PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY
MAY 2016
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thought. Then the piece needs to
be technically excellent for print
quality —correct color, exposure,
composition, bringing all the visual
elements together in concert to express the purpose of the image.”
Steege said proper composition holds the viewer in the image.
She decides where she wants the
viewer’s eyes to focus and uses the
various elements of the piece to
direct them.
“In painting you can create your
light; you can put your light wherever you like,” Steege said. “But as
a photographer you find the light
and use the light and control the
light, shape the light.” She avoids
artificial lighting, choosing rather
to create with natural light. And as
an equine photographer, she never
uses tripods. One does have to be
able to get out of the way — sometimes in a hurry. And she keeps
over-saturation or manipulation as
an artistic technique to a minimum.
In terms of style, Steege, who
grew up riding, raising and showing
horses, uses her Nikon to capture
a lot of western-themed images —
cowboys and cowgirls; horses; rodeo action shrouded in light-infused
dust; ranch work; detailed images
of supple, colorful chaps and boots;
ropes coiled at saddle horns. She
also does travel photography and
shoots performance artists.
Growing up with the sun and
surf of Santa Barbara, Steege succumbed to the beauty of the landscape, developing intu itiveness for
art. “First as a classical dancer, then
as a fashion designer, I looked to
create on an emotional level,” she
said, adding she’d love to do more
dance photography — ballet.
A busy woman, along the way
she earned a master’s degree in
social work from the University of
Minnesota and worked as a pediatric social worker in a county
hospital in Minneapolis.
She and her husband Dale now
live in Silverado at Weatherford.
Some 10 years ago she said her husband, who owns United Vet Equine,