Photographing horses began as a business for me but became a passion. I photograph horse shows, horses at liberty, portrait and action shots with their owners, and commercial shoots. I began using a camera seriously at the age of twelve, when my older brother taught me how to develop film in the garage darkroom my father built. Although I now use digital cameras and computers to create images, the fundamentals of photography as the capture of light remain the same.

I came to the Sacramento Valley in 1991 pursuing a career change to photojournalism. Whether designing photo layouts, photographing horses, people, or nature, visual communication has always been my mainstay. As my family settled into life in an agricultural community, we eventually got our own horses and became "horse people" ourselves. I began to understand the unique characteristics, emotions, and abilities of these wonderful creatures.

I hope that my photography will help both horse and non-horse people to connect with the equine world. The bond between people and horses goes back to ancient times. I strive to portray this bond in ways both more and less obvious. It may be a photograph of horse and rider in intimate communication performing at a horse show, or the digital creation of a modern "petroglyph" image of a horse.

Humankind relied on the horse for transportation and power for thousands of years. We have been an automotive culture for barely over a century. With fuel resources already dwindling and few viable alternatives in sight, who's to say we might not become a horse society again?

Visit http://www.sgphoto.net if you are interested in viewing more of Steve's photography, or would like to contact Steve to set up a personal photography session then you can do so through that link.