Local lensman captures horse in the sky

What could be a routine stop to drop a check off at the bank has turned magical at Great Western Bank.

As bank customers wait in teller lines, finances on their mind — a majestic 46-inch by 30-inch photograph on canvas distracts many. The photo recently has captured a lot of attention in Maricopa, a city surrounded by the beauty of free-running wild horses.

On display at the bank is a photo of a horse also spotted in Maricopa — in the sky. It is the unedited image caught in the clouds of a sunset nine-year Maricopa resident Sherman Bell noticed during a drive home from a 2011 visit with his mother. It doesn’t seem to take any imagination to see the horse in those clouds that Bell photographed with his Nikon, facing straight up at the sky.

Many agree: The clouds form the shape of a gallant horse. One person even imagines a man sitting atop the animal.

“I looked up at the sky, and there it was — a horse galloping into the heavens,” Bell said. “If this can help somebody feel better, give you that extra energy you need to do something — then I have made my goal. Everything is spiritual when it involves the sky.”

Bell said he hopes the photo gives strength to those who see it, whether they are having financial struggles, personal concerns or just need uplifted as they patiently wait in the bank lobby.

“It’s a once in a lifetime scene, and I was lucky enough to catch it on photo,” Bell said.

He also hopes to convey an important message that spreads far beyond the bank — “I keep my eyes open. There’s just beauty and flavor all over us, and we just have to know where to look,” Bell said. “You don’t have to go anywhere just stand in a spot.”

A musician with Motown connections, Bell said he always has carried his camera with him to capture those beautiful “normal” moments in people’s lives.

He has collections of photos of landscape and people who captured his imagination from his years in California where he grew up and raised two boys, and now in Maricopa, a city he claims for the most beautiful sunsets.

Great Western Bank’s Arizona cash management specialist Cecilia Estrada-Ashe understands just how magical wild horses are to Maricopa residents. Many tell stories of stopping by the side of the road to get their own photos of the horses. So when customer Bell showed her his photo, she immediately agreed to display it in the bank. Tellers now point it out.