photography

And the Winners Are…

16 Nov posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

A couple weeks ago we ran the Capture Dakota Contest. I only had a few entries, but THREE of you won! Yes, that’s right. There were three winners! Three people chose photos that were published in the book- and they all chose the same one to be published!

So will the following three people, please stand up?

Kristy Jewell, Sharon, and Bridget Kurtenbach for your guess on “Coming Home”.

It graced page 5 of the Capture Dakota book and has been used in numerous promotional pieces for the book as well! The three of you should contact me, at jennifer @ thesouthdakotacowgirl dot com to claim your autographed, 5×7 print of “Coming Home”.

Now, on to who won the latest contest “From the Horse’s Mouth“.

You’re not going to believe this, but Bridget Kurtenbach, you’re the lucky girl! Get me your info so I can get it to Mr. Kinford and we’ll get your autographed copy of the book to you straightaway!

Happy Trails!

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Filed Under: art, contests, Horsemanship, horses, photography, pictures

It’s Friday!

4 Nov posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

I spent the majority of my week gathering pairs, sorting pairs, and sorting calves; and of course taking a few photos. I’ve been on no less than three different horses this week and Dino got moved to the A-team as my other partner, Gump, has a little boo-boo on his chest and forearm. It was shipping week on the ranch, also known as our payday! I’ll talk more about that at a later date.

In the rest of the spare time I had, I worked very hard to finish the calendar project! It is done. And no, I’m not showing you all the pages! You’ll have to buy it if you want to see them! But you should know that there will be never-before-seen photos in it! It’ll make a great Christmas gift, and I’m only having 100 printed, and guess what- there’s only 60 left!

You should also know that I got a call yesterday from a perfect stranger. A perfectly nice stranger, that is. A perfect stranger to me. He knows people in the family. That’s just how small South Dakota is! He is a contributing photographer to the Capture Dakota project, and wanted me to know that my photos have been appearing in the Aberdeen News and he wanted our address so he could send me a copy of the paper! So see, perfectly nice!

Now let’s get to the good stuff! The pictures- compliments of the iPhone and Instagram!

Nukie and I bringing in some stragglers when we cleaned a pasture on Sunday.

Dozer, Banjo and Nuke, enjoying some grass over lunch on Monday.

The view from my lunch seat! I was leaned up against a very comfy saddle listening to horses eat!

Dino trailing pairs on Tuesday.

And that is pretty much my week in a nutshell. I really do hope you’ll consider making my newest project one of your Christmas Gifts!

Happy Trails, and Happy Friday!

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Filed Under: horses, photography, ranching

A Wedding or Two

21 Oct posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

On the 20th of August, I was blessed to be asked to photograph a wedding. And then I photographed another wedding on October 8th. I guess that is how these things work- you get one job and then another and hopefully another after that! Anyway, I wanted to share some of my favorite photos with you, in case you’ve not seen them.

We’ll begin with wedding Numero Uno:

Wedding Number Two:

The Bride’s Shoes:

If this doesn’t scream rustic to you…

I have plenty more favorites where those came from! But at some point I have to stop!

Happy trails!

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Filed Under: fashion, photography, pictures

Capture Dakota

18 Oct posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

Earlier this summer I was notified that I needed to enter a contest. Or maybe we should call it a showcase. Either way, I entered about 37 photos. The point of the contest, called Capture Dakota, was to showcase The Dakotas, with photographs taken by anyone who’s been here, or lives here. It was open to both North and South Dakota photographers (amateurs and professionals alike). There was no theme, per-say. The photos just had to have been taken in either state.

Viewers to the contest, as well as those who submitted photos, were able to vote on their favorites, and badges were awarded based on votes. There were photo of the day selections, most popular, and of course, those that got 100 votes were awarded a badge. I could go on and on about the various awards.

