Art of the Cowgirl is an annual event in Arizona hosted by Tammy Pate and a host of amazing artists, cowgirls, and horsewomen. For the past three years, Kim and Phyllis have been the workshop leaders for the event’s photography workshop and Cara minds the CWC art booth. In this episode, the Cowgirls with Cameras catch you up on the event, the workshop, and the adventure of event photography.

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Learn more about our Horses in the Snow Photographers Getaway

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It's time to laugh, learn and take your photography to the

next level with your favorite cowgirls with cameras, Cara, Kim

and Phyllis.

Hey there cowgirls with cameras. It's Kim

with Kim Beer photography and Be More Business

and Cara with Fast Horse Photography

and Phyllis with Phyllis Burchett Photo.

And we're all here with the Cowgirls with

Cameras podcast. So we're having a lot of fun with the podcast,

we've started off our episode today with a really good laugh.

So we're gonna hope that we bring those laughs and enjoyment

to you today. So just a quick little rundown of what we're

going to be talking about today, we're going to be giving you

some updates on what's been going on in our world, which is

probably going to be the most entertaining part of the

podcast. So we'll get that up and going right away, then we're

going to move on to talking about what's the Art of the

Cowgirl and that experience that we had in January at this

amazing event. So you're definitely going to want to hang

around and learn about that and the inspirations that we all

walked away with from that event. And then finally, we're

going to be talking about some gear and gadgets. And Phyllis

and I have both been playing around with mirrorless cameras.

And we'd like to discuss that a little bit and our takeaways on

the movement to mirrorless. And Cara has some things she'd like

to add that will inspire those of you who are not jumping on

the mirrorless bandwagon. So definitely want to hang around

for that piece as well. So let's get started by finding out what

everybody's been up to this last week here or what have you been

doing?

Well, let me tell you, it's not been

glamorous, okay. It's not been like sunrises and sunsets all

week long. I like to tell people sometimes that we operate and

live at sunrises and sunsets, and this week has not been the

case for me. I've had a lot of office work. I've been updating

my artwork pricing guide for those of folks that are out

there that offer product, I'm sure you are in shellshock a

little bit as prices on all of the different types of mediums

like Canvas and prints and metals. They're all going up. So

I've had to adjust my pricing guide for artwork. And then I've

been creating some art care cards, I thought it would be

really fun to have something that when I give the artwork out

that I give them something that tells them how to care for their

new artwork. I have had two shoots this week, I had a

beautiful equestrian senior session that took place at one

of my favorite locations, the Florida Agricultural Museum, and

that's the only place in Florida that I found that has a

silhouette Hill. So that's always a big fun for me and I

had a commercial tack shoot. And then the big thing is I've just

been prepping for spring photoshootsSo lots of client

meetings in anticipation of that and just kind of getting people

geared up for their sessions and getting them scheduled for the

spring and then the early fall. And then on a personal note, we

had our very last basketball game for my son Easton, who's

eight and he scored the winning shot. So it was crazy deal. They

were tied. They had to go into overtime. And then right at the

end, he scored this magnificent shot and the whole crowd went

wild. So it was a superstar for a while. Oh, yeah, so that was

kind of a big deal. You guys know Easton, so you know that

that was kind of a big deal. I guess the other kind of end of

that is I actually got to go horseback riding on my horse

this week, Chief and my son was in the pond in a little boat and

the puppy was swimming. And then my horse chief was splashing at

the edge of the pond. And it was a really fun just been a while

since I've been able to go out and just be chill at the farm

and not have to clean stalls and all of that. So I have had a

good week it's been but it hasn't been super glamorous.

It's been a ton of office work to be honest. What about you

Well, I'm going to tell you, Cara. I saw that

guys?

picture on Facebook that you shot on your silhouette Hill.

And it was magnificently beautiful. I mean, it really

caught my eye as I was scrolling down and I thought wow, that was

amazing. I loved it. Loved it.

Oh, thank you.

It looks like it came right out of a fairy

tale or something. It was absolutely gorgeous.

Yeah, Gianna is one of Phyllis in mines

models that makes an appearance at the horses on the beach

workshop some years and this was her senior shoot. So it's pretty

special to get to do that with her. And that silhouette Hill

Phyllis can attest is probably the ugliest silhouette hill in

the history of silhouette hills. It's a dirt mound, but it just

goes to show that you take so topographers like we can see

things that other people they look at that hill and when I go

out to the farm, they're always like, what what do you mean by

silhouette Hill? And I'm like, No, you guys, you guys made this

beautiful dirt mound for me. And it's my new silhouette Hill and

I'm super excited so I keep telling them whatever you do,

like don't tear down my Silhouette hill because I'm

going to put it to use over the years

it's really cool to have that one tree there

to kind of makes it even more magical and then your birds you

know, that was beautiful.

