Bighorn sheep

[Steve Maxson]

I photographed this bighorn sheep in Jasper National Park, Canada in early October. This ram was the largest in a group of 5 and whereas the other 4 were always close together, this one stayed slightly apart from the rest. 1D IV, 70-300 mm L at 176 mm, 1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 400, tripod. All comments are welcome and appreciated.

[Andre Pretorius]

Hi Steve

Amazing detail on horns, eye and coat!
Would maybe add a bit on top if you have it…
The BG very interesting and contrasting nice with subject.
Did you consider brighting up the sky a bit for more depth?

Andre.

[Morkel Erasmus]

Hey Steve. Always good seeing you post here. I love the backdrop and the proud pose here.
How much of a crop is it? I feel it could stand a wee bit more space all around.
I'd also consider toning down the brightest highlights on the ram.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Steve - Nice to see you posting here. I absolutely love the pose on the rock/cliff edge and the landscape bg. Good choice on the vertical. Only thing I would do is tame the highlights slightly as Morkel suggested. I hope you have more you'll share.

TFS,
Rachel

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Steve, kudos in venturing into our part of the pond, excellent and a cracking opening image.

Great environment setting and I would agree that if you have it, a fraction more all round to give the subject some breathing space would be good, but keeping the crop proportion. I also like the rock he is perched on to. I just wonder if a slight change of position, a fraction more to the right to give more separation to the legs and also to see both eyes might have been better? However he may have then moved or bolted. No so keen on the having just a hint of the right eye as viewed so keeping the same position, do you have any frames with the HA more as a side profile emphasising that fantastic horn? Agree on making a slight Exp adj & tonal curve adj to the horn to bring a bit more depth & detail out more. Techs & PP all look good, curious that with the SS you had a tripod, any reason for that, were you doing landscapes?

Look forward to more. :cheers:

TFS
Steve

[Mike Poole]

Never expected to be so impressed with a shot of a sheep! I love the details and the pose, but agree that just a little more space from him to breathe would be beneficial

[Douglas Bolt]

Very imposing sheep. The background contrasts well with the details of the animal. Well done.

[Steve Maxson]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions everyone! I'll reprocess the image with those in mind. This was only a slight crop, but I do have a bit more space to work with. Steve - I usually like to work with a tripod when shooting birds and wildlife, but at a ss of 1/2000 a tripod would not have been necessary for this image. The light was changing rapidly from bright sun to dark shade as heavy, but scattered, clouds rolled overhead so my shutter speeds were also changing rapidly and the tripod was helpful for the lower-light shots. :S3:

[Steve Kaluski]

Thanks for the update Steve, just curious based on the kit. :S3:

[Steve Canuel]

Nice pose and setting here Steve. Almost looks like a natural history diorama.