The goal of gathering all these photos was to choose the best of the best and put them in a coffee table book. From the submissions, the top voted photos as well as editors’ choices, were selected to shape the book. It contains 200 photos and is 128 pages, and will be released November 17th, 2011.

On Thursday, October 13, I received an email stating that one (or more) of my photos was chosen to be published in the book! Needless to say I kind of jumped up and down in the kitchen when I read that. You see, I had only earned one badge for a photo getting 100 votes, and I hadn’t submitted some of the more popular photos- though I was late to the party by several months! I didn’t expect to get an email stating I’d been published. But, no matter, the editors saw something they liked, and as such I am lucky enough to have at least one photo published in a coffee table book! I had several published last month in Dirt Road Daughters Magazine (in case you were unaware).

A smattering of my entries:

Here’s what makes this the most fun- I have no idea what photo(s) they chose, as they’re keeping it a secret until I get the book into my hot little hands! I’ve had the bright idea to do a “guessing” contest with you, the readers/fans.

What I’d like to do is have you go to my Capture Dakota profile page, scroll through my photos (and vote while you’re there, please). Then choose the photo, or photos, that you think made the book- enter by leaving me a comment here on my blog. You can tweet me or Facebook too, but those entries/comments won’t count- they’ll just be for fun! The person(s) (up to 5 winners) who gets it right will be awarded a signed 5×7 of one of the prints that made the book. I think it will be fun to have the contest now, that way we can all be in suspense for the next month together! The contest will begin today- and for kicks and giggles we’ll run it until NEXT Tuesday, October 25th. Entries will close at noon central time.

In the meantime, if you’re interested in purchasing the Capture Dakota book, go here. And, I’ve started an online gallery where all of my submitted Capture Dakota prints may be purchased. They’re not all there yet- but I’m adding them daily. Wouldn’t you love to have some of this art hanging in your house? I know I’d love to have it hanging in your house!

Happy Tuesday and Happy Trails!

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Filed Under: books, contests, cowgirls, photography, pictures, ranching

Horses oh, Horses!

28 Sep posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

I went and visited a couple of my mares yesterday and managed to get some really cool shots! I love when that happens! I love to see how big and friendly my babies are getting!

Lily is as big as her mama and Rival is just cute. Though I didn’t get many pictures of him. He likes to “hide” from the camera. But I did get some of his gorgeous mama, Shuttle. She’s my favorite mare of all time. Ok. Maybe I’d say that about my other mares, Dolce and Sonora, but Shuttle, really holds a special place in my heart. She was the first horse I ever bought all on my own accord and I had high hopes for her. But a joint infection ended her promising career early, so she has a new career, as a mama! This year she had a colt by Poco Tivio Pep, and next year she’ll be having a colt by WDX Nukem.

Here’s some of the girls running- they did this all on their own accord. Silly mares!

Shuttle is certain that she should have been a wild mustang.

She and Rival are so pretty!

I just love this picture!

They’ve finally decided they might could slow down and let me walk in there to rub them.

Hey girls!

I love how they’re running around with long pieces of grass in their mouths!

If you look close you can see Lily Filly back there!

Hopefully you enjoyed seeing these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them. Happy Wednesday and Happy Trails! And don’t forget- these photos can be purchased here.

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Filed Under: horses, photography, pictures

The Contest Winner IS…

7 Sep posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

Andrea Happ Schmitz! Shocking I know, since she had so many entries! She really increased her chances to win, and it paid off! Thanks, Andrea! Shoot me an email at the contact button above with your address and I’ll get your print ordered! It will take a couple weeks because it will have to ship to me first, where it will be signed and numbered, and then as soon as I get to send it to you, I will!

As for the rest of you, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the support, so I will show you instead.

You may purchase the signed, numbered, limited edition print here:

But because there was so much support surrounding this image, I’ve decided to make it available for purchase in an 11×28 print as well (and for less moohlah)!

