Eye of the Ram

Gallery: WildlifePosted January 24, 2013206 views13 comments

My dad and I just stumbled upon a whole bunch of missing images that we had put on our laptop while camping and failed to transfer over to our main computer once we got home. This one was from last year in Waterton Lakes National Park. I was sitting up against a tree on the mountainside waiting for the rams to be more active (they were resting when I first got there). The ram I had been watching decided it was time for a snack, so he got up and started grazing with the rest of the herd. The bighorns started grazing towards me, and eventually were all around me! I captured a few images before they eventually moved off.

I LOVE the way his eye looks in this picture, and the great texture in his fur. We tried several crops but ended up liking this one best, which is a full-width horizontal crop from the vertical original.

Thanks for looking!

Nikon D300
Nikkor 300 f/4 ED with 1.4TC
ISO 800
1/800sec @ f/6.3
exposure comp set to -0.7 to control highlights on muzzle
minimal sharpening because of coarse fur
full frame width
cropped from vertical to pano
Nik Color Efex Pro 4
Nik Viveza 2
Nik Dfine 2.0 to reduce noise on background

Comments

13 comments

Comment posted by Jerry Austin on January 24, 2013 at 9:41 PM

Interesting shot. I always like sheep's eyes. They are so interesting. For my tastes, this is a bit tight. Not sure if this is a crop or the ram was too close for the 300mm.

Registered on January 6, 2012, 651 Posts, 3448 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on January 24, 2013 at 10:10 PM

Tough sort of photo to do well Jenaya, at least that's been my experience. I won't even try to understand why this one works, but the way you focused and cropped it just seems right. The smooth green background on the right has a critical role in balancing things I think, but I'll leave it at that. Cool image that shows a keen eye behind the camera.

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

Comment posted by Peter Cross on January 24, 2013 at 10:29 PM

Delightful image, Jenaya. He must have been quite close. Those are magical encounters. I think your comp works fine. It would be interesting to see what others options you had. Super detail on this guy and your colors seem very authentic.

Registered on April 3, 2010, 271 Posts, 1342 Comments

Comment posted by Guy Runco on January 24, 2013 at 10:33 PM

Super sharp shot Jen, and the interesting crop (though it is tighter than many may prefer) works well here. Nice one!

Registered on September 9, 2008, 77 Posts, 705 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on January 25, 2013 at 8:38 AM

Great detail in this image. Not sure if a different crop would work as well. Must have been exciting to have them come so close. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Andrews on January 25, 2013 at 9:11 AM

Sometimes extreme close ups like this work and I think this is one of those examples. There is something compelling about this shot that I find intriguing, perhaps it’s the texture and different shades of fur that compliment yet contrast beautifully with the growth rings of the horns. And then there is the eye .. intent and focused .. and somehow you’ve brought it all together in one simple yet complex shot. Wonderfully done Jenaya.

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

Comment posted by Chet Dowell on January 25, 2013 at 9:41 AM

I like this up close and personal image. The detail and shades of tan to white are very nice. Even the oof horn further defines your subject. Nicely done. Chet

Registered on December 3, 2012, 237 Posts, 1171 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on January 25, 2013 at 9:50 AM

I like the in-your-face experience this crop brings, and from your description of them coming close that's what it was. Good one, Jenaya.

Registered on April 10, 2009, 292 Posts, 3967 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on January 25, 2013 at 9:53 AM

I like this very much as presented Jenaya. I really like the eye's of bighorn sheep and this image really shows it off nicely. Wonderful details too.

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Ralph Yakaboski on January 25, 2013 at 11:26 AM

Sometimes a in your face image works and your image is one that does. Nice crop, colors & detail. Very well done.

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1 Posts, 28 Comments

Comment posted by David E Lester on January 25, 2013 at 6:23 PM

Love the closeup...well done!!

Registered on March 24, 2010, 155 Posts, 793 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on January 28, 2013 at 1:23 PM

You technical choices look good. To me the overall impression is this is a little tight. It sounds like you had a wonderful encounter!

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

Comment posted by John Launstein on January 30, 2013 at 3:34 AM

Jenaya: I absolutely LOVE this image. I've seen a lot of closeups of ungulates, and bighorns in particular, but this one defintely has a great look. As expressed by others above, it simply "works." I would have loved to have the base of the horns included as we had originally cropped this, but even though the textures and lines were intriguing, they took some of the impact away from the image I think. The eye remains the dominant element here, and the textures of the fur are wonderful. Nicely captured in a less-than-ideal situation as the rams suddenly moved too close for "normal" portraits.

Man I can't get over that eye and fur!

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