Photography is often about luck but for Betty Cooper, sometimes it’s a shot in the dark.

Standing outside a racetrack in Saratoga Springs, N.Y, in the early hours of the morning, the Oxford Mills photographer watched a horse being hot walked back to the stables – an exercise to prevent the horse’s muscles from cramping up after a run.

As the sun rose, beams of light starting spilling through the tree tops, washing the ground below with an amber glow.

Immediately taken by the beauty of the scene, Cooper snapped a photo.

The “lucky” shot – aptly called Hot Walkers on a Cool Morning – earned Cooper the Top Print Award at the annual print competition of the eastern branch of the Professional Photographers of Ontario on May 26.

While Cooper boasts years of experience as a photographer with Sugarbush Studio, her Oxford Mills based company, everything just seemed to magically come together for the perfect photo.

“You have to be good to be lucky and you have to be lucky to be good,” said Cooper. “It was a little bit of a case of being in the right place at the right time.

“I was very excited (when I saw it),” she said. “It just looked very old world.”

The competition was judged by three renowned photographers: Roger Sands, past president of the PPO, Guy Martin, a former Photographer of the Year of the PPO, and Daniel Osborne, president of the Corporation of Master Photographers of Quebec.

“All three of these men are master photographers,” said Cooper. “So it’s a real honour.”

To see more of Cooper’s work, visit www.betty-cooper.com.