There it is it the photo was just absolutely

stunning it to me it reminded me of like a Southern Gothic

sunset. I mean, it was like Gone With the Wind is what it brought

to mind. So it just was amazing.

Well I'm starting off my day feeling like

a superstar so thanks appreciate it. Phyllis, what have you been

doing?

Oh gosh. Oh, well, I have to admit that my

week has not been entertaining for anyone. I don't think I

don't know that anyone will enjoy hearing what I've been

doing other than I will tell you I've had a while not finished

up. I had a long mentorship session with a client that's

been coming up to see me here at my house and we had a great day

she learned a lot. We did some post processing and talked about

business and pricing and thinks she left the session very

helpful. So I also did a local photography club presentation,

I'm going to be working on another one for the basics of

photography. Coming up. I worked on my weekly newsletter and

upcoming blog. I'm ordering new business cards. I had a couple

of zoom calls with other clients. Wow. Had to,

unfortunately had to rehang some artwork at my gallery that fell

off the wall.

I didn't realize they had fallen off.

No, I did. I well, I did sell some work. But

I actually had one metal print that somehow fell off the wall

and curled two corners, which basically ruined it but I did

sell it to somebody that thinks they can fix it at a reduced

price. And then of course the thing we all have to do the

other side that we don't like a photography more office work

yuck. I did get to attend a flower show this weekend at the

Atlantis botanical garden with my sister and another friend to

support a couple of clients that had artwork entered in the

photography contest. So that was fun. Even though it rained we

had a beautiful weekend and I got to ride my bike all day on

Saturday, but no didn't get to ride any horses this weekend. So

that's about it. I didn't even pick up my camera for the past

week.

Isn't that crazy how we can be

photographers and sometimes go a week or two without even picking

up a camera. It is that really does talk to you a little bit

about what the business side of photography is, doesn't it?

Yeah, well where I live right now. It's not

photographically beautiful here in Missouri. It's not spring yet

and we're in the ugly part of the end of winter where there's

no snow covering anything and its just brown. Yeah, it's just

not super inspiring the horses we're all tired of winter around

here, the horses the goats me the dog. Just like all it's

done, we're ready to move on to a spring where there's lots of

good green grass, but we have wheat growing in one of our

fields. So I will have lots of wheat pictures because I think

wheat is some of the most beautiful crops in the world.

It's just it's gorgeous when it starts growing. It is the most

impossibly beautiful color of green when it finally gets all

up and sprouted. And I get super excited when my farmer Scott

plants wheat on our field, it's 127 contiguous acres of wheat.

So it's just this giant rolling ocean of wheat. As far as my

work is concerned, of course, I I spend a lot of time doing zoom

meetings and office work as a business consultant. But when it

comes to the photography side of my business this past week, I've

had a lot of photo orders to fulfill from really old photo

shoots. So I had somebody request a photo from 2017, I had

some from 2018 and I live by the photo numbers on the photos that

they have as proofs and some of these came from the Powderhorn,

they're using them in their catalog, their sale catalog, and

she calls and she asked for photo number 1375 And I sent

1375 But it was the wrong 1375. So we had a little bit of a

snafu finding because apparently 1375 on my camera rolls around a

lot at Powderhorn. Yes. So we ended up having to do some

digging around to find the right image. So thank God for

Lightroom and my ability to do some very intensive searches on

dates and numbers and I was able to get them the right image

really pretty quickly and get everything off to them. I also

have been participating in a lot of which you guys didn't mention

at all with because I've done it with both of you is cottonwood

interviews, we've been talking to photographers that are coming

to our cottonwood retreat and photographic experience learning

experience in August and we're doing interview calls with them

ahead of that just to make sure that they're set up their

mentoring and and get an idea of what their goals are so that we

can make that event the event that we want it to be very much

catering to what reaching those goals that the photographers

that are coming are having. So those have been wonderful. I

always learn new things about what people have around their

goals around photography when we do those. So those have been

exciting. I've enjoyed meeting some new people and it's been

really, really fun to do those with the two of you and I've

been doing a ton of website updates, getting things behind

the scenes moving in the right direction for all of the things

that are going on. I of course the website designer in the

studio trio. So I'm the one who does a lot of the website work.