I hope everyone has a great week! I know I will. I am leaving in the morning to head to Iowa to ride with Buck Brannaman. And for those who’re interested, I will be blogging about the experience, again!

Happy Trails!

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Filed Under: art, contests, horses, photography, pictures

Scatter Butte Giveaway

29 Aug posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

I mentioned a few weeks ago on Facebook that I’d taken some STUNNING photos, and I do mean stunning! Stunning enough that my parents, who’ve been here several times, gasped when they saw them. I also said that those photos wouldn’t be seen until the book is released. And I will make good on that for most of them. But the suspense was about to kill me and no one wants a keeled-over South Dakota Cowgirl, so I decided I’d share one of them. I’m not sure this is my absolute favorite of the photos, but I must say, it’s close.

Here’s how this is going to work:

I’m going to give away an 11×28 canvas wrapped print of the photo below.

I will sign it and number it 1/150. Once the contest is over, it will then be made available for purchase in case you missed out and want it! Once those 150 are gone, you’ll be up a creek without a paddle if you didn’t get in on it before they’re gone! Or you’ll have to wait until the book is released to own it, and those that accompany it.

With this particular canvas wrap, you can frame it or hang it, as is.

Now without further ado- here’s the image:

In case anyone is interested- the butte in the background is called Scatter Butte. It’s one of the ways we can tell how hard it’s snowing come winter, because it can be seen for miles and miles on a clear day. It’s a good 3 miles away from the house. The horses in the foreground are some of our ranch horses, enjoying the life every horse dreams he could have.

Here’s how you enter:

1. Leave a comment (or comments) on this post.
2. Tweet me @thesdcowgirl and use the #SDCowgirl hashtag. That will get you entries. I’d love to count RTs, but I am not always notified of those, so while Re-Tweeting is great, it won’t get you additional entries.
3. Tell your friends to “Like” The South Dakota Cowgirl on Facebook, and to leave me a comment telling me who sent them and you’ll both get an entry.

Since this is a “big” giveaway- probably my biggest ever, I’m going to leave the contest open for a week. Entries will close at Noon on Friday, September 2 and I’ll announce a winner sometime the week of the 5th.

Now, go have yourself a super Monday and don’t forget to enter as many times as you like!

Happy Trails!

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Filed Under: art, contests, horses, photography, pictures, summer

A Burrowing Owl

26 Aug posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

Yesterday I got to take photos of a burrowing owl and one of her babies. The baby was so cute and camouflaged very well, I might add. I didn’t get any pictures of the mama sitting next to her baby. Instead I got photos of the mama flying away, and the baby hanging out in a prairie dog hole.

Here’s mama, flying off:

Here’s the fuzzy baby:

Isn’t it just cute?

And I should totally get bonus points for this shot here:

Yes, that’s a meadowlark. On a the fence line. Score!

Happy Friday everyone!

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Filed Under: photography, pictures

Scatter Butte

15 Aug posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

In Black and white…

I mentioned the other day on Facebook, that I had taken some absolutely gorgeous, amazing and otherwise ~~picture~~ er, um book-worthy photos and that you’d have to wait until the book was released to see them, and I haven’t changed my mind about that. But, I couldn’t stand the suspense, so I decided to share a photo, that’s still good, but that isn’t MY favorite, and turn it into a black and white, so you can still see the view, but it won’t be in color.

And without further ado:

Enjoy your Monday!

Happy Trails!

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Filed Under: #Agchat, photography, pictures, ranching

Yesterday Afternoon

11 Aug posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

We’ve been having some lovely weather here in South Dakota recently. Those of you in the South don’t hate, please? I got the chance to saddle Gump yesterday and move some pairs and I must say, it was a gorgeous ride! I took my iPhone and snapped a couple pictures. Someday folks, I will pack the big camera, but for now these will have to suffice.

Below you will see blue skies, grass and happy cows as well as the best way to view the world- from the back of a horse you know? There’s also pretty lighting!