Mastering the Art of Light in Fine Equine Photography with Tony Stromberg

A rare interview with one of the world's top fine art equine photographers.

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"Unicorn" is a dramatic image of a Lusitano stallion taken in southern France.

Where are you from and how does that affect your work?

I grew up all over the west. My dad was a geologist for an oil company, and we moved constantly. 18 homes by the time I was 18. Very nomadic lifestyle, which is probably why I relate so well to the American wild horses… nomadic by nature. Because of all the moving, I became a loner at a pretty

early age. I am sure this has affected my work in many ways. I work best alone. In fact, when I was doing advertising photography, I would go back into the studio after everyone went home at night, and that’s usually when I did my best work. I get distracted when other people are watching and expecting me to perform, to the point where I can’t really focus.

"3 Brothers" captures Merens breed horses running in a pasture in the Pyrenees region of southern France.

Who are your biggest artistic influences?

That’s a hard one. There are not specific artists or photographers that I get inspiration from. Rather, I think it is an accumulation of everything I have seen, read, or heard throughout my life that has informed my artistic sensibilities. I also get a lot of inspiration from nature, and being

immersed in nature. I think all good art imitates nature in some way. We live in a very technical world and spend an inordinate amount of time in front of a computer screen or a phone. I think all the technology dampens creativity, and sometimes the best way to connect with our creative self is to unplug from all the technology and sit in silence so we can actually hear ourselves.

"3 Stallions" is an exquisite image of three young stallions in Spain.

How has your style changed over time?

It’s always a process. When I started doing advertising work, I was all over the map. I did fashion, food, technology, architecture, still life, catalog work, special effects, landscapes, because I didn’t really know who I was and had not defined my creative voice yet. I experimented a lot. I am completely self-trained in photography, and never went to school. I tried by doing, and by making a lot of mistakes, and learning what NOT to do. Over time, my personal style developed, but it took 20 years to find that. I spent years emulating the popular photographers, only to realize this was not me, and it was not coming from within. What I ultimately came to learn was that I had a deep appreciation for lighting.

"Luminous" is an image that perfectly illustrates the goal of photographing "the light falling onto the horse"

When I teach workshops, I tell people that they are not photographing a horse, they are photographing the light falling onto the horse. It takes a fundamental shift in understanding to really grasp that concept, but it is all about lighting. Photographers start with a black canvas, and we add light. We literally “paint” with light. After 20 years of studio photography, I learned how to “see” light. I am always looking for the light, so to speak. After I shifted my focus to horses, I realized I could take 20 years of experience in lighting and apply it to something I truly loved.

When is your favorite time of day to photograph horses?

Late afternoon, for sure. Magic hour. The last hour of sunlight is the best. In fact, in that late afternoon light, it is hard to take a “bad” photograph.

What motivates you to continue photographing horses?

I just love horses. I was burned out after 20 years of advertising work. I had lost myself after trying to be so many things and trying to please so many people. It’s a long story for another time, but when I started spending time with horses, they showed me a way back to my authentic self, and that was a huge gift to me. My work, I believe, continues to be an “homage: to the horse". I showed my true self to the horses, and in return, they shared with me their true essence, and that is what I try to convey through my work.

How do you define success as a fine art equine photographer?

When I was doing commercial work, it was constant marketing and it always felt like pushing a boulder uphill. When I started working with horses and started building a body of work with my equine photography, doors would open in front of me without much effort. The sense of struggle was gone. The 4 books I have published all came with little effort. When I started teaching workshops, I created them and people signed up, and it’s been going strong even efter 20 years of doing them. I think “success” is being able to do what you love and also make a living at it, without having to commercialize it or change it to fit someone else’s desire. I have a dream job. I travel the world photographing some of the world’s most beautiful horses, in some very beautiful places, and I get paid for it !!!

What have critics and collectors said about your work?

That’s an odd question. People that collect my work do so because it speaks to them on some level, and they love the work. I don’t think I have any critics, and if I do, I don’t really care what they think. At one point in my life, I would do whatever I could to please them, but not anymore. I know who I am, and I know my work has value. If someone does not like it, they do not have to look at it!

Why do you offer workshops and how do you benefit or find meaning from sharing your artistic mastery with other aspiring equine photographers?

After my first book was published, along with calendars, people started to ask me if I would do workshops, so I thought “why not”. I started doing a few in my hometown of Santa Fe, and it just grew from there. I am happy to share my photographic experience. It gives me joy to see people learning what I have to offer them, and I love to watch them grow artistically, and to find their own voice with their equine photography. They come to me because we all have a shared love of horses and photography and want to share our vision with the world. What’s not to like?

