As a photographer she has already made quite a name for herself in her home country America. Pictures by Lori Ann Thwing are popular with owners and fans of Friesian horses. But when she spotted one of her photos in the magazine Horse Illustrated, she was totally taken by surprise and felt truly honoured.
‘I already had a subscription to ‘Horse Illustrated’ when I was a little girl and now, many years later, I see one of my photos of a Friesian horse in my very own favourite magazine!’, she enthuses.
Charisma and beauty
She started working as a professional photographer eleven years ago: flowers, plants and animals but above all: horses! And particularly Friesian horses because this breed has stolen her heart. ‘Friesian horses have triggered my passion for photography’, she explains. ‘Your magnificent breed has intrigued me right from a young age: their charisma and beauty are amazing.
Foals
Her fascination for Friesian horses began when Lori started her volunteer work with Bob DeBoer’s foals. ‘They grew so fast and I wanted a memento about what they were like as little ones. I used to spend hours in their field to make photos. I still hugely enjoy working with foals; presently I’m doing that too at Lori Brock’s Majestic Friesians. In the years since 2010 I have worked with over one hundred foals, I simply adore those babies!’
The Friesian Magazine
Photos by Lori have been published in for example Simply Pets and The Friesian Magazine. ‘This year I saw a dream of mine come true when one of my photos graced the cover of Friesian Magazine. I also happened to be the photographer at the inspection in Michigan and had been asked for the ones in Kansas and Michigan in 2020 too. Unfortunately though those inspections were cancelled because of Corona but I’m looking forward to future inspections.’ For those of you for whom Lori’s name rings a bell: one of her photos can be found in the KFPS book ‘Judging the Friesian Horse’.
FHANA site
It’s not just photography, Lori also writes for The Friesian Magazine. Two of those articles are about photographing Friesian horses that are put on sale. ‘My photos can be found on the FHANA website and in the past four years some of my photos also featured on the FHANA calendar. By the way, I’m also a member of the FHANA editorial team.’
Approved stallions
She travels all across the USA and has had many approved stallions posing in front of her lens for individual photo shoots, like Mintse, Sape, Norbert, Bene, Wolfert, Djoerd, Sjouke and Uldrik (see the above photos). At inspections and shows she took pictures of Tonjes, Sipke, Doaitsen, Fridse, Tjaarda, Julius, Date, Meinte, Hessel and Alert. Still on her wish list are Tsjalle and Thorben, who recently moved to the USA.
Natural beauty
‘My aim is to catch the unique beauty of horses’, she explains. ‘Instead of rushing the horses I want to see them move and act naturally. I like to take my time for them and capture those moments of unexpected splendour. It’s my dream to have my own Friesian horse at some point in the future and to be able to visit the Stallion Inspection in Leeuwarden.’
Lori wraps it up: ‘I love this breed and am so lucky to be able to photograph them to show the world what I see.’
To get a glimpse of Lori’s work visit Momentsbyloriann.com or Facebook Moments byLoriAnnLLC
