The Old Bull
Taken at the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge near Des Moines IA.
Taken at the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge near Des Moines IA.
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Oct, 2015Views
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Awards
Fall Award 2020
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
Peer Award
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Superior Skill
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge near Des Moines Iowa. A gravel road cuts through the middle of the refuge where bison and elk roam free.Time
I remember driving back and forth through the refuge looking for a great opportunity to photograph a bull bison. You are not allowed to leave your vehicle, but you can stop on the roadside if you like. I could see the heard of bison on my first drive through, but they were too far away for a good close up. I did notice however that they were on the move and heading in my direction. Patience paid off, and at about 2:30 pm the heard was crossing the road as I drove by. I stopped, rolled down a window and started snapping images of several females and this old bull of course. It was a great day!Lighting
The sun cooperated quite well for me, lighting the the massive bull from from the West. He was standing there bellowing in this great pose facing North West so his back and head were both well lit.Equipment
The metadata where this image is posted says the camera was a Canon EOS 5D. But that is not correct! I was shooting with a Nikon D610 and a Sigma 70-200 lense.Inspiration
Bison are one of the most majestic animals in North America. I was told about the wildlife refuge by my son and daughter in law who live in Des Moines. Wildlife being my favorite genre of photography, I was eager to make the 200 mile road trip with camera in tow.Editing
Yes! I did extensive post-processing in Photoshop. While I loved the big bull, and how he was standing, there were three other female buffalo in the frame that could not be cropped out. Almost as disappointing, the sky was pure blue without a cloud in sight. Boring right! I knew the shot had great potential so I put the time in to replace the sky with the one you see in the image today. Those clouds were photographed in Iowa by me, just on a different day. Once that was done I went to work on removing the three unwanted buffalo from the photo. I did that using custom brushes and the clone tool to cover the animals with the wild flowers from the image itself. Given what I started with I was quite happy with the results. I understand some photographers frown on being that heavy handed with Photoshop, but I was not about to get out of my car and ask three one thousand pound animals to get out of the way!In my camera bag
I have two camera bodies, a Nikon D610fx and a Nikon D90dx. As for lenses, I usually carry a Nikon 50mm f1.4, a Nikon 85mm f1.8 a Tamron 18-270mm f3.5 - 6.3, and a Sigma 70-200 f2.8. I also carry a nice sturdy tripod and a Sekonic L-858D light meter.Feedback
Be patient, and with animals like bison, be safe! They will charge if you get too close. If you don't have the best angle on your subject or the subject is not lit correctly take your time and see of a better opportunity presents itself if you wait a moment, or move to a different spot. Also plan your shot in advance and consider the time of day and position of the sun. And be prepared for days when you just can't get the image you are looking for because of environmental issues like weather, and unexpected photobombs like other animals or signs that can't be removed for the frame. To that end, I suggest taking shots of interesting clouds and sunsets at every opportunity. And brush up on your post-processing skills using your favorite software.
