Erika Haight
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Erika Haight has a passion for the wild mustangs of the American West. “The first time I saw them it was captivating,” Haight says. “They
were wild and spirited. Their behavior was very different from that of domestic
horses.” Found primarily in Nevada, Montana, and Wyoming, these feral
horses can be difficult to capture. But Haight has found a way to artistically
corral their beauty and free-roaming lifestyle with digital photography.
She chose the digital medium because it allows her to manipulate the
images — to enhance the texture, eliminate the flatness, and emphasize the
feeling she has at the moment the photograph is taken. “By making the photograph look like a painting, I can draw the viewer into the picture,” Haight says.
“Anyone can take a snapshot of what’s in front of them, but after I work with
my photographs, they become living pieces of art.”
A mother of two, Haight has always taken care to nurture her creative
impulses even with her busy lifestyle. She took up photography eight years
ago as a hobby and began shooting professionally only four years later. In the
last several years, her work has matured, and the unique realism and energetic
character of her finished photographs has gained recognition. Her first gallery
representation is with Montana Trails Gallery in Bozeman, where her work
went on display in August.
Haight developed an artistic eye for the West while growing up in rural
Montana near the Crazy Mountains, where she was surrounded by horses and
cattle — which may be why her ideal day is to be out in the middle of nowhere
with her digital camera. “I like the idea of a simple life, a slower pace, and wide
open spaces,” she says.
Haight hopes that her photographs will play some small part in helping
preserve the wild mustangs of the American West by allowing viewers to
experience their untamed beauty for years to come.
— Leanne Haase Goebel - Cowboys and Indians Aug. 2009
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