She happened onto my web site and found some inspiration and formed a story where a magazine photographer has an encounter with a mustang named Phantom and ends up photographing a BLM round up of wild horses. I have to admit that part of what captured my attention is that Stephanie Martin co-wrote a script with her Wellesley classmate Jessica Walsh to point out the issues surrounding mustangs in the American West. One thing led to another and all of a sudden I found myself on a plane to LA to photograph on a movie set with some of the most impressive, talented people in Hollywood film.

A woman making a film wanted to use some of my photographs-her subject was near and dear to my heart-wild horses. I kept one such email request in the IN box, however, and read it months later. When I am on the road for weeks at a time, emails like this can get lost in the shuffle. Randy and I also get numerous requests to donate photographs to fundraise for worthy causes. They want to know where is the most exciting place I’ve ever been, what is my favorite picture and how they can become a “National Geographic photographer.” The Internet makes me accessible. I can always tell it is the end of a semester when students are on deadline and write me with a list of questions for a class paper. The manufactured scenes looked as realistic as the real-life Western roundups I witnessed with horses, helicopters and wranglers. There were a few parallels to my life, but I still am a bit mystified how I ended up on a Hollywood movie set. She’s an actress ( Mireille Enos) who plays Brad Pitt’s wife in an upcoming zombie movie, and she is the heroine in this film.)Īlthough there were long hours waiting to shoot pictures, there wasn’t the uncertainty I feel in real life wondering “if” it will happen but in this case “when” it would happen. It was a MOVIE-not an authentic life encounter with real wild horses and helicopters like I experienced when I was working on a story for National Geographic magazine on mustangs. The black stallion reared up to face the helicopter. Dust and brush pelted me as I braced, pointing my camera upward as it hovered, bearing down on me.

Wild at heart horse movie