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This article was originally published in the premiere Winter 2023 issue of EquuStyle Magazine. All images Copyright Tony Stromberg Photography -all rights reserved. Cannot be reproduced for any purpose without permission from Tony Stromberg Photography.

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How Wild Horses Transformed Award-Winning Photographer Sandy Sharkey's Life

EquuStyle: When did you first become interested in photographing wild horses? What sparked that passion for you?

Sandy Sharkey: In my early twenties, I was on a trail ride in Alberta’s Rocky Mountains near Banff. One afternoon, I lay on my back in an alpine meadow. My trail horse munched grass beside me, content and relaxed. Suddenly, everything shook, and I jumped up, convinced I was experiencing an earthquake. But it wasn’t an earthquake. It was a herd of wild horses galloping past me on a rocky ridge. It was over as quickly as it began, and the wild horses disappeared into a forest. But it was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen.

Wild mountain horses traverse the rugged landscape of the Alberta Rocky Mountains, showcasing their strength and resilience amidst the natural beauty of Canada.

At that time, I had no idea that wild horses existed. My life was forever changed. I needed to experience wild horses again and again. I wanted to capture their essence with my camera and share their stories of free-spirited resilience.

A Personal Connection to Wild Horses

EquuStyle: What personal connection do you feel to the wild horses you photograph, and how does this influence your work?

Sandy Sharkey: I believe the most ‘free-spirited’ time of our lives is when we are kids—before the wide-ranging demands of society take root. Over time, that free spirit of youth diminishes under the weight of responsibility. When I’m with wild horses, I feel like that eight-year-old kid again. Wild horses symbolize freedom, embodying an unabashed free spirit that exists in all of us.

A wild mare and stallion share a tender moment on the vast plains of Utah, embodying the spirit of freedom and companionship.

In many ways, connecting with wild horses can reconnect the adventurous soul we’ve buried through adulthood. Someone once told me, ‘It’s not how you feel about someone; it’s how you feel about yourself when you’re with that person.’ The same applies to wild horses. When I’m with these magnificent animals, the awakening of my heart and soul influences my photographic work in a visceral way.

If one of my images captures the free spirit of a wild horse, creating a beautiful connection between human and horse, this is much more important to me than a technically perfect photo.

Memorable Encounters with Wild Horses

EquuStyle: Could you share a memorable encounter with a wild horse that deeply impacted you?

Sandy Sharkey: There are so many encounters to choose from. But one stands out. In the spring of 2018, I was photographing wild horses in Utah’s Onaqui range. One morning, I saw a huge cloud of dust rolling across the desert floor, like a scene from ‘Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner’. The dust was created by a scrappy, smallish wild buckskin stallion known as ‘Buck’. He was covered in battle scars, and several wounds were fresh, but nothing stopped him. Buck was determined to steal the mares from every stallion in sight.

Majestic and resilient, Buck the battle-scarred Onaqui stallion strides across the rugged landscape, embodying the untamed spirit of the wild.

He wasn’t successful that day, and I’m not sure he was ever successful. But the huge spirit from this small package embodied persistence, true grit, and wild spirit—everything we love about wild horses. Buck is my horse hero.

The Call to Wild Horse Advocacy

EquuStyle: What initially drew you into wild horse advocacy?

Sandy Sharkey: When I first started photographing wild horses, I quickly learned about the challenges they face. I couldn’t continue to share photos of beautiful wild horses without speaking out and raising awareness about the atrocities of wild horse roundups and the slaughter pipeline.

"Utah Fiery Boy" is the title of a wild and free, Onaqui stallion rearing majestically against a backdrop of the rugged Utah landscape.

Along with photographic storytelling, I began to host wild horse retreats and trips to other wild horse areas in the world. When we see mankind’s treatment of wild horses, and how it differs depending on geographic location, we can better understand and help shape a future where wild horses are protected and respected.

In the American West, thousands of mustangs have been rounded up by helicopters and removed by the U.S. government, in deference to the demands of public lands ranchers. The system is broken, and the government is resistant to working for meaningful change.

There are over 60,000 wild horses languishing in holding facilities. In contrast, cattle ranchers in northern Portugal accept the ‘Garrano’ wild horses. In Chilean Patagonia, wild horses known as ‘Baguales’ are revered and have become a draw for adventurers. In Mongolia, Przewalski’s horses were extinct from the wild, but due to a successful captive breeding program, they once again roam the Mongolian steppes.