And I do a lot of website work outside of this as well. So

that's kind of what I've been up to. I taught a live class on

Monday, which I haven't done in a really long time I've been

mostly zoom. It's just been really hit and miss but it was

fun to sit with a group of entrepreneurs and talk about

business and and we discussed the ins and outs of getting your

business digital marketing put together.

On another note, I think that we should

mention that we do still have a couple spots left for

cottonwood.

WE do actually I think we have three

I'm looking at it right now we have three spaces left for the

cottonwood ranch experience. So there's lots of ways people can

learn about that they can just go to the website

cowgirlswithcameras.com click on Events and you'll see all of our

events right there and learn about the cottonwood experience.

Yep, just three spaces. So it's a it's gone

really quickly. The spaces are filled fast for that event.

Alright, so let's move the conversation over to Art of the

Cowgirl. This is an event that we all three got to go to

Phyllis and I were leading at the photography workshop at the

event. So Phyllis, what is your take on what is Art of the

Cowgirl? How would you explain it?

Well, first off, it's an amazing event Art

of the Cowgirl is a gathering to celebrate the cowgirl way of

life and cowgirls themselves and how they contribute to the

Western way of lifestyle and culture. It's a way to help

raise funds to support up and coming artists to expand their

knowledge and skills through fellowships that the art of the

cowgirl offers. These Fellowships are offered for

participants to join a master artist in their field to learn

more to spend some time I think it's around two weeks a year

they get to go spend time with that master artist at their

location and just be fully immersed in their craft for a

couple of weeks. Yes, I didn't realize so it's really cool. And

this this whole event is a way to to help raise funds for those

fellowships and the whole event. Gosh, the event includes so much

there's a trade show which we all love to shop music is going

on every day and before a lot of the big events they have some

headliners is all women's ranch rodeo event the elite ranch

horse sale the world's greatest horse woman. There's an art

auction, a big art auction. There's clinician demonstrations

called starting stock dog demonstrations, and I think they

do dog trials as well. Trick riding artists demonstrations,

there's clinics going on that you can join in. There's our

photography clinic.

It's basically a photographers dream

for sure. Even if you're not there to ride or it's the sights

and the sounds and the smells and the I mean just everything

it's like all so immersive.

It's all about cowgirls, but there's a lot of

cowboys at the event too, that they're there to support their

girlfriends, wives, mothers,

good supportive cowboys. It's fun to watch that.

Yeah, it's all a celebration of the cowgirl way of life.

It was in January this year and while it's

in January every year but this year it was in Queen Creek,

Arizona. I think that was the first time they hadn't Queen

Creek right?

They had I think the competitions last year

competitions last year were at that venue but COVID has like

really messed with their schedule and then they moved to

the event to Montana last summer which we all got to go to as

well. And then the year before it was at Corona Ranch. Corona

Ranch is beautiful. Montana is beautiful Queen Creek is

awesome. I got to visit with some old friends. I didn't

realize one of my old buddies that I photographed for was

there. David Solemn is one of the people at Queen Creek that's

in the management and operations and it was fun to see him and

that was a nice surprise to catch up with him for his I

haven't seen him since he left Missouri. I think it would be

interesting to learn I want to share how we ended up at this

event, right? So years and years and years ago, I did some

photography work for Purina and it was actually not like huge

like photographing product or anything. It was traveling

around to the colt starting clinics that were put on as part

of the how workshops or horse owner workshops that were done

in this particular area and the person that they hired to do the

colt starting clinics was Kurt Pate, and Kurt traveled a lot

with his family. His wife is Tammy Pate and art of the

cowgirl is Tammy Pates brainchild, it's her gift to all

of us with being able to share the cow girl way of life and the

Art of the Cowgirl is exactly a very good term for that as to

what she shares but I met them that was back in the late 90s,

early 2000s and got to know them by traveling and doing the

photography and taking photos of Kurt back in the film days and

giving those to Purina for them to use for just basically

marketing those horse owner workshops. So to give you guys

that are listening that are looking for a break in

photography that was a big one for me and my photography career

was being able to Do those horse owner workshops with Purina in

another world in another lifetime. You all know that I am

equine Gestalt is to certified through touched by a horse. I

also worked with their photography and with their

marketing for many years before I became certified and in that

process I met a beautiful young woman named Jamie Stoltzfus and

Jamie and Tammy are very much involved. Jamie is like, feels

like she's Tamizh right hand girl most days. I don't know

what her exact position is. But Jamie is powerhouse when it

comes to Art of the Cowgirl. And I know she does a lot of things

and she coordinated with Phyllis and I to come do a workshop with

some photographers in association with Art of the

Cowgirl out in Montana in big timber one summer and it was a

hit. And Phyllis and I had a blast. You have to admit

Phyllis, that was one of the funnest groups of girls we have

ever worked with, don't you think?

