All Time Favorite Driving Photo

I take a pretty fair amount of carriage photos. Many of them static shots of vehicles of course. I enjoy taking action shots as well but I don’t seem to get as much time for that. It’s all about putting yourself in the right place at the right time. It is always great to see horses, carriages and drivers in action. Especially clients.



Here is one of my all time favorites. Click to enlarge. This photo was taken by my long lost friend Andi Van Berkum. Andi lives in Colorado and comes to Columbus every summer to volunteer for the Columbus Carriage Classic. When she is not working she is taking pictures. She puts herself in the right place at the right time. Unfortunately she couldn’t make it this year and the show was just not quite the same. This is a shot of my friend Michael Scott driving a pony and vehicle owned by Vicki Nelson-Bodoh. Obviously this wasn't the plan but the landing went smoothly and I'm sure Mike went on to finish the Town & Country in the top two or three. Gotta love it!

Update: (Thanks Vicki) - The pony in the photo is Beaverwood Raindrop leased from Kirsten Brunner, Beaverwood Farm, Ontario, Canada. Raindrop was a hunter pony at her first driving show and this was the first class of the show. When she saw the bridge she must have thought it was a very wide jump but she cleared most of it. She and Michael went on to win the class and their division.



When you call Colonial Carriage Works nine times out of ten the person on the other end of the line is Ryanne Patton. She manages the showroom and downtown office. She is also developing into an upholsterer extraordinaire. Besides Ryanne I work with three other gents out at the shop. Bob Rhodes is a woodworker and does much of the initial preparation of the carriage bodies and frames. Brandon Columbus also works on carriage restoration. He takes vehicles apart, sandblasts and does a lot of sanding. Dale Hon is the shop manager as well as painter, striper, trimmer and does final assembly. One of these days we are all going to get together for a picture but I’m waiting to loose that extra 20 pounds.



Ryanne is working on the cushions for the Mad Max Road Cart. The above photos show the bottom cushion being trimmed and fastened to the wood frame. This shot shows the bottom after the buttons have been tied.



We went with something a little different on this vehicle and I really like the look. The fabric is a black cotton duck. The buttons and piping are covered in a medium sheen black vinyl. It looks really sharp.



Here the piping is installed and the valance around is ready to be fastened in place on the bottom of the frame.



The back rest is sewn and getting ready for installation. The back side of the rest is painted black to match the body. The piping will be black vinyl with a black duck webbing around the perimeter. Upholstery for Mad Max should be done this week. Watch for an update.

Have a great day.

Best!
Todd