Pronghorn Battle

[Alison McCoy]

I sat in a blind at a waterhole on the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge during the Pronghorn Rut. My patience was rewarded with a longish battle between these two bucks. Here are 5 photos of the fight.

Canon 7DMII
Canon 100-400 II @360
ISO 320
F/7.1
1/1000

Sizing each other up.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5824/21453762348_4acabba564_b.jpg

Engaged.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/651/21018803284_2b9ca7d9e5_b.jpg

Getting Intense.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/642/21641661845_7abd8b7432_b.jpg

We're done.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/631/21454658549_4bc44fe801_b.jpg

Pressing the victory.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5618/21020462363_c77e85bb0f_b.jpg

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Alison!

What a wonderful surprise! WELCOME TO STORY SEQUENCES FORUM:wave:

This is just awesome, great action captured and I like the intensity and build-up to the clash!

I especially like the onlooker in the last frame, by the way this image is my favourite because I get the feeling the subjects are about to jump out of the screen:)

Nice warm colours and I love the continuity, also the intense and focused look from the characters. Well framed and great work in the field, Alison!

A dynamic sequence with an element of danger, arousing the mind to possible outcomes - hope your protagonists did not get hurt?

Frames 4 and 5 would be so appreciated by our BPN friends from Wildlife Forum, they are so "in your face" and let us not forget about the third character who - in my mind - adds a lot of interest. If those were mine I would selectively lift exposure on the darker areas/ shadows, crop a tad from the top (just below the dark line where the grass begins), and maybe also take off a tad from the bottom of the frame and then share this in the Wildlife Forum.

I thank you so much for sharing, a truly enjoyable sequence and I took great pleasure viewing, cannot wait to see more from you:)

Kind regards,

[Alison McCoy]

Thank you for your kind welcome Gabriela! :bg3: I have been here before. I posted the Black-necked stilt fight sequence back in May. Fights seem to be my thing. Thank you also for saying nice things about the photos. I felt lucky to have witnessed this as well as many other pronghorn behaviors and interactions. I am finding working from a portable blind to be a very successful strategy for getting close to subjects, observing and photographing them. I agree with you about the darker areas and shadows. I may try to rework those and post as you suggested. I appreciate the critique on that and the crops. I need more experience obviously. Frames 4 and especially 5 are my favorites as well. :S3:

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Alison! My apologies, should have said "Welcome back", LOL. Fights and action shots, love it, hope you delight us with some more:)

Processing images can be at times challenging but very rewarding. I really think it is worth putting in the time and effort, since you have such interesting encounters to share.

I have tried a few quick changes to your last frame, ideally from RAW but anyway... I lifted the blacks a tad, sharpened a bit more, re-cropped, as well as cloned out the grass bits at the bottom of the image. A bit sloppy on my side, sorry, just trying to give you the overall idea. When you have something so special it is really worth making the best of it, like eliminating distracting bits, allowing the viewer to connect with the subjects by showing as much detail as possible in critical parts (eyes especially).

Love this, happy to have the opportunity to see this event, I would love a couple of those frames in my folders:)

Kind regards,

[Alison McCoy]

Thanks Gabriela! The rework you did looks so much better. Thanks for explaining the process you went through as well. :bg3:

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you so much Alison,

You can do so much more with the RAW:)

I did not really achieve what I wanted, was hoping to open the blacks a bit more... just keep in mind that one needs to apply those changes selectively.

Let us see what we can do in the future, and please do let me know if you need help. I love your action shots!!!

Have a super week-end:)

[Marc Mol]

A wonderful action sequence here Alison, with the 3rd image my favourite, just a great moment to witness, let alone capture. :5

TFS

[Marina Scarr]

Very nice series with great action. Do like #3 & 4 as well. Gabriela did a good job on the RP to make your last image stand out even more.

[Alison McCoy]

Thank you so much Marc and Marina for your kind comments! It was an exciting to witness in person. :S3:

[Andre Pretorius]

Hi Allison

Love the action captured here!

[John Hackney]

What a great sequence and well captured.

[Alison McCoy]

Thank you for the kind comments Andre and John. :S3: