Christmas Colors-Southern Sound Style


It's the time of year where almost everywhere you look, the eye sees red and green. Festive Christmas trees. Wreaths on home and office doors. Classic red poinsettias. Mistletoe, Santa's suit...red and green are everywhere!


These two colors often take on a different meaning in the images I create as a photographer. From the lush greenery of the South Carolina summer forest to flashy sorrels in the show ring, red and green mean more than just the onset of the Christmas season to me.


I hope you enjoy this sampling of "red and green" as seen through the eyes of a South Carolina dog and equine photographer!





Red and white foxhound looks out of dog box in Walterboro, South Carolina. Photographed by Charleston dog photographer.
Red and white foxhound in pursuit of a coyote at fox pen in Walterboro, South Carolina.
Two red-headed foxhounds look out of the dog box in Walterboro, South Carolina after fox hunting.

A Sucker for A Redhead


I've always loved a red-headed hound dog. From foxhounds to Treeing Walkers, some of my favorite hounds have sported a red head with a symmetric white face marking.


The dogs above are foxhounds, photographed during various mornings running coyotes and fox in the lowcountry of South Carolina.

Redtick American English Coonhound photographed in Orangeburg, South Carolina by a South Carolina dog photographer.
Tri-Color Treeing Walker show dog photographed in Florence, South Carolina by a South Carolina dog photographer.

Not to be outdone by the foxhounds, I photographed several beautiful redheaded coonhounds this year as well. Shown on the left is American English Coonhound, Frosty, a redtick that I photographed at the UKC Grand American Coon Hunt in Orangeburg, South Carolina last January.


On the right is Treeing Walker Coonhound, Angus, who I had the pleasure of photographing for his Westminster Kennel Club dog show ads in Florence, South Carolina last March. Angus and his owner have enjoyed quite a bit of success in the AKC all-breed shows, and I was honored that Bridgette made the drive from Virginia to South Carolina for me to photograph her boy. I'm looking forward to a 2022 session with Angus, his son, and one of his new daughters in Orangeburg this January!

A Boykin Spaniel leaps through the air during a retrieve at a hunt test near Greenwood, South Carolina for retrievers.
A little girl watches a Labrador puppy in action at a hunting retriever test near Greenwood, South Carolina.

I also had the opportunity to photograph a "new to me" dog sport this year-a hunting retriever test. The image above of an animated Boykin Spaniel soaring across the winter grass makes me smile every time I see it.


The image on the right showcases a different type of "green." In this case, the youth handler and the Labrador puppy are both "green," or new to the sport of retriever competition. I bet when I see this pair again next year they will have learned so very much.

Woman with red lipstick shows black and white paint in showmanship in Camden, South Carolina.
Lady in red jacket shows horse in showmanship class at APHA show in Camden, South Carolina.
Neatly turned out cowgirl shows Palomino horse in halter class at APHA show in North Carolina.

We Can't Leave Out the Horses!


The latter part of 2021 saw me photographing two APHA horse shows. Red has always been a popular color choice in the show ring, as you can see from the images above showcasing flashy Paint horses with their handlers sporting red attire and bold red lipstick.

My childhood horse was a sorrel mare, and I have always gravitated toward the sorrels as a result. I photographed some beautiful roan and rabicano horses at APHA horse shows in both Camden, South Carolina and Williamston, North Carolina this year too though! I'm very much looking forward to doing more work in equine photography in the coming year.


I do have a few "Christmas themed" mini-portrait sessions scheduled at a horse show this coming weekend, but I hope you enjoyed this little sampling of some of the "red and green" this South Carolina photographer sees most. If you'd like to add images like these of your show dogs, pets, hunting dogs, or horses to your wall, website, ads, and more-be sure to visit my website. I can't wait to see all of you in 2022!


I'm part of a group of pet photographers who blog weekly, so if you love festive pet images you can peruse a whole series of them. Next up in the series is Linda Perdue of VP Shoots Photography serving the Tampa, Florida area with holiday pet photographs. Click here to check out her holiday portraits!