Sneak Attack

Gallery: WildlifePosted January 10, 201698 views4 comments

Josiah and I had an awesome time together photographing the end of the bighorn rut last month. Although we didn't return with all of the images we had on our hope-for list, we had other opportunities we weren't expecting.

I was just framing up a shot of the ram in the foreground as I saw him snif the ground where an ewe had recently peed, and knew at this time of the year it would trigger a flehmen response. It ended up being less dramatic than I was hoping for, but as I was about to turn away I saw another mature ram come out of nowhere behind him. Sure enough, he launched forward in a surprise attack on his competitor in the rut and I was fortunate enough to catch the moment as well as an angle showing his eye (and the sense of his intentions).

Because I was originally after a different comp, I was shooting horizontal at the time, so this is a full-height vertical crop from horizontal.

For whatever reason I can't keep myself from going black and white on these kinds of interactions. angel

Looking forward to your thoughts and feedback! Please view the larger version if you have time for better detail.

------------------------

Nikon D600
Nikkor AF-S 500mm f/4D IF-ED
ISO 1000
1/640sec @ f/5
-1 stop exposure from meter
Mounted on FEISOL CT-3372 Elite tripod with Acratech GV2 ballhead and Wimberley Sidekick

Comments

4 comments

Comment posted by Pete Bengeyfield on January 10, 2016 at 10:18 PM

Great detail. The eye of the second ram is great. Must be great in color too. Did you get the leg-kick?

Registered on December 2, 2003, 1247 Posts, 3439 Comments

Comment posted by William Bickle on January 11, 2016 at 2:11 PM

Hello John, Shows Great expression & excellent detail when viewed in larger version.

Bill
www.BillBickle.com

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

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on January 13, 2016 at 11:14 AM

Neat capture, John. Techs look fine. I think the white edged eye makes the shot. This makes me want to know if this was just a posturing moment, or did he blindside the other ram with some force? Moment of impact?

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

Comment posted by John Launstein on January 13, 2016 at 6:52 PM

Thank you, Pete, Bill and Lon! Pete and Lon, no, I didn't get the leg-kick because it didn't happen! This ended up being something in between a full on launch and headbutt and a posturing moment. It was a "shove the competitor off the hill" move instead. enlightened

The aggressor ram in the background simply spontaneously rushed this other ram and drove into his shoulder/side at a run (vs. a leap) and literally pushed him off the hill toward us. The displaced ram decided there were plenty other ewes around and he didn't need to stand his ground or retaliate, so despite getting our hopes up, this was about all the action that could have been photographed from our angle in this instance.

Thanks again!

Registered on April 5, 2011, 223 Posts, 1193 Comments