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sdondero

Idaho Traffic Jam

A classic Idaho traffic jam unfolds as recently sheared sheep pass through the colorful streets of Ketchum, Idaho.

A classic Idaho traffic jam unfolds as recently sheared sheep pass through the colorful streets of Ketchum, Idaho.
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Canon EOS 5D Mark II

settings

Aperture f/6.3 ISO 640 Shutter 1/160

upload_date

Sep, 2014

Views

8855

Likes

+2k

Awards

Top Shot Award 21

Contest Finalist in Anything Animals Photo Contest

Contest Finalist in Wildlife On The Move Photo Contest

Contest Finalist in A World Of Motion Photo Contest

Flat Screen TV

Contest Finalist in Herds Photo Contest

Contest Finalist in Life Is A Journey Photo Contest

Featured

Superb Composition

+336

Peer Award

+294

Top Choice

+193

Absolute Masterpiece

+121

Outstanding Creativity

+101

Magnificent Capture

+64

All Star

+30

Superior Skill

+16

Genius

Virtuoso

Great Find

Emotions

Impressed

+16

Happy

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Categories

Great shot. Congratulations on being Featured.

PRO

great capture

very nice capture...dop was great

Cool shot

Great capture, congrats on your feature!

super image! i lack words here. you deserved to win and you did

Excellent capture.Congratulation on your feature!

Congrats and this excellent capture and feature.

super

Terrific shot! Congratulations!!

PRO

This image is so perfect... I was on the floor laughing with my cup of coffee (^: what ever happened to the Boarder Collie?

Platinum

What an amazing sight. Great shot!

I can't help wondering where you were standing when you took this shot;
kudos for the magnificent capture and for your bravery.

That is a lot of sheep. Great shot and congrats on the feature!

PRO+

Awesome Capture!

Great capture....

PRO

What a scene. Congratulations.

Premium

wonderful shot !

Wonderful capture !!!

Fantastic composition. Congratulations on your Feature!

This is awesome... Congrats ")

Wow! Congratulations! A truly wonderful capture!!!!

Platinum

AMAZING PHOTO

Awesome caption!!!

Amazing!

Lovely moment caught on camera, rising steam adds atmosphere

Platinum

Cool shot! Congrats!

Well taken,like the steam coming off the wet road,great composition.

Wonderful pov! The combination of the rain covered road, the curve of the yellow line and the matching Fall colors. The steam rising off of the sheep is the perfect touch. In entirety, the image expresses the transition of seasons.

fantastic shot congrats

Kudos!

That is beautiful. Well done.

excellent,bravo

Terrific shot!

Great capture! You have us all in the moment!

wonderful

That was a big gang and nice capture

This brings to mind the great song Photo finish by Chris Ledoux. Great capture.

Awesome composition, colors and subjects

I love this shot! I grew up owning sheep. So any thing sheep I love! This is not only sheep but awesome sheep!

Great picture ! Come and check out a few of mine sometime 😃😄

A beautiful shot, I had to look loser, such brilliant color!

Platinum

Thanks, glad you enjoy!

excellent!

See all

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Behind The Lens

Location

This photo opportunity literally walked into me on my way to work. Living in Sun Valley, Idaho, has a distinct advantage in that not only is the wilderness right in our backyard, but the daily commute to work is typically short and traffic free. This day was a rare exception.

Time

A rainstorm had just passed through on this chilly fall morning as I drove to work. Steam from the sheep can be seen against the colorful autumn backdrop.

Lighting

Since this was taken early in the morning on an overcast day, I didn't have to content with harsh light or shadows, but I did have to account for the dim light with a quickly approaching subject in order to avoid blurring the subjects. The overcast skies allowed me to expose in a way that rendered the steam off the sheep while naturally boosting the saturation in the autumn trees.

Equipment

I shot this handheld from my car with a Canon 5D MK II and a 70-200 f/2.8 L II lens at 165mm, 1/160 of a second, f/6.3, ISO 640.

Inspiration

Autumn is by far my favorite season for photography, as we enjoy incredibly colorful landscapes out here in Sun Valley, Idaho. Fortunately, my camera was sitting in my passenger seat from a photoshoot the evening before as I drove to work this chilly morning. While I've seen sheep pass through our town countless times, I was nevertheless caught off guard while coming around a blind corner and seeing a wall of wool occupying the entire road. I just barely had time to skid to a stop, roll down my window, and compose this shot before my vehicle was entirely surrounded by these freshly sheered mountain critters. My composition was based on leaving some foreground open to allow the sheep to move into the frame, trying to integrate the curve of the center line of the road, and enough headroom above the sheep to set off the steam from the colorful trees in the background. This was one of three frames that I was able to knock off before the moment was gone.

Editing

I process all of my RAW files in Lightroom, where I do basic adjustments to exposure, contrast, noise reduction, etc. I further polished this image in Photoshop to deepen midtone contrast and add sharpening.

In my camera bag

As a Canon shooter, I typically run with the following: One Canon 5DS, two 5D MKIII bodies, an assortment of lenses (Zeiss 15mm f/2.8, Canon 16-35mm f/4 L, 24-70mm f/2.8 L II, 35mm f/1.4, 70-200mm f/2.8mm L II, Tamron 85mm f/1.8 100mm f/2.8 L, 135mm f/2 L, 200-400mm f/4 w/ 1.4X built-in extender), Manfrotto tripods, a variety of filters (ND, Graduated ND, Polarizers), tele-extenders (1.4X & 2X), Canon SpeedLights, and PocketWizard remote triggers, or Elinchrom Ranger/Quadras power packs.

Feedback

This capture is a perfect example of how photographic opportunities can present themselves at the least expected moments, and unless you have your gear ready and are familiar with how it works, you won't be able to act fast enough and you'll miss the shot. I've learned to always keep a camera in my car--after all, you never know when even traffic can become interesting!

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Idaho Traffic Jam

A classic Idaho traffic jam unfolds as recently sheared sheep pass through the colorful streets of Ketchum, Idaho.

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow sdondero

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