It should come as no surprise to you that I sometimes really screw up.................

So a few years ago, when I was still going thorugh a lot of things with my Dad's death and in a relationship that was draining my soul I stupidly published a blog post about working for free.  All I can say is that I was really deeply depressed at the time and........

......I was wrong.

Completely.
Utterly.
Wrong.

I was very down, and didn't even know it and allowed 1,000 + of my photos to be sucked into Wikimedia and used around the world for free.

At the time I figured that it would be better that they are out in the world than languishing on my harddrive. And clearly if they were good enough someone would want to pay me for a high resolution version.

That never happened. Not even once.

Now I understand though that some of the photos from the Endangered Breeds Show are being used to educate and that of course is fine.. but I've also seen them used on everything from phone cases to probably prints..

Needless to say I completely regret not at least pruning the photos or limiting which ones could be used.  In my defense, severe depression really hampered any clear thinking.

Recently this photo of American Pharoah getting a bath in April 2015 (BEFORE THE DERBY):

Was stolen from my flickr and used without my permission and compensation by a blogger on Equus Magazine. I never received an apology from her, in fact she was indignant about me even having a problem with her taking it. :"well you got credit. It's good exposure"

Donating your time and talent should be done on a limited basis and only on a cause you really believe in(my cause is Our mims and Equine rescue now). This is a good rule of thumb:  If the person or company that wants to use your work for free, is being paid you should be paid too. Period.

Happy Breeders cup day!  I'll leave you with some more thoroughbred photos I've taken! :)

I know, it's been forever...

I know, it's been a long time since I posted here. My life has changed dramatically but I believe it's for the better.

I'm currently in an apartment going through a divorce. It's a very serious, dramatic time in my life but I do believe things will be better for my son and I.

I have not worked much on tack. Due partially to some depression and partially to some space constraints, but I have a big enough area to do braidwork so I'm going to try to focus on that.

I've been doing really with photography though.  I'll leave you with some of the photos that I took while at http://www.ourmims.org which is probably one of the most wonderful, positive and beautiful equine rescues I've ever been to.  If you like these photos there is a calendar featuring some of them for sale on the ourmims.org website.  The funds go to the horses, I've seen it with my own eyes.

I'd like to take a moment to say something about Jim West, because although I didn't know him very well, I really, really liked him.  He was an absolute asset to our hobby and he will always be missed.

Last Photos I've taken of American Pharoah.

These were taken June 1st at Churchill Downs.  it was an unseasonably cold, rainy day but I really wanted a few more photos.  I swear one of these days (hopefully) I'll get photos of this horse in the bright sunlight.  I've been to Churchill to take photos of him four times and none of them had bright sunlight.. what are the odds!?

American Pharoah Mania

Yeah, I am taking a lot of photos these days.. I have access to the Backside of Churchill Downs This year and I'm taking full advantage of it.  These are photos of American Pharoah taken yesterday morning.

Kentucky Derby Contender Photos

American PHaroah

Firing Line

Materiality

American Pharoah Getting a Bath

Dortmund Getting a Bath

Bob Baffert Taking a look at DOrtumund

Since I live in Louisville, KY and I LOVE all things Kentucky Derby time, I thought I'd share some of the photos I took while I was lucky enough to gain access to the Backside of Churchill downs.

I'll probably share more photos as time goes on because I'm doing a lot more photography.  I hope thats ok with you guys!

Almost done!

Yes, I am still alive and kicking..

I have been doing a lot of photography and a little bit of model Horse tack here and there.  I have added two more plates to the "Opus" saddle and I intend to work on that more often.

I post more frequently on both of my facebook pages:

http://www.facebook.com/desertnightcreations

http://www.facebook.com/abounaderphoto

but I'll still update this page from time to time.  I've just been very busy and very tired  but I'm still creating!