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bsinc1962

bsinc1962

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D500 with the 200-500

Hang out with Bighorn Sheep long enough and you'll see some amazing things.

Bighorn Ram Leap.jpg
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SanDiegoSteve said:
Sheep in flight, SIF. Awesome.

I like the rim light and it is a really neat scene. I'd maybe crop it so the sheep is a little more "left" in the frame giving some leading space toward where it is jumping.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I actually have the entire sequence from hunching down to leap to splash down. The shot just before this one fits that scenario.
 
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bsinc1962 said:
Thanks. I actually have the entire sequence from hunching down to leap to splash down. The shot just before this one fits that scenario.
Click to expand...

So, I'd love to hear about that day and how you got the shot. Like, were you expecting to see Bighorn? Did you know that area and were waiting? Was the plan to get that awesome light (I'll bet you did). And other things that went into your plan or thinking for it.
 
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SanDiegoSteve said:
So, I'd love to hear about that day and how you got the shot. Like, were you expecting to see Bighorn? Did you know that area and were waiting? Was the plan to get that awesome light (I'll bet you did). And other things that went into your plan or thinking for it.
Click to expand...

This occurred about 4 years ago. First off I had no idea he was going to leap the creek. I live very close to the largest wintering herd of Bighorn Sheep in the lower 48 so I spend a lot of time with them when the rut is on. I was watching 2 Rams pushing each other around hoping that they would crash horns. One of them decided he had enough and moved through the willows and walked across this creek. I thought it looked good but the angles didn't give me a clear shot so I moved to the spot I ended up shooting from. I guessed that the second Ram would take the same path and cross. My concern was that the light was awful. Mid-morning, shooting into the sun, snow, water, darkish animal. I decided to underexpose just a bit just to avoid totally blowing it out. Sure enough about 10 minutes later here comes the second Ram. D500 with the 200-500 that at that point I owned all of 5 days. I was actually kind of surprised it came out as well as it did. There are still some blown highlights but I was able to make it a usable image.
Side note, I do the wildlife photo tours for National Bighorn Sheep Center here in Dubois so I'm with Bighorns a lot. First and only time I've seen one do this.
 
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bsinc1962 said:
This occurred about 4 years ago. First off I had no idea he was going to leap the creek. I live very close to the largest wintering herd of Bighorn Sheep in the lower 48 so I spend a lot of time with them when the rut is on. I was watching 2 Rams pushing each other around hoping that they would crash horns. One of them decided he had enough and moved through the willows and walked across this creek. I thought it looked good but the angles didn't give me a clear shot so I moved to the spot I ended up shooting from. I guessed that the second Ram would take the same path and cross. My concern was that the light was awful. Mid-morning, shooting into the sun, snow, water, darkish animal. I decided to underexpose just a bit just to avoid totally blowing it out. Sure enough about 10 minutes later here comes the second Ram. D500 with the 200-500 that at that point I owned all of 5 days. I was actually kind of surprised it came out as well as it did. There are still some blown highlights but I was able to make it a usable image.
Side note, I do the wildlife photo tours for National Bighorn Sheep Center here in Dubois so I'm with Bighorns a lot. First and only time I've seen one do this.
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing. I find the lead up to the shot and part of the unexpected part of the shot to be totally interesting. And, inspirational. Don't give up when things don't go as planned, there may still be something else.
 
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