Barbara Livingston discusses her latest book, Barbara Livingston's Saratoga

Barbara Livingston's love affair with Saratoga Springs, New York, began when she first visited Saratoga Race Course as a horse-crazy adolescent. State-of-the-art camera equipment has replaced the Instamatic she once toted, but Livingston's passion for Thoroughbred racing and the environs of Saratoga Springs has remained constant during a highly lauded career.

Livingston has won two Eclipse Awards and numerous other awards for outstanding photography. Her romantic style and ability to capture the essence of the moment have made her a regular contributor to many publications, including The Blood-Horse. Her work also has appeared in Sports Illustrated, Newsweek, People, Cigar Aficionado, and GQ and on the cover of TV Guide. In addition, Livingston's work has appeared on many major book covers, including ones for Bantam; Doubleday; and Little, Brown.

Livingston also is the author of Four Seasons of Racing and the popular Old Friends: Visits with My Favorite Thoroughbreds, both published by Eclipse Press.

A native of upstate New York, Livingston is a graduate of Syracuse University with a degree in fine arts.

What do you think is your strength as a photographer and how is that illustrated in this book?

Perhaps my personal connection to my photographs -- my strong desire to portray what I love in a most beautiful light -- helped in creating this book. By my mid-teens, I decided upon a career in photography. By then I'd already studied nature and fine arts, and worked with horses. I am undoubtedly overly sentimental, and deeply love the Saratoga area.

The chapter on Saratoga Race Course gives a sense of a day at the races. How were you able to narrow down which images to use among the many you've taken over the years?

I tried to select photos that would appeal to both racing and non-racing audiences. For the many non-racing people who visit the track, there are images familiar to everyone: the sweeping paddock, lawn jockeys, timeless foggy sunrises. By portraying the race day from sunrise till after the last race, I hoped to capture the spirit of "a day of races" for both audiences. For many, of course, the horses are the stars that make Saratoga shine, so such fan favorites as Cigar, Azeri, Gander, and Saratoga's own Funny Cide are featured.

Aside from the horse racing scenes, what are some of your favorite photographs in this book? What makes them favorites?

The seasonal photographs evoke emotion by simple virtue of the varying colors and feelings. Autumn is remarkable, and the brilliant leaf-coated pond image reflects thoughts of lost summers. I love the haunting loneliness of winter in the two-page spread of Greenridge Cemetery -- the cemetery where my best friend is buried. Another favorite photograph portrays the Saratoga battlefield's Neilson house bathed in beautiful late-afternoon light. I hope to capture the ghosts of war and quiet of the modern day. The Avenue of the Pines, one of Saratoga's most beautiful treasures, provided me two favorite images, one reflecting the towering canopy and the other a surreal, foggy day.

The natural fossil patterns at the Petrified Sea Gardens created a lovely image, and the nighttime lighting cast upon the magical Congress Park Carousel stirs me. In my heart, I hear lilting calliope music even when the carved horses are at rest. Spencer and Katrina Trasks' Yaddo estate enchants me, and I absolutely love photographing there. It is difficult to choose, but the photographs of roses on the pergola, and fish lazing in a garden fountain, are favorites. While there are others, these images stand out due to the subjects' beauty and my reverence for them.

What were some difficulties you encountered while trying to photograph some of the subjects in this book?

Lighting and timing. The "perfect" lighting often doesn’t happen for hours, or even days. I also wanted to record the area not just at the peak of summer, when so many tourists visit, but during the other three seasons as well. Awaiting the perfect backdrop -- be it red leaves or green grass -- took persistence. Another thing that photographers know well is that what the eye sees is often not what the camera sees. Our eyes forgive a trash can, or bad lighting, or a person lacking fashion sense. The camera does not, however, and those distractions ruin a photo.

What do you hope people take away from this book?

Saratoga Springs, and the surrounding area, offer much more than social events and horse races. While those are wonderful things associated with the word "Saratoga" -- and I am so proud to record horse racing here -- the area's natural beauty is most profound, and its history most strong. It is a remarkable, unique, vibrant area to visit and explore, for both racing and non-racing fans. My hope is to share some of that beauty and history, and to spark an interest in local treasures that might not be familiar to everyone.

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