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Thread: Wild Desert Horse (Fish River Canyon, Namibia)

  1. #1
    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    Default Wild Desert Horse (Fish River Canyon, Namibia)

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    I don't know if I've shared this one before, if I have...sorry about that :o

    Unlike the wild horses at Aus in Namibia where you can get excellent photos of the stallions fighting and so forth, this wild horse is of a different breed. These ones live on the floor of the Fish River Canyon, where they were left shortly after the First World War by the German soldiers who fought in the then South-West Africa. They have adapted and are now found in significant numbers on the Canyon floor.

    The only way to see them is to take the gruelling 5/6 day hike down into the Canyon and along the river towards the Ais-Ais resort at the end of the trail. If you are lucky, you will spot them in the distance...as they are very skittish.

    On our last day of the hike (2009), we spotted this lone stallion, and I decided I need to have a photo. I fitted my lightweight Tamron 70-300mm lens which I had lugged along with my camera bag, tent and hiking backpack filled with food for me and my wife, and proceeded to stalk it.

    I came within reasonable distance before he turned around and cantered off into the Canyon, especially given the fact that I was still carrying my hiking pack on my back which was protruding unsightly above my head.

    I like that the walls of the Canyon are visible behind the horse.

    Techs:
    Canon 1000D with Tamron 70-300mm Di @ 300mm
    f8.0 @ ISO-400
    Morkel Erasmus

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    here is a photo taken by a friend and fellow hiker with his Canon point-and-shoot of my stalking attempt...as you can see I am quite pleased I got as close as I did given the skittish nature of these horses and my utterly useless camouflage :p
    Morkel Erasmus

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  3. #3
    Brendan Dozier
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    Great image, and a great story about the horse and your adventure to go along with it. After such a grueling trek, and I'm sure being a bit worn, it must have been like finding gold when you saw that horse.

    I like where you placed it in the frame and that it's looking right at you. Good BG colors and lines that contrast nicely with the horse. I'm sure you wished you could have been just a bit closer. The small boulder right behind horse may be bit distracting (and maybe the mound too).

    - Brendan
    Last edited by Brendan Dozier; 01-12-2011 at 07:33 PM.

  4. #4
    Todd Frost
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    Nice comp and colors. Detail is not there like your current images have, no doubt due to equipment. I see a big difference im my images going from 80-400 to my 400 2.8. Good looking horse as well. All in all a pleasing image and great find.
    TFS
    Todd

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    BPN Viewer Steve Canuel's Avatar
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    Nice line created by the rocks in the BG and the ridge of the canyon behind him. Didn't know they had wild horses in Africa, thanks for the background info.

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    Morkel, I like the eye contact and your presentation. I would like to see this poster size.

    Is the canyon wall that light in colour. They look somewhat pale in comparison to the horse. I might consider making them slightly darker.

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Morkel - nice story and it's great that you have the photo of your stalking efforts to go along with the shot. I like the comp and the pose of the horse. Well done.

    TFS,
    Rachel

  8. #8
    Robert Amoruso
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    Nice legs Morkel!:p

  9. #9
    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    thanks for the comments guys...yes IQ is vastly inferior to my current setup...:)

    Robert - I'm taken! :p
    Morkel Erasmus

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    Hey Morkel great story and it must have been very cool seeing this guy TFS

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