Featured Image for July 2026

"Summer Evening"

There's something almost dreamlike about this image — a moment caught between worlds, where the ordinary act of horses standing in a field becomes something luminous and ancient. The golden haze that envelops everything feels less like light and more like memory, the kind that softens edges and makes the past feel close enough to touch.

The horses don't seem entirely of this world. Backlit and glowing, they emerge from the sunset haze like figures from a myth, unhurried and unbothered by time. They exude a calm wisdom; the quiet confidence of a being that has always known exactly who it is.

There's a tenderness to the way they're grouped together, bodies close; it speaks to something primal about belonging — the safety of the herd, the warmth of proximity.

The mood is golden-hour nostalgia at its most elemental: peaceful, transient, and a little aching. Like watching something beautiful that you know won't last and being grateful anyway.

This image is from the last night of my most recent Photo Safari with Return to Freedom. We visited the Alpine Herd at Babcock Winery in Lompoc.  This was taken at 7:43 p.m. on June 5, 2026.

Read all about this herd and the wonderful partnership between Return to Freedom and Babcock Winery.

Maria plays tennis for Cal (Berkeley).   I had the opportunity to photograph this lovely soul when she was in Templeton for a tournament last weekend!

Lori Sortino is a portrait and sports photographer based in Paso Robles, California

This week, I had the privilege of photographing this beautiful woman for a new head shot.

Lori Sortino is a portrait photographer based in Paso Robles, California

From a recent senior portrait shoot in Atascadero

Lori Sortino is a freelance and portrait photographer in Paso Robles.  She does senior portraiture for Atascadero High School, Templeton High School, and Paso Robles High School as well as other schools in San Luis Obispo County.