Earlier this month, I had the incredible opportunity to photograph the Cowgirls Historical Foundation in action at the Payson PRCA Rodeo. These talented cowgirls travel all over the country performing in rodeos, parades and fairs, as well as educating the public about our western heritage. Their 'official photographer,' Patricia Gomez, just happens to be one of my lifelong photography inspirations. She captures human interest portraits like nobody else I have ever seen, and has been the official photographer of the CHF for years. As timing would have it, however, she would find herself committed to an important family obligation in California the same weekend as the Payson Rodeo, where I just happened to be in town. It was such an honor to be asked to 'fill in' for Patti and capture all of the excitement these cowgirls provide when they perform at the rodeo. They are so incredibly talented and, given my own western background, I strongly support their mission of preserving and promoting our western heritage. To view the entire gallery of photos of the CHF from the Payson Rodeo, click here. 

Two photos from my upcoming California Mustangs series have earned top honors in the peer juried Equine Photographers Network Summer Solstice Project competition. This unique contest encourages photographers to document the life of the horse and illustrate their surrounding and relationships on the summer solstice, June 21. As you may recall, thanks to my dear friend Laura Roberts, I had the very rare and unique opportunity to photograph these BLM mustangs in the high desert of central California earlier this summer. As luck would have it, our adventure just happened to fall on June 21, making these images eligible for the EPN Summer Solstice Project competition. Competing against other photos taken by professional equine photographers around the globe, California Mustangs at Sunset and California Mustangs - The Duel at Dusk, both earned top honors in the peer juried contest, with California Mustangs at Sunset receiving the most votes overall and The Duel at Dusk finishing in the top eight. In addition, I was the only photographer to have two photos place in the top eight. There is perhaps no greater prize than to have fellow professionals judge your work as worthy, and for that, I am quite humbled and honored. A huge thanks to the Equine Photographers Network for putting on this contest and for the outstanding prize of a six-month membership. Images are available for purchase at special pre-release pricing. Please contact me for more details. 

Honored to have an album of my photos from Shannon + Franklin Everding's beautiful wedding featured today over on the Villa Siena page! Head on over to www.facebook.com/villasiena to check it out. You can also see more photos from Shannon + Frank's wedding - and their awesome engagement session complete with a red-hot classic - over on my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/betsybatishphotography

Yep. That's R. Lee Ermey, a.k.a. Gunny from Full Metal Jacket, and he's standing right in front of my piece, "Known But To God," a black and white photo sublimation on aluminum (Credit to Casey Driver and AV Media for this photo of Gunny shaking hands with a young fan at the opening night reception at Bravery Brewing). I'm a big fan, so I'm pretty stoked about having Gunny and not just one, but two of my photos all in the same place!

This work, along with Redtail Airman (pictured below) were both accepted in to Bravery Brewing's 'Heroism' Juried Art Show, which opened to a standing room only crowd on Saturday night. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the show as I had already made plans for a weekend full of shooting and adventure in the Eastern Sierras (more on that in the next blog), but I'm thrilled to announce that "Known But To God" sold on opening night! So, if you want to get your hands on the Redtail Airman, I'd hightail it down to Bravery ASAP and make it yours (especially since it is at reduced 'show pricing'). These are the only two sublimations on metal that have been done of these particular prints, and I'm not yet sure if I will ever release additional copies to the public for sale. If you're not from around these parts and would like to purchase Redtail Airman, please contact me and I can broker the purchase and shipping for you. 

A huge thank you to Bravery Brewing for putting on this show and for sharing my work with the world. I really can't think of a better theme and I'm so excited to head down to the brewery and check out the show for myself later this week. 

P.S. I love how the sublimation on metal really makes these prints 'pop.' Check it out below. With the Redtail Airman, it looks like the photo is printed on the same metal that awesome P-51  Mustang was made out of! 

There is perhaps nothing more heroic than to sacrifice your own life so others may be free, and in doing so, to have your name known but only to God. Perched on the cliffs above Omaha Beach, thousands of white marble crosses and stars - many with this inscription - stretch across the green lawns of the Normandy American Cemetery. In August of 2013, I had the unique opportunity to not only photograph this hallowed ground, but to raise and lower the American flag over it in honor of my great grandfather's service to our nation. Never have I been so moved by, nor felt so greatly, the ultimate sacrifice of so many to protect life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. 

Often referred to as the 'Redtails' because of the distinctive crimson paint on the vertical stabilizers of their aircraft, the Tuskegee Airmen were determined young men who enlisted to become America's first black military airmen. These heroic airmen fought two wars - one against a military force overseas during World War II and the other against racism at home and abroad. Their outstanding record of accomplishment and superb behavior during World War II, and after, were important factors in the initiation of the historic social change to achieve racial equality in America. These were the Tuskegee Airmen - the Redtails - of World War II. Today, the Commemorative Air Force Red Tail Squadron carries on their legacy with a rare World War II-vintage P-51C red-tailed Mustang flown at air shows across the country to create interest in the military history of the Tuskegee Airmen who flew similar red-tailed Mustangs. The CAF Red Tail Squadron’s P-51C, piloted by Brad Lang, attended the Los Angeles County Airshow in March of 2014, where this image was recorded. 

One of my favorite parts of my job? Helping customers to chose the right photos to decorate their homes. Last night, I spent two hours with a client deciding on the perfect large wall collage of photos for their master bedroom. Today, I delivered a custom-sized canvas (a sneak peak of the California Mustangs series) for another client that consulted on the best way to fill a 'hole' left by another photo. (Isn't she a beauty?Can't wait to share more from this series). Whether they be portraits from their family session or wedding, or prints of my work, it is so much fun working with my clients to create the perfect look for their home while staying within their budget. And there's never any extra charge for design/consult service! Contact me today to turn your walls into the ultimate gallery!

Time to climb back on the wagon and start blogging. Again. I've tried my hand at blogging several times in the past, only to have that hand end up in a bag of Fritos while I stare at a blank computer screen. Yes, I am a writer, and a dang good one at that. But writing about my world is a whole different challenge. And so I'm going to look at it just like that - as a challenge. I'm going to work hard to stay out of the blogging tailspin this time around. I hope you'll join me on the adventure!