92 SIDELINES MARCH 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
Continued on page 94
Jim Dratfield is
A
s any rider who
has
achieved
success with a
horse can tell you, a close
relationship
between
horse and rider is probably
the
most
important
ingredient; it’s every bit as
important to success as is
the horse’s ability, whether
it’s in jumping, dressage
or any other discipline.
Fine art photographer
Jim Dratfield has a
unique ability to capture
the special relationship
between horse and rider
and also the individual
personalities of horses
that help lead to those
unique bonds horses
have with their riders and
owners.
“Horse owners, as
much as the owners of
dogs, cats or any other
pet, have a special love for
their animals,” Jim said.
“They come to know their
horses so well and my
mission is to capture the
essence of their horses in
photographs that they can
enjoy year after year.”
A native of Princeton,
New Jersey, Jim grew
up acting from the age
of six and left college to
pursue stardom in New
York and Hollywood. He
had a successful run in the
Broadway revival of
The
ManWho Came to Dinner
, in which he prophetically played the role
of the son who oddly enough runs off to become a photographer.
Jim then moved to Los Angeles where he landed the recurring
role of Bud Keiser, an obnoxious paramedic, in the critically
acclaimed television series,
St. Elsewhere
. He also formed his
own theatrical production company,
O Drat! Productions
, which
received Honorable Mention by the
Los Angeles Times
Critics as
Best Revival of 1986 for its production of Lanford Wilson’s
Fifth
of July.
It was while dreaming up concepts for a promotional mailing
he planned to send to casting directors that he came up with the
Alexa Pessoa
idea of a series of photos
of him with his best friend
– Kuma, an Akita. A new
idea began to form in
Jim’s head. He realized
that other people had the
same deep affection for
their pets as he did, and
would cherish portraits
that captured a certain
time, place or mood
forever. His mission
began when his life took
this new direction that
combined his passion
for photography with his
great love of animals.
In February 1993, Jim
co-founded Petography,
Inc., an animal portrait
studio specializing in fine
art photographs of pets
of all sizes, shapes and
species often with their
people. The concept and
the company were an
instant success.
Jim is now the nation’s
leading
photographic
artist of people’s pets.
He has photographed
celebrities like Jennifer
Aniston, Barbara Walters
and Elton John with
their pets, as well as
many horse owners like
Georgina
Bloomberg,
Bruce Duchossois, Alexa
Pessoa and Jane Clark.
Jim is based in
Wellington this winter as
his company, Petography,
has a booth at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival. His signature
style is sepia toned prints, which lends a rare and timeless quality
to his photographs. He also produces color photos and black and
white imagery.
Jim has gained national fame through his many books such
as
Underdogs: Beauty is More Than Fur Deep
and the photo
celebration of horses, which was released with
The Quotable
Equine
. His book,
Pug Shots
, was featured in
People
Magazine
and has been listed as high as number 66 on Amazon.com.
Jim has also achieved notoriety through his appearances on
e
Photography
Picture
Perfect
