by Merri Melde-Endurance.net
March 15, 2020

Linda Sherrill, of Justus Photography, is a full-time photographer, represented by a stock photo agency in Great Britain, where she was born. She sells photos to various horse magazines each month to illustrate articles, and she's been blessed to have had cover images on Endurance News, Saddle Up magazine, Equus magazine, TrailBlazer magazine, and The Horse magazine, as well as photos featured in books by 17 various authors, and calendars sold by Barnes & Noble.

Linda's business name, Justus, has a unique origin. "There are two men in the Bible named Justus," Linda said. "One was a man who was no one special; he just loved the Lord and did whatever he could to help. That spoke to me; hence the name Justus!"

Where do you live?
Southern New Mexico


How did you first get into photography?
I started photographing Arabian horses at a horse show for a friend in 1992. After that, I was hooked.

What equipment do you normally shoot with?
I shoot with a Canon Mark IV with a 70—200mm f/2.8 lens.

When did you start shooting endurance rides?
I started shooting endurance rides in the midwest in 1996.

Why do you like shooting endurance rides?
I competed in the sport for many years (started in 1987) and I love to still be able to see and visit with friends. I love saying hello to everyone as they go by. It’s nice when you’ve been in the sport this long, and can still find a way to connect.

What are challenges you find in shooting endurance rides?
As I’m sure every ride photographer faces, finding the perfect spot where the sun isn’t against you as the horses go by. It’s a challenge, but I always go out ahead of time and scout locations.

What are one or two of your favorite ride shooting stories/adventures/misadventures?
At the Ft. Stanton ride a few years ago, some Texas riders had just lost a friend to a horse riding accident. I think it meant the world to them to have photos of them all together riding. As they went past me on trail, They stopped in the middle of the trail, lined up for their group photo, and those are still some of the most beautiful photos I’ve taken. The feeling that they all just knew what it meant to have photos of each other.

And any other pertinent info you’d like to share with us?
There is nothing more satisfying as a photographer than to show a rider an image of their horse and themselves going down trail and getting an audible gasp from their reaction. I love what I do and have so many friends and fellow horsemen who appreciate our efforts to come out to the rides and photograph. It makes it all worthwhile!

www.lindasherrill.com

Below are a few shots from a couple of Linda's favorite rides over the years.

These 2 are just a sample of Linda's varied work





 

Trailblazer cover is a sample of Linda's magazine work


2 horses running to finish line are Nat'l Champion and Reserve Champion at the 2011 AERC National Championships at Stanton, New Mexico



Blake Potter riding Julia Lynn’s stallion at Ft Stanton a couple years ago.

Endurance Ride Photographers Guild member Linda Sherrill Wins Professional Photographers of America International Print Competition Awards




by Merri Melde-Endurance.net
December 10 2021 


Linda Sherrill of Justus Photography based in Alamogordo, New Mexico, has been a member of the PPA (Professional Photographers of America) since 2014. PPA is a group of around 25,000 photographers in the US, Mexico, and Canada. 


The organization holds two international print competitions each year. Linda entered three of her images in this year’s September event in Atlanta. Out of 5901 entries, only 1040 received Image Excellence awards, and around 2000 were merited. Two of Linda’s images, ‘Another Day at the Office’ and ‘Spring Branding’ merited, and ‘Ride and Slide’ won an Image Excellence award. “That one was judged by 10 judges, and it was a unanimous IE award,” Linda says. 


“There are 12 different criteria that are their judging points, and those have to be adhered to. For example, you have to see direction of light, and the title that you give it gets judged - the impact that it has on the judges when they open their computer screen and look at it for the first time. 


“The judges only have 60 seconds to judge the images. They know exactly to look for.” 


Linda is two merits short of becoming a ‘Master Photographer’ in the Photographic Open category. To become a Master of Photography, a member needs 26 merits. Thirteen have to be in competition, and the other 13 have to be in service which qualifies as attending education, taking classes such as photography technique, Photoshop, or basics of starting a photo business. It’s a fierce competition to just get into some of the classes. 


“The MP certification proves that you have invested time and money in education, and obviously it’s important to you, and then you also took that and translated it into images that would win in competition.” 


Master Photographers can teach on whatever their expertise is, so Linda will soon be able to teach classes on photographing horses and dogs and the people who love them. 


“PPA does some wonderful things. They’re there to support us. We have an annual national convention, coming up in January in Washington DC, and all of my images will hang in the gallery there, as well as everybody else’s that merited or got an image of excellence award. 


“This year was special, I’ve never done this well in competition in one year before. It just makes your client pictures so much better. Trying to comply with competition rules really ups your game.” 


Just recently, ‘Ride and Slide’ was also nominated for a GIA (Grand Imaging Award) which is the highest award PPA bestows. That judging will take place next month during the PPA Annual convention in DC. 


“PPA is the premiere educational place to go when you want to learn about photography. It’s a very supportive group. The classes teach me how to make my client images better. I can’t tell you how much my career has gotten better by print competition.” 


Linda started photographing Arabian horses at a horse show for a friend in 1992. After that, she was hooked. She started shooting Endurance rides in the midwest in 1996, and is a member of the Endurance Ride Photographers Guild. This is a group of around two dozen professional photographers from around the USA dedicated to documenting AERC Endurance ride events in the USA. 


“Shooting Endurance rides is a lot of fun. I don’t compete anymore, but getting out there with a camera and watching the riders go by is still huge to me, because it’s really about the people - your friends, and the friends that you make.” 


Linda’s website:
www.lindasherrill.com