Oh yeah, they were great. And then the

locations we had, besides the clinic and watching Lee do her

horsemanship clinic that was so

great. It was amazing. It was amazing. So at

any rate, they had us come back and do a workshop at the event.

And that turned out well. So we couldn't be more pleased with

our relationship with art of the cowgirl we love the event. We

love the passion behind the artists we love being able to

help photographers get a handle on working an event like that

and what it feels like to be behind the lens at a bigger

event and to have more access than you would have as just a

participant and also to be able to get classroom time with

Phyllis and I and to be able to just really hone your craft in a

very collaborative work environment. I think it's an

amazing opportunity for people who are really interested in

building a photography career or honing their skills in a

situation where you have just absolutely amazing opportunities

to photograph so many different things all within a few feet of

each other.

I agree Kim I think it's an it's so great

because the participants get to have an all access press pass to

be a part of the official photographers for the event and

which is really a great way to get their names out there and

get their work seen is such a great event. And oh my gosh, the

girls we had this year where every year I think it can't get

better in it does. I know

And the jobs they're picking up because of

the events like I've been amazed with watching them and the jobs

that they're getting and posting about on social just about the

fact that they actually had exposure to the types of

photography that they want to do that they can't get access to

regularly because they were part of the workshop. So they've been

able to show in their portfolios, the type of work

that they want to create and that they can create and they're

picking up jobs in their hometowns, because now they can

they're showing that they can do the job. So that has been for me

one of the coolest things to see is how you can go to an event

and spend and invest a little bit and then what you can do

with those images and how they can just propel you

and the confidence they got out of it

too.

Those two things right. There are the things that

excite me so much about what we're doing with Cowgirls with

Cameras is because my camera has opened so many doors for me in

life. Those horse owner workshops are only one door that

they opened that led to so many better things 20 Something plus

years later but my camera has always been a key to getting me

where I want to go and to have the opportunity now to present

the door and pass those keys along to somebody else. It's an

honor and it's it's amazing and I cannot believe I have to pinch

myself sometimes to realize that I get to do this I get to help

other photographers to be successful and to watch them get

giddy. I I know for me one of my favorite moments in association

with art of the cowgirl events happened at that big timber

workshop and we were showing the photographers how to do

silhouettes and we were speaking of the silhouette Hill this was

a beautiful silhouette Hill out on the Hagerman Ranch. Hagerman

Hagerman, sorry, Alison, there were running their horses for

the photographer's and it was a really pretty sky and it was

just a gorgeous sunset opportunity. And the girls were

laying down on their bellies in the grass, shooting the pictures

up and they were looking at their camera backs and just so

excited and so yes, I got it. I got it. It was such a fun

experience to watch that. Do you remember that Phyllis?

Oh gosh, yes, I remember to when we got to sit

down and we had said rope, you know Ropin at us with our wide

angle lenses. And that's a couple of the girls. I let them

borrow my wide angle because they didn't have some and they

were like I just remember how excited they were and how cool

it was to you know, I don't know it's just a really neat

experience just watching them be excited and a couple

of those girls from that particular workshop

have gone on to be very successful with their

photography now we're doing a lot of things more full time I'm

just I'm pleased as punch

I have to say my experience at Art of the

Cowgirl wasn't nearly as glamorous as you all's I was one

of the booth babes for the week. So I didn't get glamorous, it

was just a booth babe. The name itself isn't glamorous. But I

got to hang with Marci, when Marci Marci Jo photography, we

work the booth all week. And what our job was basically was

to sell the art for the barn pieces curated from each one of

us were hanging in and for sale at the event. And then really,

the big thing was talking to folks just really talking to

folks about what we do about cowgirls with cameras or

upcoming events. And I got to put some of my, you know, my

sales tools to work and help grow our list of people that

might be interested in future events. And honestly, I kind of

love doing that, like I'm not an extroverted person. But when I'm

in my element, I really do enjoy talking about the art that we

create and talking about and get, because I'm so excited

about the stuff that we're doing. So it was a lot of fun to

get to talk to people and share it with other folks. So I was

just a booth babe, but I grabbed my camera a few times, but for

the most part, I was the booth babe, and I enjoyed it.

