The rams were playful this day. A light snow falling and low light. The ram on the far left stood for the challenge first and so I focused on him. The DOF used was too shallow for this shot to get all 3 in focus - live and learn, right? I don't like the BG but I had no control on the location of the action. Thanks for looking.
This pic is very unique with original subjects and for that you get an A, love the composition getting all three in frame. Controlling the frame is very important and wish for a better background, much stronger without the snow in the middle of the image. Regarding the dof a smaller aperture might have helped, how was the light and what was your distance from the three. What a great moment with nature, bet your heart was throbbing.
Last edited by Jeff Cashdollar; 12-31-2011 at 10:26 PM.
Thanks Jeff, the light was low, light snow on and off and the distance was approx. 45 yards. I chose to focus on the far left ram, because he stood first, then it turned out that the other two rams actually battled. so I focused on the wrong one. I assumed, incorrectly, that he would be involved. Again, the BG stinks and the focus was off. If you look closely, the middle ram's ear is bleeding and there is blood on the right ram's horn from a previous challenge.
You had no way of knowing and did a good job framing all three. You were farther away than I thought not bad for 45 yards, do you have anymore. the pano crop is a good ideal trying to mitigate the background clutter. This is still a great shot, very unique, you should be proud of being in the right place at the right time and capturing something like this. I have never seen anything like this and not for you I might not ever - thanks.
Jeff, since you ask, here is the next in the series, again, still focused on the wrong ram. I got the distance reading off the exif data, it might be off and I think it was closer than that, but I am not sure. I agree the patch of snow is a distraction, I wish the hillside had been covered in snow. This photo could have been much nicer.
Actually, this is an area you can drive to, in fact they were literally next to the dirt road (visible at the edge of the frame) and this was part of the problem. I had driven to the area that they frequent and didn't see them as first and as I was leaving, we found them on a side road. I would have preferred them in a different setting, but this is what presented itself on this day.
As for getting closer, at times they were closer but when the challenges occurred, they were usually further away. If you moved closer, you risk them taking off and then you lose the show, just like any wildlife photography situation. Also, you really don't want to be on the receiving end of those horns.
Who's In?
Posting Permissions
