Pronghorn Pair

Gallery: WildlifePosted February 18, 2013127 views8 comments

Hi Everyone! These are two pronghorns I photographed in Yellowstone last spring. We had pulled over to photograph some bison and I noticed these two pronghorns. I liked the way they looked eating grass as the sun set behind them. I only had a few seconds before the sun went down so I'm glad I got this picture!

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Note from Josiah's Dad:
This is another one of those times when Josiah ended up seeing something completely different than what Jenaya and I had in mind. We were focused on a herd of bison behind us as the last light of day faded, and we got back in the truck and Josiah showed us several great pronghorn pictures that we had totally missed! I thought he did a great job in capturing the habitat and the beautiful evening light here. FYI on the comp, there was a third pronghorn on the right side of the frame we decided to crop out in post, but in the end I didn't mind the slightly more centered comp here...just seems to work for my eye...but we would love to hear your thoughts!

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Nikon D70s
Nikkor AF 70-300 f/4-5.6G @ 250mm
ISO 400
1/160sec @ f/5.3
resting on pad from truck window

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on February 19, 2013 at 9:55 AM

Hello Launsteins, Sr and Jr. You have captured these unique animals in the golden hour when subjects are rendered at their finest. In an ideal world (I visited their once) the pronghorn would be facing into the light, but hey. The dried grass of the landscape and the smattering of snow matches the pronghorn to a tee. Great depth in the over all compositiion. Regarding the placement of the subjects however, I would prefer a slightly less centered arrangement. It's nice having more than one set of eyes when out shooting to pick up on opportunities just like this.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Skip Layman on February 19, 2013 at 2:41 PM

Pronghorns, (I'm glad you didn't call them antelope) are a tough animal to photograph. It's easy to blow their bright white areas, and they are generally skittish as the dickens. You did a really nice job of getting these two and making the best of the available light. I might consider cropping this even a bit tighter than you did.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 558 Posts, 1704 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on February 19, 2013 at 6:31 PM

Thumbs up for your eye in noticing the nice rim lighting. I like dappled snow and low angle of light, giving us a good sense of place and time of day.

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by Carol Nichols on February 19, 2013 at 9:51 PM

This is a very pleasing image to look at Josiah. The centered comp looks just fine to me. I think you chose the perfect DOF for the situation, the animals are nicely in focus, and I love the light on the edge of the animals. Good job looking in the other direction. No sense following your sister down her path - follow your own path!

Registered on November 7, 2007, 161 Posts, 1420 Comments

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on February 19, 2013 at 11:44 PM

Hi Josiah, you had great light when you made this image, which obviously helps a lot. What I really appreciate here also is the sense of depth created by including the rolling hills in the BG. Your choice of open aperture was a good one to throw that BG OOF and isolate the subjects, yet placing them in their habitat. Personally I do feel the placement of the subjects is too centered, but that does not diminish the great appeal of this beautiful image.

Registered on February 24, 2006, 504 Posts, 7203 Comments

Comment posted by William Bickle on February 20, 2013 at 3:57 PM

Hello Josiah

Like the Capture, The glistening points on the antlers Adds to the Image. And the pair are Isolated from the background nicely. Well Done.

Bill

Registered on June 13, 2011, 183 Posts, 1702 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Andrews on February 22, 2013 at 9:22 AM

I like the rim lighting which for me makes really makes this image work, good for you for looking around and seeing opportunities that others didn't.

Registered on December 31, 2011, 45 Posts, 222 Comments

Comment posted by Josiah Launstein on February 22, 2013 at 6:34 PM

Thank you everyone for all your nice comments! I'm glad you liked this picture. It was one of my favourites from Yellowstone last year.

Registered on January 26, 2013, 52 Posts, 126 Comments