You and Marci did a fabulous job of selling

and promoting and your enthusiasm was contagious to

all.

Absolutely. You guys made the event so special

for so many people, because I know you told all of these

stories about the artwork on the wall. And that was people really

they enjoy hearing those stories because it's fun, and it's fun

for us to share our adventures too. And Marci brought a breath

of fresh air to the whole event.

So do they have dates for next year's

events?

I don't think so. I was looking at the calendar

here.

They don't have dates announced yet for

next year's Art of the Cowgirl event in Arizona. However, Kim

and I are hosting a workshop in big timber with their next big

clinic that Art of the Cowgirl is doing they're in August like

late August. So we will have those I think registration will

be open for that one April 1

Yes. And that's a fascinatingly wonderful event.

Remember those the me is just telling you about the fact we

were having so much fun taking pictures of the silhouette hill

that's the same area where we will be shooting again we stay

at a wonderful place called the Burntout Lodge. I think that's

been reserved for this year coming up so don't kill me if

that's not where you end up. Stay in if you come but burnt

out Lodge is run by Ruth and Ruth herself is worth the trip.

So I do have to tell you she's quite the character and and the

food is gloriously fantastic. She's an amazing cook. This

particular workshop is going to be in conjunction with their

writing clinic and workshop in big timber. It is August the

19th to the 21st and there's a horsemanship clinic with

horsewoman Lee Smith who is another person that it when you

have the opportunity to meet you should certainly meet Lee Smith

because she is an amazing person. They're going to have a

packing and wilderness workshop with Jody Oliver Kate O'Brien,

Katy Horton and Rachel Lineberger. Then there's a cinch

building class and running in association with this and chink

building horsehair hitching. And then also down at the bottom of

the list in the newsletter are Phyllis and I, with our

photography, retreat and workshop, and trust me, this one

is going to be a blast. They will start taking registrations

on April 1, those registrations are through Art of the Cowgirl

so you can go to artofthecowgirl.com and these

workshops tend to fill up pretty quickly so I would grab your

spot as soon as you can. And please know that when you

support this workshop, you're supporting art of the cowgirl as

an entire event because part of the proceeds for this go to the

fellowship program.

And also just another note, we will be

shooting at local ranches not exclusively at the event itself.

So we will document some of the happenings at the horsemanship

clinic and the other clinics that are going on but we will be

shooting at local ranches. I think probably 75% of the time

right cam

at least Yeah, we're gonna do some at least

MissLee's clinic but we definitely and we have some

amazing locations that have offered up there places for us

to shoot. So we haven't lined out all of the details yet. So I

don't want to quite get into that. But I do want to tell you

that it's going to be a really special event and it has a very

limited number of people that can attend. So if you're

interested do grab your spot early because it probably will

be gone if you don't. And big timber is amazing. Lee is

amazing. The whole thing will be fantastic. We'll have a great

time.

I mean, what could be better than beautiful

Montana?

Montana and horses. There's there Not much

gets better than that. Cara. Do you have anything else you want

to add about your experience at art of the cowgirl? Are we ready

to talk about cameras?

I mean, other than I spent too much money. I

think we're ready to talk about camera.

Do you ever go to an expo and not spend too much

money?

amazing art there to buy?

Do you ever go to an expo and not spend too much

and I only go to like one Expo a

year so so I mean, I got all my Christmas

shopping done, I guess. Yo,

that's a good thing. That's a good thing. Your

way early on the Christmas shopping Christmas was barely

over.

That's how I justified

There you go. There you go. There you go.

Okay,

you You did better than me. I think I only

bought stuff for myself.

Well, she didn't say who the Christmas gifts were

for. It could have been for her. Oh, that's true. That's I find

myself very true all the time.

And another stocking stuffer and another

stocing stuffer.

I love it. I love it. So let's talk about gear a

little bit. I know everyone gets fascinated photographers spent a

lot of time chit chatting about gear and what is your camera? Do

what is your camera do? And Phyllis you recently got one of

the unicorns of the Nikon line. And I think there's a lot of

people that are probably pretty jelly that they're we're still

probably waiting on their Z nine and you're out there shooting

with yours. What's your experience been like so far?

Oh, well. My initial experience when I

stupidly took it to Art of the Cowgirl straight out of the box

without shooting it before I went was not great. But then

thankfully, one of our participants helped me with it

because she knew more about the mirrorless system than I did.