Wild Garrano Mare in Northern Portugal

Wild Przewalski's Horse, Mongolia

Sable Island wild stallion

The wild horses of Canada’s remote Sable Island are 100 percent protected, living wild and free with zero interference from mankind. We have much to learn regarding mankind’s complex relationships with wild horses.

Shifting Perceptions Through Photography

EquuStyle: How do you believe your images help to shift perceptions and garner support for wild horses?

Sandy Sharkey: My goal on social media is to have my wild horse images pack a one-two punch. Hopefully, someone is emotionally drawn into a photo—whether it’s a wild horse portrait, a wild horse family band, or an action shot—and they stick around long enough to read the text that goes along with it.

My posts can include hard-hitting calls to action or be sweet or humorous. I try to mix it up as much as possible because different people respond to different things.

Misconceptions About Wild Horses

EquuStyle: What are some of the biggest misconceptions about wild horses that you aim to dispel through your advocacy?

Sandy Sharkey: Wild horses are sentient, intelligent, family-oriented animals that have earned the right to exist peacefully on the landscape. Those who profit from the usage of public lands have created a false narrative about wild horses being a strain on the ecosystem. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Unfortunately, the wild horse has become the scapegoat for rangeland damage caused by human activities, particularly public lands ranching. My wild horse advocacy is rooted in dispelling the false narrative wrongly promoted by special interest groups.

Key Messages in Advocacy

EquuStyle: As a speaker, when addressing audiences, what are the key messages you strive to convey about wild horses?

Sandy Sharkey: It starts with instilling the knowledge that wild horses actually EXIST. I shouldn’t be surprised that most people don’t know that wild horses live in wild spaces around the world. I had no idea myself until that eye-opening encounter in the Alberta wilderness so many years ago.

Salt Wells Creek Wyoming Wild Stallion known as 'Jack

Utah Onaqui wild stallion known as One Ear

Wild Alberta Mountain Horses

Utah Onaqui Mare and Foal

Welcome to the World (Onagui)

As a speaker, I always begin by assuming that I’m introducing the wonder of wild horses to someone for the first time. Following that, my role is to convey wild horses’ precarious relationships with humans and how we can work together to elicit positive change.

Engaging Individuals Through Storytelling

EquuStyle: How do you engage and inspire individuals who may have little prior knowledge or connection to these animals?

Sandy Sharkey: I try to engage people in a way that they can relate. Storytelling is immensely important. For example, to wild horses, family is everything. When wild horse families are ripped apart by tragic helicopter roundups, the stallions, mares, and foals desperately call out to each other after being indiscriminately packed into livestock trailers and separated forever. We can’t begin to imagine the heartbreak. But we can certainly relate to our own family relationships and reflect on the tragedy of being separated from a loved one.

"Wyoming Wild Family"

Impacting Conservation and Policy

EquuStyle: Do you have a story about how your images of wild horses or a speaking engagement directly impacted wild horse conservation or policy?

Sandy Sharkey: In 2023, I was honored to speak at the Wild Horse Conference in Washington, DC. My presentation was titled ‘Storytelling for Change’. Stories connect us all, and it’s the most powerful way to invoke positive change.

Alberta Wild Stallion known as 'Maverick'

To help save wild horses, it’s important for people to have an emotional connection. Strong storytelling can move mountains. I love grassroots campaigns powered by the human heart. I created the hashtag ‘#ButImJustOnePersonSaid300MillionPeople’ to encourage people to listen to wild horse stories and feel moved to act. Every single voice is a megaphone.

Inspiration from Others

EquuStyle: Who are some individuals who have inspired you in your journey as a photographer and advocate?

Sandy Sharkey: There are far too many to mention, and I would likely miss someone! Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to work with outstanding people who have dedicated their lives to wild horses. I’ve stood shoulder-to-shoulder on wild horse ranges with advocates who know the herds and the individual horses, from birth to adulthood to death from old age. It’s always a unique gift when a horse lives wild and free for his or her entire life, which speaks volumes about the high odds of being captured long before that day.

I’m inspired by the photographers, the writers, the organizers of webinars and rallies, the creators of film and music, and everyone who works tirelessly to ensure that wild horses will run free for generations to come. And to the members of the public who don’t look the other way—taking the time to make phone calls, write letters, and share posts. In many ways, they are my greatest source of inspiration.

Guiding Photography Tours

EquuStyle: What inspired you to guide photography tours of wild horses on Sable Island?

