Being a Soultographer

Being a Soultographer!

You are a “Soultographer”.  I heard the reference to Soul and photography twice in one week.  I have heard this term before but was touched to hear two separate people refer to me that way.

One was a dinner out with a friend (one of my favorite Thai places in Prescott).  I was catching her up on all my latest horse photography shoots and the amazing results I had gotten from the recent Spanish stallion horses.  She said she had always considered me to be a soultographer.  She described this as “capturing the soul of the horse” in my photography. 

The second person ( a fellow artists) commented that my “horse photography captures the connection of the viewers soul looking into the eyes of the horse.”

The dictionary word Soul defined is: the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal.  I like this reference of the word Soul since it’s from a website that contains the name of my tattoo…Ananda.

Sidenote…Ananda is sanskrit and means absolute bliss and joy. I got that tattoo to remind myself to stay in that space as often as possible.

What does Soultographer mean to me?

I have referenced the word Soul on my website several times….”I was looking for a soul connection, my soul’s connection. While I could not put this into words to talk about, I knew that I would find it with the horses as I took their photos.”

When I connect and photograph a horse I do feel like I am capturing the soul, spirit, and inner being of these majestic animals and bringing them to life in my horse photography.  That may sound a little “woo woo” – supernatural or paranormal but when I connect with a horse and capture that perfect image, it does feel a bit out of this world for me.  My emotions are stirred when I look into their eyes and make that connection.  The world seems to stop in that split second and I feel deeply connected. 

Identifying artist with artwork

Another comment I received recently was from a visitor at the gallery.  She explained to me that she can connect and identify an artist with their art or medium.  Out of the 24 artists currently in Arts Prescott Cooperative Gallery, she was able to identify that I was the horse photographer!  Was that some kind of magic trick or is there some truth to this artist to medium matching she spoke of.  She went on to explain that I commonly focus on the eye of the horse and their long flowing manes are featured in many of my images.  She linked that to my large and expressive eyes and thick mane like hair.  Whatever method she used- she was correct.

Jody Miller is a professional photographer specializing in Horse Photography, Equine Photography, and Equestrian photography.  Her work can be viewed online here in her gallery section, and she is also featured at these Arizona Galleries:  Arts Prescott Gallery CO-OWNER,   Dragonfly Arts in Cottonwood and Coops Coffee House at Talking Rock Ranch, Prescott Family Diner.