She was a very shy lady, probably in her late 50’s or early 60’s. I started chatting with her and was interested to find out that she was a photographer who was passionate about taking photos of Wild Brumbys (horses found in the wild in Australia).

It was really fascinating to talk with her and once I got her going about her passion,  she really lit up.

As we continued chatting more and more people became interested in the conversation…this shy lady had lived an extra-ordinary life.

She rode on horseback with a pack mule from Italy to Norway, it took her 7 months and in the end she had to ride through snow and ice. This trip was documented by some television stations in Europe.

She also went on another solo ride from Melbourne, Australia up to Cook Town. She once again took a donkey with her as pack horse and it took her a year and a half.

I also discovered that she lived in New York and worked for some famous publishing magazines.  I’m sure if I could sit down with her for a few more hours , I’d probably learn a lot more about what she has done in her life up to this point.

She likes to track the Brumbys from there air so she can later hike in and take photos and so she is currently learning to fly an airplane so she can do this for herself. She told me that she also wanted to get a pink plane and fly around Australia to raise money for breast cancer (remember this is a lady that is probably in her 60’s).

Gitta was one of the most interesting and inspirational people that I’ve met in a long while and so I wanted to send her a greeting card to say thank you and how nice it was to meet her.

Thank You For Your Inspiration Greeting Card

Gitta is a real free spirit,  someone who is not afraid to be on her own. I would say she loves nature,  solitude,  and probably more than anything else… she loves horses.

I wanted to create a greeting card that summed up her spirit and so I went to one of my favorite places to look for great images, Flickr.

While I was looking I came across Harwig Koppdelaney Fickr Photostream, this guy has some incredible images and poems to go with them…what a find.

I contacted Hartwig and asked if I could have his permission to use his image and he was kind enough to say yes.
You can see his image, Night Horse and Sword here. There is also a very nice poem that he wrote to go with this picture.

Thank You Card Wording

Dear Gitta,

It was a real pleasure meeting you at Vera’s Party the other day.

It’s always inspirational talking with people who follow their passion and dreams…it was a breath of fresh air chatting with you!

Look forward to meeting you again and chatting some more. Hopefully I will get a chance to go into the mountains and see how you work, I’d love that.

Best Wishes,

Steve

I love talking with people that are passionate about a topic. I find that if I ask the right questions, most people have a passion and this brings a whole new energy level to any converstaion.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

What I really love about making my own greeting cards is I can choose an image that expresses my feeling towards that person. I reckon I would have had to go to 10 card stores before I could even come close to finding a card that sums up Gitta, her love for nature and horses. Thanks to the Internet (and Hartwig) I was able to find a suitable image within 10 minutes and have my card written and posted in under 20 minutes.

Well worth it in my opinion!