ABOUT JUDY ANN
Wouldn’t you know, my favorite image of me is a grainy cell phone shot. Dusty and windblown, it’s an accurate snapshot from a wonderful day in my life, a day in the badlands of South Dakota for the Sturgis bike rally. It sums up my free spirit to a tee, and yes I was perched on a Harley.
Photography was actually a byproduct of my work as an author. My instinctive optical perspective drove my editorial, and because of it I was always on the hunt for exceptional images to augment that editorial. I wanted the kind of photos that emotively underscored my subject, but it became a relentless challenge to find those types of images. I was writing for several equine magazines when I finally reached the boiling-over point, so my Mom bought me a Sony digital camera, and it was just in time for one of the greatest editorial pieces of my career: spending two weeks in England traveling cross-country with the Romany and their Gypsy horses. I was hooked. I soon graduated to cameras with more muscle, eventually landing on planet Canon. My arsenal today includes a 5D and two 1Dx DSLRs with a plethora of lenses. I also have a small Nikon that’s perfect for trekking into areas that aren’t conducive to carrying my big engine units and lenses.
As the saying goes, hard work puts you where good luck can find you. While shooting draft horse competition in the US and Canada, I was soon hired by RFD-TV as the first stills photographer for the Gentle Giants series. That assignment immediately segued into working at the National Finals Rodeo in Vegas covering the green room as well as three shows on the network stage; Outside the Barrel with Flint Rasmussen; Western Sports Roundup with Steve Kenyon; and Alexis Bloomer Live. I met so many wonderful people from ground crews to celebrities to high-profile rodeo stars.
On a personal note, my life is as eclectic as the things I adore; Jesus and coffee; grizzlies and meerkats; draft horses and stargazing; genres of music from Aerosmith to Rachmaninoff; writing, and a good night’s sleep. Oh, and did I mention cats and more coffee? And when I say cats, it’s not just the 13 rescues my sister and I adopted, it also refers to some North American bobcats I spent treasured time with at a west Texas rehab facility.
The path I've been blessed with as a photojournalist has polished my style and forged a rewarding career as a lifestyle photographer. From weddings to family celebrations to senior photos to equine portraiture, I love it all, and each and every client is a fresh bloom of artistic opportunity. I look forward to providing that special coverage for you.
TELEVISION
Clicking on the image will take you to the gallery that includes a few of the shots utilized by the network.
Episode CreditsOfficial Photographer
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COVER SHOTS
From the Australian Shire Horse Calendar to the Draft Horse Journal, here are a few images that graced the cover of various publications worldwide. The image will take you to the gallery.
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