Sandy Sharkey: I want the world to know that a place actually exists where wild horses are 100 percent protected. Located 180 miles from Halifax, Nova Scotia, in the Atlantic Ocean, the grassy dunes of Sable Island are home to approximately 500 wild horses. Here, they are free to form family bands, give birth, watch their foals grow, and share lifelong bonds with each other, with zero interference from mankind. The horses are managed by Mother Nature, living an existence in harmony with the sea.

'Dad and Me' Wild Horses of Sable Island

Wild Horses of Sable Island at Dusk

Wild Horses of Sable Island

Sable Island Wild Hippie

Being on Sable Island not only feeds our soul; it restores our hope that one day, all wild horses will be as revered and respected as the wild horses that have survived on this crescent-shaped island for over 350 years. We must never give up hope.

Supporting Wild Horse Protection

EquuStyle: For those interested in supporting wild horse protection, what concrete actions would you recommend they take?

Sandy Sharkey: It’s a good idea to follow wild horse organizations that provide excellent background information, along with current news and suggested calls to action. Here are some respected sources:

SaveOurWildHorses.net

WildHorseEducation.org

AmericanWildHorse.org

WildBeautyFoundation.org

It’s important to contact your legislators and ask for humane reform regarding the treatment of wild horses. Elected officials can’t ignore an army of voices.

And while the fight to save wild horses is in the category of ‘David vs. Goliath’, I prefer to look at it this way: WE are not David; WE are Goliath. Thankfully, those with empathy and compassion greatly outnumber those who profit from public lands and want the wild horses eliminated. We just need to stay together and raise our voices.

Remember: #*ButI’mJustOnePersonSaid300MillionPeople*

Elected officials can’t ignore an army of voices.

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How Can "The Wild Horse Effect" by Chad Hanson Transform Your Connection to Nature?

"The Wild Horse Effect: Awe, Well-Being, and the Transformative Power of Nature" is available for presale now and on sale March 11, 2025

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EquuStyle: Who inspired you to become a photographer?

Chad Hanson: My grandfather loved cameras. I grew up watching him tinker with lenses and light meters. By the time I went off to college, it felt natural to think of the world as a subject, and to see our public land as art. I discovered “visual sociology” in school, an approach to the study of culture that uses photographs. Using photos for academic purposes put me in touch with the depression-era work of Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange. To this day, as a teacher, I still use their images in my courses. With regard to mustangs, though, it was the work of Kimerlee Curyl that inspired me early on. As far as I can tell, she has the best timing in the business.

During the workshops that I teach, on writing and photography, I often urge students to “find their heroes.” I believe there’s value in identifying, cultivating, and curating your influences. Still, at some level, it’s the face of nature that serves as the source of my inspiration. Wild horses stare at you from behind nature’s most charismatic faces, and I find the places where they live compelling too.

EquuStyle: A central theme in your book is "awe." Could you explain what "awe" means to you and how people can benefit from experiencing it?

A wild stallion on the high plains of Wyoming

Chad Hanson: When I feel awe I am utterly struck by what’s in front of me. I experience a feeling of absorption in the moment. I actually become so absorbed that it’s hard to keep track of the moments as they slide from the future into the present. I enter a time-outside-of-time. I’m also set upon by the impression that I am a small part of a greater whole, and when I shift back to my normal mode of being, it’s with a heightened sense of gratitude.

My experience of awe is pretty common it turns out, and today, in places like the Greater Good Science Center, scholars like Dacher Keltner use modern techniques for measuring the chemical changes that occur when we feel blown-away. Levels of cortisol, the body’s stress hormone, tend to free-fall. Serotonin levels increase, giving rise to a sense of satisfaction. Most important to me, when we feel awed, the body releases oxytocin, a hormone that increases what we call pro-social tendencies. Under the influence of oxytocin, we grow kinder, more generous, and less self-centered. A whole body of evidence points to the psychological worth of awe, but the social benefits strike me as equally valuable.

EquuStyle: As a faculty member at Casper College, how do you integrate wild horses into your teaching?

Chad Hanson: I teach a short course called The Wild Horse Experience. The class includes two afternoons on campus. Then we load the vans. We head out to search for mustangs on a Saturday field trip. During the course, I share as much I’ve been able to learn about wild horses, but just as important, students describe their experiences with the horses in their lives, past and present. The course unfolds as a discussion about our relationships with horses, and then seemingly without fail, by the end of the class, the conversation shifts. Whether in the field, or in the van on the way home, we end up wondering out loud about American culture and values. In the end, The Wild Horse Experience always seems to turn into a dialog about our relationship to the natural world.

A wild horse and two other wild horses standing on the snow-covered high plaines of Wyoming.

Wild horses communicate with each other through touch.

