Wild Horses of Pror Mountain
Feb, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
Pryor Mountain, MontanaTime
noon-2pmLighting
The shadows indicate that it was noon. Not the best time of day to be shooting. But when shooting wildlife, I can't be too choosy. It was a moment to be seized.Equipment
This was shot on my old D-70. Nikon. 70-300/4.5 Nikkor lensInspiration
Hoping to catch a glimpse of the famed wild horses, we drove and drove over very rough terrain. I happened to look down into a valley and there they were! With just my camera, I started descending to them. I talked to them fairly loudly as I approached. I would stop every couple of minutes and sit down for a bit, to let them know I was there and non threatening. I kept photographing my entire way down. My last shot on the card was quite close to them. I filled the card. They looked at me and decided to be done. They gave a snort and took off. One of the most amazing experiences of my life.Editing
This is a layered piece. I have many textures that I like to add to photos. This particular texture (there were 2) seemed to work very well. There was no formula. I like to mess around with textures. When it is right, it is like "Wow!That works". When it doesn't, it just misses.In my camera bag
At the time of this image, all I had was my camera (D70) and a 70-300/4.5 lens This was shot at 70mm/F5 (70-300 zoom). Today, I carry my D610, my 28-70/F2.8 lens and my 70-200/F2.8.Feedback
Most important: Be respectful when photographing wildlife. I was scolded by some locals at how close I got to them (less than 3 meters for my final shot). I think my approach worked well though in making myself very apparent to them, talking to them and sitting every couple minutes as I approached to be as non threatening as possible. It is good to have a partner with you when photographing wildlife, in case something goes wrong. Start a library of texture layers if you haven't already. They are fun to play with and can really make an average photo pop.
