Magical Moment
Wild pony foal in Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia coming up to me to say hello. They were so peaceful and fun to photograph and this moment captured a ...
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Wild pony foal in Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia coming up to me to say hello. They were so peaceful and fun to photograph and this moment captured a grasshopper in mid flight.
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Aug, 2016Views
759
Likes
Awards
People's Choice in Pretty ponies Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Magnificent Capture
Top Ranks
Top 30 rank
Top 30 rank week 1
Top 30 rankTop 30 rank week 1
Top 30 rank
Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
Grayson Highlands State Park on the Massie Gap hiking trails. They lead up to windswept mountain tops where the wild ponies prefer to graze in Summer. This Virginia section of the Blue Ridge Mountains is gorgeous even without wild ponies.Time
Around high noon. The clouds reduced some of the harsh glare of sun usually associated with mid day sun on July 30th.Lighting
I shot this in sports mode, which always requires bright sun to give good results. It is always my preference to shoot in natural light.Equipment
I do most photography on my Samsung phone. Yes, they keep making the news for battery problems, but the camera is amazing!Inspiration
This was my chosen destination for my 49th birthday. I had found out about this population of wild ponies 3 years earlier, and had wanted to visit them from that very moment. We stayed 5 days and the hikes in this state park were amazing.Editing
I shot this in hd, so other than healing out a few black flies buzzing around the ponies heads, it needed nothing but cropping.In my camera bag
Just a spare battery pack.Feedback
Go where you know there is something that interests you! I took 8000+ photos of these ponies. They are always in motion, tails swishing, and you just have to keep shooting. The herd keeps reconfiguring and good angles go bad quickly. This herds foals responded well to kissy lip sounds. One little gal kept almost toppling me thinking I wanted to play. As with all wild animals you want to photograph, don't feed or touch them. Let them be wild. Keep yourself safe too. Wild horses and ponies kick with their back legs. Don't get close directly behind them. Broken ribs or fatal head injuries are possible with a startling sound or annoying action on your part around equines.