EquuStyle: Your words focus on honoring horses and giving them dignity. When it comes to wild horses, how do we treat them with dignity?

Anyone who shares their home with cats or dogs or horses knows that animals feel, show preferences, and possess personalities. In our barns and corrals, we bear constant witness to the intelligence, and sometimes the mischievousness of horses. We work with their idiosyncrasies. We teach them, and they learn. Day in and day out, domestic horses prove that they are both educable and capable of making independent decisions.

Ironically, for most of our history, when we studied horses in the wild, we tended to assume that their behaviors were instinctual and thus the result of biological impulse, as opposed to reason or choice-making. To this day, many biologists assume, “If you’ve seen one wild horse you’ve seen them all,” as if their behavior is simply patterned by “the force of nature.” Their actions: outside their control.   

I’m glad to say, in just the past few years, things have started to change. As a sociologist, I was thrilled to see, in 2021, a peer-reviewed article in the sciences suggesting that wild horses create multileveled societies. In the same year, a group of equine subjects in an Italian study passed the mirror-self-recognition test. Horses know who they are. More important, they know who they are in relation to others. We’re just beginning to understand the social relations that wild horses form beyond their immediate family bands. We need further research, of course, but it is becoming clear that mustangs engage in almost constant relationship-building. They likely identify as part of large-scale bonded groups. They can even create and acknowledge an extended clan. In my mind, each step we take to learn more about mustangs, their intelligence and their social lives, the more success we’ll find when it comes to convincing others to see their worth and dignity.

A lone wild horse surveys its habitat in the Wyoming wilderness.

EquuStyle: What do you believe is the most effective way to change the way wild horses are managed?

Chad Hanson: As a general strategy, the Bureau of Land Management treats wild horses—legally defined as American icons and living symbols of the West—as if they were livestock bound for slaughter. In truth, we do not even afford them that level of decency. The BLM hires livestock companies with helicopters to chase and capture our mustangs. But in agribusiness, they only use choppers to locate animals. Business people would never order a helicopter to descend on a herd of stock. If we scared cattle with helicopters, they would run desperately, and potentially injure themselves in the process. We see cattle as having value (economic value) so we take steps to assure their safety. On the other hand, helicopter roundups in horse herds nearly always end with mustangs injured and killed. There are BLM staff that schedule roundup after roundup, knowing they can expect chaos, death and brutality.

The good news: people are like horses. We are not all the same. There are BLM staff members that appreciate mustangs. Within the BLM, there are men and women who would much prefer to use humane and affordable strategies to manage wild horses. I consider it my job, our job, to find those people and to work with them. They could use our help and cooperation is contagious. I am a proud member of a coalition of petitioners in a lawsuit aimed at stopping the complete elimination of two Wyoming herds, so I understand, when we are backed into a corner, we have to appeal to the nation’s highest authorities. But lawsuits come with high stakes, and consequences that we can’t fully control. Long term, I am committed to creating situations where wild horse enthusiasts and BLM staff can work together on behalf of our mustangs.

Chad Hanson's image of a lone wild stallion in Wyoming.

EquuStyle: In the current environment, with traumatizing helicopter roundups and holding pens, how can citizens effectively demand an end to the violence?

Chad Hanson: I encourage citizens and horse advocates to think big—bigger than we have in years. I am a fan of a concept called the “Overton window.” In short, the idea suggests that, at any given time, there is a window, of a certain size, that limits the number of solutions to public policy problems we see as “acceptable.” Thus, successful advocates “open” the window, stretching it in the direction of their interests. In other words, it helps to ask for more than what might seem currently feasible. It’s the only way to make a proposal that feels “unthinkable” today, turn into tomorrow’s “obvious” or “sensible” approach.

I would like to see a diverse coalition of citizens and equine advocacy groups wondering, in open and public forums, “Why don’t we have a Wild Horse National Park?” What about a series of, “Wild Horse National Monuments?” How about the identification of regions that we could call, “Wild Horse Commons,” in states with adjacent herd management areas? I’m talking about large and well-studied regions, home to genetically viable herds, managed on the range through non-violent, humane and affordable means. Everyone knows that suggestions on these lines will meet with opposition, but none of these proposals will ever come about if we don’t start the conversations.

In the long run, persistent efforts in these directions might bear fruit. And in the short term, discussions about expanding protections for mustangs hold the potential to pull currently “outlandish” ideas into the realm of the possible. If we shift the conversation toward hard-to-achieve goals, then suddenly, the reasonable (but currently out-of-the-question) suggestion to halt the helicopters and treat wild horses with dignity starts to feel like “common sense.”

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