Thank you shout out to Patti Monson. Thank you, Patti. After

we get that little issue taken care of I absolutely love it.

Just to backtrack a little bit. I'm a Nikon shooter obviously

and I had the Nikon D four which I'd had for like 10 years and it

was dependable. It was like my workhorse of a camera it was my

go to but it started having some issues. So I realized it was

time to upgrade and I was torn between upgrading to the D six

or going mirrorless and I kind of feel like that that's the way

the market is going to mirrorless I mean I'm not saying

that SLR DSLR is dead, I just think it's going to be a long

progression and it is it is going towards mirrorless and so

I went ahead and jumped up there because I'm an NPS member the

pro professional services I was able to get mine the end of

December which I know that's crazy because the event was two

weeks later and why didn't shoot with it before that I don't know

but anyway it is the Nikon Z nine is one of the most powerful

cameras on the market. I do believe this not just because I

shoot Nikon but because it really is is capable of up to 30

frames per second if you're shooting in JPEG or 20 frames

per second if you're shooting with raw you can do 8k video is

one of the few cameras on the market that completely forgo

mechanical shutter of the design decision made it possible for

Nikon to to go with a really fast readout speed of a new with

a new sensor it is the first Nikon mirrorless to offer the

company's autofocus tracking system that combined with it

does have a subject recognition system which is amazing. It has

three sets of subjects that recognizes people animals and

vehicles which is pretty cool. It has a 45.7 megapixel sensor

so you get really large files out of this which I had the D

850. So I'm somewhat used to this course sometimes you don't

need that you can change that in some of your settings in the

menu the like I said the the tracking system is amazing. I

mean it's it's almost impossible to not get sharp, it's operator

error when you mess up and don't get some sharp now it's bulkier

and heavier than some of the other cameras like the AR five

or some of the other mirrorless but which I don't mind because

it still feels like I have my D four in my camera it feels like

a pro camera that's easier to hold to me despite the size of

the camera. It does have a dual axis tilt screen which is really

cool. It has excellent battery life I stepped up and also

bought the the Nikon Z 62 as well so I'd have two mirrorless

cameras since I'm kind of angling myself in that direction

it's for me it's been a game changer as far as the tracking

as just amazing tracking like being able to like I even did

get to shoot some pictures of my dog since I've been home running

towards me which always had problems getting that really

fast subject running at me sharp and and they've been boy that

thing is dead on every time so it's pretty cool. I highly

recommend going to the Z9 if you can afford it it is it is a bit

of a step up and camera as far as the price goes but the D4 was

a pricey camera for me as well as well as the D6 would have

been so

that's pretty fancy. Sounds pretty fancy to

me.

It is pretty fast.

I like it. It was pretty I get a lot.

So I got to shoot the R5 at our fall Powderhorn

retreat and Phyllis is not into the brand war thing I am

personally into it. I'm very Canon loyal. I love my Canon

cameras. I always get it at workshops. I always like count

up the Canon and Mac people because those are my people, you

know? Like, yes, we have more Canons than Nikon's. So I'm a

little twist and in that way, I don't think Cara could care

less. But anyway, so I did shoot the R5,

she's a lot twisted.

I am I am a bad okay, so I shot the R5, and I

haven't bought it yet I rented it because the price tag is like

on it, it's pretty high. It's not as high as the Z9. But it's

high. I had just upgraded to the 5D mark iv last year before the

R five came out the year before the R five came out. So I was I

kind of blew my camera budget on that. And so the R5 was I wanted

to run it to see if it was something that I really wanted.

And I have to tell you, it's something I really really want.

