MY AGENDA WHILE IN DUBAI

My agenda in Dubai is now filling up very quickly. Aside from attending the Dubai International Horse Fair, March 24th is perhaps THE ticket that I have to make those connections. My foot is already in the door, I just now need to pursue it and run with the opportunity.

What do I have planned for that day? Well I am not going to spill all the beans just yet, but this is perhaps a once in a lifetime opportunity, or how I like to spin it, the beginning of a potential new client base - to meet and be around this many Arabian breeders from all parts of the world, the media involved in the Arabian community, photographers and videographers from all parts of the middle east and around the globe in a more isolated, social, outdoor event.

FEATURED ARTICLE ON STANDARDBRED CANADA

Congratulations to Clive Cohen of North York Ontario for winning the "Media of Excellence" Award at this past weekend's O'Brien Awards hosted by Standardbred Canada. The "Media of Excellence" Award is made up of photo submissions that have previously been published in the media or publications. My submitted photo to this contest from December was a good try and you can bet that I will enter again for next year's awards.

It is now February and here is my featured article on Standardbred Canada. Thank you Hailey Saunders of Standardbred Canada for getting it up in short order.

Click HERE to read the featured article.

THE ONE MISSING COMPONENT

The one thing that I lack is a good portrait of my mare and fortunately I was able to get one this past week. It wasn't a great day for pictures mainly because it was very cold out and the herd were distracted by outside happenings, so it was a challenge getting her in the exact spot that I wanted her in, but just as I was about to head back, I managed to catch this moment just in the nick of time. Gotta love the light that these blistering cold winter days can provide you. This one will be added to my list of getting framed.

FEATURED ARTICLE ON STANDARDBRED CANADA

Congratulations to Clive Cohen of North York Ontario for winning the "Media of Excellence" Award at this past weekend's O'Brien Awards hosted by Standardbred Canada. The "Media of Excellence" Award is made up of photo submissions that have previously been published in the media or publications. My submitted photo to this contest from December was a good try and you can bet that I will enter again for next year's awards.

It is now February and here is my featured article on Standardbred Canada. Thank you Hailey Saunders of Standardbred Canada for getting it up in short order.

Click HERE to read the featured article.

UPCOMING FEATURE IN AN EQUESTRIAN MAGAZINE (FRANCE)

I am going to be featured in an Equestrian magazine from France, alongside many of my images spread over several pages. You will see a diverse collaboration of my work to date - everything from Wild Horses to Equine Portraiture to Equine Shows & Events (both English and Western) to general horse photos including foals.

This publication only puts out 4 editions per year (one per season) and there is an extremely high great chance that I will be in the Spring edition for this April. More details as we get closer.

As far as this specific image goes, I've been wanting to do more with this image simply because it's one of my favorites of all time and you can bet that it will be in the publication.

PHOTOGRAPHING AN EQUINE VETERINARIAN

𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁 - check!

𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗙𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗿 - check!

𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗩𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 - unchecked but it will checked in the next couple of weeks, as I will be having my very first photo shoot with an Equine Veterinarian. I have been anticipating this moment for quite some time now and I knew that it was just the matter of time before it happened.

I am not afraid to admit that going in, I was nervous when I photographed an Equine Dentist for the very first time in January of last year, especially when it was for such a well known Equine Dentist. But as I settled in after a few minutes, I found my groove and saw the light in how to best capture that individual doing his craft.

So am I nervous for this photo shoot? No but I do see it as a new and exciting challenge. A challenge that I plan on finding THE BEST and also new ways to visually story tell it. I see photographing an Equine Veterinarian to be quite different and a bit more complex in many ways than an Equine Dentist or Farrier. It will be a great first experience and I am confident I can not only deliver but also bring a unique perspective and fresh set of eyes to the table.

LESSON LEARNED, ACCEPT TRAVEL INSURANCE.

I made an extremely costly mistake. I had no idea about the Dubai World Cup until a friend brought it to my attention but unfortunately this was after I had all of my flights booked a week ago from today.

Since then, I've been trying to get rights to the event to photograph as media, so that I can get my pictures from the infield, winner's circle, front side of the track, the paddock, etc.

However, even if I do get accepted to enter the event as media, the cost to change my two flights back home (Dubai to New Delhi and New Delhi to Calgary) to two days later, plus the extra taxes, Air Canada's fee, New India Airline's fee are unfortunately going to be too costly and the airline's are not willing to waive or reduce the fees. I got extremely lucky with United Airlines last Fall on my flight to Kentucky, moving it up one day and having the $200 fee waived, however not this time.

Even though I did not pay for the air fare for my original tickets booked, the flight's as of booking today from Calgary to New Delhi have skyrocketed and are exactly DOUBLE what it was exactly one week ago, yikes! And because this was my mistake and my decision, if I was to extend my stay by two days, I would be responsible for covering the doubled airfare, airline fees, and taxes.

I would still love to be at the Dubai World Cup if I get qualified to enter as media but it will come at a huge price, so I will most likely be chalking this up as a valuable lesson learned and that lesson is to accept the optional travel insurance when booking flights, especially one that is two months away.