"Skirmish"
The sun was setting and the light on the hills to the east was that gorgeous pink. I stood watching the herd for anything interesting to put in front of that backdrop in a photograph when these two stallions decided to put on a show.
Another moment on the range with the North Onaqui herd.
The thrill of being with a herd of wild horses is that there's never a dull moment -- and things happen fast. One moment everyone is leisurely grazing, and then in the next moment, a stallion comes flying in, leaving a trail of dust, and approaches another stallion. It starts with nose to nose (collecting scents) and stomping their front hoof on the ground (display of assertiveness); meanwhile the nearby horses saunter out of the way, in almost a "ho-hum, there go the boys again" fashion. If you look closely, you can see the mares rolling their eyes (joking). These two escalated their skirmish to standing on hind legs (rearing) in that sort of boxing stance, and lunging at one another with their mouths ready to bite (as shown in this featured photo). It looks dramatic, but doesn't usually go on too long. Then they part ways and shake it off, and everyone goes back to grazing.
This image was taken in the Utah desert, southwest of Salt Lake City, at 7:07 p.m. on April 17th, 2026.
Find all my favorite images in the Fine Art Gallery.
"Always Watching"
One moment on the range with the North Onaqui herd.
The thrill of being with a herd of wild horses is that there's never a dull moment. I could be looking at a band of horses not doing much - mostly grazing or resting, but then, I notice one horse looking off into the distance. I follow the direction of its gaze and see a horse off in the distance running in our direction. Just one horse. I continue to be so curious about all of the horses and love creating images to share with all of you!
This image was taken in the Utah desert, southwest of Salt Lake City, at 6:10 p.m. on April 16th, 2026.
I've included a color version below. Which one do you prefer?
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.
"Legacy"
In mid April I attended a Photography Excursion with Action Photo Tours, to visit the Onaqui herd in western Utah. Since it was my first time to photograph this herd, I wanted to go with a quide who has been there many times; Wendy Casey. We went out at sunset and sunrise, three times. We were short on sleep by the time we were done (it's an hour + drive from our hotel out to the desert and an hour + back, twice a day), but we had a glorious time and I captured over 11,000 images (only a few are great and will end up in my Fine Art Gallery).
I posted a few of my images in the Action Photo Tours alumni page in Facebook and was honored with "cover photo of the week" so I'm sharing that image as the featured image this month. It was taken our first evening out on the range; April 15, 2026, at 5:39 p.m. I edited the image to crop in on these three horses who were part of a larger band that were all running together toward me because I liked how the action was captured in this shot (I took 113 images from the time this group started running until they had completely stopped; running at me and then across from left to right as they passed me). To see the other images I created from this series, see the Wild Horses Album in my Fine Art Gallery.
Find all my favorite images in the Fine Art Gallery.
View past Images of the Month on Lori's web site.
"Horse in the Grass"
This is one of the horses at Return to Freedom. There were several horses running by and I was seated in the grass and tried to capture a few shots as they passed me. I decided to get a little ARTSY with this shot to make the image a little more interesting and unique.
This image was taken during the 2024 Return to Freedom Photo Safari at 9:35 a.m. on April 25, 2024. I chose this image to feature this month since we have our 3 day Safari in San Luis Obispo happening as this email hits your in box. I'll have more images soon! See the story below about the drama we all watched during the 2024 Safari.
Find all my favorite images in the Fine Art Gallery.
"Rascal on the Run"
This beautiful grey stallion "Rascal" and one of his mares had just crossed the river when their ears suddenly perked up. Something was emerging from the trees down river. A group of mounted riders on horseback! Oh no! They turned and ran back into the river and away from the group. This worked out excellently well for me, since I was standing in the river watching the whole thing and was able to get this perspective!
Cathy Wallace and I spent three days exploring the Tonto National Forest and photographing the wild horses there. We spent time along the Salt River and time in the desert hills.
This image was taken in the Salt River on November 9th, 2025.
Find all my favorite images in the Fine Art Gallery.
"Bandit and Seven"
These are two of the newest arrivals at the San Luis Obispo Sanctuary, although they are not new to Return to Freedom. They are from the Gila herd and were part of a 900 horse rescue. RTF was pivotal in helping and ended up taking the whole herd. These two were born after the rescue at a 1000 acre ranch that RTF leased in northern California. They have had some training with the intent to adopt them out, but these two remain at RTF. According to RTF Founder, Neda DeMayo, the Gila horses have very unique minds. They are believed to have originated in Spain; part of Padre Kino's original stock. The Gila herd was captured by the BLM in 2003 in Arizona.
Both geldings, Seven (right) is super sweet and sensitive, while Bandit (left) bottles up his emotions and will stand there with his lips all tight. They seem happy to be at the SLO Sanctuary, and for those who have been to this sanctuary in the past, and plan to join me on a future safari, you have these two to look forward to meeting, along with three other horses that were all released in SLO this summer.
This image was taken at Return to Freedom's San Luis Obispo Sanctuary on October 18, 2025, during a private photo safari tour.
Find all my favorite images in the Fine Art Gallery.
"The Light"
Photographers and Artists are drawn to the light; the way the light affects the subject or the scene, and the mood it creates. This image was taken at Return to Freedom's San Luis Obispo Sanctuary on May 13, 2025, during a private photo safari tour. We got great light that day.
There's a whole other story about how we drove down off the hill and back to our cars that night, where I realized I didn't have my phone. It was dark and I couldn't go back and look for it in the dark, so I went back the next day. Between when I realized it was gone and when I went back, I just kept asking the horses to lead me to my phone or show me where it was. Driving back up the hill, I looked all along the road and drove back to the last area where I knew I had it, and as I came around the hill, there were all the horses; just standing around like they were waiting for a meeting. And there was my phone, on the ground, dusty but unharmed. Once I picked it up and thanked them from the bottom of my heart, they swished their tails and sauntered off in another direction.
Find all my favorite images in the Fine Art Gallery.
View past Images of the Month on Lori's web site.
"Illusive Ares"
This is band stallion 'Ares" who lives with his band at the San Luis Obispo (SLO) Return to Freedom (RTF) Sanctuary. When he and another family member, "Hotah", were adopted by RTF a few years ago, it was the beginning of efforts to reunite this family band. Over the past few years, RTF has slowly been able to adopt and reunite several members of this family band. They all experienced separation and developed a healthy mistrust of humans during their experiences being rounded up and removed from the public land where they roamed freely.
I lead photo safari's at the SLO sanctuary, and over time, this band has allowed the group of photographers to get a little closer. We have earned their trust through deliberate respectful behavior. This has enabled us to get some better closer portraits of "Ares" and his band. What I've learned watching wild horses, is that there's a horse that typically watches us (group of photographers), and stands between us and the main herd. The stallion typically stands on the far side of the herd from us. "Ares" still does this, but this year, we've seen him get closer and let himself be seen. It's a real treat!
This image was taken on July 19th, 2025, during a Saturday Summer Photo Safari.
Find all my favorite images in the Fine Art Gallery.
"A New Friend"
With this image, I honor the way animals approach each other with curiosity and the hope of finding a new friend. Animals love to connect and we can learn a lot from them.
Find all my favorite images in the Fine Art Gallery.
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