And as soon as I can swing it, it will be in my camera bag. I

love to shooting with this camera. It was a little bit of a

learning curve. But Phyllis is right the R5 has a lot of

similar features. It's similar in size with the sensor, it does

have the tracking autofocus, it has so many wonderful little

bells and whistles that help you keep your images sharp, it helps

you a lot with exposure. One thing that I was very, very

worried about that I didn't think I would like but I

actually fell in love with was the electronic viewfinder. So

when you look at something it renders in the viewfinder

exactly what that image or close to it. It's not exact, by the

way, but it's a much different feel to shoot. Because it's what

you're seeing is not the same thing you see through your DSLR

it's the camera projecting the image. So when you shift your

exposure, it shifts in the viewfinder so you can see

whether it's too light or too dark. It's it's really awesome

to enjoy it. I think for me, that's an incredible feature. It

is an incredible feature. But the thing about it that I didn't

know if I would like it one, but the thing it did for me is it

expanded my creativity. So I'd shoot the picture the way I kind

of envisioned it. And then I would play a little bit with the

exposure to see how how I could change the drama of the image,

so to speak. So I found it really fun to play with

artistically and I ended up taking some photos around that

way. I also did a lot of shooting with the video feature

with the R5 and I'm going to tell you there were just little

short clips, but I was very very pleased with the performance of

how the R5 works with video versus how my DSLR my 5D Mark iv

works with video I felt like the R5 felt a little bit more video

friendly, I've had a I've struggled a lot because I've

done a lot of videoraphy in the past with dedicated video

cameras and going from one of those cameras that has so many

videos specific perks to DSLR was a struggle for me but the

mirrorless feels like it gave me back a lot of the things that I

really enjoyed about my dedicated video camera. So I

thoroughly enjoyed working with the video Canon has done a good

job in making it easy to switch between shooting stills and

shooting video. And I feel like when I have the R5 in my bag

again, it's it's going to be one of those things where I am

shooting a lot more video with it as an addition to the still

photos. So I really enjoyed using it and I think it's an

amazingly good camera. I know that Canon will be coming out

with new ones and so will Nikon. So we'll probably be revisiting

this conversation in the future with a little bit more detail.

But if you're considering one of these mirrorless cameras, my

suggestion to you is to rent it and to take it maybe not do what

Phyllis and I did which is get it and go straight to a

photoshoot. I did the same thing Phyllis did filming I got it. I

got the mirrorless camera I arrived on my doorstep and I

went directly to a paid photoshoot with a really

complicated lighting situation. So I was learning it out the box

it was in that situation it was a woman in front of a fire. So

and we she wanted silhouetted photos with this fire look and

it was

it was fun. I think we both did what we tell

our students not to do. Exactly. Don't come to a shoot with a

brand new camera that you've never shot with. And we both did

that. So those

you guys are braver than me I would be at

home like keeping it in the box and using the old gear because

I'm a big tried and tested when it comes to paid photo shoot.

You guys are way braver than me.

So I have to laugh at this. So what I did was

when I learned that are five this is how I learned it you

guys will enjoy this story. So our washing machine was broke.

And yes, I said washing I'm from Missouri that's got an R in it

when you live here. So our washing machine was broken, I

was leaving to go on a trip to go out to Powderhorn and I

needed to do laundry. So I pick up the R5, I get the lens, I go

to the laundromat, put my clothes in the washing machine.

And then I went out to my truck and sat in the truck and read

the little owner's manual thing and Googled stuff on my phone

and shot about a million pictures of the ugliest

laundromat parking lot figuring out how to use all the features

that I needed, because as soon as my clothes were dry, I threw

them in the car and went to the photoshoot. So this is the

glamorous life of a real photographer than on the road.

You're you're doing your laundry at the laundromat learning how

to use a camera that cost almost as much as your truck and then

at knocked, do a photo shoot

well I don't do anything without detailed

planning and notes and thought process behind it in terms of

shooting so I just get it it just gives me anxiety even

thinking about it personally. So yeah,

that's the opposite. You got a new camera

recently to you just didn't jump the ship to the mirrorless

version of things. So I'm sure there was a little learning

curve with that

there was I've always been one that and I

do the same thing with like other tech like cell phones and

computers like I've never been one to buy the new piece right

when it comes to the market, partly because it's never really

been in my budget most of the time. But also because I've

always said like, How can my cell phone get any better than

it already is? Right? They just came out with a new and how can

it get any better? It already does everything I need it to do

right. So for me, I usually end up picking up something that's

like one step down from the latest and greatest and I and I

like that when the new thing comes out. The next latest and

greatest gets cheaper. So that's usually when I buy it or

when you lose your cell phone and you are

forced to buy a new one.

Ok yeah

She lost her cell phone on purpose. Phyllis, I am

convinced that it she she's like, Oh, look at the cell

phone, I need to put it in my pocket. And it was like hang in

half out. We're bumping along across the Deerwood Ranch. Oops,

my phone got lost, we would have found that phone if she'd given

us another 30 minutes.

But I also remember how excited she was

when she realized all the cool things that new cell phone could

do. Okay, one couldn't do,

including the lip balm thing on the back of it.

Yeah.

