Percheron mare enjoys a cuddle with her buddy Austin in the snow. Mouse was rescued from a neglect case and was withdrawn from humans until the friendly Austin taught her trust again. They are now the best of friends and will live out their days together. 

"Guidance"  AJ says: Willow, a warmblood mare helps guide her blind pony friend, Magic. Willow was orphaned when she was just hours old, and was raised alongside Magic to provide her with company and teach her manners. As time went on Magic began to develop cataracts, eventually going blind. One day, their owner noticed the Willow seemed to be helping Magic find her way around the paddock. They continue this act of trust to this day. 

"Romeo and Starlet"  AJ says: Romeo and his mare Starlet share a sweet moment. The Morgan and Appaloosa pair are very bonded and with any luck will have a foal by next spring. Starlet has been a great mom in the past and their owner can't wait for her foal! 

"Spring Snow"  AJ says: Two young foals, Ember (the bay) and Phoenix (the chestnut) try out their new legs. Both were born only a few weeks ago, the first foals of the season at this farm. Ember and Phoenix were bred with great expectations in mind, perhaps one day becoming high level show horses. But for now they are content to play chase and kick up their heels as they explore the world.

Lynn (HorsieMama) entered one:

"Mighty Mouse"  Lynn says:  Mighty Mouse (named after the REAL Superhero, Mighty Mouse) joins the herd at Windsong Stables. Originally skeptical of his so-called superpowers, Grandie becomes a believer after a brief demonstration and soon a fast friendship blooms between the two. Could Grandie become Mighty Mouse's equine version of Polly Pureheart? Tune in Friday at 7!

 

(Reference of the "real" Mighty Mouse, submitted by Lynn)

Em entered two photos:

Em says: What’s a better friendship than a girl and her pony?

Em says: Cats! Love ‘em or hate ‘em, they aren’t much help when it comes to redecorating.

NancyK entered one:

NancyK says: What better friendship bond than between mother and daughter?

Equiden entered four:

Equiden says: The gargantuan beast looks over her newly found friend, keeping it from danger. It is in her blood, after all, to be a guardian.

*Description pending, will be updated later*

*Description pending, will be updated later*

Equiden says: Playing hide-and-seek ;)

What a great turn-out! You've made judging really hard for me lol! I'll try to have the "results" in by tomorrow or the next day. :)

I want to give a big thank you to everyone who helped to spread the word! I know three of you by name:

Thank you to Equiden, for sharing on Discord!

Thank you to HorsieMama, for re-posting it on her blog!

Thank you to AC, for posting it in the comments of Braymere's blog!

If you helped to spread the word, but I somehow missed you, please lmk! You can post a comment and I will be sure to catch it and add you to the list. :)

Flash Fun Photo Show! 2/23/23 - 2/27/23

I've been wanting to host one of these since I opened the blog, but the Breyer news was pelting so rapidly this winter that I hadn't had a chance.

The title says it, I am hosting a ONE CLASS FUN SHOW from right now through midnight EST on the 27th.

The theme/prompt for the class is "Best Friends Come in All Shapes and Sizes". I know it is an old, worn-out theme, but I want some entries and I'm hoping a generic theme will bring that in.

No entry limit! Enter as many times as you wish. No physical prizes or ribbons, however, the winner will receive a digital certificate. This is kind of a test show, to see how many entries I can get. If it goes well, I'm hoping to host more (maybe even with prizes) over the summer.

Since this is a super informal, unconventional, ridiculously relaxed show, I will just be using the "judges choice" style of judging. I do not care about your model's anatomy, color, or biomechanics. I do not care if the backdrop is a stunning diorama or if it is a messy kitchen table. I do not care if your model has more scratches and rubs than he has paint. I don't even really care about the quality and clarity of the photo. 1st place goes to the photo I personally like best.

Please remember, my blog is youth friendly. No vulgarity, foul language, or otherwise tasteless entries. Thank you.

You are welcome to add a paragraph (or more/less) explaining your entry when you enter. It will help me make my decisions.

All entries (in good taste) will be posted to my blog (unless the owner wishes to keep it private).

You can enter by emailing me your images (no videos) to SpottedDreamsStudio.mail.com. I will answer every email, so if I don't get back to you in 24hrs, email again. I probably didn't get it. Please include a title for your entry, as well as the name you would like me to use for you when I post your entry on the blog. Initials are perfectly fine. :)

Please share this post with your friends, on your blogs, on your social media, anywhere you can! Remember, the more entries I get for this "test run", the more photo shows I will host. 🙂

I'm so so excited to see what you have! Please don't hold back, I want to see all of them!

A Sad Happening

You ever just feel like throwing a hissy fit?

Sadness. Yesterday, I logged on to my Laptop to discover all of my horses' show photos and all my general model horse photography was cleared. They are not in any of the trash/recycling folders, and I did not do anything to them. I hadn't opened the folder in over a week (the images I'd been using for the blog are in another folder). I did everything I could, but I kept coming up empty handed. All that's left are some undiscoverable and unusable shortcuts on my desktop.

So today I start again. I start making charts, to try and get new show photos for 300+ show models. I lost some photos of horses that I don't even own anymore, so they are gone forever. I lost some of my documentation and reference images, it's all gone. I've tried everything. So for right now, all I have are random, low-quality odds 'n' ends which were in other folders (there is not a ton).

I'm thinking that maybe while I go through the next six months to a year of trying to re-do all my work, I may feature some horses on here. Just some photos and information on them. Like I do with new arrival posts, but these won't be new arrivals. Does that sound like something you would be interested in seeing on here every once in awhile? Let me know in the comments. :)

New Blog Series Coming Soon!

This has been in the works for awhile now. Starting hopefully in the next 2-3 days here, I will be doing a blog series on judging Photo Show classes. I will be dissecting a real Photo Show class from the show I hosted this past summer. The examples will be slightly tailored to OMHPS platform use, but the basic principles can be easily applied to any other sort of photo judging.

The example class will be a small one consisting of 5-10 horses. I would do a larger one, but I prefer to discuss fewer horses more thoroughly than more horses rather sloppily.

During this series,  I highly encourage you to post comments! If you have a question, about something I missed covering, or maybe about something I did cover and you didn't quite fully understand then please ask it in the comments! I promise I don't bite. :) I may answer it directly in the comment section, or I may tackle it in the next post. I'm hoping to space the posts out about 1 post per 2-3 days. It should be a no more than 7 post series, probably closer to 5.

Final Disclaimer: I am not the only person in the world, so that means that my opinion is not going to be the same as everyone else's. My method of judging is not identical to every other judge. Some people may not agree with certain points I make, and that's okay. Judging is a style. If we all had the same style, we would have no need for shows, because we would already know which horse was the best. Please, if you see something you don't agree with, don't be nasty. Post it in the comments if you want, and I will give you my reasoning, but please be respectful.

Assateague Pony Decor

 A friend of mine attended a local auction recently, and bought this decor plaque-like thing for me. I think it's really nice. :) The printing is quality, and it feels sturdy. I included a photo of the branding for those interested. I don't know where this came from originally, but you might be able to find it online. I didn't look, so I don't know.

In other news, my SD card died yesterday. 😥 I've got to figure out what to do about that. Expect photo-low posts for awhile anyway.