Glacier NP Mountain Goats
May, 2016Views
554
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Awards
People's Choice in Mamas and Babes Photo Challenge
People's Choice in Glacier National Park Photo Challenge
Top Choice
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Outstanding Creativity
Absolute Masterpiece
Superior Skill
All Star
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankCategories
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo in Glacier National Park along the trail to Hidden LakeTime
I'm not entirely sure what time of day this was taken. I believe it was early-mid afternoon.Lighting
My husband and I were on vacation with Glacier NP being our first destination. We decided to take the walk to Hidden Lake and were about half-way up the trail. I stop a lot to take pictures plus he walks much faster than I do so he was pretty far ahead of me on the trail. As I was walking (along with a handful of other people) this mama mountain goat and her little one came wandering down the mountain, crossed the trail just a few yards in front of us and went over and settled down where this photo was taken. They were obviously used to people being in the area which is a little sad. I was able to use my smaller zoom lens to snap this shot of the pair without getting too close.Equipment
I used my camera and a zoom lens to take this photo. No tripod or flash was necessary.Inspiration
I love nature, mountains like those in the background and animals. It was exciting to be this close to these beautiful animals, coupled with the gorgeous mountain backdrop, this was an image that had to be taken.Editing
Yes. This picture was taken on a bright sunny day so there were a lot of shadows. I used photoshop to lighten up the shadows a bit, bring down the highlights and give the color a boost.In my camera bag
I use a backpack as my camera bag when hiking. I usually have my camera, 2 different length zoom lenses, a CPL filter, a variable ND filter, a spare charged battery and charger and extra memory cards. I hike with a monopod that doubles as a walking stick. I also have standard hiking paraphernalia ; water bottle, snack (granola bar or nuts), wet wipes, bug spray, solar charger, chapstick, cell phone, whistle, mini flashlight. I also almost always have a couple plastic grocery bags to use for picking up trash we find on the trail.Feedback
I think the best advice is just to have fun and don't get so caught up in taking pictures that you forget to take in your surroundings. However, when looking through the viewfinder, I would say be sure you take time to examine what's in that rectangle, compose the image, make sure you're not cutting anything off, think about what it will look like as a photograph & what will give the most impact.