We're not talking about cell phones. We're

talking about cameras ladies. So

I shoot camera too,

I shoot with a 1DX. And I shoot with a 6D

Mark ii. Those are my workhorses. And I think they're

both very nice cameras. They are second I think my 1DX is a used

camera I bought it used from KEH I think is where I got it. And

the the thing is, is that I just want folks out there that maybe

they can't afford to run and buy the new mirrorless systems,

okay, whether your Canon or Sony or Nikon, maybe you can't afford

to buy that that is okay, because you know, this rush the

mirrorless has opened the SLR market in terms of prices and

secondhand gear, and it is a great time to go ahead and pick

up something that's new to you and something that is growth for

you. And it's a great way to upgrade your system. Or if you

you need a backup camera. I mean, like I think all of us

would say it's nice to have a second camera, you never want to

be on a job and have your system go out on you. It's nice to have

something else you can pull out of your bag. So you know it's a

great time to upgrade your system. So I just want people to

know that just because you don't have the most expensive camera

out there. Just because you don't have the newest gear you

can still create beautiful images. And you know as much as

I'd love to have a Canon R5 one day I just flat out do not want

to invest in any new gear this year. I made that a point for

myself, I'm going to invest in some other things, which means

that I'm going to be sticking with my old gear a little bit

longer. And I think that's totally okay.

Totally. It is totally okay. And I'll tell you

another thing for those of you who are looking at like the

sensor sizes and those kinds of things and wonder, Oh wow, I if

I use this older camera, the images that I take aren't going

to be saleable or they're just not going to be as good. Don't

go there. I am still selling images that I shot years ago on

a camera that only had a 10 megapixel sensor. So I still

sell those images. I still sell them to people to put them on

Billboard's so there's no don't don't get yourself in the

contest of measuring your camera's capability against

something else. It has much more to do with you as the shooter

than it does that piece of equipment. We'd love our tech

but still,

yes my D4 that. I just replaced what this

new camera was with was only a 16 and a half megapixel camera

and I mean the sensor was great in it so it was a really fast

for you know the frames per second were really fast but I'd

say probably 80% of my images that I send to my publisher were

from that camera yeah is not is not imperative that you go out

and buy the latest and greatest you can still get great images

it's it is all about the user not the product.

It is the end end product is all about how you

shoot with that camera. So ladies, I think we're up to our

cowgirls with cameras photo challenge for this week and

wrapping up this episode. This has been so much fun chit

chatting with you guys about this and remembering stories

especially Cara losing her phone at Deerwood will tell you the

full story on that if you tuned in on a future episode because

it's an entertaining story. And it tells you that the GPS on

your camera really does work. Okay, so on to Cara's looking at

me like Kim, move it on to the challenge and quit Get off of my

phone. Alright, so the challenge for this week. So here's how it

works. We give you a challenge per episode, not per week, but

per episode. And this episodes challenge is details. So what I

want you to do is get your camera whether you have a Z9 and

R5 or a D whatever, or if it's just your cell phone that you're

shooting with. And I don't want to say just your cell phone

because I think my cell phone has a better sensor in it than

my first digital camera, the pro camera that I paid a lot of

money for. So whatever camera you have in your hand, I want

you to focus on the details in the western photography world,

the details in some of the saddles and tack and horse faces

and landscape and animals. The details are often where the

deepest stories are. And when you take a moment to just really

zoom in or walk in and focus on those details. You learn a lot

about your subject and how you want to tell that story. So what

you do is you get your photos, you take your detail photos, and

please post those with the #CWCphotochallenge on Instagram

so that again, that's the #CWCphotochallenge on Instagram.

That's right. Thank you guys for listening

today. We would appreciate it if you enjoyed this episode that

you follow or subscribe whatever your listening app allows you to

do that just lets folks know that you know, lets us know that

you guys are listening and downloading. The other thing

we'd love for you guys to do is check out our socials, we can be

found at cowgirls with cameras on Instagram, and on Facebook.

And our website is cowgirls with cameras calm and that's where

you can learn a little bit more about Kim, Phyllis and I and

also some of our upcoming photography events that we have

coming up. We'd love to see you guys there. In the meantime,

it's been a great episode guys. Looking forward to chatting with

you in the next couple weeks.

Y'all have a great week. Keep shooting.

Thanks for listening to this episode of Cowgirls with

Cameras. Don't let the laughter and learning stop here. Join our

community on social media. And be sure to visit our website for

more opportunities to fulfill your photography goals. Head to

Cowgirlswithcameras.com That's cowgirlswithcameras.com See you